Alabama’s Nick Saban congratulates Lee Hodges on first PGA Tour win

Alabama men’s golf coach Jay Seawell got plenty of TV time on Sunday as he waited by the 18^th green to congratulate his former player Lee Hodges as he closed out a dominant performance to win the 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota by seven strokes. But Seawell wasn’t the only Alabama coach who was watching.

Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban is a golfer in his spare time, who has played in numerous PGA Tour pro-ams over the years and his love of the game previously has been chronicled in the pages of Golfweek. Saban called Seawell, who handed the phone to Hodges and congratulated him on his maiden victory in his 65th career start on the Tour. Hodges proceeded to call the 71-year-old Saban, who has won seven national titles as a head coach, the most in college football history, “dude,” “man” and “bud.”

It’s all family at Alabama 💯

Coach Saban called Lee Hodges to congratulate him on his first victory @3MOpen. pic.twitter.com/ZsTHLAX58K

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 31, 2023

“I usually watch at night and I was rooting for you,” Saban said.

“There’s not many times you win by seven, so it was pretty fun,” Hodges said.

Quickly, the conversation shifted to Hodges’s love of Crimson Tide football.

“You guys get after it, all right?” Hodges told him. “Good luck this season, coach. I appreciate you calling.”

With Hodges staked to a big lead heading into the final round, Seawell flew in to walk the final 18 with Hodges, who transferred to his team in 2016 after two seasons at University of Alabama-Birmingham.

“I looked up on 18 when I was about to putt and saw him,” Hodges said.

Coach Seawell kept a longtime team tradition of his alive and handed Hodges a milkshake after he closed the deal with one final birdie tap-in birdie at 18 at TPC Twin Cities.

“That’s our Alabama thing,” Hodges said. “Anytime we won a tournament he would take us to get milkshakes. So that was incredible that he was here and that he brought me a milkshake. I mean, you can’t even make that up. That’s super special, something I’ll remember forever.”