COACHES & STAFF JAY SEAWELL BY THE NUMBERS 39 U.S. Amateur Participants 24 All-Americans 14 NCAA Tournament Appearances
overall while also being named a finalist for the 2013 Dave Williams Award (national coach of the year). The 2011-12 Alabama team captured the SEC Championship, NCAA Athens Regional and a runnerup finish at the NCAA Championships. The Tide won the stroke-play portion of the NCAA Championships at Riviera Country Club with a 7-over 859. Alabama then dispatched of Kent State (3-1-1) in the quarterfinals of match play and California (3-2) in the semifinals. The Crimson Tide’s bid for the national championship fell one match short, as the Tide were edged by Texas (3-2) in the NCAA Finals. Alabama won five of the final seven team events heading into the 2012 NCAA Championships with victories at the Puerto Rico Classic, the Schenkel Invitational, the Linger Longer Invitational, the SEC Championship and the NCAA Athens Regional. The 2011-12 Tide set school records for team season scoring average at 284.56 (.78 vs. par), low round vs. par at 20-under 268, and low 54 holes vs. par at 47-under 817. Seawell was named the SEC Coach of the Year for the second time and was a finalist for the 2012 Dave Williams Award (national coach of the year). Seawell also coached impact freshman Thomas to unseen heights in 2011-12. The rookie from Goshen, Ky., won a school-record four times, including medalist
Head coach Jay Seawell hugging Cory Whitsett after winning the 2013 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at the Capital City Club.
9
NCAA Championship Appearances
6
Walker Cup Team Members
5
Top-10 NCAA Finishes
3
NCAA Regional Championship (2009, 2012 & 2013)
3
SEC Championships (2008, 2012 & 2013)
1
NCAA National Championship
honors at the SEC Championship. For his efforts, Thomas was named the SEC Player and Freshman of the Year and was the first Tide player to be selected as the national player of the year. Whitsett and Wyatt turned in successful sophomore campaigns in 2011-12. Whitsett won twice, capturing the 2011 Western Refining All-America Classic and the 2012 Linger Longer Invitational. He finished with a 71.38 scoring average and earned second team All-America and first team All-SEC accolades. Wyatt averaged 71.70 strokes per round and was a second team All-American and first team All-SEC choice, after recording seven top-five finishes. Hamrick wrapped up his decorated Alabama career by earning 2012 honorable mention All-America and second team All-SEC honors. Alabama’s 2010-11 team captured five tournament titles and finished outside of the top four only once in stroke play. The Tide posted a 13724-0 record in head-to-head meetings and had four players ranked in the top 65 of the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index at the end of the season. Alabama posted a runner-up finish at the SEC Championship and qualified for the NCAA Championship with a third-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Indiana Regional. Bud Cauley rewrote the Alabama record book in 2010-11 with a 70.75 scoring average over 36 rounds.
He finished 15 shots under par and was named a first team All-American by both PING and Golfweek while also being selected to the All-Nicklaus team. Whitsett garnered 2011 All-America honors under Seawell’s tutelage, being named to the second team by both PING and Golfweek while garnering first team All-SEC and SEC Freshman of the Year honors. Wyatt was a second team All-SEC choice. Returning only two lettermen for the 2009-10 season, Seawell was presented one of his biggest challenges. The veteran coach responded with a squad that captured its fourth straight Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate title and boasted four medalists throughout the season. Hamrick captured medalist honors at the 2009 JPNI and the Western Refining All-America Classic while tying for first the following spring at the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational, on his way to honorable mention All-America honors. Cauley set a then-school record for scoring average at 71.32 while Hamrick finished second on the team at 72.88. Cauley won the Isleworth Collegiate and the Linger Longer Invitational while garnering 2010 first team All-American honors. The 2008-09 team added a program first to Seawell’s resume with a victory at the NCAA Northeast Regional. It was the first regional title for the Crimson Tide’s men’s golf team and the club’s second win of the season. That team finished with two tournament titles, at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate and the NCAA Northeast Regional. Seawell’s five-man team almost always included at least three freshmen and finished with a 292.06 average score per round. Freshman sensation Cauley received 2009 first team All-America honors from Golfweek and second team honors from PING, along with first team All-SEC and SEC Freshman of the Year. Cauley won medalist honors at the United State Collegiate Championship while Hamrick was the medalist at the NCAA Northeast Regional. Cauley also was a semifinalist for the Ben Hogan Award (national amateur of the year) and selected to play for the American squad at the 2009 Walker Cup and the 2009 Palmer Cup. Alabama’s 2007-08 team finished the season ranked No. 3 in the final Golf World/NIKE coaches poll and captured its first SEC golf championship in 29 years. Seawell’s success caught the attention and respect of his coaching peers, who voted him the 2008 SEC Coach of the Year. His 2008 Tide team co-led the nation in team tournament championships with six wins and also produced four medalists. The team set the school’s 54-hole record with the 810 it
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COACHES/STAFF
11 Palmer Cup Team Members