Bulldogs Finish First In Puerto Rico Classic

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — The Georgia men's golf team finished first on Tuesday in the Puerto Rico Classic to earn its second title of the season.

The Bulldogs fired a 3-over 291 in the final round at the Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa's par-72 River Course to wind up at 12-under 852. Georgia led wire-to-wire and finished with a 7-shot decision over Georgia Tech.

Lee McCoy, Sepp Straka and Mookie DeMoss closed on Tuesday with even-par 72s and Greyson Sigg signed for a 3-over 75. Nicholas Reach had the Bulldogs' non-counting score of 8-over 80.

McCoy and Straka came in fourth at 5-under 211, two shots in back of Alabama's Dru Love and Virginia Tech's Scott Vincent.

On Wednesday, McCoy and Straka were chosen as the SEC Golfers of the Week.

Sigg finished 14th at 1-under 215, while DeMoss wound up at 6-over 222 and Reach followed at 7-over 223.

Earlier this year, the Bulldogs won the Carmel Cup in Pebble Beach, Calif., with the same lineup.

"Chemistry is critical in team golf and we're really seeing that with the five guys," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "Their confidence in themselves and each other is up, especially now that they've won twice together. I was pleased with how consistent we were all week. We stayed away from any big numbers and we made our putts. I hope we can carry the momentum into the next one."

Also Tuesday, in the Puerto Rico Individual on the par-71 Ocean Course, Jaime Lopez Rivarola shared medalist honors with Georgia Tech's Chris Petefish. Lopez Rivarola closed with a 3-under 68 to finish at even-par 213. DeMoss was the Puerto Rico Individual medalist a year ago.

The win was the 55th in Haack's career, which began with the 1996-97 season. Haack has led the Bulldogs to at least one win in 17 of his 19 seasons, including the 1999 and 2005 national championships and seven SEC titles. He extended his own school record for most victories by a Georgia golf coach.

The Bulldogs will return to action March 9-11 in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters in Las Vegas.

• The PGA Tour stop this week is the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The field includes defending champion Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Brian Harman, Hudson Swafford, Harris English, Kevin Kisner and Erik Compton.

• In last week's Northern Trust Open, Brendon Todd and Bubba Watson were the top Bulldogs at 2-under. English was 30th at 1-over and Henley came in 26th at 7-over. Compton, Swafford, Harman and Kisner missed the cut.

• The folks at Augusta.com have done a pre-Masters piece on Bubba Watson, including interviews with Georgia coaches Chris Haack and Jim Douglas. 

Bulldogs To Open Spring In Puerto Rico

The Georgia men’s golf team will open the spring portion of its schedule next week in a locale quite different than the one the Bulldogs just left.

Georgia will be playing in the Puerto Rico Classic, its traditional spring opener, Sunday through Tuesday. When the Bulldogs departed Athens earlier this week, the temperature was in the 20s. The forecast for Rio Grande is temperatures in the mid-80s.

“No one on the team is complaining about that,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “It will be nice to get into some warm temperatures for a few days. It will also be nice to get cranked back up. We’ll shake off some rust in Puerto Rico and begin to get an idea about where we’re heading. This team has tremendous potential and we know we can be in contention by the end of the year.”

Haack will use a lineup of seniors Mookie DeMoss and Nicholas Reach, juniors Lee McCoy and Sepp Straka, and sophomore Greyson Sigg. That quintet won the Carmel Cup title at Pebble Beach earlier this season. Sophomore Jaime Lopez Rivarola will compete in the individual tournament as well.

McCoy is the nation's third-rated player and he leads the Bulldogs with a 68.89 scoring average. He finished first, second and fifth individually in his three fall events. 

Joining the Bulldogs for the tournament will be Purdue, Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina State, East Tennessee State, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, UNC-Greensboro and Tulsa.

The Bulldogs won the Puerto Rico Classic in 2006, 2007 and 2009. Chris Kirk and Hudson Swafford were individual medalists in 2006 and 2009, respectively.

McCoy Takes Third In Collegiate Showcase

Coach Chris Haack, Peter Persons, Lee McCoy and Harris English.

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. --- Georgia's Lee McCoy finished third individually on Monday in the Northern Trust Open Collegiate Showcase, while the team of Harris English, Coach Chris Haack and Peter Persons came in 10th.

McCoy fired a 2-over 73 at The Riviera Country Club, six shots behind Wake Forest's Will Zalatoris, who earned a spot in this week's Northern Trust Open.

English, Haack and Persons combined in a best-ball format to shoot 6-under 65, seven shots behind the Oregon squad led by Casey Martin that won $50,000 for the school's golf program.

McCoy is the nation's third-rated player and he leads the Bulldogs with a 68.89 scoring average. He finished first, second and fifth individually in his three fall events. English, a Bulldog All-American from 2008-11, is ranked 16th in the FedExCup Standings. Haack, the two-time National and four-time SEC Coach of the Year, played collegiate golf at West Georgia. Persons was a two-time All-American and SEC medalist during his career from 1983-86.

Oklahoma State, Wake Forest, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Arizona, Clemson, UCLA, Pacific, UC-Riverside, Pepperdine, Southern Cal, Oregon and Texas also were represented in the event.

• Eight Bulldogs will be playing in the Northern Trust Open: Kevin Kisner, Brian Harman, Brendon Todd, Harris English, Erik Compton, Hudson Swafford, Bubba Watson and Russell Henley.

• The Bulldogs remain atop the Rivals Cup with $5.8 million in earnings. UNLV is second with $4.0 million.

• FedExCup Standings: No. 3 Bubba Watson, No. 16 Harris English, No. 32 Russell Henley, No. 39 Chris Kirk, No. 53 Hudson Swafford, No. 76 Brendon Todd, No. 88 Brian Harman, No. 89 Kevin Kisner and No. 101 Erik Compton.

• World Golf Rankings: No. 3 Bubba Watson, No. 23 Chris Kirk, No. 53 Brendon Todd, No. 56 Russell Henley and No. 57 Harris English.

• Presidents Cup standings: No. 2 Bubba Watson, No. 5 Chris Kirk and No. 12 Harris English.

McCoy, English, Haack, Persons To Represent UGA In Showcase

Georgia junior Lee McCoy has been invited to the inaugural Northern Trust Open Collegiate Showcase, which will take place on Monday at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

McCoy and 13 additional collegians will play alongside a PGA Tour professional and two amateurs representing their universities. McCoy will be joined by current pro Harris English as well as Coach Chris Haack and former Bulldog Peter Persons.

McCoy and the collegians will play their own ball, with the low medalist earning a spot in the Northern Trust Open Thursday through Sunday. English, Haack and Persons will team up in a best-ball competition and vie for the Collegiate Showcase Trophy and a donation of $50,000 to the university's golf program.

"I'm really looking forward to this unique opportunity," McCoy said. "I'm excited to play with Coach Haack and Peter, and it will be great to watch the way Harris prepares and plays. He's coming off a great week, so I know he's feeling good. It's always great seeing the Bulldogs on Tour having great success. I can't wait to soak up every moment of this chance."

McCoy is the nation's third-rated player and he leads the Bulldogs with a 68.89 scoring average. He finished first, second and fifth individually in his three fall events. English, a Bulldog All-American from 2008-11, was the runner-up at last week's Farmers Insurance Open and is ranked 15th in the FedExCup Standings. Haack, the two-time National and four-time SEC Coach of the Year, played collegiate golf at West Georgia. Persons was a two-time All-American and SEC medalist during his career from 1983-86.

Oklahoma State, Wake Forest, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Arizona, Clemson, UCLA, Pacific, UC-Riverside, Pepperdine, Southern Cal, Oregon and Texas also will be represented in the event.

English Places 2nd In Farmers Insurance Open

Harris English watches a tee shot during the Farmers Insurance Open.

In the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego on Sunday, Harris English finished regulation at 9-under 279, along with Jason Day, J.B. Holmes and Scott Stallings.

English made birdie from the bunker on 18 for a 72 to join the playoff. Re-playing 18 in the playoff, English hit through the fairway on his shot back to the fairway and could not get it close. He then was unable to connect on a 60-foot birdie putt to stay alive.

Day ultimately won the tournament on the second playoff hole.

"There’s a lot of good players and it’s hard to run away with the lead out here,” said English, who started the day tied for first with Holmes. “It is such a good golf course and so hard to make birdies.”

Brian Harman and Chris Kirk came in 32nd at 1-under, while Erik Compton and Hudson Swafford missed the cut.

• The always popular AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am will be held this weekend. Chris Kirk, Hudson Swafford, Kevin Kisner, Brendon Todd and Ryuji Imada are in the field.

• The Bulldogs remain atop the Rivals Cup with $5.6 million in earnings. UNLV is second with $3.9 million.

• FedExCup Standings: No. 3 Bubba Watson, No. 15 Harris English, No. 29 Russell Henley, No. 34 Chris Kirk, No. 55 Hudson Swafford, No. 73 Brian Harman, No. 76 Kevin Kisner, No. 89 Erik Compton and No. 100 Brendon Todd.

• World Golf Rankings: No. 3 Bubba Watson, No. 22 Chris Kirk, No. 54 Russell Henley, No. 55 Harris English and No. 57 Brendon Todd.

• Presidents Cup standings: No. 2 Bubba Watson, No. 5 Chris Kirk and No. 11 Harris English.

• Per the PGA Tour's Twitter account, Georgia's 11 victories since 2013 are the most on the Tour during that span. Florida has six, Stanford has five and Augusta State has four.

Farmers Insurance Open To Feature Five Bulldogs This Weekend

• Five Bulldogs will competing this week in the PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego: Erik Compton, Harris English, Brian Harman, Chris Kirk and Hudson Swafford.

• Bubba Watson notched his second runner-up finish of the year at the Waste Management Phoenix Open as he wound up at 14-under, just one shot back. English was 40th at 4-under, Russell Henley took 59th at 1-under and Harman placed 66th at even-par. Kevin Kisner and Compton each missed the cut.

• Georgia still stands atop the Rivals Cup with $5.05 million in earnings. UNLV is second at $3.79 million.

• Watson is third in the FedExCup Standings, while Henley is 22nd.

• The Web.com Tour stop this week is the Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship and will include Justin Bolli, Ryuji Imada, Bryden Macpherson, Scott Parel.

• At last week's Panama Claro Championship, Bolli was 49th at 4-over, Parel was 64th at 8-over, and Macpherson and Imada each missed the cut.