Dawgs on Tour Update

Watson Advances to Sweet 16 at Accenture Match Play

Bubba advances to the round of 16

Former Bulldog Bubba Watson has been a birdie machine so far in the Accenture Match Play Championship.  Watson did not make a bogey Thursday in beating Mark Wilson 6 &5 and has made 10 birdies in the 29 holes that he has played thus far.  In the first round of match play, Bubba beat Bill Haas 3 & 2.  Bubba will play Geoff Ogilvy, who has won this event twice, today teeing off at 12:59 ET.  The action can be followed live at www.pgatour.com and on The Golf Channel starting at 2:00.


Compton Shares Lead in Panama

Compton shares round 1 lead on Nationwide Tour

Former Bulldog, Erik Compton followed his 64 Sunday in the Northern Trust Open with a 64 Thursday in the Panama CLARO Championship.  The Panama CLARO Championship is the first event of the season on the Nationwide Tour.  The 64 in Panama was good enough to share the round 1 lead with Gavin Coles and Rich Barcelo.  Compton's 64 this past Sunday on the PGA Tour was the low round during the final round by two strokes.  Fellow Bulldogs Brendon Todd and Justin Bolli each shot a first round 70 and sit in a tie for 42nd.  Live scoring can be followed at www.pgatour.com.  

Georgia Golfers Close Strong To Finish Fourth

The Georgia men’s golf team closed strong at the Puerto Rico Classic on Tuesday to come in fourth.

Seventh after the first two rounds, the Bulldogs shot a 10-under-par 278 Tuesday at Rio Mar Country Club's River Course to finish at 6-under 858.

Seniors Harris English and Hudson Swafford led the Bulldogs’ third-round charge. English fired a 4-under 68 and Swafford added a 3-under 69. Sophomore T.J. Mitchell signed for a 2-under 70, followed by sophomore Bryden Macpherson at 1-under 71 and senior Russell Henley at 1-over 73.

“We obviously didn’t finish as high as we would have liked, but our third-round score is very encouraging,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “We can take the momentum from that round and build off of it as we move forward. That’s the way we are capable of playing. If we can string together some rounds like that, we’ll be in the mix every time we play.”

Sophomore, T.J. Mitchell 

Mitchell finished 13th in the individual race at 2-under 214, eight shots behind Georgia Tech’s James White. Swafford placed 16th at 1-under 215 and English came in 20th at even-par 216. Macpherson wound up at 1-over 217 and Henley checked in at 3-over 219.


SEC rival Alabama took home the tournament title at 28 under par.  Final results can be found on golfstat.com

The Bulldogs will resume the spring portion of their schedule March 11-13 at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas.

Harman Starts Year Off With Runner-Up Finish

Former Bulldog, Brian Harman

Former Georgia All-American, Brian Harman, nearly won the first event of the season on the eGolf Professional Tour.  Harman stood at 12 under par after 72 holes , tied with round three leader Corey Nagy.  In the ensuing playoff on hole #18, Harman did not get up and down for par from a difficult lie near a bulkhead adjacent to the green, while Nagy was able to two putt for the win.  Harman collected $16, 743 for the runner-up finish.  To read the whole story, click here:
http://www.egolfprofessionaltour.com/nagy-picks-up-first-career-win-in-overtime-at-the-swiftwick-shootout-at-palmetto-hall

Georgia Golfers Remain In Seventh In Puerto Rico

The Georgia men's golf team remained in seventh place after two rounds of the Puerto Rico Classic.

On Monday at Rio Mar Country Club's River Course, the Bulldogs fired a 3-over-par 291 to move to 4-over 580. Georgia Tech and Alabama share the team lead at 14-under 562.

Sophomore T.J. Mitchell led Georgia on Monday with a 1-under 71. Sophomore Bryden Macpherson signed for an even-par 72, followed by senior Harris English at 1-over 73, and seniors Russell Henley and Hudson Swafford each with a 3-over 75.

Mitchell is 15th in the individual standings at even-par 144, seven shots behind Alabama's Bud Cauley. Henley, Swafford and Macpherson are in the group tied at 2-over 146, while English is at 4-over 148.

The Puerto Rico Classic will conclude on Tuesday. Live scoring can be followed at golfstat.com.

Georgia Golfers In Seventh At Puerto Rico Classic

The Georgia men's golf team is in seventh place after one round of the Puerto Rico Classic.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs fired a 1-over-par 289 at Rio Mar Country Club's River Course. UGA is 11 shots behind round one leader Georgia Tech's 10-under 278.  Alabama sits in second at 281 followed by Oklahoma State at 283.
Seniors Russell Henley and Hudson Swafford paced the Bulldogs with 1-under 71s. Henley and Swafford are in the group tied for 15th, two shots behind the eight-way logjam for first.

The Bulldogs also counted a 1-over 73 from junior T.J. Mitchell and a 2-over 74 from sophomore Bryden Macpherson. Senior Harris English's 3-over 75 was the non-counting score.

"We didn't really have that bad of a day, but we just could never string a few holes in a row together to get some momentum," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "I have plenty of confidence in our lineup, and I feel like our guys will get it going tomorrow."

The Puerto Rico Classic will continue on Monday and will conclude on Tuesday. The action can be followed live on www.golfstat.com.

Georgia Golfers To Open Spring In Puerto Rico

The Georgia men’s golf team will return to action Sunday through Tuesday in the Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande.

Georgia is no stranger to the Puerto Rico Classic, having won the tournament three times and placing sixth in the 2010 contest at 8-under 856.

The Bulldogs, who are ranked 13th and 14th in the most recent Golfstat and Golfweek polls, respectively, have been idle since October when they finished 11th at the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational. Georgia won the Brickyard Challenge in Macon to highlight its fall campaign.

“We had some inconsistencies this fall,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “We would play well in one tournament and not so great in the next, so this off-season we took to the weight room and worked on our short game a lot. This spring, we are going to be looking for more consistency that will put us in a position to win every week instead of every other week.”

Georgia will feature a lineup of seniors Russell Henley, Harris English and Hudson Swafford and sophomores Bryden Macpherson and T.J. Mitchell. Henley leads the Bulldogs with a scoring average of 72.33 followed by English at 72.53. Swafford is next on the squad averaging 74.25. Macpherson and Mitchell are averaging 73.33 and 76.44, respectively.

Senior Russell Henley and the Bulldogs will begin their Spring in Puerto Rico

“I think the guys are all excited about getting back in the swing of things,” Haack said. “For us, this event is about seeing and evaluating where we are so we know what adjustments we need to make. We’ve got a long spring ahead of us, but we are looking forward to it.”

Joining the Bulldogs and host Purdue in Puerto Rico will be No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Georgia Tech, No. 19 North Carolina State, No. 21 Ohio State, Clemson, ETSU, Michigan, Northwestern, Oklahoma, UNC Greensboro and Virginia Tech.

Live scoring and tee times can be found at golfstat.com.

Erik Compton to Play in Northern Trust Open

Former Bulldog All-American, Erik Compton

Thanks to a 6 under 66 on Monday, former Bulldog Erik Compton, qualified for the Northern Trust Open this week on the PGA Tour.  Playing his first competitive round of the year, Compton shared medalist honors with Bo Kim and Tim Wilkinson.
Compton  said he almost didn’t make the trip to Los Angeles. He battled the flu all last week at home in Coral Gables, Fla., and wasn't sure he was up to the cross-country journey. He's been focusing more on building his body, strength and endurance than he has his golf swing this off season.  
Joining Compton in the field will be former Bulldogs Chris Kirk, Bubba Watson and Ryuji Imada.  All the action can be followed live on pgatour.com beginning Thursday.

Follow Kisner Round by Round on the PGA Tour

Kevin Kisner with his caddie, Duane Bock

Even though former Bulldog Kevin Kisner is in the middle of his rookie season on the PGA Tour, you have the chance to get in depth information on each of his rounds.  Kisner's caddie, Duane Bock has created a blog where he provides his take on each round on tour this season.  After finishing tied for 39th this past week in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-AM, Kisner is taking this week off.  Kisner will travel to Athens today for a practice session with Coaches Haack and Douglas and the UGA Golf Team before cheering on the Dawgs tonight against Vandy.
To follow Kisner on the PGA Tour, check out his caddie's blog here:  http://duanebock.blogspot.com/

Bubba Visits the NAVY SEALS

Former Bulldog, Bubba Watson recently hosted the television show, Inside the PGA TOUR.  While he was in San Diego for the Farmers Insurance Open, Bubba, his wife Angie, and his caddie Ted had the opportunity to visit The NAVY SEALS and experience some of the activities the NAVY SEALS do on a daily basis.

You can watch part of the show by clicking here:
http://www.pgatour.com/video/r/shows/inside_the_pga_tour/2011/02/08/feat_bwatson_offcourse_11inside06.pgatour/index.html

Bubba's father, Gerry, was a Vietnam veteran and Green Beret.  Gerry Watson passed away this past October and Bubba has been a big supporter of the Green Beret Foundation in his Father's honor.

Watson's Play Scores for UGA

Bubba Watson at Farmers Insurance Open

Thanks to a third round 69 at the Farmers Insurance Open this past weekend, Bubba Watson earned the UGA golf program $1,000.  Farmers Insurance encouraged players to wear their school colors during the third round and in return Farmers would donate to the schools of the players who had the three lowest scores on the day.
Bubba's 69 was only bettered by Phil Mickelson's and D.A. points' 68.  Five other players tied Bubba at 69. This was the first year the Farmers Insurance Open had the program in place to reward school spirit.

Jones Cup Invitational Begins Today

The Jones Cup Invitational begins play today at Ocean Forest Golf Club.  The Jones Cup is the first major amateur golf competition of 2011 and will include many of the players who are being considered for the 10 spots on the U.S. Walker Cup Team.  The 54 hole competition can be followed live at golfstat.com.
Current Bulldogs Hudson Swafford, Bryden Macpherson, Harris English and Russell Henley will be in the field as well as former Bulldogs, Jack Hall, Jeff Knox, Jason Hodges, and Butler Melnyk.

PGATour.com Article on Bubba Watson

The following article was featured on PGATour.com's, The Tour Report

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — He may have won the Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday, but it’s been business as usual for Bubba Watson this week.

After the trophy ceremony and a steady progression of interviews, Watson packed up the car and embarked on the five-and-a-half-hour drive from San Diego to Scottsdale. He and his wife Angie have a home here, which they are sharing this week with Rickie Fowler.

Watson

Watson spent Monday at Ping headquarters in Phoenix. He hit balls on the range there, checked out some of his sponsor’s new products and re-gripped his putter. On Tuesday, Watson and his caddie played 18 holes with some of his friends at the Estancia Club on the northern slopes of Pinnacle Peak.

And then Watson got up on Wednesday and went to TPC Scottsdale for the first time all week only to find the pro-am canceled. Not to worry, though. Watson is just glad to be home.

"Just doing the same thing I’ve always done, don’t change it up," he said. "I’ll usually take Monday and Tuesday just for myself when I come to this tournament just to hang out and hang with my wife, and Rickie Fowler is staying at my house, so we goofed around with him a little bit. So just treating it like every day.  I missed the cut at Bob Hope and then won the next week. Life goes on, you know.

"But yeah, it’s been a lot of calls, a lot of fun stuff, a lot of opportunities out there. But just trying to take it easy and be the same old Bubba from Bagdad."

Much was made Sunday of the normally hyper Watson’s calm demeanor on the course and the way he stayed strong with the likes of Phil Mickelson, among others, chasing him. But the 32-year-old doesn’t see his second PGA TOUR victory as any kind of validation.

"The truth is I don’t see my life or my career based on how many wins I get," Watson said. "The media puts that role on you. I do it for a living.  I love the game of golf.  I’m playing golf all the time. I hate taking a day off. …

"So for me to win my second time, first time or never, it wasn’t going to make me a better person or a worse person. It’s fun to win. My trophy case has two in there now, two big ones in there now. So yeah, it’s going to be great. It fills it up. I’ve got one more than my wife now with all her club championship trophies.

“It’s great to win, it’s great to win again. That’s my goal every week is to win. Now hopefully win this week and win next week and win the week after, just keep winning, but that’s not going to make me a better person or a worse person if I don’t win."