Roll Tide
Lee Hodges got a congratulatory phone call from Alabama royalty after his big 3M Open win
Minneapolis is over a thousand miles from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but you would have thought it was a home game this weekend. ‘Bama alum Lee Hodges won going away on Sunday with Crimson Tide men’s golf coach Jay Seawell watching on. When Hodges sunk his winning putt on 18, Seawell even had a pair of celebratory milkshakes ready to go, per Tide tradition.
By far the most Alabama thing to happen in Minnesota this weekend, however, came after the confetti, when Hodges got a phone call from a bonafide Alabama legend. Take it away, coach.
You can practically hear Hodges’ knees knocking when he hears Nick Saban’s syrupy drawl on the other end of the line. Saban has won seven national championships and eight SEC titles since taking over an irrelevant Alabama football program in 2007, turning himself into the de-facto mayor of Tuscaloosa in the process. To get a call from Saban after your biggest professional triumph is the highest honor you can give a former Alabama athlete, especially when he's the middle of pre-season prep.
Hodges’ only slip-up is when says “there’s not many times you win by seven.” When you play for the ol’ ball coach, winning by a single touchdown may as well be losing.