Georgia Golfers Remain Fourth At Linger Longer Invitational

 The 13th-ranked Georgia men's golf team remained in fourth place Monday after the second round of the Linger Longer Invitational at Great Waters Golf Club.

Battling intermittent rain, blustery winds and temperatures in the mid-40s, the Bulldogs shot a 1-over 289 in the second round. Georgia moved to 4-over 580 for the tournament and trails Alabama by 18 shots.

Senior Hudson Swafford paced the Bulldogs in the second round with a 2-under 70. Senior Russell Henley added a 1-under 71, followed by senior Harris English at 1-over 73, freshman Michael Cromie at 3-over 75 and sophomore T.J. Mitchell at 7-over 79.

Swafford and English are in the group tied for seventh at 2-under 142, 10 shots behind Alabama's Cory Whitsett. Henley moved to 4-over 148, while Cromie is at 6-over 150 and Mitchell is at 10-over 154.

Playing as individuals, senior Rob Bennett shot a 1-under 71 Monday, followed by freshman Keith Mitchell at 2-over 74 and sophomore Scott McAlpine at 5-over 77. Bennett moved to 4-over 148, while Mitchell is at 6-over 150 and McAlpine is at 7-over 151.

"This was one of those grind-it-out kind of days," Georgia coach Chris Haacksaid. "Give Alabama credit for having a big day (10-under 278) to seize control of things. We're working on some aspects of our game, and we will continue with that process as we get ready for the SECs (next month in St. Simons Island, Ga.)."

The Linger Longer Invitational will conclude on Tuesday. Live scoring can be found at golfstat.com.

Georgia Golfers Stand Fourth At Linger Longer Invitational

The 13th-ranked Georgia men’s golf team is in fourth place after one round of the Linger Longer Invitational at Great Waters Golf Course.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs fired a 3-over 291. Georgia is seven shots behind co-leaders Alabama and Chattanooga (284).

Seniors Harris English and Hudson Swafford paced the Bulldogs on Sunday. English opened with a 3-under 69 and is in second place behind Alabama’s Cory Whitsett (64), while Swafford is in ninth at even-par 72.

The Bulldogs also got 3-over 75s from sophomore T.J. Mitchell and freshman Michael Cromie and a 5-over 77 from senior Russell Henley.

“We’ve had some slow starts in recent tournaments, so it was nice to see us get off to a better start in this one,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “We know we can play better, and the good news is we’re still in the hunt. I am excited about seeing what we can do over the next couple of days.”

Playing as individuals, sophomore Scott McAlpine shot a 2-over 74, freshman Keith Mitchell signed for a 4-over 76 and senior Rob Bennett carded a 5-over 77.

The Linger Longer Invitational will continue on Monday and will conclude on Tuesday. Live scoring can be found at golfstat.com.

Georgia Golfers Playing In Linger Longer Invitational

The Linger Longer Invitational will take place March 27-29 at Reynolds Plantation

The 13th-ranked Georgia men's golf team will return to action Sunday through Tuesday in the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro, Ga.

The tournament will be held at The Great Waters Golf Course at Reynolds Plantation, which has been set up as a par-72 covering 7,073 yards. The teams will play 54 holes over the three days, with tee times beginning each day at 8:30 a.m.

Georgia finished fourth in the 2010 contest, but has dominated the tournament in its brief existence, winning team titles in 2006, 2007 and 2009 and placing second in 2008. Former Bulldog Chris Kirk claimed medalist honors in the 2007 event.

"We've had some great success at the Linger Longer in years past," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "This year our goals are no different. We are looking for our guys to step up, contend and give this team a boost of confidence as we get ready for the SEC Championship."

Georgia will feature a lineup of seniors Harris English, Russell Henley and Hudson Swafford, sophomore T.J. Mitchell and freshman Michael Cromie. Henley leads the Bulldogs with a scoring average of 72.76, followed by English at 72.86.

The Bulldogs also will have senior Rob Bennett, sophomores Bryden Macpherson and Scott McAlpine, and freshman Keith Mitchell entered as individuals, meaning their scores cannot count toward the team score.

Joining the Bulldogs and co-hosts Mercer and Kennesaw State will be No. 4 Alabama, No. 15 Stanford, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Chattanooga, Florida State, Furman, Jacksonville, Memphis and UNC-Charlotte.

Live scoring and tee times can be found at Golfstat.com. Additional information about the tournament can be found at lingerlongerinvitational.com.

Bulldogs Imada and Watson Donate to Japan Relief Fund

Ryuji Imada helped head up relief efforts for Japan on the PGA Tour

Former Bulldog Golfers, Ryuji Imada and Bubba Watson have stepped up in a big way to help with relief efforts following the devastating earthquake that occurred two weeks ago in Japan.
Imada who grew up in Japan until the age of 14 when he moved to the U.S., asked fellow PGA Tour players to join him by donating $1,000 for each birdie made last week during the Transitions Championship.  Imada drafted a handwritten letter that was placed in each players locker on Wednesday asking them to join him in helping his home country.
Bubba Watson decided to donate $50,000 to the American Red Cross for the relief effort after reading Ryuji's letter.

Alex Miceli wrote an article in GolfWeek about Imada and Watson.  It can be viewed here.

Read a USA Today article about Bubba and Ryuji helping Japan relief efforts.  It can be viewed here.

Watson will be playing this week in Orlando at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.  He will be joined by former Bulldogs, Chris Kirk and Erik Compton in the field.

Georgia Golfers Fall To Iowa In Match Play Championship

The eighth-seeded Georgia men's golf team dropped a 3-1-1 decision to sixth-seeded Iowa in its final competition of the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship on Tuesday at Hawks Ridge Golf Club.

Two of Tuesday's matches went down to the final hole -- and in one instance, an extra hole.

"The match was certainly closer than the score would indicate," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "We won one match, we halved one match and we were right there in two others. But that's how match play goes. It takes strategy that you don't use in a stroke-play tournament. We can benefit from this experience as we move forward."

Freshman Michael Cromie defeated Iowa's Jed Dirksen 5 and 3, while senior Harris English halved his match with Brad Hopfinger. Sophomore T.J. Mitchell and Barrett Kelpin were all square after 18 holes and Kelpin won on the 19th hole. Senior Hudson Swafford dropped a 2 and 1 decision to Chris Brant, while senior Russell Henley lost to Vince India 6 and 5.

The Bulldogs finished with two wins and two losses in the tournament. Georgia had a 12-5-3 record, the fourth-best mark in the event.

The Bulldogs will return to action Sunday through Tuesday in the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro, Ga. The Bulldogs then will play in the SEC Championship April 15-17 in St. Simons Island, Ga.

Macpherson plays in Australian Amateur

UGA Sophomore Bryden Macpherson

Bulldog Golfer Bryden Macpherson traveled home to Australia to compete is the Australian Amateur this week.  The Championship is being played at Victoria Golf Club in Melbourne.  After the four rounds of stroke play, Macpherson finished tied for 13th place in the field of 266.  Bryden won his first two matches by a 1 up margin as he defeated stroke play medalist Cameron Smith in the second round.  In the quarter finals, Bryden won his match 5&4 vs. Matthew Perry.
Macpherson saw his match play run end in the semi finals with a 2&1 loss to Matthew Stieger.

Georgia Golfers Knock Off Pacific at Collegiate Match Play Championship

The eighth-seeded Georgia men's golf team dispatched 12th-seeded Pacific on Monday in the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship at Hawks Ridge Golf Club.

Playing in the consolation round, the Bulldogs posted a 5-0 decision over Pacific. Hudson Swafford cruised to a 5 and 4 win, Russell Henley won 3 and 1, Harris English notched a 3 and 2 victory, T.J. Mitchell recorded a 2 and 1 decision, and Michael Cromie posted a 4 and 2 win.

The Bulldogs dropped their opening match against Texas Tech 3-2 Sunday, then topped South Carolina 4-0-1 Sunday and Pacific 5-0 Monday. Georgia's 11-3-1 record for individuals is second-best in the tournament, trailing only undefeated Duke's 12-2-1.

"We're pleased with how we've been playing," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "We were right in it against Texas Tech and we were successful against the other two teams. There's different strategies and different mindsets when you have match play, and our guys have adjusted to it well. We're pretty happy with the way things have gone here. This experience should help us out down the road."

Georgia will close the tournament on Tuesday with a match against sixth-seeded Iowa, which topped No. 2 seed Alabama 4-1 on Monday. Live scoring can be found at collegiatematchplay.com.

Watch the Dawgs Play in Atlanta

 Come out and watch the Georgia Men's Golf Team as they compete in the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship at Hawks Ridge Golf Club. The tournament begins this Sunday with the Bulldogs facing off against Texas Tech in the morning match.  The morning match starts with an 8:00 am shotgun,  followed by the afternoon matches scheduled to start with at 1:30 pm.
The Dawgs will again play two matches on Monday and one match on Tuesday.
The UGA Tee-Off Club would like to invite all Bulldog fans out to cheer on the golf team at Hawks Ridge.  The event is free to attend and the UGA Tee-Off Club will have a hospitality area located in the Ben Hogan Cottage on Sunday and Monday, adjacent to the clubhouse.
Hawks Ridge Golf Club is located in Ball Ground, GA and directions can be found on their website at www.hawksridge.com.

Dawgs Finish Sixth In Las Vegas

The 13th-ranked Georgia men's golf team posted its best round of the weekend on Sunday en route to a sixth-place finish in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters.

The Bulldogs had a final-round total of 1-under 287 to wind up at 26-over 890. Oklahoma State took team honors at 1-under 863.

Senior Hudson Swafford paced the Bulldogs on Sunday with a 5-under 67. Senior Harris English signed for an even-par 72, followed by sophomore Bryden Macpherson at 1-over 73, and senior Russell Henley and freshman Michael Cromie each at 3-over 75.

Swafford placed ninth individually at 3-over 219, 13 shots behind medalist Morgan Hoffmann of Oklahoma State. Henley and Cromie finished at 8-over 224, followed by English at 10-over 226 and Macpherson at 14-over 230.

"I am happy with the way our guys maintained their focus and played well coming in," Georgia coachChris Haack said. "It shows that there's no quit in our team. At the same time, it's important that we play well at the start of tournaments to put ourselves in the hunt. We've showed what we're capable of; we just need to put it all together for three rounds."

The Bulldogs will return to action next Sunday in the Callaway Golf Match Play Championship at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Ga.

Georgia Golfers To Tee It Up In Las Vegas

The 13th-ranked Georgia men’s golf team will continue the spring portion of its schedule by playing this weekend in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters in Las Vegas.


The Bulldogs will play Friday through Sunday at Southern Highlands Golf Club, which has been set up as a par-72 covering 7,510 yards.


“It’s a really good golf course,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “It’s a great set-up and it’s a great challenge to you. It can really beat you up mentally. You hear pros talk about the difficulties of Augusta National because you’re mentally challenged on every shot. Southern Highlands does the same thing. It really challenges you mentally.”


Joining the Bulldogs and host UNLV will be No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Georgia Tech, No. 7 Texas, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 14 Texas Tech, No. 20 California, No. 21 Duke, Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Southern Cal and TCU.


The Bulldogs will use a lineup of seniors Harris English, Russell Henley and Hudson Swafford, sophomore Bryden Macpherson and freshman Michael Cromie. English and Henley, both of whom are on the watch list for the 2011 Ben Hogan Award, lead the Bulldogs with a scoring average of 72.44. The seniors have seen action in all of Georgia’s tournaments this year.


“We’ve been working hard,” Swafford said. “Las Vegas will be a big test for us. We’re knocking off the rust and getting into the groove. Southern Highlands is one of the toughest courses we play. You’ve got to be real particular and you can’t overthink things. You’ve got to be patient.”


In its last event, Georgia placed fourth in the Puerto Rico Classic. The Bulldogs closed with a 10-under 278, and they are hoping that final-round loop will be a catalyst.

 Hudson Swafford

“That last round sparked something in us,” Swafford said. “It showed us we can play with anybody. It’s just a matter of going out and doing it.”


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


After Las Vegas, the Bulldogs’ next three tournaments will take place inside Georgia: the Callaway Match Play Championship in Ball Ground March 20-22, the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro March 27-29 and the SEC Championship in Sea Island April 15-17.

Men's Golf Report Video

Catch up with the latest in Bulldog Golf by watching the most recent video installment of the Men's Golf Report from GTV.  The Bulldogs are in the middle of their spring season with just over a month to go before the SEC Championship in April.  To view the episode, click here
http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/m-golf/spec-rel/030711aaa.html