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2011-12 Season Outlook Blazers Return Entire Team • UAB head coach Alan Kaufman expects the 2011-12 men’s golf team to be one of the deepest teams he has had. The Blazers return every golfer from last season’s squad, which features two seniors (Jason Shufflebotham and Blake Watts). • Last season, the Blazers had one of the youngest teams in Conference USA, featuring seven student-athletes who were sophomores and freshmen. Three Newcomers Join UAB • UAB head coach Alan Kaufman announced the addition of three golfers who will compete for the Blazers beginning in the 2011-12 season. Conner Pratt (Birmingham, Ala./Coastal Carolina/Spain Park HS), Paul Dunne (Dublin, Ireland) and Ryan Davie (Aberdare, Wales) are the newest additions to the UAB men’s golf program. • Pratt comes to UAB after playing one season at Coastal Carolina. A native of Birmingham, Ala., Pratt played in four events during his rookie season with the Chanticleers in 2010-11. His best result of the year came at the Gary Koch Intercollegiate in which he carded an 8-over par 224 to finish tied for 35th overall. • Dunne was a standout golfer on the Ireland junior circuit. He claimed the 2010 Irish Youths Amateur Championship title with a four-round total of 287 (73-73-7170), finishing two shots ahead of the competition. He joined a list of past champions that includes professional stars Padraig Harrington and Louis Oosthuizen. Dunne just missed defending his championship title in 2011, missing a 15-foot putt that would have qualified him for a playoff for this year’s medalist honor. He instead settled for a respectable third-place finish. • Davie, a native of Aberdare, Wales, comes from the same hometown as former UAB standouts Chris Cousins and Ryan Thomas. He is considered by many as one of the top Welsh Junior players.
Shuff Wins Welsh Amatuer • UAB’s Jason Shufflebotham has won the 2011 Welsh Men’s Amatuer Golf Championship, which was held at the Aberdovey Golf Club on July 30. Shufflebotham defeated Rhys Pugh, a 2011 Walker Cup selection, by one hole in the 36 hole final on Saturday. • Shufflebotham, who was an No. 8 seed, reached finals of the championship when he defeated countryman Lee Jones 3-and-2 in the semifinals. Pughs was the number two seed and is considered one of the top golfers in Wales.
played well, recording a 13th-place with a four-day score of 283 (71-74-66-72). • Smylie Kaufman, a freshman at LSU and the grandson of UAB men’s golf head coach Alan Kaufman, carded a final round of 67 to finish with a 16-under par 272, topping second place finisher Bobby Wyatt (274) by two strokes.
Hawkins Finishes Third At State Amatuer Championship • UAB men’s golfer Hunter Hawkins ended play at the 95th State Amateur Championship at FarmLinks Golf Club tied for third place overall with a four-round total of 13-under par 275 (65-6867-75). Despite not winning the title, Hawkins was one of three Blazers who finished among the top 15 golfers in the 156-man field. • Hawkins was not the only bright spot for UAB golfers in the prestigious event. Thomas Sutton began the day in a tie for 33rd but vaulted up the leader board after carding an eight-under par 64 on Sunday, which was the lowest round by any golfer during the tournament. As a result, Sutton finished in sixth place overall with a 281 (71-73-73-64). Jason Shufflebotham (left) and Thomas Sutton (right) will look • Sam Love, another sophomore-to-be, also to lead the Blazers during the 2011-12 season. 2
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