Three Golfers Rank Inside the Top 15 to lead Alabama after 36 Holes of the Watersound Invtiational

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. – Three golfers rank among the top-12 individuals to lead the No. 17-ranked Alabama men’s golf team through two rounds of the Watersound Invitational. As a team, the Crimson Tide will enter the third and final round in fourth place at 9-under par 567 (282-285).

Canon Claycomb (T12^th), who entered the event ranked No. 13 in the PGA Tour University rankings, paced the Alabama golfers in round two with his 3-under par 69. Meanwhile, both Nick Dunlap (T10^th) and Thomas Ponder (7^th) each carded rounds of 1-under par 71 to position the trio inside the top-15 individuals after 36 holes played.

In addition, Jones Free, who is playing as an individual this week, carded a career-best round of 5-under 67 Monday, which included a single-round personal-best seven birdies compared to only two bogeys.

Tuesday’s final round on the par 72, 7,246-yard Sharks Tooth Golf Club course will tee off at Tuesday morning.

Round Two Highlights

• After carding a 5-under 67 in round one, Thomas Ponder responded with his second-straight below par score of the event and 12^th such round of the season
• Ponder enters the third round alone in seventh place with a 36-hole score of 6-under par 138 (67-71)
• Nick Dunlap’s second round was highlighted by an eagle on the 555-yard par 5 third hole to earn his 11^th round of par or better on the year
• Dunlap is in a tie for 10^th place overall with a two-day total of 4-under 140 (69-71)
• Canon Claycomb collected the lowest score of the day to help him 14 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 12^th overall with a 141 (72-69)
• Competing as an individual, Jones Free had his best round as a collegiate play following a 4-under par 67 Monday to vault 23 spots into a tie with Dunlap for 10^th at 4-under par (73-67)
• JP Cave is in 43^rd at 6-over 148 (74-74) while Jonathan Griz rounds out the Tide’s starting lineup in a tie for 50^th with a 150 (74-76)
• Jack Goldasich (+7), also playing as an individual, is in 59^th place with a 154 (79-75)

The Field and Team Highlights

• Top-ranked Vanderbilt (-26) owns an eight-stroke lead on No. 12 Georgia Tech (-16) entering the final round of play
• Tournament host and No. 11 Florida State (-11) is two shots ahead of the Crimson Tide (-9), with No. 24 Mississippi State (-3) rounding out the top five
• Among all individuals, Nick Dunlap leads the field in par 5 scoring (-7, 4.13) while Thomas…