The Bulldogs are seeded fourth in the College Grove Regional, which will be played at The Grove Club. Georgia placed fifth in the Franklin American Mortgage Intercollegiate at The Grove in September. Thirteen teams will compete in the College Grove Regional, with the top five teams advancing to the NCAA Championships May 26-31 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.
Joining the Bulldogs and host Middle Tennessee State in the College Grove Regional will be Vanderbilt, Texas Tech, Clemson, Missouri, Lipscomb, Kennesaw State, UCF, TCU, Troy, ETSU and Harvard.
“We’re excited to be back in a Regional and for the chance to play again at The Grove,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “Our Regional is a talented one, top to bottom. We know it’s going to be extremely competitive, but that’s what you expect this time of year. We’ll have to be at our best to be one of the teams to advance. As always, there’s no margin for error at this time of the season.”
Haack is expected to use a lineup of seniors Jaime Lopez Rivarola and Greyson Sigg, sophomore Tye Waller, and freshmen Trevor Phillips and Spencer Ralston in the Regional. Lopez Rivarola, Sigg, Waller and Ralston were in the lineup when the Bulldogs placed fifth in the FAMC at The Grove. Ralston led the Bulldogs as he came in seventh, followed by Sigg in ninth and Waller in 13th. Said Haack, “Four of our five guys got in four rounds at The Grove in the fall. That should be extremely helpful to us.”
The Bulldogs were invited to an NCAA Regional for the 22nd straight year and for the 28th time in 29 seasons since the format was introduced in 1988-89. The Bulldogs have advanced from the Regional to the NCAAs 21 times. The Bulldogs have been invited to an NCAA Regional in all 21 of Haack’s seasons and have moved onto the NCAAs in 18 of the previous 20 campaigns. Haack led the Bulldogs to the 1999 and 2005 national titles, to runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2011, and to the “Final Fore” in 2015.
The five other Regional sites are Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish, Wash.; the University of Texas Club in Austin, Texas; Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif.; the Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Ind.; and the University Club in Baton Rouge, La.
• Wright Waddell has been chosen for induction into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, according to an announcement Monday by the Georgia State Golf Association.
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| Wright Waddell |
The Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Induction Banquet and Ceremony will take place on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek.
A native of Columbus, Waddell was a member of Southeastern Conference Championship teams in 1982 and 1983 and competed in four NCAA Championships. Waddell was an All-American in 1983 and a three-time All-SEC selection. He served as the Bulldogs' team captain in 1984.
Waddell is a four-time winner of the Southeastern Amateur Championship and earned runner-up honors four additional times. Waddell won the Georgia Mid-Amateur Championship twice and was a two-time runner-up in the Georgia Amateur Championship. Four times, he won the Georgia Four-Ball Championship with partner Carter Mize.
Waddell has qualified for and competed in 15 USGA championships — seven U.S. Amateurs, seven U.S. Mid-Amateurs and one U.S. Junior Amateur. He has won the club championship eight times at Green Island Country Club in Columbus and once at the Country Club of Columbus.
Waddell has given back to the game by serving on the Board of Directors of the First Tee of Columbus, American Cancer Society and the Columbus YMCA.
• Please join Coach Chris Haack in support of courses nationwide by bidding on rounds of golf at Rounds4Research.com. Watch Coach Haack's video here.
• The Wells Fargo Championship field this week includes Brendon Todd, Harris English, Kevin Kisner, Chris Kirk, Hudson Swafford and Brian Harman.
• Erik Compton and Sepp Straka are teeing it up in the Web.com Tour's Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship.
• Scott Parel is playing in the Champions Tour's Insperity Inspirational.
