Jay Seawell, the Alabama men’s coach of golf, got plenty TV time as he waited on the 18 th green Sunday to congratulate Lee Hodges after he finished a dominant performance by winning the 3M Open by seven strokes. Seawell was not the only Alabama golf coach watching.
Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide’s football coach, is a keen golfer. He has participated in many PGA Tour pro ams and has written about his passion for the sport in Golfweek. Saban called Seawell who then handed the phone over to Hodges. He congratulated Hodges on his first victory on the Tour in his 65th start. Hodges called Saban 71, who is the only college football coach to have won seven national championships as a head-coach.
Alabama is a family-oriented place
Coach Saban called Lee Hodges and congratulated him on his first win @3MOpen. pic.twitter.com/ZsTHLAX58K
July 31, 2023 — PGA TOUR
Saban: “I watch you at night, and I’m rooting for your success.”
Hodges commented, “It’s not often you win by seven points. It was pretty exciting.”
The conversation quickly shifted to Hodges’s love for Crimson Tide Football.
Hodges replied, “Are you sure that you guys are going to get it done?” “Good luck to you, Coach. “I appreciate your call.”
Seawell, who had transferred from University of Alabama Birmingham to Seawell’s team in 2016, walked the final 18 holes with Hodges.
Hodges: “I saw him when I looked up at 18 as I was about putt.”
Coach Seawell continued a team tradition by giving Hodges a Milkshake when he sealed the deal at TPC Twin Cities with a final tap-in birdie.
Hodges replied, “That’s a thing we do in Alabama.” “Whenever we won a tourney, he took us out to milkshakes. It was amazing that he came and brought me a drink. You can’t make this stuff up. “That’s something I’ll never forget.
