After battling past Texas Tech and sweeping Duke, the Alabama men’s golf team fell short of the ultimate goal of a national championship, but coach Jay Seawell and his team have put that in the past.
That process started with Wilson Furr. The sophomore dominated the Mississippi State Amateur, winning by 11 strokes, which allowed him to qualify for the PGA Tour Sanderson Farms Championship.
Senior Davis Riley started his dominate summer by helping the United States win the Arnold Palmer Cup. He also made it to the finals of the Western Amateur, before finishing in the quarterfinals of the 2018 U.S. Amateur Championship.
The U.S. Amateur was played at Pebble Beach and SpyGlass Hill, two of the best-known golf courses in the United States, and Pebble Beach will host the US Open. Alongside Riley at the U.S. Amateur was Davis Shore, who finished tied at 128th.
“Any time you chance to play and compete against the best on those types of golf courses it’ll always make you better because it’ll point out things about your game,” Seawell said. “That’s the key if you’re willing to learn in those types of moments.”
After showing for the last three years that the talent is there, Riley is showing that he is taking on the mental side of the game as well.
“I think he’s starting to get the maturation process,” Seawell said. “The physical skills have always been there. He’s got to continue to work to get himself from focused in preparation, which is always great, to focused in moments.”
Riley is the Crimson Tide team captain and will be the team’s No.1. Now with a full season under their belts, Furr and Shore will most likely be the No. 2 and 3, while the last two spots are still up in the air.
Seawell said that the focus for the whole season will be to fill those last two spots. Redshirt freshman Ben Fuller and freshmen Prescott Butler and Frankie Capan are the three players most likely gunning for the open spot.
The No. 2 Crimson Tide starts its season on Friday at the Carpet Capital Collegiate against Georgia Tech.
