The University of Alabama men’s golf team has officially begun its spring season. The Crimson Tide opened play at the Watersound Golf Invitational in Panama City Beach, Florida, from Feb. 16–18. The 54-hole event was played over three days at the third course at The Watersound Club.
The No. 11-ranked Crimson Tide lineup featured Johnathan Griz, William Jennings, Brycen Jones, Jack Mitchell and Luke Powell. Head coach Jay Seawell leads Alabama.
The Tide entered the spring season following a strong fall campaign, highlighted by a title defense at the Folds of Honor Collegiate, where William Jennings earned medalist honors with an outright individual win. Alabama also captured its final fall tournament at Fallen Oak Golf Course in Mississippi, rallying on the final day with a 16-under performance.
Alabama got off to a slow start to begin the spring slate, finishing eighth out of 12 teams at Watersound. The Tide struggled in the opening round, shooting 5-over as a team, but showed improvement across the final two days of competition. Alabama’s strongest round came on Day 3, when the team posted an impressive 6-under performance.
Despite the late momentum, the Tide could not close the gap on tournament leaders Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Texas Christian University.
Sophomore William Jennings, a native of Greenville, South Carolina, was Alabama’s top individual performer, finishing 3-under and placing 12th overall on the player leaderboard. Moving forward, the Tide will look for continued leadership from veterans such as senior Johnathan Griz and junior Luke Powell, a transfer from UCLA.
Alabama now turns its attention to its next event, The Hayt at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The tournament will follow the same three-round, three-day format as the Watersound Invitational. Among the teams to watch are the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 programs, Virginia and Alabama’s rival, Auburn.
With lessons learned from a slow start at Watersound, Alabama will look to carry its late-round momentum into Sawgrass as the Tide continues building toward postseason play.
