FSU's Gray Albright seeks to defend title at Seminole Intercollegiate
Gray Albright called the Shark’s Tooth course “about as pure as it can get.” And over three days he played one of his favorite golf courses better than anyone.
The Florida State senior shot 68-70-68 to win the Watersound Invitational in February, his second college victory.
“I could tell pretty early that I was playing really well,” Albright said. “So it was just a matter of if I could keep it going and stay calm and just kind of keep making birdies. I think you can kind of tell early on-ish in a tournament if you have it or if you don't. And if you don't then you're trying to fight and make a bunch of pars, still hitting some birdies. But during that time, I definitely was feeling pretty good about my game so I was able to be aggressive.”
Albright has claimed both of his tournament victories in windy conditions, including his first at the Seminole Intercollegiate last March. He’s tailored his swing to battle the wind.
“I kind of like it,” Albright said. “With my irons, I like to kind of keep it low. I like to hit the knock-down shots and I think that works better when it's windy. I have an easier time adapting to the wind with just hitting those shots because I like to hit them normally even if there's not a ton of wind.”
Albright returns to competition at his home course with the FSU golf team as they host the Seminole Intercollegiate. Practice rounds were held Saturday and Sunday with 36 holes to be played on Monday and the final 18 holes on Tuesday.
An Ocala native, Albright’s mom, Stephanie, is a Florida graduate and his dad, Steve, played golf at North Carolina. Gray Albright recalls he was 11 or 12 years old when he first beat his dad.
“I remember I shot even par and I was fired up,” Albright said. “It was one of the first times I shot even par.”
A three-time Marion County golfer of the year, Albright picked FSU and has been a late bloomer as he has won both of his college tournaments the last two years. His scoring average has gradually improved, from 74.3 to 73.5 and 70.08 in the split 2023-24 season where he has two top-10 finishes beyond his victory at Watersound.
No. 13 FSU will host a large group of schools from around the Southeast, including No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 10 Arkansas and No. 22 Mississippi State. FSU shot 14-under and won by 38 shots as Albright, Frederik Kjettrup and Luke Clanton took the top three spots while, Brett Roberts, Jack Bigham and Cole Anderson took top 10s. Albright played as an individual in both of his college wins.
Albright smiles when discussing the redesigned Seminole Legacy Course.
“Seminole has a crazy amount of slopes,” Albright said. “They can put pins in spots where you can hit the ball, you can land it 60 feet from the hole and it will end up close to the hole if you hit the right shot. That's incredibly cool. … I think 16 out there is one of the cool holes, it goes back down the hill towards the clubhouse. And it's got a lake to the left of the green. It's just a really cool looking second shot. I think that's one of the cooler holes probably there.”
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