Gross back on track as he helps Alabama claim team crown in Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational

 

   This time a year ago, Nick Gross, the 2021 PIAA Class AAA champion as a sophomore at Downingtown West, was having a hard time even cracking the lineup at Alabama.

   Gross did work his way back into the Crimson Tide lineup in the spring of the wraparound 2025-2026 season, but he had suffered a dislocated knee in a workout during college golf’s midseason pause and it was never quite right.

   Gross gutted it out, but it was a second straight spring of frustration for Alabama as the Crimson Tide finished a shot out of the final berth to the NCAA Championship out of the Marana Regional, finishing in sixth place as the four seed.

   Gross shut it down when the college season ended, resurfacing just in time to earn co-medalist honors in Final Qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course with a sparkling 5-under-par 66 at Llanerch Country Club.

   Got a chance to watch Gross’ opening round in qualifying for match play in the U.S. Amateur. He was really good at times, making six birdies at the venerable Hugh Wilson design in the Ardmore section of Haverford Township.

   But there was some rust evident, too, as he ended up with a 3-over 73. Needing to go low the next day at Philadelphia Country Club, Gross was only able to manage an even-par 70 and missed out on a bulky playoff for the final spots in the match-play bracket by a shot.

   After a couple of solid outings in Alabama’s first two tournaments of the fall, Nick Gross was officially back last week as he finished in a tie for third place in the individual standings and helped the Crimson Tide to the team crown in the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational, presented by Charles Schwab, which wrapped up Sept. 29^th at the classic Colonial Country Club, Hogan’s Alley, in Fort Worth, Texas.

   Gross carded back-to-back 1-under 69s over the 7,269-yard, par-70 Colonial layout in the opening-day double round and matched par in the final round with a 70 to help the Crimson Tide overtake Southeastern Conference and in-state rival Auburn, the reigning national champion, and capture the team crown by five shots.

   I’m sure you’ve figured out from watching a few Iron Bowls that the rivalry between these two schools runs deep and a victory over the Tigers, who have sat atop the college golf world twice in the last three years, had to be especially sweet for Alabama.

   Gross’ solid showing left him in a tie for third place with his teammate William Jennings, a junior from Greenville, S.C. and No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout, a senior from Richardson, Texas and the No. 1 player in the WAGR, each landing on 2-under 208.

   Alabama opened with a solid 6-under 274 and added a 2-over 282 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round that left the Crimson Tide in a tie for second place in the team standings, two shots behind their rival Auburn.

   A final round of 4-over 284 gave Alabama an even-par 840 total and their first tourney title of the season.

   Jennings was the runnerup in the individual chase in last spring’s NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. and reached the round of 16 in the U.S. Amateur at Merion. Jennings also represented the United States in a hard-fought 13.5-12.5 loss to Great Britain & Ireland in a thrilling Walker Cup Match earlier in September at Lahinch Golf & Country Club in County Clare, Ireland.

   Jennings contributed a sizzling 4-under 66 to Alabama’s fast start in the opening round before adding back-to-back 1-over 71s in the final two rounds.

   Alabama had opened the wraparound 2026-’27 season – with Jennings out of the lineup just days after the completion of the Walker Cup Match in Ireland -- by finishing in fifth place in a loaded field in the Fields of Honor Collegiate with an 8-under 844 total at the American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Mich.

   Gross ended up in the group tied for 23^rd place at even-par 213.

   A couple of weeks later, Alabama finished in fourth place in another stacked field in the Olympia Fields/Fightin’ Illini Intercollegiate at Olympia Fields Golf Club’s South Course with a 30-under 810 total.

   Gross finished in a tie for 31^st place with a 5-under 205 total.

   In addition to the strong showings by Gross and Jennings at Colonial, Alabama had another top-10 finisher in Bailey Sutter, a freshman from Cullman, Ala. who finished among a group of five players tied for ninth place with a 1-over 211 total.

   Sutter, who has been a solid addition to the Alabama lineup in the early going, added a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to his opening round of 1-over 71 before closing with a 73.

   Auburn had matched Alabama’s opening round of 6-under 274 and matched par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a 280 that gave the Tigers a two-shot lead going into the final round.

   Auburn closed with an 11-over 291 to finish five shots behind its ancient rival in second place with a 5-over 845 total.

   The Tigers were led by Billy Davis, a junior from Spring Valley, Calif. who finished in a tie for sixth place with Texas’ Matt Comegys, a graduate student from Van Alstyne, Texas and No. 55 in the WAGR, each ending up with a 1-under 209 total.

   Davis had a share of the individual lead going into the final round after adding a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to a sparkling opening-round 67 before closing with a 3-over 73.

   Auburn had another player in the top 10 as Cayden Pope, a senior from Lexington, Ky. and No. 32 in the WAGR, joined the fivesome tied for ninth place at 1-over. After matching par in the opening round with a 70, Pope added a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 2-over 72.

   Big 12 power Texas Tech, behind individual champion Adam Bresnul, a senior from Morocco and No. 24 in the WAGR, and North Carolina, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, finished in a tie for third place, each ending up seven shots behind Auburn  with a 12-over 852 total.

   The Red Raiders struggled a little in the opening round with a 288, but bounced back with a solid 1-under 279 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 5-over 285.

   It was a disappointing end to the 2025-’26 season last spring for Texas Tech as the Red Raiders failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as a two seed in the Corvallis Regional.

   Bresnu made quite a splash in the U.S. Amateur at Merion in August, marking all sorts of firsts for a Moroccan golfer playing in the biggest event in amateur golf. He reached the quarterfinals before falling to Jack Whaley, the eventual champion.

   After opening with a 1-under 69 at Colonial, Bresnu ripped off back-to-back 3-under 67s to claim his first collegiate individual title with a 7-under 203 total.

   North Carolina had the best team round of the tournament in the opening round, a sizzling 9-under 271. The Tar Heels added a 5-over 285 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before struggling to a 296 in the final round.

   It was a frustrating end to the season for North Carolina last spring as the Tar Heels were one of four teams tied for seventh place after four rounds of qualifying for match play in the NCAA Championship. That meant a playoff among four teams for the final two spots in the match-play bracket, a playoff North Carolina did not survive.

   North Carolina was led by Niall Sheils Donegan, a senior from Mill Valley, Calif. via Scotland and No. 18 in the WAGR, as Sheils Donegan finished among the fivesome tied for ninth place at 1-over.

   Sheils Donegan opened with an otherworldly 9-under 61 that matched the competitive course record at Colonial. He became the eighth player to card a 61 at Colonial and the other seven are all PGA professionals.

   Sheils Donegan cooled off in the second round with a 5-over 75, but was still tied for the individual lead going into the final round. He finished up with another 75.

   It was a pretty good end of the summer for Sheils Donegan as he reached the second round of match play in the U.S. Amateur at Merion and then helped GB&I gain possession of the Walker Cup for the first time since it surrendered it in a loss to the U.S. at Los Angeles Country Club in 2017 with a victory over the Americans at Lahinch early in September.

   A couple more SEC powers, Texas and Vanderbilt, finished in a tie for fifth place, each ending up two shots behind Texas Tech and North Carolina with a 14-over 854 total.

   The Longhorns matched par in the opening round with a 280 and added a 3-over 283 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 291.

   Texas earned a spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at La Costa last spring before falling to eventual runnerup UCLA in the quarterfinals.

   Texas was led by Comegys, who got a share of sixth place with Auburn’s Davis at 1-under, as Comegys sandwiched a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a pair of even-par 70s.

   Vanderbilt only trailed Auburn by four shots going into the final round as the Commodores posted a pair of solid 1-under 279s in the opening-day double round. Vandy struggled a little in the final round with a 296.

   Vanderbilt also earned a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa last spring before falling to Arizona in the quarterfinals.

   Vanderbilt was led by Jon Ed Steed, a sophomore from Enterprise, Ala. who finished alone in eighth place with an even-par 210 that left him a shot behind Davis and Comegys.

   Steed was one of four players, including Bresnu, Davis and Sheils Donegan, tied for the individual lead going into the final round as he signed for a pair of 2-under 68s in the opening-day double round. Steed closed with a 4-over 74.

   Reigning Big 12 champion Oklahoma State finished four shots behind Texas and Vanderbilt in seventh place in the 16-team field with an 18-over 858 total.

   The Cowboys opened with a solid 4-under 276, but struggled to a 298 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 4-over 284.

   Oklahoma State reached the semifinals in defense of the national championship it won in 2025 at La Costa last spring before falling to eventual national champion Auburn.

   The Cowboys were led by Stout, who shared third place with the Alabama duo of Gross and Jennings at 2-under.

   Stout, the reigning NCAA individual champion, contributed a sizzling 7-under 63 to Oklahoma State’s strong start, but struggled to a 5-over 75 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   Backing up the trio of Gross, Jennings and Sutter for Alabama was Miles Eubanks, a junior from Warrenville, Ga. who finished among the group tied for 16^th place with a 3-over 213 total. Eubanks sandwiched a 3-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a pair of even-par 70s.

   Rounding out the lineup for Alabama was Luke Powell, a graduate student from Laguna Niguel, Calif. who finished in the group tied for 57^th place with a 222 total. Powell added a 3-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to his opening-round 74 before closing with a 75.

   Really nice showing by Georgia’s J.D. Culbreth, a sophomore from Thomasville, Ga. who was Bresnu’s closest pursuer in the battle for the individual title.

   Culbreth opened with a 2-under 68 and added a 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a sparkling 67 that left him a shot behind Bresnu in second place with a 6-under 204 total.

   Culbreth led the Bulldogs, another SEC power, to a tie for eighth place in the team standings with a 22-over 862 total.

   Rounding out the fivesome tied for ninth place in the individual standings at 1-over were Oklahoma’s Ryder Cowan, a senior homeboy from Edmond, Okla. and No. 5 in the WAGR, and host TCU’s Nathan Miller, a senior from Dallas, Texas.

   Cowan shared low-amateur honors in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on the tip of Long Island, reached the round of 16 in the U.S. Amateur at Merion and was a member of the U.S. Walker Cup team at Lahinch. Pretty good summer, I’d say.

   Cowan matched par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round at Colonial with a 70 after opening with a 72 and finished up with a 1-under 69.

   Cowan led the Sooners, another SEC entry, to a 10^th-place finish in the team standings with a 24-over 864 total.

   Miller opened with a 2-under 68 and added a 3-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   The Horned Frogs, a Big 12 representative, finished a shot behind Oklahoma in 11^th place with a 25-over 865 total.