Bobby Wyatt Shoots School-Record 61 at SEC Championships

The University of Alabama men’s golf team fired a school-record 266 with the help of Bobby Wyatt’s school-record 61 on Saturday to take a commanding lead after two rounds of the SEC Championship at the par-70, 7,005-yard Seaside Course at the Sea Island Golf Club.

Wyatt continued his blistering pace at Sea Island, firing a 9-under-par 61 to build an eight-shot lead over teammate Robby Shelton. Wyatt shattered the previous school best by two strokes, a record that was held by Lars Brovold at the Mason Rudolph in 2003.

“Bobby was just unbelievable today,” Alabama head coach Jay Seawell said. “He looked really comfortable out there and it takes a true talent to be comfortable when you are going low and he is truly comfortable in that arena. It was fun to watch him play today. He had a great mindset; I guess you would say in the zone. He was a true All-American today.”

For the second day in a row, Wyatt turned in another bogey-free performance with birdies at holes second, fourth, fifth, sixth, ninth, 12^th, 15^th, 16^th and 18^th.

“It was a lot of fun out there today,” Bobby Wyatt said. “I was able to do pretty much everything out there today. I didn’t miss a green and made a lot of putts and that will always result in a good round. It is a lot of fun when you are making putts like that.

“What makes it even better was that the entire team played well today and that puts us in good position going into tomorrow. You will take a 17-shot lead going into the final round every time.”

The Crimson Tide’s Saturday round of 266 is the lowest team score by number in Alabama program history, two shots better than the previous school record. The top-ranked Tide have a two-day total of 538 going into Sunday’s final round as they look to capture their third straight SEC title and fifth in program history. The Crimson Tide have a 17-stroke lead on South Carolina.

“We talked about how we need to have a great round today,” Seawell said. “There are a bunch of great teams at this tournament that were bunched up right behind us and we knew we had to have a good round. I am proud of how everyone on the team responded today. We kind of went crazy low, but we need to because it was a good day for scoring.”

In his first appearance at the SEC Championship, Shelton carded his second straight bogey-free 3-under 67 that moved him into a three-way tie for third at 6-under with Will Murphy of South Carolina and Nicolas Echavarria of Arkansas.

Like Shelton, Senior Trey Mullinax also shot 67 on the day and is tied for eighth place at 1-under 139. Cory Whitsett shot 71 to join Mullinax and five at 139. Junior Tom Lovelady rounded out the Tide scorers with a 71. He currently is 4 over and tied for 36^th individually.

Categories: Alabama