Alabama Welcomes a Strong Field for SEC Match Play Hosted by Jerry Pate

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men’s golf team welcomes some of nation’s top-ranked golf teams for the annual SEC Match Play hosted by Jerry Pate. The event, which serves as the Crimson Tide’s only home event of the season, will be played Monday through Wednesday at the par 71, 7,226-yard Country Club of Birmingham in Birmingham, Ala.

The teams will compete in 54 holes of stroke play – 36 holes Monday followed by 18 Tuesday – with match play coming on Wednesday. The top two finishers from stroke play will square off in the final groupings of the day to determine the tournament champion, with the 12 other teams squaring off in East vs. West Match Play format.

Admission for fans is free throughout the tournament with live scoring available via Golf Genius.

The Lineup

• The Crimson Tide’s starting five for the event will consist of Nick Dunlap, Canon Claycomb, Thomas Ponder, Jonathan Griz and JP Cave
• The trio of Dunlap (t8th), Claycomb (t13th) and Ponder (t21st) each earned top-25 finishes in the season-opening OFCC/Fighting Illini Invite
• Dunlap, who was named to the Preseason Haskins Award Watch List, led UA in overall stroke average (70.35), average vs. par (-0.95), rounds in the 60s (17) and rounds of par or better (26) last season
• Meanwhile, first team all-district honorees Canon Claycomb (70.65, -0.57) and Thomas Ponder (71.38, +0.16) ranked second in third in stroke average a year ago, finishing just behind Dunlap
• Jonathan Griz will make his season debut after a freshman campaign in which he played in nine tournaments and ranked fourth on the team in stroke average (72.54) and average vs. par (+1.25)

Tournament Preview

• The No. 13-ranked Crimson Tide is part of a 14-team field that features 11 teams ranked or receiving votes in the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll
• The 14-team field features nine teams in the nation’s top-25, including three in the top 10: No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 6 Auburn and No. 8 Florida
• Other ranked teams in the field include No. 12 Tennessee, No. 13 Alabama, No. 17 Texas A&M, No. 20 Georgia, No. 21 Mississippi State and No. 24 Ole Miss
• Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri and South Carolina round out the tournament field
• The SEC Match Play event replaced the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, which was hosted by the Tide for 35 years (1986-2020)
• The event is named after Jerry Pate – one of the most successful…