Cromie, Bulldogs Record Victories At Linger Longer Invitational

Michael Cromie topped Alabama's Robby Shelton in a one-hole playoff to win the Linger Longer Invitational.

Led by medalist Michael Cromie, the No. 5-ranked Georgia men's golf team won the Linger Longer Invitational at Great Waters.

The Bulldogs notched a 10-shot win over No. 1-ranked Alabama as they were the only team under par in the final round. Georgia shot 7-under 281 Sunday to wind up at 27-under 837. Heading into the final round, Georgia and Alabama were tied at 20-under.

Cromie paced the Bulldogs as they put all five players in the top 13. The senior fired a 3-under 69 on Sunday to finish at 9-under 207. Cromie and Alabama's Robby Shelton completed 72 holes at 9-under, then Cromie won a one-hole playoff by making birdie on No. 18. Cromie earned medalist honors for the second time in his career.

Joey Garber and Lee McCoy finished third at 6-under 210, Keith Mitchell came in 10th at 2-under 214 and Nicholas Reach was 13th at 1-under 215.

Playing as an individual, freshman Greyson Sigg came in seventh at 3-under 213, including a 2-over 74 in the final round. Also as individuals, Sam Straka wound up at 6-over 222 with a final-round 3-over 75 and Mookie DeMoss finished at 11-over 227 with a 6-over 78 on Sunday.

"To say this was a good weekend would be an understatement," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "The guys really played sold golf from start to finish. We're not that far away from the championship portion of the schedule, so to get a win this late is a boost to our confidence. I couldn't be happier for Michael. He's been a great senior leader this season and a great Bulldog his entire career. It's great to see him pick up a win like this to validate all the hard work he puts in."

The win was the first of the spring and the second of the season for the Bulldogs.

• The PGA TOUR stop this week is the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, Texas. Erik Compton, Brian Harman, Kevin Kisner, Hudson Swafford and Kevin Kisner are scheduled to participate.

• At last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Compton finished fifth at 9-under. Harris English was 14th at 5-under and Chris Kirk took 60th at 3-over. Harman, Swafford, Russell Henley and Brendon Todd missed the cut.

• The Web.com Tour will be at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open Presented by NACHER in Brousard, La. Justin Bolli, Ryuji Imada and Scott Parel are in the field.

• At last week's Panama Claro Championship, Bolli was 30th at even par and Parel was 47th at 2-over. Imada and Paul Claxton missed the cut.

Bulldogs To Tee It Up Close To Home In Linger Longer Invitational

The Georgia Bulldogs will return to action this weekend in the Linger Longer Invitational at Great Waters and Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Ga.

The Bulldogs and the other 14 schools in the field will play 36 holes on Saturday and 18 holes on Sunday. The first and third rounds will begin at 8:30 a.m.

Joining the Bulldogs and co-hosts Kennesaw State and Mercer in the event will be Alabama, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Clemson, Furman, Liberty, Michigan State, North Florida, Oklahoma, South Alabama, Southern Mississippi and Yale.

The Bulldogs' lineup will be determined by qualifying rounds that go through Wednesday. Georgia will have its traditional five players along with three individuals.

Georgia has won the Linger Longer Invitational three times (2006, 2007, 2009) and boasted the medalist in Chris Kirk in 2007.

• The PGA TOUR stop this week is the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Erik Compton, Harris English, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Kirk, Brendon Todd and Bubba Watson are in the field, and Hudson Swafford is an alternate.

• At the Valspar Championship last weekend, Harman was the top Bulldog in 25th at 1-over. Compton took 32nd at 2-over, while English was 38th at 3-over, Todd was 44th at 4-over and Kevin Kisner missed the cut.

• The updated FedExCup standings have Watson in fourth, English in fifth, Kirk in sixth and Henley in 19th.

• The Web.com Tour will be at the Panama Claro Championship this week. Justin Bolli, Ryuji Imada and Scott Parel will participate and Paul Claxton is an alternate.

• At last week's Brasil Champions Presented by HSBC, Parel was 41st at 8-under and Claxton missed the cut.

• On the Champions Tour's Toshiba Classic, Chip Beck came in 32nd at 7-under.

Bulldogs Dominating Rivals Cup Standings

Bubba Watson and his caddie Ted Scott look on during the Cadillac Championship on Sunday.

Georgia continues to dominate the Rivals Cup standings.

After last weekend's World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship and the Puerto Rico Open, the Bulldogs have earned $10.5 million on the PGA TOUR this season. That is almost triple the amount rolled up by second-place Baylor ($3.86 million) and third-place Georgia Tech ($3.82 million).

Bubba Watson, Harris English and Chris Kirk all have eclipsed $2 million in earnings this season, while Russell Henley has picked up more than $1 million. Brian Harman, Brendon Todd, Hudson Swafford, Erik Compton, Kevin Kisner and Ryuji Imada also have cashed PGA TOUR paychecks this year.

The Rivals Cup promotes the collegiate affiliations of professional athletes by ranking the NCAA programs that are having the greatest impact in professional sports.

• The Bulldogs also are making a splash in the FedExCup Standings. Watson is fourth, English is fifth, Kirk is sixth and Henley is 16th.

• Watson was the runner-up at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship at 3-under. English came in 16th at 4-over, while Kirk was 40th at 7-over and Henley was 47th at 10-over.

• In the Puerto Rico Open, Swafford and Imada were 43rd at 7-under, while Kisner was 49th at 6-under and Justin Bolli missed the cut.

• The PGA TOUR stop this week is the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead) in Palm Harbor, Fla. Compton, English, Harman and Todd are in the field, while Bolli, Imada, Kisner and Swafford are listed as alternates.

• In the Web.com Tour's Chile Classic, Paul Claxton came in 34th at 8-under. Scott Parel missed the cut.

• This week, the Web.com Tour will be at the Brasil Champions in Sao Paulo. Claxton and Parel are scheduled to participate.

• The No. 5 Bulldogs came in sixth in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters. Joey Garber finished 17th individually with a total of 7-over 223. Michael Cromie wound up at 9-over 225, while Lee McCoy and Keith Mitchell finished at 12-over 228, and Greyson Sigg came in at 18-over 234. The Bulldogs will return to action March 22-23 in the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro, Ga.

Henley Wins Honda Classic In Playoff

Russell Henley is all smiles as he hoists the Honda Classic trophy on Sunday.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Russell Henley made good on his second chance at the 18th hole Sunday and won the Honda Classic after a wild day that ended with a four-man playoff.

Henley was in a three-way tie for the lead, 40 yards left of the flag on the par-5 18th in regulation, when he chunked a chip so badly that it only got halfway to the hole. He had to two-putt for par, and then watched as Rory McIlroy nearly made a great escape from an otherwise bad afternoon. McIlroy, who lost a two-shot lead, hit a 5-wood from 236 yards to just inside 12 feet for an eagle and the win. It narrowly slid by on the right.

In the playoff, Henley was the only player to reach the 549-yard hole in two, and he two-putted from about 40 feet for birdie. Ryan Palmer missed a 10-foot birdie putt. McIlroy went from the back bunker to the front collar and had to scramble for par, and Russell Knox laid up and missed a 20-foot birdie attempt. They all finished at 8-under 272.

"This isn't going to sink in for a while," Henley said.

Henley, who closed with a 72, won for the second time and qualified for the Masters. He also moves into the top 50 in the world ranking, making him eligible for the Cadillac Championship next week at Doral.

Henley is the fourth Bulldog to win on the PGA TOUR this year, joining Chris Kirk (The McGladrey Classic), Harris English (OHL Classic at Mayakoba) and Bubba Watson (Northern Trust Open). 

Palmer missed a 5-foot par in regulation that would have won it. He closed with a 69, the only player in the last six groups to break par. Knox needed a birdie on the last hole, but he went from the fairway bunker to the rough, well over the green and then calmly made a par putt just inside 10 feet for a 71 to get in the playoff.

It was the first playoff at PGA National since 2007, which also featured four players.

Henley tied for the lead by chipping in for birdie on the 14th, only to deposit his tee shot on the par-3 15th into the water for double bogey. Palmer missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole, which wasn't nearly as damaging as the par putts he missed from eight feet on the 16th and five feet on the 18th.

Knox fell out of a brief share of the lead when he tried to play from the right rough on the 14th and had his shot carom into the water for a double bogey.

Kirk was 12th at 4-under, while Brian Harman was 58th at 2-over and Hudson Swafford was 61st at 3-over. Erik Compton and Brendon Todd missed the cut.

• Henley's win earned him a berth in this week's World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral in Miami. English, Kirk and Watson are slated to play as well.

• In addition, Justin Bolli, Ryuji Imada, Kevin Kisner and Swafford are in the field for the Puerto Rico Open at Trump International in Rio Grande.

• The Web.com Tour's top is the Chile Classic (which Kisner won a year ago) at Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago. Paul Claxton and Scott Parel are slated to participate.