Gross struggles in college debut in Folds of Honor Collegiate, but Alabama is the winner

 

   When Nick Gross captured his second District One Class AAA individual crown as a junior at Downingtown West two falls ago at Turtle Creek Golf Course, he wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.

   Gross was hustling back on the golf course to root on his fellow Whippets in their pursuit of the first District One team crown in the history of the program, which they got with a big boost from Gross’ sensational final round of 8-under-par 64 at the Turtle.

   Asked if the team title was the icing on the cake after he had captured the individual crown in dominant fashion, Gross replied, “More like the other way around.”

   Nearly two years later, Gross, making his college debut, was on another winning team, although he didn’t contribute a whole lot to Alabama’s victory in the Folds of Honor Collegiate, hosted by Michigan State, which wrapped up Wednesday at the American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Mich.

   It probably wasn’t the college debut Gross dreamed of as he finished in a tie for 55^th place with a 17-over 230 total. But cut the kid a little slack. Gross turned 18 last month and just earning a spot in the starting lineup at a program like Southeastern Conference power Alabama is a pretty notable achievement for a freshman golfer.

   And Alabama, starting to rebound from some down years, by the Crimson Tide’s lofty standards, did claim the team crown by seven shots over perennial Big Ten power Illinois.

   After opening with a sparkling 9-under 275, behind a scintillating 7-under 64 from Jack Mitchell, a sophomore from Athens, Ala., the Crimson Tide backed off a little with a 4-over 288 in the second round, which allowed Illinois to creep within a shot of them.

   But, behind another 7-under 64, this one by Jones Free, a senior from Selma, Ala., Alabama closed with a solid 7-under 277 for a 12-under 840 total as it pulled away from Illinois and the rest of the field.

   Gross, the PIAA Class AAA champion as a sophomore in 2021, struggled at American Dunes. He opened with a 5-over 76, added a 6-over 77 in Tuesday’s second round, although that was a counter for the day for the Crimson Tide, and closed with another 77 that left him a tie for 55^th place at 17-over.

   Gross made an interesting decision this summer to tee it up in the Royal & Ancient’s Amateur Championship – the British Amateur in the vernacular – at Ballyliffin Golf Club in Ireland in June. His pair of 77s were nowhere near making the cut for match play, but he got a crash course in golf across the pond.

   One of Gross’ future Alabama teammates, Dominic Clemons, a junior from England, had a better week, reaching the final before falling, 4 and 3, to Jacob Skov Olesen of Denmark, who had wrapped up his college career at Arkansas in the spring.

   That came on the heels of a runaway victory for Clemons in the Scottish Open Amateur Strokeplay at Muirfield earlier that month.

   So, it wasn’t a huge surprise to see Clemons, who began his college career at Stetson, leading the way for Alabama in the Folds of Honor as he held off Texas’ Tommy Morrison, a junior from Dallas and No. 18 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), by a shot to capture the individual title with a 9-under 204 total.

   After opening with a 2-under 69, Clemons was really solid in Tuesday’s second round, while some of his Alabama teammates were struggling, with a 5-under 66. Clemons closed with another 2-under 69 to get it to 9-under.

   Illinois, behind Jackson Buchanan, a senior from Dacula, Ga. and No. 15 in the WAGR, was a solid runnerup as the Illini opened with a 2-over 286, pulled within a shot of Alabama with the best round of the day in Tuesday’s second round, a 6-under 278, and closed with a 1-under 283 to finish with a 5-under 847 total that left them seven shots behind Alabama.

   Buchanan played a huge role in carrying Illinois into the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. in the spring and reached the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur last month at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.

   After back-to-back 1-under 70s in the first two rounds at American Dunes, Buchanan closed with a 5-under 66 to finish a shot behind Morrison in third place in the individual chase with a 7-under 206 total.

   Morrison’s runnerup finish in the individual chase led Texas, Alabama’s newly-minted SEC rival, to a third-place finish as the Longhorns ended up eight shots behind Illinois with a 3-over 855 total. After opening with a 3-over 287, Texas recorded a 2-over 286 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a solid 2-under 282.

   Morrison, who reached the second round of match play in last month’s U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National, registered back-to-back 1-under 70s in the first two rounds before closing with a rush, his 6-under 65 in the final round leaving him just a shot behind Clemons with an 8-under 205 total.

   Host Michigan State, one of Illinois’ Big Ten rivals, finished six shots behind Texas in fourth place with a 9-over 861 total. The Spartans matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 284 after opening with a 3-over 287 before struggling a little in the final round with a 6-over 290.

   Notre Dame, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, finished two shots behind Michigan State in fifth place with an 11-over 863 total.

   The Fighting Irish, whose third-place finish in the NCAA’s Austin Regional in the spring earned them their first trip to the NCAA Championship since 1966, carded a solid 1-under 283 in Tuesday’s second round after opening with a 3-over 287 and then struggled to a 9-over 293 in the final round.

   It was another nine shots back to Notre Dame’s ACC rival Florida State as the Seminoles took sixth place in the 15-team field with a 20-over 872 total. Florida State, which fell to Auburn in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match at La Costa in the spring, bounced back from an opening round of 11-over 295 with a 6-over 290 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 3-over 287.

   Backing up Clemons for Alabama were Mitchell and Jonathan Griz, a junior from Hilton Head, S.C., as they finished in a tie for seventh place in the individual standings, each landing on 2-under 211.

   After his sizzling start with that 64, Mitchell struggled to a 6-over 77 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-under 70. Griz was solid throughout as he added a 3-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 69 before closing with a 3-over 74.

   Free had struggled in the first two rounds, adding a 9-over 80 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 73 before erupting for that final-round 64 that left him in a tie for 16^th place with a 4-over 217 total.

   Gross was the fifth man for the Crimson Tide with his 17-over 230 total.

   Alabama failed to advance as a two seed at a soggy Chapel Hill Regional in the spring, punctuating a season during which the Crimson Tide lost their best player, Nick Dunlap, to the PGA Tour as he understandably moved to the pro ranks after capturing the title in The American Express, the PGA Tour event in the Southern California desert, as an amateur.

   Notre Dame’s Jacob Modleski, a sophomore from Noblesville, Ind. and No. 62 in the WAGR, and Michigan State’s Ashton McCulloch, a sophomore from Canada and No. 94 in the WAGR, finished a shot behind Illinois’ Buchanan in the individual standings as they ended up in a tie for fourth place, each posting a 6-under 207 total.

   Modleski, who fell to Buchanan in the quarterfinals in last month’s U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National, matched par in the opening round at American Dunes with a 71, added a sparkling 4-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round and closed with a 2-under 69.

   McCulloch, who reached the round of 16 last month at Hazeltine National, was just a shot behind Clemons going into the final round as he opened with a 4-under 67 and added a 2-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round. McCulloch matched par in the final round with a 71.

   Morrison’s teammate, Christiaan Maas, a junior from South Africa and No. 16 in the WAGR, gave Texas a second finisher inside the top six as he ended up two shots behind Modleski and McCulloch in sixth place with a 4-under 209 total.

   Maas recorded back-to-back 1-under 70s in the first two rounds before closing with a 2-under 69.

   Two other Illinois players joined Buchanan in the top 10 in the individual standings as Max Herendeen, a sophomore from Bellevue, Wash. and No. 32 in the WAGR, finished alone in ninth place with an even-par 213 total and Trey Marrion, a freshman from Chesapeake, Va., shared 10^th place with Army’s John Heckel Jr., a senior from Las Vegas, Nev., each landing on 1-over 214.

   Herendeen sandwiched a 4-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of 2-over 73s. After matching par in the opening round with a 71, Marrion signed for a 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 2-over 73.

   Heckel bounced back from an opening round of 4-over 75 with a solid 3-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Notre Dame got a solid showing from sophomore Rocco Salvitti, who had top-10 finishes in the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of his four years at Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Salvitti opened with a solid 2-under 69 at American Dunes and added a 1-over 72 in Tuesday’s second round before struggling to a 78 in the final round as he finished among a trio of players tied for 23^rd place with a 6-over 219 total.