Alabama Men’s Golf Makes Move Up Leaderboard on Day Two of NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional

Alabama freshman Davis Riley tied his career-low round with a 5-under 67 on Tuesday to lead the Crimson Tide men’s golf team during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Golf Tuscaloosa Regional. Behind Riley’s play, Alabama finished the day at 4-under par 284 and is in fourth place with a team total of 576 (294-282) heading into Wednesday’s final 18 holes.

Fifth-ranked Georgia continues to lead the field with a 36-hole total of 10-under par 566. The Bulldogs lead by three strokes over 17th-ranked South Carolina (569). Kentucky is in third at 575, followed by the Tide. Auburn is in fifth place with a team score of 584, but are nine strokes ahead of Charleston and UNLV who are tied for sixth with each carding a 593.

The top five teams from the regional will move on to the NCAA Men’s Golf National Championships, which will be played in Eugene, Ore., on May 27-June 1.

“I was really proud of how we played today,” head coach Jay Seawell said. “I thought we looked a lot more comfortable out there today. The golf course is still playing hard. For some reason we are seeing things we shouldn’t be seeing. Maybe we know too much about the course, I don’t know. For the most part, I thought we were really relaxed today and played well, which gives us an opportunity to do something tomorrow.”

The Crimson Tide got off to a blistering start on Tuesday as the team combined for 12 birdies and an eagle through the first nine holes.

Leading the charge was Riley, who not only matched a career-best 18-hole mark on Tuesday, but also finished with the low round of any individual at the Tuscaloosa Regional. After carding a 2-over par during Monday’s first round, Riley was near perfect on the day, as he collected seven birdies and a double bogey during his second round. He was one of just 14 golfers on the day to shoot under par on Tuesday. The Hattiesburg, Miss., native will enter the third and final round in a tie for fifth place with a 36-hole total of 4-under par 141 (74-67).

Junior Robby Shelton finished the second round at 2-over par 74 after being the only Crimson Tide golfer to shoot under par on Monday. Despite recording just his ninth round over par this season, Shelton is in a tie for 14th place with a two-day total of 1-over par 145 on the par 72, 7,514-yard Ol’ Colony Golf Complex.

“We needed someone to be that horse today with Robby (Shelton) not playing as well, and that person was Davis,” Seawell said. “Davis played well yesterday but just stumbled coming into the finish. We knew he was going to play well, but what a clutch performance for us.”

Sophomore Jonathan Hardee (73-73) and junior Dru Love (74-72) are in a tie for 20th with each at 2-over par 146, while senior Tom Lovelady rounds out the Tide golfers in a tie for 26th at 3-over 147 (75-72).

Alabama will be paired with Charleston and Auburn in Wednesday’s third and final round, and will tee off at 8:20 a.m. CT. Admission to the event is free for the general public.

Live scoring for this year’s tournament can be found at www.Golfstat.com.