As it turns out, earning your first PGA Tour victory is not nearly as nerve-wracking as talking to Nick Saban.

Lee Hodges, a former Alabama golfer, didn’t seem nervous during the 3M Open last week. It might be because he won by seven strokes and lead wire-to-wire, leaving little drama over the course of the tournament.

The call from the Alabama football coach, however, was a different story.

“That was easily the most nervous I was all week,” Hodges told “Crimson Drive,” per Roger Hoover. “He’s the man in the state of Alabama. He can do whatever he wants.”

Saban’s congratulatory call came with the usual pleasantries, including Hodges telling Saban to “get after it” this upcoming football season.

“I’ve caught some grief over calling him, ‘Dude, ‘Pal’ and ‘Bud,’ but, obviously, I didn’t know what to say,” Hodges, who said he “bleeds crimson,” explained. “It was kind of a blackout moment, you know? You’re talking to the most famous man in the state of Alabama. I kind of blacked out. Sorry, coach, if you didn’t like it.”

Hodges shot a 63 on Thursday, a 64 on Friday and a 66 on Saturday to take a commanding lead into the final round at the TPC Twin Cities course in Blaine on a former sod farm in suburban Minneapolis. He had two eagles and two bogeys on Sunday.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.