Golfweek

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• Slideshows: Final round • Round 2
• Slideshow: Individual champion Joel Sjoholm

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By RON BALICKI
Senior Writer

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – There must be something about being the defending champion that brings out the best in the University of Alabama.

Last fall, the Crimson Tide successfully defended titles at the Carpet Capital Classic and the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate.

Alabama opened the spring season in similar fashion Tuesday, winning the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational at Sawgrass Country Club for the second year in a row.

With a closing round of 2-over-par 290, Alabama, No. 2 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, finished the cold and wind-blown tournament at 9-over-par 873 to beat UCLA.

The fifth-ranked Bruins closed in 289 for an 877 total. Host North Florida and Tennessee, a winner earlier this spring at the Ping/Arizona, finished a distant third at 886.

Georgia State’s Joel Sjoholm led wire-to-wire and claimed his second victory of the season, closing with a 2-under-par 70 for a 7-under 209 total. He was the only player in the field to post three sub-par rounds.

The 17th-ranked Sjoholm finished five shots clear of Michael O’Neal of North Florida, Will Strickler, playing as an individual from Florida, and UCLA’s Jason Kang, whose closing 68 was the best round of the tournament.

Alabama’s Mark Harrell and Michael Thompson (pictured) were the only other players to break par, tying for fifth at 215.

For Alabama, the key stretch came on holes 16 and 17, according to coach Jay Seawell.

“I wasn’t sure how things stood, but I knew it was close and told the guys we might even be behind a shot or two,” Seawell said. “I love the way they responded. We made a couple birdies and big pars and that gave us a couple shots lead going into the final hole.”

Alabama played the two holes in 2 under, UCLA in 2 over, leading to the four-shot margin of victory.

“This is a great feeling,” Seawell said as the final scores were being posted. “We going head-to-head with one of the best teams in the country (UCLA) and the guys really hung in there. On a golf course like this, you can have a train wreck at any time and we managed to avoid that.

“Last night I told the guys I felt we were a championship team and now was the time for them to go out and show it,” Seawell said. “And they certainly did that today. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Under sunny, but cold and windy conditions, Sjoholm overcame a mid-round hiccup with a six-birdie performance to avoid any significant challengers.

The senior from Sweden birdied his opening hole, made bogey at No. 2, then birdied 4, 6 and 8 to turn in 33.

But he gave three shots back when he bogeyed No. 10 and followed with a double bogey at the par-5 11th, where he hit his tee shot out of bounds and later missed his four-foot bogey putt. Still, he came back with birdies at 13 and 17.

“It was an interesting day, that’s for sure,” said Sjoholm. “The first two days I was striking the ball very well and not putting so good. Today my ball striking was a little off, but I really got the putter going. It saved me a lot of up and downs.”

Three of Sjoholm’s birdies came from putts of five feet or less, but the other three were in the 15-20 foot range.

Playing in tough weather conditions seems to bring out the best in Sjoholm, who is affectionately known by his teammates as the “Swedish Meatball.”

His fall victory came at Pepperdine’s tournament, held at the time when Southern California was experiencing major wildfires.

“That was really something,” he said. “The wind was blowing and we were playing with ashes in our eyes.”

“I guess you could say I know how to play in bad conditions,” Sjoholm said. But he quickly added, “But I think I play my best when it’s warm and calm.”

Of course he might want to rethink that statement, considering earlier this month under those warm and calm conditions he tied for 28th at the Gator Invitational and didn’t have a single round under par.

“Well, maybe it’s just that I like it more playing in (warm and calm) conditions,” he said with a smile. “Obviously, I don’t play too bad in bad weather.”

Certainly no one in the Hayt field will argue that point.

• • •

Ron Balicki is a Golfweek senior writer. To reach him email rbalicki@golfweek.com.

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Final scores with relation to par from the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational, played Feb. 17-19 at the par-72, 6,925-yard Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (Note: y-played as individual):

TEAMS
1. Alabama	290-293-290--873	+	9
2. UCLA	295-293-289--877	+	13
3. North Florida	296-289-301--886	+	22
3. Tennessee	291-300-295--886	+	22
5. Charlotte	295-296-298--889	+	25
5. Florida	296-305-288--889	+	25
7. UAB	301-295-297--893	+	29
7. Coastal Carolina	306-298-289--893	+	29
9. Pepperdine	294-298-302--894	+	30
9. Georgia St.	296-296-302--894	+	30
11. South Carolina	300-294-301--895	+	31
12. Indiana	302-301-297--900	+	36
13. UCF	306-300-295--901	+	37
13. Vanderbilt	302-302-297--901	+	37
15. Notre Dame	306-301-296--903	+	39
• • •
INDIVIDUALS
1. Joel Sjoholm, Ga. St.	69-70-70--209		-7
2. Jason Kang, UCLA	70-76-68--214		-2
2. Michael O'Neal, North Fla.	70-72-72--214		-2
2. y-Will Strickler, Florida	71-72-71--214		-2
5. Mark Harrell, Alabama	72-71-72--215		-1
5. Michael Thompson, Alabama	72-71-72--215		-1
7. Tyler Brown, Florida	71-75-70--216		E
8. Jesse Barnsley, Pepperdine	72-72-73--217	+	1
9. Mark Anderson, S. Carolina	72-71-75--218	+	2
9. David Johnson, UCF	75-72-71--218	+	2
9. Trevor Murphy, Charlotte	72-72-74--218	+	2
12. Drew Allenspach, Indiana	72-71-76--219	+	3
12. Kevin Chappell, UCLA	76-70-73--219	+	3
12. Charles Ford, Tennessee	73-76-70--219	+	3
15. Philip Pettitt, Tennessee	72-74-74--220	+	4
16. Jeff Dennis, North Fla.	75-69-77--221	+	5
16. Kyle Sapp, UAB	77-73-71--221	+	5
16. Zach Sucher, UAB	75-74-72--221	+	5
16. Warren Thomas, S. Carolina	77-73-71--221	+	5
16. Manuel Villegas, Florida	74-74-73--221	+	5
21. J. Enander Hedin, Charlotte	74-74-74--222	+	6
21. Phillip Francis, UCLA	75-74-73--222	+	6
21. David Holmes, Tennessee	72-74-76--222	+	6
21. Matthew Swan, Alabama	76-76-70--222	+	6
25. y-Nuno Henriques, UCF	73-75-75--223	+	7
25. Tripp McAllister, C. Carolina	77-73-73--223	+	7
25. Andrew Putnam, Pepperdine	73-77-73--223	+	7
25. Eric Shriver, Pepperdine	71-74-78--223	+	7
29. y-Jacob Davidson, North Fla.	77-75-72--224	+	8
29. Doug Fortner, ND	74-73-77--224	+	8
29. y-J.C. Horne, North Fla.	78-72-74--224	+	8
29. Hudson Johnson, Vanderbilt	75-74-75--224	+	8
29. Dan Obremski, C. Carolina	77-77-70--224	+	8
29. Josh Sandman, ND	73-76-75--224	+	8
29. Brad Smith, UAB	74-72-78--224	+	8
36. Tom Sherreard, Ga. St.	75-73-77--225	+	9
36. Stefan Wiedergruen, Charlotte	73-74-78--225	+	9
38. Preston Brown, UCF	77-73-76--226	+	10
38. George Bryan IV, S. Carolina	77-75-74--226	+	10
38. Jorge Campillo, Indiana	76-78-72--226	+	10
38. Cameron Hooper, C. Carolina	75-73-78--226	+	10
38. Billy Horschel, Florida	77-77-72--226	+	10
38. Matt Hughes, Alabama	75-75-76--226	+	10
38. Craig Leslie, UCLA	74-77-75--226	+	10
38. Sam Lyons, C. Carolina	77-79-70--226	+	10
38. Corey Nagy, Charlotte	76-76-74--226	+	10
38. Chris Rockwell, Vanderbilt	73-74-79--226	+	10
38. y-Carl Santos-Ocampo, ND	76-76-74--226	+	10
38. Joseph Sykora, Alabama	71-77-78--226	+	10
38. Bank Vongvanij, Florida	74-79-73--226	+	10
51. Major Forbess, North Fla.	73-77-77--227	+	11
51. Maurice Jordan, Ga. St.	72-76-79--227	+	11
51. Adam West, UAB	75-76-76--227	+	11
54. Jordan Gibb, North Fla.	78-75-75--228	+	12
54. Lucas Lee, UCLA	77-73-78--228	+	12
56. Seth Brandon, Indiana	77-77-75--229	+	13
56. Ben Klaus, Vanderbilt	76-81-72--229	+	13
56. Mike Stern, UCF	75-81-73--229	+	13
59. Greg Forest, UCF	79-76-75--230	+	14
59. Chris Kennedy, North Fla.	79-73-78--230	+	14
59. Mark Silvers, S. Carolina	74-75-81--230	+	14
62. Jon Curran, Vanderbilt	78-79-74--231	+	15
62. Chris Paisley, Tennessee	74-82-75--231	+	15
62. Robin Wingardh, Tennessee	75-76-80--231	+	15
65. Andrew DiBitetto, Charlotte	78-78-76--232	+	16
65. Tyler Hock, ND	88-74-70--232	+	16
67. Ren Han, Indiana	83-77-74--234	+	18
67. Alex Martin, Indiana	77-76-81--234	+	18
69. Connor Alan-Lee, ND	78-78-79--235	+	19
69. Alex Castro, Ga. St.	82-77-76--235	+	19
69. y-Will Golden, Charlotte	79-75-81--235	+	19
69. Shane Mason, Pepperdine	78-75-82--235	+	19
69. Mike Oimoen, UAB	78-77-80--235	+	19
74. Billy Whalen, Vanderbilt	85-75-76--236	+	20
74. Colin Wilcox, Pepperdine	80-78-78--236	+	20
76. Chris Anderson, UCF	82-79-77--238	+	22
77. Tim Freund, Ga. St.	80-78-82--240	+	24
78. Josh Jackson, C. Carolina	90-75-76--241	+	25
78. Greg Rodgers, ND	81-86-74--241	+	25
80. Tyson Alexander, Florida	83-79-80--242	+	26
81. Bryan Miller, S. Carolina	79-86-81--246	+	30

Posted: 2/19/2008

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