Alabama
Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational
Ponder's Final Round 66 Helps Alabama Men's Golf Finish 10th Overall at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational
9/22/2019 3:52:00 PM | Men's Golf
Crimson Tide freshman collects the lowest round by any golfer in the field with his final round 18-hole score
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – Alabama freshman Thomas Ponder carded a 4-under par 66 on Sunday to lead the No. 21 Crimson Tide men's golf team in the final day of action at the Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational. Behind Ponder's performance, the Tide shot a team score of 284 – 10 shots better than each of its previous two rounds – to climb into a 10th-place finish with overall team total of 872 (294-294-284).
The tournament title was shared by No. 3 Georgia Tech and No. 20 Baylor, after both teams finished the event with identical scores of 6-over par 846. Tenth-ranked Pepperdine (849), No. 23 North Carolina (856), No. 14 Texas A&M (859) and No. 19 Illinois (859) round out the top five teams, respectively. In all, 11 of the 15 teams in the field were ranked among the top-25 in the nation by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Leading The Way
- In his first tournament action as a Tide starter since being sidelined last February with an injury, sophomore Davis Shore led UA on the weekend. The Knoxville, Tenn., native carded three consecutive rounds of 1-over par 71 and finished the event tied for 14th overall with a 143 (71-71-71). It marked the seventh top-20 finish of his career
- Ponder's final round 66 vaulted him into a 30th-place tie at 7-over par 217 (76-75-66). It marked the lowest round shot this fall by any UA player.
Other Performers
- Sophomore Frankie Capan III tied for 47th overall with a 10-over 220 (70-75-75) on the famed par 70, 7,219-yard famed Olympia Fields Country Club North Course.
- Junior Wilson Furr tied for 64th overall after carding a 225 (80-73-72) over the three-day event, while sophomore Prescott Butler rounded out the UA starting five with a 233 (77-77-79) to place in 80th overall.
- Freshman Simms Abney, who competed as an individual this weekend, tied for 64th with a 225 (78-76-71).
Fun Fact
- Ponder's round of 66 was the lowest 18-hole total by any player in the entire field. The Dothan, Ala., native collected seven birdies and three bogeys during his round. In fact, Ponder finished with 12 birdies over the tournament's weekend which was tied tops in the field.
From The Head Coach
- "I thought we actually completed a round today. We played a lot of good golf this week but we failed to finish rounds the first two days and it cost us. We will learn from those things. The biggest positives of the week were Davis Shore getting a chance to play and help the team after battling injury and surgery. To have him back in our lineup and for him to play well this week is something that gives us great energy. I was also proud of Thomas. He's a breath of fresh air with the enthusiasm he brings. For anyone to shoot a 66 at Olympia Fields in windy and rainy conditions is something I told him he would remember for a long time." – Head coach Jay Seawell on the positives his team can take from this week's OFCC Invite
Next Up
- Alabama will be off until Oct. 7-8 when it hosts the annual Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate. The two-day, 54-hole event, which will be played at Old Overton Country Club, will feature 36 holes of action on Monday followed by 18 holes on Tuesday. The tournament is free to the public.
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Players Mentioned
