Bulldogs Come In Ninth In Puerto Rico Classic

The Georgia men’s golf team finished in ninth place in the Puerto Rico Classic on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs fired a final-round 4-over-par 292 to wind up at 5-over 869 in their first tournament of the spring portion of their schedule. Team honors went to Alabama, which finished at 834 and coasted to an 18-shot victory.

Nicholas Reach paced the Bulldogs on Tuesday as he signed for a 2-under 70. Keith Mitchell added an even-par 72, followed by Joey Garber at 2-over 74 and Sam Straka at 4-over 76. T.J. Mitchell had Georgia’s non-counting score of 5-over 77.

Keith Mitchell finished 14th in the individual race at 1-under 215, nine strokes behind medalist Justin Thomas of Alabama. Garber, making his Georgia debut since transferring from Michigan, came in 19th at even-par 216. Reach wound up at 2-over 218, with T.J. Mitchell and Straka at 9-over 225.

“We didn’t close as well as I would have liked,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “But the good news is I saw a lot of positives during this tournament. We’ll get back home, correct some things and keep working hard. I really think this team will get better and better as we move forward.”

The Bulldogs will return to action March 4-6 at the USF Invitational in Dade City, Fla.