RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Three University of Alabama men's golfers finished among the top-15 individuals to lead the Crimson Tide to a fourth-place finish at the Puerto Rico Classic, the team's first event of the 2020 spring season.UA finished the three-day 54-hole tournament with a team score of 16-under par 848 (285-276-287).

Alabama boasted four individuals who finished among the top-25 golfers, three of which finished inside the top 15. Leading the way was freshman Thomas Ponder who tied for ninth overall – his best finish of the season – with a 6-under par 210 (70-69-71), while freshman Canon Claycomb (71-72-69) and junior Wilson Furr (70-68-74) tied for 13th overall with each collecting a 4-under par 212. Sophomore Frankie Capan III placed 24th overall with a 2-under 214 (74-67-73) over the three-day tournament.

As a team, the Tide finished with 63 birdies across the three days of tournament play, which was second only to Oklahoma's 64. In addition, Clacomb (18) and Ponder (15) finished first and second, respectively, among all players in total individual birdies.

Jay Seawell 's Post-Tournament Thoughts

"I think this was a great way for us to start our spring. We are coming off a fall season where we struggled more than what we're used to, so we knew it was important to get off to a good start in the spring and get our confidence up. I think that's exactly what we did. There were some of the small things that we need to do in order to compete with the top teams but finishing fourth in a strong field like this is something we can certainly build from. I thought our entire lineup played solid at times and we got some consistent play from our top-four guys, but it was particularly good to see Canon play the way he did. He was a high school senior two months ago and he certainly has a bright future. By him playing the way he did in his first collegiate event certainly infused confidence into our lineup."

Individual Highlights

Ponder's 54-hole finish was the best of his career and the first top-10 finish by any UA golfer in tournament play this season

Ponder was the only UA golfer to shoot below par in each of his three rounds

Claycomb, who competed in his first collegiate tournament action after enrolling in classes in January, carded the lowest round by any UA golfer on Tuesday with a 3-under par 69

Furr earned his 10 th career top-20 tournament finish with the result

career top-20 tournament finish with the result Sophomore Frankie Capan III placed in a tie for 24 th overall with a tournament total of 2-under par 214 (74-67-73)

placed in a tie for 24 overall with a tournament total of 2-under par 214 (74-67-73) Senior Jack DeZoort rounded out the Tide starters as he tied for 69th overall with a 232 (82-72-78)

Team Play

Third-ranked Georgia won the event with a 54-hole total of 832, bettering No. 2 Oklahoma (834) by two strokes to claim the team title

Georgia, ranked No. 18 in the nation, finished in third overall with an 845, three shots ahead of Alabama. No. 23 Clemson rounds out the top five at 855

Alabama will return to action on the links when it travels to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to compete at the Cabo Collegiate on March 1-3.

Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaMGolf, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.