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From Home Page: Hughes Has a Major June 1 Birthday Wish

Hughes says he's learned from playing alongside all of his Alabama teammates. This is one deep team. Alabama won a school record six team tournament championships this season--with five different lineups. Because the team is so deep in talent, Seawell held qualifiers for spots throughout the season. If you won a tournament or placed among the top 10, you got exemptions but the other spots were up for grabs.

Hughes claims the qualifiers were at times more intense than actual competition, so strong is the talent and drive on the Tide's golf team.

"They were stressful. They were hard. I know in the fall a lot of times we'd get through a qualifier, and we'd go to a tournament and we'd be exhausted from the battles at home to go," said Hughes.

A great example of Alabama's depth lies in who was left behind. Gator Todd is not among the lineup. He was first team All-SEC in 2007. Of the five UA golfers in West Lafayette this week, the tiniest of fractions separate four of them in their scoring averages. Michael Thompson leads the SEC in stroke average at 70.70. Harrrell averages 73.03, Mathew Swan 73.07, Hughes 73.17 and Joseph Sykora 73.30. Todd played in seven tournaments this season, helping Alabama win three of those. His average is 74.43.

"Gator (Todd) is an unbelievable player," said Hughes. "I wish we could take eight guys on a trip. We all get along great. I think a lot of our success this postseason has come in the way he's handled that situation. That's a very tough situation. It's one thing for somebody not to play much in two or three years and then finally get to play. I had to deal with watching guys leave and go to tournaments before, but I'd never experienced it before, so I didn't know what I was missing. Here he is, he's played three and a half years and he has been a huge part of this golf program's success, and has to watch us leave. I give him so much credit. He handled it like a man. I have so much respect for Gator. We wouldn't be where we are without him. He has one of the greatest work ethics on this team, and we've all drawn from him. I think our depth is one of our strengths, and I think it's something people all around the country realize: `When these guys get to a tournament, they're battle tested and ready to go."

And this is a team that Hughes says is successful not only because they are battle tested but because they have the kind of chemistry it takes to win.

"We're all a little bit different," said Hughes. "Starting from the top with Coach (Seawell) and (assistant coach) Scott (Limbaugh). They're fine men that I want to be like. They are guys who lead by example, and they've recruited guys that are good young men, from good parents. We all get along great. But then we all have our own characteristics and personalities that we all feed off of. Michael is the professional. Joseph is the brainiac, the analytical one. Swan is a junior, but he's still the youngest guy on the team, kind of the young kid, the young gun we call him, who has a lot of raw talent and is really good. I'm kind of the newcomer, the late bloomer. I don't know what Mark is. Mark's just kind of like the old man. He's just been around forever. He's played in more tournaments than anybody in the history of Alabama. All of those things just complement one another. And, really, on and off the golf course, we just have a great time. There's nothing else I'd rather be doing."

And come next Sunday morning, Hughes is hoping that chemistry will have mixed to produce one great reaction.

"That could be a really neat day, June 1, my birthday, the day after the national championship," said Hughes. "That's something I noticed about a year and a half ago. Who knows? This is the best chance I'll ever have of winning the national championship. It's probably the best chance--and I don't want to step on anybody's toes because there have been a lot of great players and great teams who have played golf at Alabama--but from top to bottom, this is the best team that has ever played at Alabama. This is our best chance to win. So that could be a really fun day. We'll see."

No. 8 Women's Golf Travels To Athens For Liz Murphey Classic This Weekend

Auburn, Ala. - The No. 8 Auburn women's golf team returns to the links this weekend at the 36th annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. The three-day tournament begins on March 21 at the par 72-6,335-yard UGA Golf Course. The Tigers are the reigning champions as they took the team title last year with a score of 881.

The 18-team field features 11 of the nation's top 25 teams according to the latest Golf World/NGCA poll. Top-ranked Duke headlines the field, following by No. 7 Purdue, No. 8 Auburn and No. 10 Arkansas round out the top 10. Other ranked teams competing are No. 11 Georgia, No. 13 Wake Forest, No. 17 Tennessee, No. 18 Kent State, No. 22 Vanderbilt and No. 23 LSU.

Auburn won the Liz Murphey last year with a three round score of 293-299-298--881. Senior Margaret Shirley was the low scorer a year ago as she tied for six at 6-over. Former Tiger Nicole Hage tied for 10th at 7-over, while senior Abigale Schepperle tied for 12th at 9-over. Sophomore Candace Schepperle finished tied for 16th at 11-over and former Tiger Marisa Milligan tied for 19th at 12-over. Junior Mariana Macias, competing as an individual, placed 44th at 18-over.

This will be Auburn's 22nd trip to the Liz Murphey and fifth straight. Auburn has finished in the top five in its last seven appearances and won the event two times. The Tigers have not had an individual champion at the event.

For application and registration information, click here.

TUSCALOOSA - University of Alabama senior golfer Michael Thompson has received a second national honor this week. On Thursday the Tucson, Ariz., native was named the Golf World College Player of the Week. The feature will appear in the April 23 issue of Golf World and can be viewed online now on www.golfworld.com.

Thompson won the honor after claiming the medalist honors at the 2008 Southeastern Conference Championships on Sunday. Just days after returning home from play as an amateur at The 2008 Masters, Thompson led Alabama to its first SEC golf championship since 1979. He shot 65 in the final round to finish 8-under par, 208, to win the individual league championship as well. It was his first collegiate win at Alabama but his fifth collegiate victory overall as he won four tournaments as a golfer at Tulane his freshman and sophomore seasons.

The All-SEC and All-Conference USA golfer transferred to Alabama last season after Tulane dropped its golf program in the economic wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Earlier this week Thompson was named the Golfweek Collegiate Player of the Week.
Thompson leads the SEC with his 70.00 stroke average in 24 rounds. He's finished under par in six of the eight tournaments he's competed in for Alabama this season.

Tech Golf Finishes Second

By www.ttusports.com

DICKSON, Tenn. -- Senior Barrett Steakley earned his second all-tournament honor of the spring and third of the year, finishing in a tie for fourth place individually and leading the Tennessee Tech men's golf team to second place in the Murray State Spring Invitational.

Trailing host Murray State by one shot following the first two rounds on Monday, Tech shot 296 and overtook the Racers by two strokes during Tuesday's play. Lipscomb University, meanwhile, posted the low round of the day with a 293 to sneak ahead of the Golden Eagles and win the team title by a single shot.

Lipscomb finished at 864, Tech at 875 and Murray State at 867. UT Martin was next at 868 and Belmont completed the top five at 870 in a very tight race.

The 10-team field also included Morehead State (888), John A. Logan College (895), Evansville (898), Tennessee Tech No. 2 (904) and Tennessee State (907).

Steakley was consistent at the Greystone Golf Course, shooting 70 and 72 on Monday, and finishing with a 72 Tuesday for a 214 total, three shots back of medalist Scott O'Brien of Belmont (211). Also on the all-tournament team were Cole Floyd of UT Martin (212), Jerry Price of Murray State (213) and Clint Suggs of Lipscomb (214).

John Fox and Calvin Clark were next for the Golden Eagles, tied for 12th place. Fox shot rounds of 75, 69 and 73 for his 217 total while Clark carded scores of 72, 69 and 76. Jake Heatherly tied for 17th place at 70-74-75--219 and Greyson Painter was tied for 41st place at 75-72-80--227.

Tech had five additional players in the tournament, making up the No. 2 team which placed ninth. Blake Garrison had a solid performance to pace that group, finishing tied for 14th place at 71-72-75--218. Others on that squad included Wesley Korth (36th/75-72-78--225), Tyler Cassetty (41st/74-75-78--227), Dylan Richards (54th/80-80-76--236) and Preston Marshal (56th/78-83-78--239).

The final event of the 2008 spring regular season comes on April 20-22 when the Golden Eagles serve as hosts for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament in Paducah, Ky.