Four Bulldogs Qualify For United States Am; Odom Named Coach At Western Carolina

Nicholas Reach has qualified for the United States Amateur.

Four members of the Georgia men's golf team have qualified for the United States Amateur.

Rising senior Michael Cromie, rising juniors Nicholas Reach and Sam Straka, and incoming freshman Greyson Sigg advanced from regional qualifying tournaments that concluded this week. 

The U.S. Amateur is slated for Aug. 12-18 in Massachusetts at The Country Club in Brookline and the Charles River Country Club in Newton Centre.

Cary, N.C., native Cromie tied for the top spot at the Country Club of Whispering Pines in North Carolina with a total of 138.

Reach, a native of Moscow, Pa., placed second in the event held at Cane Brook Country Club in Summitt, New Jersey, firing 137. 

Sigg, a native of Augusta, won the qualifier held at the Athens Country Club with a two-round total of 135. Straka, who hails from Valdosta, came in second, two shots back at 137.

Reach (2012) and Cromie (2011) will be playing in the U.S. Amateur for the second time, while Sigg and Straka will be making their first appearances. Said Reach, "The U.S. Amateur is a different feeling than any other tournament I've played. What I learned last year is going to help me tremendously this year."

• Former Georgia All-American Bryant Odom has been named the head coach at Western Carolina. Odom spent the last two seasons as the assistant coach at Wisconsin.

"I could not be more excited about the opportunity ahead of me at Western Carolina," said Odom. "My sincerest thanks go to Coach (Michael) Burcin who trusted me as his assistant over the past two years in Madison. I learned a great deal from him and will always be grateful for my experience at the University of Wisconsin. Looking ahead at Western Carolina, there is great potential because of the strength of current players, vision within the athletic department and support from the Cullowhee area. This region is also full of talented prospects. Abbi and I fell in love with Cullowhee on our initial visit and can't wait to settle into the community."

Odom played for the Bulldogs from 1999 through 2002, winning SEC medalist honors and All-America honors in 2001. He also served as a graduate assistant for Coach Chris Haack in 2009 and 2010.

Odom is married to the former Abbi Francis, who was a two-year letter winner for the Georgia women's golf team.

• The PGA TOUR stop this week is the Reno-Tahoe Open in Nevada. Justin Bolli, Ryuji Imada, Brendon Todd and Brian Harman are in the field.

• At last weekend's RBC Canadian Open, Chris Kirk and Bubba Watson came in 21st at 8-under, while Erik Compton, Harman and Bolli missed the cut.

• The Web.com Tour event this week is the Mylan Classic in Pennsylvania. Paul Claxton, Hudson Swafford, Kevin Kisner, Ryuji Imada and Richard Scott are slated to compete. Kisner won the Mylan Classic in 2010 for his first Web.com Tour win.

• At last weekend's Albertsons Boise Open, Claxton paced the Bulldogs as he finished 31st at 15-under. Scott finished 14-under for 33rd and Imada was 11-under for 53rd. Scott Parel, Swafford and Kisner missed the cut.

• Georgia remains in second place in the Rivals Cup standings for both the PGA TOUR and the Web.com Tour. Following last weekend's action on the PGA TOUR, Georgia Tech has 5,450 FedExCup points, while the Bulldogs have 5,053. Using the Web.com Tour's money list, Pepperdine is first with $651,206 and Georgia is next with $598,518.

• The 2013 Bulldog Open is slated for Friday, Sept. 6, at the UGA Golf Course. Call (706) 369-6066 for information on fielding a team and/or becoming a sponsor.

• UGA graduate Tony Parker has an interesting job in Scotland. Read about it here.

• A reminder that this is YOUR blog. If you have any news you want to share, please do so by emailing Denise Saliba (dsaliba@sports.uga.edu).