Reviewed by: Pat Byington
NEW: Former Alabama golfer makes PGA Tour history, wins milkshake
This time of year in Alabama, all eyes are on football. But there’s a lot happening on the golf course, too. A former Crimson Tide golfer, Lee Hodges, just made history on the 2023 PGA Tour. Here’s what you need to know.
A “dream week” for Hodges
Lee Hodges, a former member of the Alabama Men’s Golf team, competed at the PGA Tour 3M Open and brought home some big wins. Here are just a few things that he pulled off during his first career PGA Tour victory:
- 260 (63-64-66-67) winning score, setting a 3M Open record
- Scored a tournament record 54-hole score of 20-under 193
- Qualified for the FedExCup playoffs
- Became the first wire-to-wire champion in the history of Open 3M
- Beat both second-place players by seven strokes each
“It was a dream week from start to finish. I couldn’t be happier. For whatever accolades came with it, I couldn’t be happier.”
Lee Hodges (Golfweek)
His coach was pretty happy, too.
A surprise guest showed up
Hodges’ former coach at Alabama, Jay Seawell, made a surprise appearance at the tournament and brought along a special drink.
“I usually get strawberry, but I guess they only had chocolate…That’s our Alabama thing. Anytime we won, he would take us to get milkshakes. That he was here and brought me a milkshake, that’s something I’ll remember forever.”
Lee Hodges (StarTribune)
Hodges, who grew up in the small town of Ardmore (which straddles the Alabama-Tennessee border) played golf for Ardmore High School. He enrolled at UAB, where he played for two years. He was named 2015 Conference USA Freshman of the Year, and he continued his successful streak after transferring to the University of Alabama. There, he earned all-region honors and was part of the national runner-up team in 2017-2018.
Clearly, he’s still on a roll.
A “life-changing win”
Stephen Puryear, Hodges’ swing coach, described what the win was like.
“This is a life-changing win. I have been working with Lee for 18 years, since he was 10 years old. It’s always been a dream to win on the PGA Tour so this a dream come true. I got to meet him when they landed at the airport last night, along with his friends and family, and that was super special. He is very excited and we couldn’t be more proud.”
Stephen Puryear, PGA Professional
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