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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Ryder Cup Redux, Award For McCoy, Dogs-Jackets Working Together, Bulldog Open

Bubba Watson and the Americans fell to Europe 16.5-11.5 in the Ryder Cup.
Another Ryder Cup is in the books with the United States dropping a 16.5-11.5 decision to Europe at Gleneagles.

Captain Tom Watson has been taking his share of body blows for lineup decisions since the loss. And at least one pundit is floating the notion that Georgia's Chris Haack would make a great captain for the United States in the future.

Wrote ESPN.com's Farrell Evans: "The next U.S. Ryder Cup captain needs to be a real coach, the type of person who coaches golf teams for a living. Why not reach into the college ranks and get a full-time men's golf coach? Chris Haack, the Georgia men's coach, had two of his former players on this U.S. team, Bubba Watson and (Patrick) Reed, and he had several other players in the running to qualify for the team. Come Spring, Haack leads a squad into the match-play portion of the NCAA men's championship. The PGA of America and its sponsors might require more gravitas for the face of its U.S. team than a college coach, but it might be worth it for the powers that be to consider how to learn from those who work with teams on a full-time basis."

Speaking of Bubba, he went 0-3 in his matches in the Ryder Cup.

• Lee McCoy may be the hottest golfer in the country right now. He won the DICK's Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup after finishing second in The Carmel Cup (and all of this came after a summer filled with top-10s, including medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur). Golfweek.com has been paying attention and named McCoy its Player of Week.

• Russell Henley and Chris Kirk helped keep the Georgia flag on top as they defeated Georgia Tech’s Cameron Tringale and Roberto Castro in the inaugural Cohan Cup. The match was all square through 17 holes at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Henley and Kirk each made birdie on the 18th hole, while Tringale and Castro each missed birdie putts. Final score: Georgia 62, Tech 63. The event is named in honor of former Tech golfer Adam Cohan, who was diagnosed with leukemia two years ago. His leukemia is in remission and he spends much of his time fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The foursome has been raising money for LLS and all proceeds from the event will go it.

• Congratulations to Butler Melnyk, John Tillery, Kevin Kisner and Mike Hostilo on winning the 2014 Bulldog Open. Photos from the day will be posted here soon. Thanks to everyone who contributed to making it a great day.

• Henley, Kirk, Kisner and PGA brethren Hudson Swafford, Brian Harman and Harris English were introduced along with Haack (below) during the Georgia-Tennessee game on Saturday.