Dawgs in Honda Classic and Columbia Championship

The Honda Classic is a home event this week for Erik Compton

There will be a total of 11 former Bulldogs competing this week on the PGA and Web.com Tours.  While the PGA Tour, in Palm Beach Gardens, FL this week for the Honda Classic, will get most of the attention-The Web.com will be playing in Bogata, Colombia for the Colombia Championship.

At The Honda Classic, Erik Compton will be playing in front of a home crowd as the Miami, FL native is sleeping in his own bed this week.  Compton is joined by Russell Henley, Harris English, Brian Harman, and Chris Kirk.  The PGA tour is providing continuous live coverage of two holes this week on the internet.  The par five 3rd and the par four 9th can be watched live by going to www.pgatour.com and clicking on the Watch Live@ link .

Former Bulldogs making the trip to Colombia for the Colombia Championship are Richard Scott, Scott Parel, Bryden Macpherson, Hudson Swafford, Paul Claxton, and Kevin Kisner.

Both tournaments get under way today as players tee off in the first round.  Live scoring for both events  can be followed by going to www.pgatour.com.  Television coverage of the Honda Classic will be from 3:00-6:00 on The Golf Channel for the first two rounds.

Henley and Bubba Advance at Accenture Match Play

Russell Henley and Bubba Watson were both victorious in their first round matches in the Accenture Match Play Championship played at Dove Mountain in Marana, AZ.

Henley, who was making his first appearance in a world golf championship thanks to his current world ranking of 58th, beat Charl Schwartzel 1 up in a match that lasted over two days due to a weather delay caused by snow.   Schwartzel, who is currently the 11th ranked player in the world and has already won twice this year around the world, was never ahead in his match against Henley.  Russell will now face Jason Day, the 43rd ranked player in the world, today beginning at 12:20.

Bubba, who is currently the 10th ranked player in the world, dispatched Chris Wood in the fist round by a final score of 2&1.  Bubba will now square off against Jim Furyk in the round of 32.

Both Henley and Bubba are in the Bobby Jones bracket and could face each other if they both happen to win their matches in the second round and create a Bulldog vs. Bulldog match up.

Live scoring can be followed at www.pgatour.com and live television coverage will begin at 1:00 pm.on The Golf Channel.

Bulldogs Move Up To Fourth In Puerto Rico

Sophomore Sam Straka fired a 6 under 66 on Monday

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico --- The ninth-ranked Georgia men's golf team had a 10-stroke turnaround on Monday and moved up to fourth place in the Puerto Rico Classic.

On Monday on the Rio Mar Country's Club River Course, the Bulldogs fired an 8-under-par 280 to move to 6-under 570 after two rounds. Alabama and Oklahoma are the co-leaders at 19-under 557.

Sophomore Sam Straka rebounded from a first-round 12-over 84 to post a 6-under-par 66 on Monday. Sophomore Nicholas Reach followed with a 5-under 67. Juniors Keith Mitchell and Michael Cromie signed for a 1-over 73 and a 2-over 74, respectively. Senior T.J. Mitchell had the Bulldogs' non-counting score of 3-over 75.

Reach vaulted to ninth in the individual race at 3-under 141. Co-leaders Mikey Moyers of Virginia Tech and Eduardo Castillo of Oklahoma stand at 7-under 137.

Cromie moved to 1-over 145, followed by Keith Mitchell at 2-over 146, T.J. Mitchell at 3-over 147 and Straka at 6-over 150.

"I was pleased with the way we bounced back today," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "Sam and Nick each went deep and really led us. If we can get all five guys playing well at the same time, we've got a lot of potential. I am looking for a strong finish on Tuesday."

The Puerto Rico Classic will conclude on Tuesday with a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start. Pairings and live results can be found here.

Men's Golf Practice Golf Report

Georgiadogs.com talks with team members T.J. Mitchell and Michael Cromie along with coach Jim Douglas as they prepare to head to the first event of the spring in Puerto Rico.

To view the video interview, click on the link here:
http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/m-golf/spec-rel/021313aaa.html

Kirk Comes In Second In Pebble Beach

Chris Kirk

Former Georgia All-American Chris Kirk notched a second-place finish on Sunday in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Kirk closed with a 66 to finish alone in second, though he was never closer than two shots of eventual winner Brant Snedeker on the back nine and finished with a birdie. Kirk finished on 269, a score that would have been good enough to win all but four times at Pebble Beach since this tournament began in 1937.

“We’ve had a lot of tournaments like that on tour this year where somebody has really just kind of blitzed the field,” Kirk said. “I felt like I played well enough to win a golf tournament and came up a little bit short.”

Other Bulldog finishes:

Ryuji Imada, T-40

Brian Harman, T-50

Justin Bolli, cut

Erik Compton, cut

Brendon Todd, cut

Harris English, cut

Imada Off to Good Start at Pebble Beach

Ryuji Imada  during the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

Ryuji Imada is off to a good start after the first round of the AA&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am thanks to a 5 under par 65.  The 65 was good enough to put him in a tie for third, just one shot off the lead.
Former Bulldogs joining Imada in the field at the AT&T National Pro-Am, are Brian Harman, Chris Kirk, Justin Bolli, Erik Compton, and Harris English.
Harman fired a first round 68 and is in a tie for 35th, Kirk is tied for 57th at 1 under, Bolli is tied for 79th at even par, Compton is tied for 95th ad 1 over, and English is tied for 145th at 5 over par.

The second round will be played today with television coverage beginning at 3:00 on The Golf Channel.  Live scoring can be followed at www.pgatour.com