Jay Seawell flies into 3M Open to surprise Lee Hodges ahead of first win on PGA Tour

Lee Hodges left Tuscaloosa over a half decade ago to get his professional golf career started. However, it’s clear that he is still beloved within Alabama’s program considering what head coach Jay Seawell did today.

With Hodges currently leading the way at the 3M Open, Seawell flew up to Minneapolis to watch him play in the final round. Ahead of what would be Hodges first victory on the PGA Tour, Seawell commented on how special it will be for him to watch one of his former players achieve one of their dreams live.

Had a special guest during the fourth round of CBS’ live coverage of the @3MOpen!

Coach Seawell flew to Minnesota this morning to support Lee Hodges during the final round. #RollTide pic.twitter.com/mI7pGwYfRq

— Alabama Men's Golf (@AlabamaMGolf) July 30, 2023

“It’s great to see Lee. I’m just so excited for him. He’s such a good young man,” Seawell said on CBS. “The great part about my job is you get to meet these (guys) when they’re just kids. The light is all in front of them, their dreams. I know this has been one of Lee’s dreams since he was a kid. I’m hoping he pulls it through because I really would love to hug his neck at the end of this. It’s something I know is very special and he’s wanted for a long time.”

From there, Seawell actually spoke about how Hodges nearly wasn’t a member of the Crimson Tide’s program even though he knew him beforehand. However, with some successful guidance from his wife, he was able to add him the second time around and bring in a golfer who would go on to have a pair of successful seasons for ‘Bama before going pro.

“I wasn’t smart enough the first time. My wife actually — he’s the same age as my son, I think he’s actually a year older. But my son played junior golf with him and we were having a chance to recruit him. He was kind of a tweener, kind of a little bit of a late bloomer. We took another guy because you only have four and a half (scholarships) and you can’t recruit everybody,” Seawell said. “My wife goes, ‘Why are you not recruiting Lee Hodges?’ I’m like, ‘Well, I just like this guy better’. She just called me dumb. She said, ‘You’re just dumb. This guy’s so nice and he’s going to be a great player.'”

“He went to UAB. Well, he committed and then he actually got really good after he committed to them. And she goes, ‘I told you you were dumb’. He had a great start at UAB. When Allen Murray left to go to Washington, he called and I wasn’t dumb one more time,” admitted Seawell. “I learned — it was a little slow but my wife told me, ‘You finally get it right.’ When he wanted to come to ‘Bama, I made sure we were going to do it this time.”

Through 12 holes in the fourth round, Hodges is -4 on the day. For the tournament, which boasts a purse of $7.8 million, he is -24. That currently gives him a six-stroke lead heading into the final third of the course.

Hodges has a few more holes to finish up before being able to close things out. If he does, though, Seawell will be there at the end to greet him after what will be a lifetime achievement for the former Crimson Tide golfer.