Alabama's Jerry Pate-winning team (Alabama Athletics/Twitter photo)
VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. (Oct. 9, 2018) – Add another Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate to Alabama’s record. The Crimson Tide won the event Tuesday for the sixth time in seven years and the 10th time overall. This time, however, it went down to the final putt.
Alabama trailed BYU at the start of the day by one shot and led Arkansas by one shot. On Tuesday, Alabama slid into the lead with a 6-under 274 at Old Overton Club, the same score that Arkansas had. The Tide finished the event at 12-under 828, while the Razorbacks were 11 under. BYU fell to 6 over in the final round, and dropped to fourth.
Alabama was clinging to a one-stroke lead as senior Davis Riley, who was in the final group, was approaching the 18th green. Arkansas' Julian Perico, who claimed medalist honors with 13-under par 197, missed his birdie putt that would've forced a tie. Riley then calmly drained his par putt to ensure the team title.
"When I got to the 18th green, coach Seawell told me that we were one stroke ahead," Riley said. "(Perico) and I both had birdie putts and after he missed his, all I had to do was make two putts to win. This victory means a lot for our team. It was our first win of the year and we're hoping to continue this momentum throughout the rest of the season."
Riley finished runner-up to Perico, who was the individual medalist. Perico had rounds of 64-65-68 to reach 13 under and win by four. Riley also broke 60 for three rounds, as did BYU’s Peter Kuest, who finished third.
Auburn, which finished fourth as a team, took the Nos. 4 and 5 spots on the individual leaderboard. Branden Mancheno was 5 under and Jovan Rebula was 4 under.
This marks the first victory this season for Alabama, ranked No. 4 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings.
"I thought our guys did a good job today," Alabama head coach Jay Seawell said. "Hats off to Arkansas, they were great – it was back and forth the whole day. You can't simulate this culture. It's why you play, why you practice, why you do everything. I'm proud of how our guys responded with birdies and Davis Riley's eagle on 15; it was the difference in the tournament."
Information from Alabama Athletics used in this report
ABOUT THE
Jerry Pate Intercollegiate
54-hole men's college tournament
hosted
by the University of Alabama. Team (best four scores
out of five players each round) and individual
competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information