Roseville golfer helps Alabama golf team to No. 21 ranking

Josh Sedeno will be the first to tell you that the learning curve between high school and Division I college golf is a steep one. Sedeno, a Roseville resident who graduated from Del Oro High in 2016, is currently a member of Alabama's No. 21 ranked men's golf team. But when you consider that the Southeastern Conference (SEC) has all 14 of its golf teams ranked in the top 50 of the nation, week in and week out, there's not a whole lot of margin for error. "It's a really competitive setting," said Sedeno about playing for the Crimson Tide. "The competition level is extraordinary. At this level, you have to bring it every week." Sedeno, who played on Del Oro's 2015 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section-winning golf championship team as a junior, did not play high school golf as a senior. Instead, Sedeno honed his game with a personal swing coach and went on to finish with 37 junior golf wins, was a two-time qualifier for the U.S. Junior Amateur and in 2015 finished as the runner-up in the California State Amateur. Sedeno's rigorous commitment to golf and his studies enabled him to graduate from Del Oro early and enroll at Alabama mid-year. But Sedeno quickly found out that life as a golfer on an elite D-I team isn't all about 300-yard plus drives. "Between school, the training and workouts and travel, it really can take its toll," said Sedeno. "You really have to be mentally focused." A junior, Sedeno is currently carrying a team stroke average of 72.92, third-best for the Crimson Tide. In 16 career tournaments with Alabama, he has fired seven rounds in the 60s. Sedeno's best finish this season came March 15-17 at the Linger Longer Invitational held at Reynolds Landing Golf Club in Greensboro, Georgia, where he shot a 7-under-par score of 209 after rounds of 67-70-72 to finish fourth overall. Earlier last summer, playing in the 110th Manoa Cup, an amateur match play event held in Hawaii, Sedeno carded a 4-under 68 in the first round, then went on to win five consecutive head-to-head match play contests for the title. Right now, Sedeno and the Tide are pointing towards the SEC Championships set for April 24-28 at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia. "It's all about staying healthy right now," said Sedeno, a communication studies and business major. "I've been slowed by some minor nagging injuries at times this season, but I'm feeling better now and looking forward to being able to help the team."