"I just played really good golf through that stretch," Hamrick said. "I hit a couple of close shots and gave myself some looks. My putter was good all three days, and that was a stretch of really good golf."

Hamrick has played in the NIT once before, finishing T11 last year.

The former Alabama standout was an assistant coach for Alabama from 2021-23 and has since become the full-time caddie for PGA Tour pro Nick Dunlap.

"I was working another job when he asked me to caddie for him at the Amex," Hamrick said. "I did it for him as something to do, and he ended up winning, so I kept doing it."

Hamrick added about his own golfing career, "It's a little different now. I don't get a lot of opportunities to do this and play in these events. You will be gone for most of them next year. I still try to play a few events a year. Just for my own sake, it is fun to hit the shots and be the one swinging the club.

"It is also good for me in my profession to get in the nerves and get a feel for it," Hamrick said.

Matt Vogt of Indianapolis, Ind., and Mitchell Ford of Little Rock, Ark., finished T2 at 3-under, Stewart Whitt of Athens, Ala., and Rowen finished T4 at 2-under.