Three Bulldogs Playing In Web.com Tour Q-School Finals

Bubba Watson watches his drive during the Hero World Challenge.

• Bryden Macpherson, Scott Parel and Paul Claxton are playing this week in the Web.com Tour Q-School Finals in Palm Beach Garden, Fla.

• Harris English is paired with Matt Kuchar in the Franklin Templeton Shootout this week as they attempt to defend their 2013 title.

• Bubba Watson’s hole-out for eagle In the final round of the World Golf Championships - HSBC Champions, has been chosen by PGATour.com as the No. 1 shot of 2014. Watson drained a clutch bunker shot on the par-5 18th hole for eagle to tie the lead and followed up on the first playoff hole with a 20-foot putt for birdie to win the tournament.

• Watson was 11th and Chris Kirk was 16th in the Hero World Challenge in Windermere, Fla., last week.

Watson, Kirk Set For Hero World Challenge

Bubba Watson and Chris Kirk will be two members of the 16-man Hero World Challenge this weekend at Isleworth Golf and Country Club in Windermere, Fla.

Kirk will tee off with Billy Horschel at 11:55 a.m. Thursday, while Watson will compete at 12:25 p.m. with Rickie Fowler.

Since its inception in 1996, the Tiger Woods Foundation has raised more than $80 million to support students at every stage of their academic careers through dedicated mentors, professional development workshops and internships. Now in its 16th year, the Hero World Challenge has contributed $25 million of that alone.

Watson also used the event as a way to confirm a rumor that's been swirling around.

Claxton, Parel Reach Web.com Tour Q School Finals

Paul Claxton has joined Scott Parel in the finals of the Web.com Tour Q School. Claxton fired a 1-over 286 to come in 10th in Panama City Beach, Fla. Parel previously qualified with a 17th-place effort in Brooksville, Fla.

Adam Mitchell, Matt McQuillan, T.J. Mitchell and Michael Cromie were unable to advance from their various tournaments. Joey Garber was unable to qualify one week earlier.

The finals of the Web.com Tour Q School are set for Dec. 11-16 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

• In Winter Garden, Fla., in the 2014 Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament, Parel came in 14th. As a top-30 finisher, Parel will be eligible to compete for spots in open qualifiers at all co-sponsored events on the Champions Tour in 2015.

• Bryden Macpherson came in 11th in the BetEasy Masters on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

David Mackey Signs With Bulldogs

David Mackey

David Mackey of North Oconee High School has signed a national letter of intent with the Bulldogs, according to an announcement by Coach Chris Haack.

Mackey will become a third generation Bulldog when he joins Georgia for the 2015-16 season. His grandfather, Gary Pleger, was a letterman for the Bulldogs in 1952 and 1953 and was a member of the 1953 SEC Championship squad. His mother, Cindy Pleger Mackey, is one of the most decorated female players in Georgia history. She lettered from 1980 through 1983, garnering both All-America and All-SEC honors and earning an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. She went on to a 13-year LPGA Tour career, winning the 1986 MasterCard Invitational by 16 shots, a margin-of-victory record that still stands today.

David Mackey plays under Coach Terry Tuley at North Oconee. He led the Titans to state team titles in 2012 and 2014 and he earned state medalist honors as a freshman in 2012. Mackey was chosen as the Class AAA Player of the Year in 2014 and twice has been picked as the Athens Banner-Herald's Golfer of the Year.

"David was a freshman when my son, Charlie, was a senior at North Oconee a few years ago," Haack said. "David shot a 65 and won the state title, and that got my attention real quick. He is a great kid. He's a hard worker and he's not afraid to set lofty goals for himself. Coming from a family of Bulldogs, he knows all about the history of success at Georgia, and I can tell he wants to do whatever it takes to continue that trend. We're excited about having him join our program."

Mackey won the 2013 Southern Junior and has 10 top-10 finishes in high-tier amateur events. In 2013, he was an Honorable Mention selection on the Rolex All-America Team.

• Scott Parel has advanced to the finals of the Web.com Tour Q School with his 17th-place effort at Southern Hills Plantation in Brooksville, Fla.

Parel ended the four-round event at 7-under 281, good enough for the one of the site’s 19 qualifying positions. Joey Garber was not as fortunate in Kingwood, Texas, as he took 21st at 8-over 296 and needed a top-18 finish.

This week, Paul Claxton and Adam Mitchell are playing in Panama City Beach, Fla.; Matt McQuillan is in Murrieta, Calif.; and T.J. Mitchell and Michael Cromie are teeing it up in Plantation, Fla.

The finals are set for Dec. 11-16 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

• Parel is also competing in the Champions Tour Q School in Florida. Read about Parel's dual quest here.

• Junior Lee McCoy has accepted an invitation from the USGA’s International Team Selection Committee to participate in a practice session for the 2015 Walker Cup. The session will take place Dec. 17-20 at Frederica Golf Club on St. Simons Island, Ga. The 45th Walker Cup will be held Sept. 12-13, 2015, at Royal Lytham and St. Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England.

USA captain John “Spider” Miller, a Walker Cup competitor in 1999, emphasized that an invitation to the practice session does not guarantee selection to the 10-man team. He added that many players not included on the 16-man list for December will be in the mix during the final selection process.

“This is an insightful way to get to know these potential Walker Cup players in an informal setting and we have the opportunity to introduce them to the Match and its unique format,” Miller said. “The good people at Frederica Golf Club have offered us their fine facility to start on the process. We appreciate their hospitality.”

• Bryden Macpherson is playing this week in the Australian Masters at the Metropolitan Golf Club.

Compton, English, Harman, Swafford Playing In Mexico

Erik Compton, Harris English, Brian Harman and Hudson Swafford are competing in Mexico this week in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. English is the tournament's defending champion.

“I remember all the good golf shots I hit down the stretch (a year ago), all the good putts I made in the final round," English said. "You can feed off of that, because golf is such a mental sport. You get a lot of positive thoughts."

• Bubba Watson's win in China has the Bulldogs back on top in the Rivals Cup. The Bulldogs have earned $2.9 million this year, aided by Watson's $1.4 million payday. Georgia, of course, claimed the 2013-14 title by more than double the earnings made by Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech alums.

Bulldogs Complete Fall Schedule With Third-Place Finish In Hawaii

LAHAINA, MAUI, Hawaii — Buoyed by top-10 efforts from Lee McCoy and Nicholas Reach, the Bulldogs finished in third place on Sunday in the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational.

The Bulldogs shot a final-round 2-under 282 at the Royal Ka'anapali Course to wind up at 4-under 848. Oregon, on the strength of an NCAA-record 30-under 254 in the opening round, took the team title at 33-under 819. North Florida was second at 9-under 843.

McCoy paced the Bulldogs on Sunday as he shot a 3-under 68, while Reach signed for a 2-under 69. McCoy placed sixth individually at 5-under 208, just five back of medalists Aaron Wise of Oregon (10-under 203), and Reach took eighth at 3-under 210.

Greyson Sigg closed with an even-par 71 and finished 11th at 2-under 211. Zach Healy (3-over 74 Sunday) and Jaime Lopez Rivarola (5-over 76) wound up at 6-over 219 and 13-over 226, respectively.

The Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational was Georgia's last competition of the fall. The Bulldogs will return to action in February in the Puerto Rico Classic.

Watson Wins WGC-HSBC Champions In Thriller

Bubba Watson displays his trophy after winning on Sunday.

SHANGHAI (AP) -- Even in the midst of a meltdown, Bubba Watson never lost hope Sunday in the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions.

He stood on the 16th tee with a two-shot lead. He trudged off the 17th green facing a one-shot deficit behind five players suddenly tied for the lead. And right when it looked as though Watson had blown it, he delivered a finish that not even the creator of "Bubba Golf" could have imagined.  

From some 60 yards away in a bunker left of the green on the par-5 18th hole, Watson blasted out of the sand and watched his ball roll 25 feet before it dropped for eagle. Watson was so stunned that his eyes widened and he screamed. He didn't know what else to do. 

"You never know what he's going to do," said Rickie Fowler, who watched it all unfold at Sheshan International.

Watson closed with a 2-under 70, a score that doesn't even begin to describe his wild ride -- an eagle, birdie, par, bogey and double bogey filled his scorecard over the last five holes.

The two-time Masters champion looked like a lost cause when he stood in the bunker on the 18th in regulation, waiting his turn to play. That's when he turned to his caddie and told him, "It's been a miserable couple holes here, but this will change everything if it goes in."

Talk about a Shanghai surprise.

"You always joke about holing it," Watson said. "And then it actually went in. I didn't know how to react and so I just kind of screamed, and I lost my voice a little bit. It was one of those shots, a one-in-a-lifetime kind of shot. And so it was pretty neat."

The 10th edition of the HSBC Champions was the most memorable one yet.

Clark made a 5-foot birdie on the final hole for a 69 to join Watson at 11-under 277. Fowler's hopes of joining them ended when he tried to hit a 5-wood from 228 yards over the water to a back pin position. The ball didn't make it over the front bank and rolled back into the water. He scrambled for a par and a 70.

All three players in the final group had a chance at birdie to join the playoff.

Graeme McDowell, who led after each of the three rounds, missed a 12-foot putt and shot 73. Hiroshi Iwata of Japan, the mystery guest on a world-class leaderboard, narrowly missed from 8 feet. U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer hit a wedge that bounded off the green and into the water, leading to double bogey and a 73.

In the playoff, Clark had a 25-foot birdie putt that stopped a few inches short.

"I knew I needed to birdie that playoff, especially with him being able to reach," Clark said. "I'm pleased overall. Obviously, disappointed to be that close."

Watson wound up in the same bunker in the playoff, and while he blasted out 20 feet short, the birdie putt was on the same line as the bunker shot he holed in regulation. He knew the speed and the break. The only difference was when he holed the winning putt, he didn't have a voice to scream. He bent his knees and repeatedly pumped both arms.

Watson became the 14th player to win a major and a World Golf Championship. Watson moved to No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking, making him the highest-ranked American, and it was his seventh career PGA TOUR win. Sweeter yet, he picked up a trophy far away from home.

"Being able to win outside the U.S., I just want to be able to travel and get through the jet lag, get through all the things and still perform at a high level," Watson said. "So for me to win out here, this is very big. This is very special for me."

That the other five players even had a chance was a bonus.

Watson was 89 yards away from the 16th green when he hit a lob wedge heavy and missed the green, such a bad spot that he did well to keep his chip on the green about 20 feet away. He two-putted for bogey. Then, he found a bunker left of the green on the par-3 17th and couldn't negotiate the soft sand. Using a 56-degree wedge, he left the first shot in the sand. His next one went off the green and onto the fringe, and he two-putted for double bogey.

When the final group behind him walked onto the 16th green, they were so stunned to see a five-way tie for the lead, they asked to make sure it was accurate.

"That's why I went for the green on 16," Kaymer said. "I thought if I can make 3 there, I can square with Bubba. And I saw that he made double bogey on 17, so all of a sudden, there were five guys in the lead."

Watson at that moment appeared to be the least likely of the bunch to hold the trophy. It only made sense later when he was asked why fans find him so intriguing.

"They never know what they're going to get," he said. 

Bulldogs To Conclude Fall Schedule In Hawaii

Greyson Sigg, Zach Healy, Nicholas Reach, Lee McCoy and Jaime Lopez Rivarola in Hawaii earlier this week.

The Bulldogs will conclude the fall portion of their schedule this weekend in the Ka‘anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational.

Georgia will play Friday through Sunday on the Royal Ka‘anapali Course in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii.

Joining the Bulldogs will be Bowling Green, Cal State Northridge, Clemson, Gonzaga, Hawaii, Hawaii Hilo, Kansas, Loyola Marymount, North Carolina-Wilmington, North Florida, Oregon, Samford, UC-Irvine and Utah Valley State.

The Bulldogs will use a lineup of senior Nicholas Reach, junior Lee McCoy, sophomores Jaime Lopez Rivarola and Greyson Sigg, and freshman Zach Healy.

McCoy leads the Bulldogs with a scoring average of 68.67, with a victory and a runner-up effort in his two events. Reach is at 72.33, followed by Sigg (72.75), Healy (74.78) and Lopez Rivarola (76.33).

The Bulldogs will open play on Friday with a 2 p.m. EST shotgun start with their counterparts from Hawaii, North Carolina-Wilmington and Gonzaga.

• Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Brendon Todd and Bubba Watson are playing this week in the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China.

• Meanwhile, Kevin Kisner and Hudson Swafford are competing in the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi.

• In case you missed it, here are the final earnings from the 2013-14 PGA Tour season, according to the Rivals Cup. The Bulldogs finished with more money than No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 3 Georgia Tech combined, likely setting a standard that never will be matched again. Georgia doesn't have a win yet in 2014-15, but the Bulldogs' earnings are up there again.

• Athens was a choice for Golfweek's Greens and Gridirons earlier this fall. If you didn't see it online or in print, here is the link.

Georgia Golf Loses A Great Friend With The Passing of Eddie Sams

Eddie Sams, a 1960s Georgia golf letterman and a driving force behind the Tee-Off Club, passed away on Monday following an extended illness.

Eddie Sams (L) instructs Bill Brown.

Born and raised in Athens, Sams was a three-year letterman for Coach Howell Hollis from 1960 through 1962. He helped the Bulldogs compile an overall record of 35-9-2, including 16-0-1 mark in 1961. Sams and the Bulldogs won Southeastern Conference titles in 1961 and 1962 and posted top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championship.

Sams was a past director and vice president of the Georgia State Golf Association and a former chairman of the Southern Intercollegiate Fall Classic. Sams also served as a volunteer coach for the Bulldogs.

Eddie Sams as a Bulldog in the 1960s.

Sams worked tirelessly to help create and sustain the Tee-Off Club, the booster club for the Georgia’s men’s golf team. Sams was a longtime club president and was the chairman emeritus. The Eddie Sams Award is given annually to a patron and a letterman who make lasting contributions to the program.

“Eddie was a tremendous Bulldog throughout his life,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “He lived and breathed Georgia Golf as a player, a letterman and a coach. Eddie had a vision of how strong our program could be, and he did everything he could to make that vision come true. He was a hard-working man and he never looked for a pat on the back; he did what he did because he loved Georgia Golf. I appreciate everything that Eddie did for me personally and for our program, and I will miss him dearly. We send Sharyn, their sons and the rest of Eddie's family our deepest condolences.”

The funeral is scheduled for Thursday at 2 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Athens. Visitation will follow the funeral. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations be made to the Tee-Off Club.

Kisner, Kirk, Henley Come In Fourth In McGladrey Classic

Russell Henley blasts out of the sand on Sunday in the McGladrey Classic.

Kevin Kisner, Chris Kirk and Russell Henley paced the Bulldogs by placing in a tie for fourth place in the McGladrey Classic on the Seaside Course at Sea Island.

Kisner, Kirk and Henley each wound up at 12-under. Hudson Swafford also had a strong tournament as he took 12th at 10-under. In addition, Brian Harman was 41st at 5-under, Erik Compton and Brendon Todd were 48th at 4-under, and Harris English missed the cut.

• The Bulldogs dominated the Rivals Cup last season, and they're off to a good start again. Through the McGladrey Classic, Georgia players had earned $1,305,134. Clemson is No. 2 at $1,277,900 and Kansas State is No. 3 with 1,178,733.

Swafford leads the way with $359,214, followed by Kisner ($296,664), Kirk and Henley ($220,500), English ($102,300), Compton ($72,281), Harman ($19,600) and Todd ($14,075).

• Joey Garber, T.J. Mitchell, Adam Mitchell, Matt McQuillan and Michael Cromie have advanced to the second stage of the Web.com Tour Q-School. Garber placed 16th at Johns Creek, Ga.; T.J. Mitchell took seventh in Nebraska City, Neb.; Adam Mitchell came in 10th at Pine Mountain, Ga.; McQuillan took fifth in Beaumont, Calif.; and Cromie came in 25th in Pinehurst, N.C. The second stage tournaments will be held Nov. 11-14 and Nov. 18-21, with the finals set for Dec. 11-16 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Golfweek Profiles McGladrey Defending Champ Kirk

Chris Kirk is coming off the season of his life, having won not once, but twice in 2013-14, including the McGladrey Classic, which he’ll try to defend beginning Thursday not far from his former home in Sea Island. He earned nearly $5 million in 2013-14, missed only two cuts in 28 starts, amassed five top 10s and a dozen top 25s and was second in the final FedEx Cup standings. Golfweek writer Jeff Babineau asks, what can do Kirk for an encore?

• Speaking of the McGladrey, check out this photo of Russell Henley jamming with Darius Rucker in a pre-event concert.

• The Bulldogs finished 14th on Tuesday in the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in Windermere, Fla. The Bulldogs fired a final-round 6-over 294 to wind up at 13-over 877. Florida State claimed team honors at 37-under 827. Sepp Straka finished at 3-under 213, 10 shots in back of Vanderbilt's Hunter Stewart. Greyson Sigg wound up at 4-over 220, followed by Mookie DeMoss at 6-over 222, Zach Healy at 9-over 225 and Sam Straka at 14-over 230. The Bulldogs will conclude the fall portion of their schedule Nov. 7-9 in the Ka'anapali Collegiate Classic in Hawaii.

• Joey Garber, T.J. Mitchell and Adam Mitchell have advanced to the second round of the Web.com Tour Q-School. Garber placed 16th at Johns Creek, Ga.; T.J. Mitchell took seventh in Nebraska City, Neb.; and Adam Mitchell came in 10th at Pine Mountain, Ga. Matt McQuillan (Beaumont, Calif.) and Michael Cromie (Pinehurst, N.C.) are in contention in their events that end on Friday.

Bulldogs Ready For Tavistock Collegiate Invitational

Georgia will continue the fall portion of its schedule next week in the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in Orlando, Fla.

The tournament will be held Sunday through Tuesday at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club. The event was formerly known as the Isleworth Invitational and the Bulldogs last played in it in 2010. Georgia won the Isleworth Invitational in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008.

Haack will use a lineup of seniors Mookie DeMoss and Sam Straka, redshirt junior Sepp Straka, sophomore Greyson Sigg and freshman Zach Healy. This will mark the first time the Straka twins have been in the playing lineup at the same time in their collegiate careers. In three previous tournaments, either one or both appeared as an individual.

DeMoss is the top Bulldog in the lineup with a 72.33 scoring average. Sepp Straka is next at 72.50, followed by Sigg at 72.56 and Healy at 74.67. Sam Straka will be making his 2014-15 debut.

Joining the Bulldogs and co-hosts Central Florida and Texas Tech in the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational will be Florida State, Baylor, Florida, North Florida, Indiana, Vanderbilt, Illinois, UNLC, GRU Augusta and New Mexico.

The Bulldogs will tee off on Sunday between 8:50 and 9:30 a.m. with their counterparts from California and Arkansas. Live results can be found here.

• In the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, Harris English placed 16th at 12-under, followed by Hudson Swafford at 11-under, Erik Compton at 10-under and Kevin Kisner at 5-under.

• The McGladrey Classic on the Seaside Course at Sea Island (the site of the SEC Championship) will take place this week with a strong Bulldog feel. Defending champ Chris Kirk will be joined by English, Swafford, Compton, Kisner, Brendon Todd, Russell Henley and Brian Harman.

Swafford Places Eighth In Frys.com Open

Hudson Swafford, right, and his caddie follow his drive from the 14th tee on Sunday in the Frys.com Open.

The 2014-15 PGA Tour season is underway and Hudson Swafford already has a top-10 finish.

Swafford came in eighth at 11-under, just four shots off the pace, at the season-opening Frys.com Open at Silverado Country Club in Napa, Calif. Swafford put himself in contention Sunday with a 5-under tally of 67, which tied for low round of the day. On the front nine, he made three birdies and closed with a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 ninth.

Afterward, Swafford was asked how much more relaxed he feels with a good finish to start the season.

“Not so much relaxed; it's a confidence builder, really,” he said. “We are going into a three‑week stretch, and I like playing three weeks in a row. I feel like some of my best golf comes actually in the second week, so to start hitting the ball really well on Sunday and get myself in contention was good. I think my game handled it pretty well. It tested every bit of it this week. I’m just looking forward to the next couple weeks.”

Kevin Kisner came in 21st at 7-under, Erik Compton placed 46th at 3-under and Harris English missed the cut.

• Next up is the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. Swafford, Kisner, Compton and English are slated to participate.

• The Bulldogs will be back in action Sunday through Tuesday in the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational (formerly the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational) in Lake Nona, Fla. Check back later this week for the lineup and more details on the tournament.

• In Southhampton, Bermuda, U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in a one-hole playoff over Masters champion Bubba Watson.

Kaymer won on the first playoff hole at Port Royal by making a 10-foot birdie and then watching Watson miss his birdie putt from four feet.

"I was surprised that he missed it," Kaymer said. "Obviously, you don't want to win a golf tournament that way, but I'll take it."

Said Watson, "I hit great putts. They just didn't want to go in this week. That's how golf is sometimes."

Bulldogs Finish 10th In Nike Invite

FORT WORTH, Texas --- The No. 7-ranked Georgia men's golf team finished 10th on Tuesday in the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational.

The Bulldogs shot a final-round 15-over 295 at Colonial Country Club to wind up at 53-over 893. Team honors went to Oregon at 11-over 851.

Sophomore Greyson Sigg paced the Bulldogs on Tuesday as he fired a 2-over 72. Junior Sepp Straka signed for a 3-over 73, while sophomores Parker Derby and Jaime Lopez Rivarola each carded a 5-over 75.

Sigg finished 11th individually at 7-over 217, 15 shots in back of Oregon's Thomas Lim (202). Straka claimed 19th at 9-over 219, followed by Derby at 18-over 228 and Lopez Rivarola at 19-over 229.

The Bulldogs played without junior Lee McCoy, currently the nation's top-rated player according to Golfweek/Sagarin, as he had to withdraw early in the first round with an injury. McCoy had placed first and second individually in Georgia's season-opening events.

“We definitely didn't play our best golf this week,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “But we'll focus on the positives and we'll build on them. It's important that we get back to work and get ready for the next one.”

Georgia will return to action Oct. 17-19 in the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in Lake Nona, Fla.

• Hard to believe, but the 2014-15 PGA Tour schedule gets under way this week with the Frys.com Open in California. Erik Compton, Kevin Kisner, Harris English and Hudson Swafford will be in action.

Bulldogs To Play In Inaugural Nike Event

Parker Derby was Georgia's top player in the qualifying tournaments.

FORT WORTH, Texas --- The seventh-ranked Georgia men's golf team will continue the fall portion of its schedule by competing in the inaugural Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational this week.

The event, slated for Monday and Tuesday, will be held at Colonial Country Club, the site of the PGA Tour's Crowne Plaza Invitational.

Georgia coach Chris Haack will use a lineup of juniors Lee McCoy and Sepp Straka and sophomores Parker Derby, Jaime Lopez Rivarola and Greyson Sigg.

McCoy leads the Bulldogs with a 68.67 scoring average and he has finished second and first individually in Georgia's two fall events. Derby and Lopez Rivarola will be making their 2014-15 debuts after playing just one tournament each last season.

"This is a little different lineup for us, but these guys played well in the qualifiers and earned their spots," Haack said. "We've always thought competition is good for our players. They've had to battle their teammates and now they get to battle some really good players from across the country. This will be a good experience for our guys."

The Bulldogs and host TCU will be joined by Texas, Oklahoma, Stanford, Washington, Vanderbilt, Southern Cal, Oregon, Ohio State, Arizona and Duke. The teams will play 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday.

“With Colonial’s rich history and tradition, playing host to one of the longest running events on the PGA Tour coupled with Nike Golf’s state-of-the-art research and development facility, The Oven, (this is) the ideal place to host this inaugural tournament,” said Cricket Musch, Sports Marketing Director of College, Amateur and Junior Golf at Nike Golf. “Our partnership with Colonial and the city of Fort Worth will offer an unforgettable experience for these top college golf programs.”

The 2015 Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational will be hosted by Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club outside of Portland, Ore., and will return to Colonial Country Club in 2016.

Ryder Cup Redux, Award For McCoy, Dogs-Jackets Working Together, Bulldog Open

Bubba Watson and the Americans fell to Europe 16.5-11.5 in the Ryder Cup.

Another Ryder Cup is in the books with the United States dropping a 16.5-11.5 decision to Europe at Gleneagles.

Captain Tom Watson has been taking his share of body blows for lineup decisions since the loss. And at least one pundit is floating the notion that Georgia's Chris Haack would make a great captain for the United States in the future.

Wrote ESPN.com's Farrell Evans: "The next U.S. Ryder Cup captain needs to be a real coach, the type of person who coaches golf teams for a living. Why not reach into the college ranks and get a full-time men's golf coach? Chris Haack, the Georgia men's coach, had two of his former players on this U.S. team, Bubba Watson and (Patrick) Reed, and he had several other players in the running to qualify for the team. Come Spring, Haack leads a squad into the match-play portion of the NCAA men's championship. The PGA of America and its sponsors might require more gravitas for the face of its U.S. team than a college coach, but it might be worth it for the powers that be to consider how to learn from those who work with teams on a full-time basis."

Speaking of Bubba, he went 0-3 in his matches in the Ryder Cup.

• Lee McCoy may be the hottest golfer in the country right now. He won the DICK's Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup after finishing second in The Carmel Cup (and all of this came after a summer filled with top-10s, including medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur). Golfweek.com has been paying attention and named McCoy its Player of Week.

• Russell Henley and Chris Kirk helped keep the Georgia flag on top as they defeated Georgia Tech’s Cameron Tringale and Roberto Castro in the inaugural Cohan Cup. The match was all square through 17 holes at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Henley and Kirk each made birdie on the 18th hole, while Tringale and Castro each missed birdie putts. Final score: Georgia 62, Tech 63. The event is named in honor of former Tech golfer Adam Cohan, who was diagnosed with leukemia two years ago. His leukemia is in remission and he spends much of his time fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The foursome has been raising money for LLS and all proceeds from the event will go it.

• Congratulations to Butler Melnyk, John Tillery, Kevin Kisner and Mike Hostilo on winning the 2014 Bulldog Open. Photos from the day will be posted here soon. Thanks to everyone who contributed to making it a great day.

• Henley, Kirk, Kisner and PGA brethren Hudson Swafford, Brian Harman and Harris English were introduced along with Haack (below) during the Georgia-Tennessee game on Saturday.

McCoy Claims Medalist Honors At Collegiate Challenge Cup

Georgia junior Lee McCoy claimed medalist honors in the DICK'S Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup last weekend at the Golf Club of Tennessee.

McCoy, a junior, fired a final-round 2-under 69 to wind up at 8-under 205 for the tournament, He edged South Carolina's Will Starke by one shot.

“I honestly had no idea where I was, and I had no idea where Will was," McCoy said. "I had no idea I had won until everyone started clapping when I made that last putt. I had not a clue in the world. … This is one of my favorite golf courses we come to all year. And to win out here, it’s something special.”

The win was the second in McCoy's collegiate career and it also continues what has been a red-hot summer/fall for him. He claimed medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur and had top-10 efforts in the Canadian Amateur, the Southern Amateur and the Northeast Amateur and a top-20 in the Sunnehana Amateur.

Senior Nicholas Reach followed McCoy to finish 18th at 5-over 218. The Bulldogs wound up fifth as a team at 9-over 861.

Despite Georgia's win over Louisville, the Atlantic Coast Conference topped the Southeastern Conference in the match play portion of the event. The SEC and ACC teams went 2-2-2 against each other, but the ACC had 16.5 wins to the SEC's 13.5.

The Bulldogs got wins from Reach, McCoy and freshman Zach Healy against the Cardinals. Reach topped Gus Lundquist 2&1, McCoy defeated Robert Geibel 2&1 and Healy topped Trevor Sluman 2-up. Senior Mookie DeMoss dropped a 1-up decision to J.D. Lehman and sophomore Greyson Sigg fell to Robin Sciot-Siegrist 3&2.

In the other matches, South Carolina beat Virginia 3-2, North Carolina State defeated Texas A&M 4-1, Clemson topped Mississippi 3-1-1, and the Georgia Tech-Vanderbilt and Missouri-Duke matches ended in 2-2-1 draws.

The Bulldogs will return to action Oct. 6-7 in the Swoosh Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas.

• Congratulations are in order for Wright Waddell, who will be inducted into the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame in Columbus next spring. Waddell was an All-American for the Bulldogs in 1983 and was an All-SEC selection in 1982, 1983 and 1984. Waddell captained the Bulldogs his senior year.

• Bubba Watson and his United States teammates will begin play in the Ryder Cup in Scotland later this week. Watson is making his third Ryder Cup appearance and he boasts a 3-5-0 record.

• Chip Beck finished 40th at 7-under in the Champions Tour's Pacific Links Hawaii Championship.

• Hudson Swafford finished 39th in the Web.com Tour Finals to earn one of the 50 PGA TOUR cards for next season (which begins Oct. 9-12 at the Frys.com Open in California. Swafford came in 25th in the Web.com Tour Championship at 2-under, while Ryuji Imada missed the cut.

Bulldogs, SEC Seek To Repeat At Collegiate Challenge Cup

The No. 5-ranked Georgia men’s golf team will continue the fall portion of its schedule this weekend in the DICK’S Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup at the Golf Club of Tennessee in Kingston Springs, Tenn.

The tournament features 36 holes of stroke play on Friday and 18 holes of stroke play on Saturday to determine the medalist and the team champion. On Sunday, the six SEC and six ACC squads will square off in a match-play competition for conference honors.

Georgia claimed the team title in the inaugural event a year ago, topping Texas A&M by five shots and earning Coach Chris Haack his 50th career victory. The Bulldogs then went 5-0 in match play to help the SEC top the ACC 17-8.

The Bulldogs will use a lineup of seniors Mookie DeMoss and Nicholas Reach, junior Lee McCoy, sophomore Greyson Sigg and freshman Zach Healy.  DeMoss, Reach and McCoy were in the lineup a year ago when Georgia has its successful run in the tournament.

Georgia opened the 2014-15 season last month with a five-stroke win in The Carmel Cup in Pebble Beach, Calif. McCoy and DeMoss had top-10 efforts, while Reach and Sigg tied for 15th.

“We’re looking forward to this weekend,” Haack said. “It’s nice having some momentum right out of the gate along with the positive memories of winning there last year. That being said, we need to go in focused and ready to play. No one is going to hand us anything; we’ll have to earn it. “

Georgia will be joined this weekend by SEC counterparts Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, while Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina State and Virginia will represent the ACC.

Georgia will play the first and second rounds on Friday with Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech. The teams will tee off between 8-8:40 a.m. and 1-1:44 p.m.

Live scoring and tee times can be found at Golfstat.com and additional information is available on the tournament central page.

The tournament will be recapped in a one-hour show on ESPNU on Sunday, Oct. 12, at 2 p.m. 

Kirk Second, Watson Fifth In Final FedExCup Standings

Chris Kirk watches his shot during the TOUR Championship last weekend.

Chris Kirk and Bubba Watson finished in the Top 5 of the FedExCup Standings as the 2013-14 PGA TOUR schedule came to an end on Sunday.

Kirk came in second and Watson placed fifth as the season wrapped up at the TOUR Championship at East Lake on Sunday. Kirk placed fourth and Watson 14th in the final event of the year.

Russell Henley finished 12th in the tournament and 19th in the FedExCup Standings, while Brendon Todd came in 17th and 27th, respectively.

• Following the tournament, Watson was chosen as one of the nominees for the Jack Nicklaus Award as the PGA TOUR Player of the Year. Watson had two wins — the Masters and the Northern Trust Open — in 21 events and finished second on the money list with $6.3 million. Watson also had a career-high eight Top-10 finishes.

• Hudson Swafford came in 22nd and Ryuji Imada missed the cut in the third of four Web.com Tour Finals, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. Swafford stands 35th on the list of 50 players who make up the priority ranking order for 2014-15 on the PGA TOUR with one event remaining, the Web.com Tour Championship.

• Sophomore Jaime Lopez Rivarola helped Argentina finish fifth in the World Team Amateur Championship in Japan. Lopez Rivarola shot 9-under for the tournament as Argentina wound up five shots behind the Americans.

• The Bulldogs will return to action Friday through Sunday in the Dick's Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup in Nashville, Tenn. Georgia won the inaugural event last year and helped the SEC claim conference honors over the ACC. The Bulldogs will use a lineup of seniors Mookie DeMoss and Nicholas Reach, junior Lee McCoy, sophomore Greyson Sigg and freshman Zach Healy. The teams will play 54 holes over the first two days, followed by SEC vs. ACC match play on Sunday.

• Georgia Golf is saddened by the passing of Hugh Royer, a Bulldog letterman from 1956-58 and team captain his senior year. He was 78. Royer was a 14-year PGA TOUR player, Georgia PGA past president and longtime head professional at Bull Creek Golf Course in Columbus. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Columbus Hospice House, 7020 Moon Rd., Columbus, Ga. 31909.

• The 2014 Bulldog Open is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 26, at the UGA Golf Course.

Kirk, Watson Control Their Own Destiny; Henley, Todd Also Make The Top 29

Bubba Watson stands third in the FedExUp Standings heading into this week's TOUR Championship.

The top five players in the FedExCup Standings – including two Bulldogs -- heading into this week’s TOUR Championship control their own fate in regards to winning the FedExCup trophy and the $10 million bonus.

Georgia alums Chris Kirk and Bubba Watson are Nos. 1 and 3, respectively, while Billy Horschel is No. 2, Rory McIlroy is No. 4 and Hunter Mahan is No. 5.

The FedExCup points will now be reset to give everybody in the 29-man field an opportunity to win the FedExCup. But just the top five are guaranteed the opportunity to win the FedExCup by winning the TOUR Championship. Everybody else must have varying degrees of help to claim golf's biggest prize.

A year ago, Kirk finished 34th in points. Thanks to his win at TPC Boston, Kirk was safely inside the top five coming into this week and guaranteed his first start at East Lake.

"It's obviously what everyone is hoping for starting off the year, to be in that kind of position going into Atlanta. I couldn't be happier," Kirk said.  "It was definitely a goal of mine for this year. I'm not a big goal-setting guy, but it's something that I've wanted to do for awhile now. I'm glad I was able to pull it off."

Watson, meanwhile, is looking forward to the opportunity to capping off a season that already includes wins at the Masters and the Northern Trust Open.

"Maybe that's when I make my putts," Watson said about East Lake. "That would be nice to make them there. Ten million bucks worth of putts wouldn't be too bad."

No. 20 Russell Henley and No. 27 Brendon Todd also will tee it up at East Lake this week. Our friends at PGATour.com have come up with the Bulldogs’ best-case scenarios of winning the FedExCup:

Kirk: If he wins the TOUR Championship he wins the Cup; he has a reasonable chance of winning with a top-5 finish; and he can finish as low as 29th and still have a mathematical chance of winning.

Watson: If he wins the TOUR Championship, he wins the Cup; he has a reasonable chance of winning with a second-place finish; and he can finish as low as T-4th and still have a mathematical chance of winning.

Henley: Wins the TOUR Championship and No. 1 (Kirk) finishes in a three-way tie for 12th or worse, No. 2 (Horschel) finishes fifth or worse, No. 3 (Watson) finishes in a three-way tie for third or worse, No. 4 (McIlroy) finishes third or worse, No. 5 (Mahan) finishes in a three-way tie for second or worse, and No. 6 (Jimmy Walker) finishes T-2 or worse.

Todd: Wins the TOUR Championship and No. 1 (Kirk) finishes 23rd or worse, No. 2 (Horschel) finishes T-6 or worse, No. 3 (Watson) finishes T-4 or worse, No. 4 (McIlroy) finishes T-3 or worse, No. 5 (Mahan) finishes in a three-way tie for second or worse and No. 6 (Walker) finishes T-2 or worse.

• The first-round tee times are Todd at 11:50 a.m., Henley at 12:30 p.m., Watson at 1:50 p.m. and English at 2 p.m.

• At the BMW Championship over the weekend, Watson was the top Bulldog in second place at 12-under. English came in 31st, Kirk and Todd tied for 36th, Harman finished 43rd, Compton wound up 46th and Henley placed 59th.

• Hudson Swafford came in 10th 1t 11-under in the Web.com Tour’s Chiquita Classic in North Carolina. Ryuji Imada missed the cut. 

The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, the third of the four Web.com Tour Finals, will take place this week. Swafford sits 20th in the Finals and needs to finish in the top 25 to retain his PGA TOUR card for next season.

• In the Champions Tour’s Quebec Championship, Chip Beck finished 49th at 1-under.

Kirk Not On Ryder Cup Team, But He Will Be Between The Hedges!

Chris Kirk was not one of Tom Watson's captain's picks for the United States Ryder Cup Team on Tuesday, but he still has plans for that weekend, according to his Twitter account.

Several Bulldogs from the PGA TOUR, including Kirk, are expected to be in Athens the weekend of Sept. 26-27 for the Tee-Off Club's Bulldog Open and the Georgia-Tennessee football game. The Ryder Cup will take place the same weekend at Gleneagles.

Watson selected Keegan Bradley, Hunter Mahan and Webb Simpson to complete an American team that will try to end two decades of European dominance in the Ryder Cup. (By the way, is it just us or does Simpson bear a striking resemblance to Kirk?)

Kirk, who has never played in a Ryder Cup, finished ahead of Simpson in the standings and has won twice this year, including last week's FedEx Cup playoff event.

The Bulldogs still will be represented on the U.S. Ryder Cup Team as Bubba Watson will participate.

Kirk Makes Bid For Ryder Cup Team With Win At Deutsche Bank Championship

Chris Kirk holds the trophy after winning the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday.

NORTON, Mass. -- Chris Kirk picked up the biggest win of his career with a two-stroke victory Monday at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Just how big he’ll have to wait to see.

But that’s a story for Tuesday night when Tom Watson makes his captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup.

In the meantime, Kirk was happy with moving to the top of the FedExCup standings and earning a spot in the season-ending TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, where the Atlanta native will have a chance to play for $10 million and his first FedExCup title.

“I'm still just in such shock that I actually won this tournament,” Kirk said. “It's going to take me a little while to figure that out.”

A dozen birdies -- including five on Monday -- and no bogeys over the final 36 holes at TPC Boston certainly helped.

So apparently did playing alongside Rory McIlroy a day earlier. Kirk fed off the environment and matched the world’s top-ranked player shot for shot.

On Monday, Kirk held McIlroy, and everybody else, off with more mistake-free golf.

“Being in the group with (McIlroy) and watching him play so great (Sunday) … and just the huge crowds that go along with that, it's really just kind of heightens your focus a little bit,” Kirk said. “That's something that I do struggle with every now and then, really getting myself into it and getting focused, playing how many tournaments we play every year, every single shot, it's hard to get to that extreme level of focus where you don't even see anything around you or hear anything.”

It was quite a turnaround from earlier in the week.

Ten shots behind after the opening round, Kirk was so disgusted he skipped his usual practice session.

But by the time he got to Monday he had rounded into form. Kirk made two birdies and a clutch 15-footer for par over his final nine holes to stay in front.

As for whether he makes the Ryder Cup?

“I would absolutely love to do it,” he said. “But I'm not going to really base how happy I am with how I'm playing, or how my year has gone, on whether I make the team or not.”

• All seven Bulldogs in the field at the Deutsche Bank Championship remained in the top 70 in the FedExCup standings and will move on to this week's BMW Championship in Colorado. The new standings are No. 1 Kirk, No. 6 Bubba Watson, No. 14 Russell Henley, No. 25 Brendon Todd, No. 31 Harris English, No. 33 Brian Harman and No. 62 Erik Compton. The top 30 after the BMW Championship will advance to TOUR Championship.

Henley came in second to Kirk at the Deutsche Bank Championship, just two shots back.

• Hudson Swafford and Ryuji Imada missed the cut in the Hotel Fitness Championship, the first leg of the Web.com Tour Finals. They will play this week in the Chiquita Classic in North Carolina.

Bulldogs Claim The Carmel Cup

The Bulldogs celebrate after winning The Carmel Cup at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Sunday.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. --- The No. 5-ranked Georgia Bulldogs claimed first place on Sunday in The Carmel Cup at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

The Bulldogs went wire-to-wire atop the leaderboard at the season-opening event. Georgia finished at 17-under 1,063, including a final-round 7-under 353, for a 5-stroke victory over Vanderbilt.

Lee McCoy came in second at 9-under 207, two shots shy of Vanderbilt's Hunter Stewart. Mookie DeMoss placed eighth at 4-under 212, while Nicholas Reach, Greyson Sigg and Sepp Straka came in 15th at even-par 216, and Zach Healy wound up 46th at 10-over 226.

"It's a long season of course, but to win right out of the gate does a lot for us," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "Anytime you get to hold the trophy on the last day, it's a shot in the arm for your confidence. Our guys played well all summer and they were steady in this tournament. We can build on this as we move forward."

The Bulldogs will return to action Sept. 19-21 in the Dick's Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup in Nashville, Tenn. Georgia is the tournament's defending champion.

Bulldogs To Open Season At Pebble Beach

Sepp Straka returns to the Georgia lineup after redshirting in 2013-14.

The Georgia men’s golf team will kick off the fall portion of the 2014-15 schedule this weekend in The Carmel Cup in Pebble Beach, Calif.

The Bulldogs, who were 11th at the 2014 NCAA Championships just three months ago, will begin the season with 54 holes on the Pebble Beach Links Friday through Sunday. Joining the Bulldogs will be SEC counterparts South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Arkansas along with Big 12 teams Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech. Tee times and live scoring can be found at GolfStat.com.

Coach Chris Haack will open his 19th season in Athens with a lineup of senior captain Mookie DeMoss, senior Nicholas Reach, redshirt junior Sepp Straka, junior Lee McCoy, sophomore Greyson Sigg and freshman Zach Healy. The tournament format consists of six players with five counting (as opposed to the typical five players with four counting).

McCoy earned All-America and All-SEC honors a year ago as he posted a scoring average of 71.34 — second-best on the team. Reach ranked fourth with a scoring average of 72.70, Sigg was sixth at 73.07 and DeMoss was seventh at 73.50. Straka redshirted last season, while Healy will be making his Georgia debut. The Bulldogs won four events last season and their lone finish outside the top 10 was the 11th-place effort at the NCAAs.

This is the earliest the Bulldogs have ever opened the fall portion of their schedule. But this is the final year of The Carmel Cup and playing at Pebble Beach was an opportunity they did not want to pass up.

“The start of the season is always exciting and it’s even more exciting this year because we get to do it at Pebble Beach,” Haack said. “This is a world-class facility, one of the most famous in golf, so it’s an honor to get to participate. I’m also excited about seeing the way our team performs. It’s a new year, so we have to create our team identity and begin the process of building toward championships. The six guys played well in qualifying and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do in this tournament.”

The Bulldogs will begin play at 1 p.m. on Friday with their counterparts from Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.

• The Bulldogs are No. 5 in the initial GCAA Coaches Preseason Poll released on Thursday. Alabama and Oklahoma State shared the top spot, followed by No. 3 Georgia Tech and No. 4 Texas. Other SEC teams in the rankings include No. 9 LSU, No. 12 South Carolina, No. 16 Vanderbilt, No. 21 Auburn, No. 22 Arkansas

Seven Bulldogs Advance In FedExCup Playoffs

Erik Compton's 19th-place finish at The Barclays moved him up 15 spots in the FedExCup Playoffs standings.

(Check back later this week for details on Georgia's season-opening tournament in California.)

Seven Bulldogs advanced through the first round of the FedExCup Playoffs this weekend.

Following play at The Barclays, No. 5 Bubba Watson, No. 17 Chris Kirk, No. 18 Brendon Todd, No. 25 Harris English, No. 27 Brian Harman, No. 50 Erik Compton and No. 62 Russell Henley remained among the top 100 players. Kevin Kisner, at No. 104, was eliminated.

The Playoffs will continue this week in the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass. Afterward, the top 70 will move on to the BMW Championship, followed by the final 30 in the Tour Championship.

At The Barclays, Compton was the top Bulldog in 19th at 6-under. Watson came in 30th at 4-under, Todd placed 46th at 2-under, Kirk was 53rd at 1-under, Harman finished 57th at even par, and Henley checked in 61st at 1-over, while Kisner and English missed the cut.

Compton’s effort was critical to his Playoffs success as the 2014 U.S. Open runner-up jumped 15 spots (from 65 to 50) in the standings.

• In the Web.com Tour’s WinCo Foods Portland Open, Justin Bolli, Paul Claxton, Joey Garber and Scott Parel missed the cut.

• Hudson Swafford and Ryuji Imada will play this week in the Hotel Fitness Championship in Indiana as the Web.com Tour Finals brings together the top 75 players on the Web.com Tour regular-season money list and Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour FedExCup standings (Swafford was 146th, Imada was 195th). The Web.com Tour Finals is a four-event series to determine the final 25 Tour cards for 2014-15 earned through the Web.com Tour. The top 25 on the Web.com Tour money list have already secured Tour status, but will be striving to improve their position.

Eight Bulldogs Qualify For FedExCup Playoffs

Four weeks. Four tournaments. Eight Bulldogs. One survivor. $67 million on the line.

The 2013-14 FedExCup Playoffs begin this week with The Barclays at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey before heading to Boston, then Denver and finally to Atlanta. Along the way, the field of 125 eligible players will be whittled to 30 for the finale, the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola the week of Sept. 8.

Each tournament will produce a winner, but it's the FedExCup points race that provides the next four weeks with its special allure. The player who leads in points after the TOUR Championship will be crowned the FedExCup champion, ending the season-long chase that started nearly a year ago at the Frys.com Open.

Incidentally, the FedExCup winner receives a $10 million bonus that comes from a pool of $35 million in FedExCup bonus money. With the four Playoffs events offering a combined purse of $32 million, let's just say there's a lot at stake during the next four weeks.

How do the FedExCup Playoffs work? Start with the top 125 players in points during the FedExCup season -- which includes No. 3 Bubba Watson, No. 10 Chris Kirk, No. 12 Brendon Todd, No. 17 Harris English, No. 21 Brian Harman, No. 50 Russell Henley, No. 65 Erik Compton and No. 93 Kevin Kisner.

The list is reduced to 100 for the Deutsche Bank Championship, then 70 for the BMW Championship, then 30 for the Playoffs finale, the TOUR Championship.

Going into East Lake, the points are reset to give every player a mathematical shot at winning the FedExCup. But only the top five in points control their own destiny. If any of the top five wins the TOUR Championship, then he automatically wins the FedExCup. Everyone else needs varying degrees of help.

McCoy, DeMoss, Healy Eliminated From U.S. Amateur

Georgia’s three participants in the match play portion of the United States Amateur Championship were eliminated on Wednesday.

Lee McCoy, the No. 1 seed after sharing co-medalist honors in stroke play, fell on the 19th hole to Pittsburgh, Pa., native Nathan Smith. Smith, the last player to make the 64-man match play field, is a four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and is a three-time Walker Cup Team member.

Playing in his 14th U.S. Amateur, Smith squared the match with a birdie on the water-fronted par-3 17th hole and converted a critical up-and-down for par on the 18th. Smith won in 19 holes by sinking a 3½–foot par-saving putt.

“I saw the list and I saw four-time Mid-Am winner and a guy that's played in the Masters four times, and I was like, ‘I get to play the grizzled veteran in the first round. Fantastic,’” McCoy said. “I don't think he had his best stuff today and neither did I. I didn't play nearly as well as I did the last two days. He made some incredible up-and-downs and he just scored unbelievably well, like a veteran would.”

Cheng-Tsung Pan, a two-time U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist from Chinese Taipei, defeated freshman Zach Healy 4&2. Senior Mookie DeMoss fell to Roman Robledo of Harlingen, Texas, 1-up.

• Five Bulldogs will be playing this week in the Wyndham Championship: Ryuji Imada, Kevin Kisner, Hudson Swafford, Brian Harman and Justin Bolli. The Wyndham Championship, is the Tour's final stop before the start of the FedExCup Playoffs. Swafford is No. 142 and likely needs a top-7 finish this week to make the playoffs, while Imada and Bolli would need to win the tournament. Kisner and Harman are safely in.

• Paul Claxton and Scott Parel will tee it up in the Web.com Tour's News Sentinel Open.

• Bubba Watson finished first in the points race, which closed after the PGA Championship at Valhalla, and will be one of the nine players representing the United States in the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. Watson is 3-5 in his previous two Ryder Cup appearances. U.S. captain Tom Watson will select three more captain's picks next month to bring the total to 12. Brendon Todd (12th in points) and Chris Kirk (14th) are in contention.

McCoy, DeMoss, Healy Advance To U.S. Amateur Match Play

Lee McCoy high fives his caddie after a shot on the 16th hole during the second round of
stroke play at the 2014 U.S. Amateur on Tuesday. (Copyright USGA/John Mummert)

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. --- Three Georgia golfers have advanced to the match play portion of the United States Amateur Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

Junior Lee McCoy finished tied for first in stroke play at 8-under 135, senior Mookie DeMoss tied for 14th at 3-under 140, while freshman Zach Healy tied for 61st at 2-over 145. Former Georgia golfers Butler Melnyk (5-over) and Keith Mitchell (11-over) missed the cut.

“I couldn't be any happier,” said McCoy of sharing the medal. “Well, I guess I could be. I'd like to be holding the trophy at the end of the week but that being said, it is a long week. It's great to be a high seed going into the weekend, but you know, main goal is still in check. I am still trying to get that trophy.”

McCoy, the 2012 Georgia High School Player of the Year at Habersham Central who is playing in his first U.S. Amateur, was buoyed by local support.

“Oh, it's awesome,” he said. “I got so many ‘Go Dogs’ out there on the golf course today it was unbelievable. It's awesome to be so close to home, and I've got plenty of friends and family out here to support me this week.”

McCoy, the No. 1 seed, will take on 64th seed Nathan Smith of Pittsburgh, Pa., at 2:10 p.m. Wednesday in match play. DeMoss, the No. 19 seed, will face No. 46 Roman Robledo of Harlingen, Texas, at 12:50 p.m. Healy survived a 17-for-4 playoff Wednesday morning to snare the No. 62 seed and he will take on Cheng-Tsung Pan of Chinese Taipei at 1:50 p.m.

First-round matches will be aired on the Golf Channel Wednesday from 4-6 p.m.

Seven Bulldogs Set For PGA Championship

Bubba Watson is one of the seven Bulldogs in this week's PGA Championship.

Seven Bulldogs are in the field for this week's PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Course in Louisville, Ky.

Erik Compton, Harris English, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Brendon Todd and Bubba Watson will tee it up in the final major of the season.

Here their first- and second-round tee times and pairings:

Thursday (Hole 1)-Friday (Hole 10)

8 a.m.-1:10 p.m. — Brian Stuard, United States, Brendon Todd, United States; Pablo Larrazabal, Spain.

8:40 a.m.-1:50 p.m. — K.J. Choi, South Korea; Thongchai Jaidee, Thailand; Brian Harman, United States.

8:50 a.m.-2 p.m. — Thomas Bjorn, Denmark; Kevin Stadler, United States; Harris English, United States.

1:05 p.m.-7:55 a.m. — Jonas Blixt, Sweden; Webb Simpson, United States; Erik Compton, United States.

1:45 p.m.-8:35 a.m. — Bubba Watson, United States; Martin Kaymer, Germany; Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland.

Thursday (Hole 10)-Friday (Hole 1)

9:25 a.m.-2:35 p.m. — Russell Henley, United States; David McNabb, United States; Marc Warren, Scotland.

2 p.m.-8:50 a.m. — Chris Kirk, United States; Matt Jones, Australia; Seung-yul Noh, South Korea.

• Just a reminder that there will be five Bulldogs in the United States Amateur Championship next week at the Atlanta Athletic Club's Highlands Course in John's Creek. Rising senior Mookie DeMoss, rising junior Lee McCoy and incoming freshman Zach Healy and former Bulldogs Butler Melnyk and Keith Mitchell have qualified for the event, which will run Monday through Sunday. Vinny Giles is the only Bulldog to win the U.S. Am, accomplishing the feat in 1972.

Here are their tee times and pairings for the opening rounds:

Monday, Aug 11: Highlands Course, hole #1; Tuesday, Aug. 12: Riverside Course, hole #10

8:05 a.m. – 1:10 p.m. – Jonathan Woo, Singapore; Brandon McIver, Billings, Mont.; Keith Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn.

Monday, Aug 11: Highlands Course, hole #10; Tuesday, Aug. 12: Riverside Course, hole #1

2:30 p.m. – 9:25 a.m. – Keegan Boone, Bethesda, Md.; Joseph Gullion, Humble, Texas; Mookie DeMoss, Athens, Ga.

Monday, Aug 11: Riverside Course, hole #1; Tuesday, Aug. 12: Highlands Course, hole #10

9:45 a.m. – 2:50 p.m. – Lee McCoy, Athens, Ga.; Joey Petronio, Orlando, Fla.; Brandon Baumgarten, Granite Bay, Calif.

Monday, Aug. 11: Riverside Course, hole #10; Tuesday, Aug. 12: Highlands Course, hole #1

1:30 p.m. – 8:25 a.m. – Zach Healy, Peachtree Corners, Ga.; Andrew Chapman, Traverse City, Mich.; J. D. Lehman, Bluffton, S.C.

1:50 p.m. – 8:45 a.m. – Henry Shimp, Charlotte, N.C.; Butler Melnyk, Saint Simons Island, Ga.; Tanner McKinney, Farmington, Mo.

• English was the top Bulldog in the World Golf Championships/Bridgestone Invitational. He finished 31st at 1-under. Watson took 37th at even par, followed by Kirk and Henley in 41st at 1-over, Todd in 45th at 3-over, and Harman in 65th at 13-over.

• In the Barracuda Championship in Nevada, Hudson Swafford came in 12th with 33 points in the modified Stableford scoring system. Ryuji Imada placed 61st with 16 points and Justin Bolli missed the cut.

• Watson is still No. 2 in the FedExCup Standings, followed by No. 10 Kirk, No. 12 Todd and No. 20 Harman.

• Watson is the overall money leader with just over $5.1 million (a scant $765 more than No. 2 Rory McIlroy). Todd is 14th, Kirk is 16th, English is 19th and Harman is 26th. The Bulldogs are also continuing to dominate the Rivals Cup with $21.3 million in earnings, more than double No. Georgia Tech's $10.1 million.

• In the Web.com Tour's Stonebrae Classic in California last week, Scott Parel, Paul Claxton, Adam Mitchell and Joey Garber missed the cut.

• Chip Beck came in 71st at 1-over in the Champions Tour's 3M Championship in Minnesota.

• McCoy is participating this week in the 110th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship at Elmhurst Golf and Country Club and Southwood Golf and Country Club.

• Georgia's 2014-15 schedule will be released soon. The Bulldogs will open the season Aug. 30-Sept. 1 in the Carmel Cup in Pebble Beach, Calif.