Four Bulldogs Qualify For United States Am; Odom Named Coach At Western Carolina

Nicholas Reach has qualified for the United States Amateur.

Four members of the Georgia men's golf team have qualified for the United States Amateur.

Rising senior Michael Cromie, rising juniors Nicholas Reach and Sam Straka, and incoming freshman Greyson Sigg advanced from regional qualifying tournaments that concluded this week. 

The U.S. Amateur is slated for Aug. 12-18 in Massachusetts at The Country Club in Brookline and the Charles River Country Club in Newton Centre.

Cary, N.C., native Cromie tied for the top spot at the Country Club of Whispering Pines in North Carolina with a total of 138.

Reach, a native of Moscow, Pa., placed second in the event held at Cane Brook Country Club in Summitt, New Jersey, firing 137. 

Sigg, a native of Augusta, won the qualifier held at the Athens Country Club with a two-round total of 135. Straka, who hails from Valdosta, came in second, two shots back at 137.

Reach (2012) and Cromie (2011) will be playing in the U.S. Amateur for the second time, while Sigg and Straka will be making their first appearances. Said Reach, "The U.S. Amateur is a different feeling than any other tournament I've played. What I learned last year is going to help me tremendously this year."

• Former Georgia All-American Bryant Odom has been named the head coach at Western Carolina. Odom spent the last two seasons as the assistant coach at Wisconsin.

"I could not be more excited about the opportunity ahead of me at Western Carolina," said Odom. "My sincerest thanks go to Coach (Michael) Burcin who trusted me as his assistant over the past two years in Madison. I learned a great deal from him and will always be grateful for my experience at the University of Wisconsin. Looking ahead at Western Carolina, there is great potential because of the strength of current players, vision within the athletic department and support from the Cullowhee area. This region is also full of talented prospects. Abbi and I fell in love with Cullowhee on our initial visit and can't wait to settle into the community."

Odom played for the Bulldogs from 1999 through 2002, winning SEC medalist honors and All-America honors in 2001. He also served as a graduate assistant for Coach Chris Haack in 2009 and 2010.

Odom is married to the former Abbi Francis, who was a two-year letter winner for the Georgia women's golf team.

• The PGA TOUR stop this week is the Reno-Tahoe Open in Nevada. Justin Bolli, Ryuji Imada, Brendon Todd and Brian Harman are in the field.

• At last weekend's RBC Canadian Open, Chris Kirk and Bubba Watson came in 21st at 8-under, while Erik Compton, Harman and Bolli missed the cut.

• The Web.com Tour event this week is the Mylan Classic in Pennsylvania. Paul Claxton, Hudson Swafford, Kevin Kisner, Ryuji Imada and Richard Scott are slated to compete. Kisner won the Mylan Classic in 2010 for his first Web.com Tour win.

• At last weekend's Albertsons Boise Open, Claxton paced the Bulldogs as he finished 31st at 15-under. Scott finished 14-under for 33rd and Imada was 11-under for 53rd. Scott Parel, Swafford and Kisner missed the cut.

• Georgia remains in second place in the Rivals Cup standings for both the PGA TOUR and the Web.com Tour. Following last weekend's action on the PGA TOUR, Georgia Tech has 5,450 FedExCup points, while the Bulldogs have 5,053. Using the Web.com Tour's money list, Pepperdine is first with $651,206 and Georgia is next with $598,518.

• The 2013 Bulldog Open is slated for Friday, Sept. 6, at the UGA Golf Course. Call (706) 369-6066 for information on fielding a team and/or becoming a sponsor.

• UGA graduate Tony Parker has an interesting job in Scotland. Read about it here.

• A reminder that this is YOUR blog. If you have any news you want to share, please do so by emailing Denise Saliba (dsaliba@sports.uga.edu).

Henley, Watson Are Top Dogs At Greenbrier

Russell Henley hits out of the sand on No. 17 during the third round of the Greenbrier Classic Saturday.

Russell Henley and Bubba Watson tied for 30th at the Greenbrier Classic on Sunday to wind up as the top Bulldogs in the field.

Henley and Watson each wound up at 5-under for the tournament. Brian Harman placed 65th at 1-over, while Erik Compton and Justin Bolli missed the cut.

The PGA TOUR stops this week at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill. Bolli, Compton, Harris English, Harman, Chris Kirk and Brendon Todd are in the field.

• The Web.com Tour resumes its schedule with the Utah Championship in Sandy, Utah. Scheduled to participate are Paul Claxton, Ryuji Imada, Kevin Kisner, Scott Parel, Richard Scott and Hudson Swafford.

Jaime Lopez Rivarola

• Jaime Lopez Rivarola, a native of Argentina, has signed a national letter of intent with the Bulldogs. Lopez Rivarola is a graduate of St. John's High School in Pilar, Buenos Aires. He has been ranked first in the Under-18 rankings for Argentina for each of the past two years after placing fifth the year before. Lopez Rivarola has represented Argentina in amateur and junior tournaments in international competitions. In the past year, Lopez Rivarola has competed in tournaments in his native Argentina as well as the United States, Colombia, Venezuela, South Africa, Paraguay and England. Lopez Rivarola is scheduled to play later this month in the Cardinal Amateur in North Carolina and the Porter Cup and the U.S. Amateur qualifier in New York before arriving in Athens. Lopez Rivarola rounds out an incoming freshman class that includes Parker Derby of Columbus, Greyson Sigg of Augusta and Branson Davis of McKinney, Texas.

• The Rivals Cup not only has PGA TOUR standings but it now has added Web.com Tour standings. Heading into the John Deere Classic, the Bulldogs remain in second place behind Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have 4,755 FedExCup points, while the Bulldogs have 4,659. Using the Web.com Tour's money list, Pepperdine is first with $635,696 and Georgia is second with $551,627.

Todd Steps Up At AT&T National

Brendon Todd got into the AT&T National when Justin Rose withdrew.

Brendon Todd made the most of his opportunity at the AT&T National.

On Sunday, Todd, the winner of the Web.com Tour's Stadion Classic at UGA in Athens earlier this year, came in 13th in the AT&T National on Sunday at Congressional in Bethesda, Md., to wind up as the top Bulldog in the field.

Todd secured a berth in the tournament when U.S. Open champion Justin Rose withdrew. Todd was the event's first alternate and he earned more than $125,000.

Russell Henley, Harris English and Erik Compton were 34th at 1-over, while Justin Bolli, Chris Kirk and Brian Harman missed the cut.

• This week's PGA TOUR stop is the Greenbrier Classic in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Bolli, Compton, Harman, Henley and Bubba Watson are in the field with Todd listed as an alternate.

• In the Web.com Tour's United Leasing Championship in Newburgh, Ind., Richard Scott was 31st at even par, Ryuji Imada came in 42nd at 2-over, while Paul Claxton, Hudson Swafford and Kevin Kisner missed the cut. The Web.com Tour takes this week off.

• Rising senior Joey Garber was the top Bulldog in the Dogwood Amateur as he placed 10th at 10-under. He was followed by rising senior Keith Mitchell (15th, 9-under), signee Greyson Sigg (24th, 6-under) and signee Branson Davis (35th, 2-under).

• In The Rivals Cup race, Georgia and Georgia Tech are in the midst of a battle worthy of a Saturday in late November. The Bulldogs dropped back to No. 2 in this week's rankings with 4,578 points, with Tech taking over at No. 1 with 4,629. Both teams have two wins -- Henley and English for the Bulldogs and both by Matt Kuchar for the Yellow Jackets. Georgia has had nine formers earn FedEx Cup points this year while Georgia Tech has had eight.

• Did you know? The only other time two Bulldogs won on the PGA TOUR in the same year was 1990 when Chip Beck won the Buick Open and Tim Simpson took the Oldsmobile Classic.