Jags prove they are contenders

When Jay Seawell was hired as Augusta State's golf coach in 1998, he believed he could lead the Jaguars to a Division I national championship.

The naysayers scoffed at Seawell's prediction, but after leading his golf team to consecutive top-10 finishes in the NCAA championships the past two years, Seawell is beginning to convert the non-believers.

"I think some people believed when I said that, that I was just saying things," Seawell said. "I thought that because the job that (former Augusta State golf coaches) Jim (Kelson) and Ernie (Lanford) did here, it was possible. A lot of the tools were in place."

There was a big question of whether a national contender was in place this spring. The team did have reigning Georgia Amateur champion Michael Webb, a senior, as well as junior Oliver Wilson. But true freshmen Scott Jamieson and Emmett Turner filled the third and fourth slots, while unproven redshirt sophomore Jay Haas Jr. played his way into the No. 5 position.

After a pair of fifth- and sixth-place finishes, however, the team jelled. Augusta State won the prestigious Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational in Statesboro, Ga., in late March, beating national powers Clemson, Florida and Wake Forest.

"It proved again that we could play with those big boys," Seawell said.

In mid-May, the Jaguars sent a message to the competition with their fourth-place showing in the NCAA East Regional. Then, last week, Augusta State searched for its first national crown at the NCAA championships in Columbus, Ohio.

After rounds of 289-283-290, Augusta State stood in 14th place, nine shots back of 54-hole leader Georgia Tech. But the Jaguars charged to a final-round 3-under-par 281 for a fifth-place finish, nine shots behind champion Minnesota. Augusta State's showing was its best-ever in the NCAA championships and eclipsed its seventh-place finish in 2001.

"I'm happy with fifth place, but I'm a little disappointed we didn't do any better than that, because I think we could have," Haas said. "There were tons of shots we left out on the course we could have easily gotten. I'm sure other teams can say that as well. But I think we were definitely one of the better teams there this year."

Augusta State was without Jamie Elson, a runner-up in the individual portion of the 2001 NCAA championships. Elson, the 12th-ranked amateur golfer in the nation according to the latest Golfweek/Titleist poll, sat out this year and will return next season to replace the departing Webb.

"This year, we became a program," Seawell said. "Everybody thought we were a Jamie Elson team the year before, and to a certain extent we were. But I believe we're a program now."

Because of its finish in the NCAA championships, Augusta State will get the chance to play the top collegiate tournaments, including the Golfweek/Ping Preview played at the course where the 2003 national tournament will be held. Augusta State is also starting to receive more attention from prospective golfers.

"I think there are some good players out there who are starting to look at Augusta State, because everybody wants to play for a winner," Seawell said. "And we're a winner."

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 868-1222, Ext. 114.