Lee Hodges embraces former Alabama golf coach Jay Seawell after first PGA Tour win
Simply winning a single tournament on the PGA Tour can drastically alter a player’s life for several years. On Sunday evening, former Alabama star Lee Hodges fulfilled that dream, winning for the first time on the PGA Tour. He did so in remarkably dominant fashion at the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota. He drained his final putt on the 18th green to finish at 24-under par, seven strokes ahead of three players that were tied in second place. With Hodges leading during the final round by several strokes, his former golf coach at Alabama, Jay Seawell, decided to fly up to Minneapolis to watch him play in the final round. Once Hodges drained his final putt and hugged several people, he got to embrace his former college golf coach on the 18th green. It will be a moment that both of them will surely never forget.
Check out the video of him hugging multiple people, before he finally hugs Seawell (pink collared shirt) on the 18th green at Twin Cities.
Hodges played for Seawell when he was with the Crimson Tide from 2016-2018. His first two years of college golf, he played for the UAB Blazers, where he was named the 2015 C-USA Freshman of the Year.
Coming into the 3M Open, Hodges sat at 74th in the FedEx Cup standings. After the historic victory on Sunday, Hodges moved up to 33rd in the FedEx Cup rankings, just outside earning a spot at East Lake for the Tour Championship in Atlanta, Georgia. (The top 30 players qualify).
Hodges dominated the tournament from start to finish, becoming the first wire-to-wire winner on the PGA Tour since J.T. Poston did it last year at the John Deere Classic. Hodges didn’t come close to being challenged. Not only did he win his first PGA Tour event, but he did so in record-setting fashion. He finished with a 24-under 260, a new 3M Open tournament scoring record. During the week, he set the 36-hole and 54-hole scoring marks.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Phil Longo Fired
Wisconsin announces firing of OC
- 2
AP Poll Shakeup
New Top 25 shows big fallout from Saturday
- 3
JuJu Lewis
Elite QB decommits from USC
- 4New
5-star QB flip
Texas A&M commit Husan Longstreet flips to USC
- 5
Coaches Poll
Big changes to updated Top 25
On Sunday afternoon, Hodges fired a 4-under 67, even leading by seven strokes at one point. His lead was five strokes heading into the final round.
The former Alabama star has been on the PGA Tour since the 2018-2019 season and he’s made more money this year than at any other point in his career. With the win on Sunday, he brought home a cool $1.4 million in prize money. In 30 events, he’s racked up nine finishes in the Top 25 and three finishes in the Top 10, including this weekend’s life-altering win.
It’ll be exciting to see how his career goes from this point onward. For now, he’ll be able to cherish the moment of a lifetime with his old college golf coach.