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Sunday, March 17, 2013

Cromie, Mitchell, Reach Pace Bulldogs Vs. Yale

The Georgia (left) and Yale (right) players and coaches posed for a photo
on Saturday during the Bulldog Battle at Mountain Lake in Florida.

LAKE WALES, Fla. --- Led by tri-medalists Michael Cromie, Keith Mitchell and Nicholas Reach, Georgia won the Bulldog Battle at Mountain Lake on Saturday.

Renewing a rivalry  that dates back to 1929 (see the preview blog below), Georgia defeated Yale by 14 strokes on Saturday at Mountain Lake Country Club. Georgia had loops of 284-281=565, while Yale recorded 291-288=579.

Cromie, Mitchell and Reach all finished at 141 to share medalist honors. Cromie had rounds of 73-68, Mitchell 71-70 and Reach 69-72. 

The format allowed all the Bulldogs to play on Saturday. Lee McCoy posted a 142, followed by T.J. Mitchell at 145, Brian Carter at 146, Sam Straka at 150, Mookie DeMoss at 151 and Sepp Straka at 152.

Despite being separated by 900 miles, Georgia and Yale have a longstanding connection.

Georgia's first President, Abraham Baldwin, was a Yale graduate. Several of the first buildings on the Athens campus were designed from blueprints of structures in Connecticut. In 1929, Georgia christened Sanford Stadium with a 15-0 victory Yale.

And then there's little nugget from The New York Times on Oct. 11, 1929: "Leaving with the Yale football squad today for Athens, Ga., were also the fifty-piece Yale band and the four-man golf team, which will play the Georgia team on Saturday morning." And according to Georgia's Pandora yearbook, the host Bulldogs defeated the visiting Bulldogs 5-1.

Eighty-four years after that golf matchup, Georgia and Yale teed it up again on Saturday.

"This was a nice change of pace in our season," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "Since it's spring break, we had some flexibility in our schedule, so I'm glad we were able to work this out. I also love the history that's attached to it. I think it's important that our guys know something about the men who came before them, so we've used this match as an opportunity to talk about that."

The Bulldogs will return to their regular-season schedule Saturday and Sunday in the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro, Ga. Four of the Bulldogs' final five tournaments will take place in Georgia, including the NCAA Championship May 28-June 2 at the Capital City Club in Alpharetta.

Bulldog Battle at Mountain Lake Results
Michael Cromie           73-68=141
Keith Mitchell              71-70=141
Nicholas Reach            69-72=141
Lee McCoy                     71-71=142
T.J. Mitchell                 73-72=145
Brian Carter                 74-72=146
Sam Straka                   77-73=150
Mookie DeMoss         74-77=151
Sepp Straka                 78=74=152
Georgia                         284-281=565
Yale                                291-288=579