RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — The Georgia men's golf team
finished first on Tuesday in the Puerto Rico Classic to earn its second title
of the season.
The Bulldogs fired a 3-over 291 in the final round at the Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa's par-72 River Course to wind up at 12-under 852. Georgia led wire-to-wire and finished with a 7-shot decision over Georgia Tech.
Lee McCoy, Sepp Straka and Mookie DeMoss closed on Tuesday with even-par 72s and Greyson Sigg signed for a 3-over 75. Nicholas Reach had the Bulldogs' non-counting score of 8-over 80.
McCoy and Straka came in fourth at 5-under 211, two shots in back of Alabama's Dru Love and Virginia Tech's Scott Vincent.
On Wednesday, McCoy and Straka were chosen as the SEC Golfers of the Week.
Sigg finished 14th at 1-under 215, while DeMoss wound up at 6-over 222 and Reach followed at 7-over 223.
Earlier this year, the Bulldogs won the Carmel Cup in Pebble Beach, Calif., with the same lineup.
"Chemistry is critical in team golf and we're really seeing that with the five guys," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "Their confidence in themselves and each other is up, especially now that they've won twice together. I was pleased with how consistent we were all week. We stayed away from any big numbers and we made our putts. I hope we can carry the momentum into the next one."
Also Tuesday, in the Puerto Rico Individual on the par-71 Ocean Course, Jaime Lopez Rivarola shared medalist honors with Georgia Tech's Chris Petefish. Lopez Rivarola closed with a 3-under 68 to finish at even-par 213. DeMoss was the Puerto Rico Individual medalist a year ago.
The win was the 55th in Haack's career, which began with the 1996-97 season. Haack has led the Bulldogs to at least one win in 17 of his 19 seasons, including the 1999 and 2005 national championships and seven SEC titles. He extended his own school record for most victories by a Georgia golf coach.
The Bulldogs will return to action March 9-11 in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters in Las Vegas.
• The PGA Tour stop this week is the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The field includes defending champion Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Brian Harman, Hudson Swafford, Harris English, Kevin Kisner and Erik Compton.
• In last week's Northern Trust Open, Brendon Todd and Bubba Watson were the top Bulldogs at 2-under. English was 30th at 1-over and Henley came in 26th at 7-over. Compton, Swafford, Harman and Kisner missed the cut.
• The folks at Augusta.com have done a pre-Masters piece on Bubba Watson, including interviews with Georgia coaches Chris Haack and Jim Douglas.
The Bulldogs fired a 3-over 291 in the final round at the Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa's par-72 River Course to wind up at 12-under 852. Georgia led wire-to-wire and finished with a 7-shot decision over Georgia Tech.
Lee McCoy, Sepp Straka and Mookie DeMoss closed on Tuesday with even-par 72s and Greyson Sigg signed for a 3-over 75. Nicholas Reach had the Bulldogs' non-counting score of 8-over 80.
McCoy and Straka came in fourth at 5-under 211, two shots in back of Alabama's Dru Love and Virginia Tech's Scott Vincent.
On Wednesday, McCoy and Straka were chosen as the SEC Golfers of the Week.
Sigg finished 14th at 1-under 215, while DeMoss wound up at 6-over 222 and Reach followed at 7-over 223.
Earlier this year, the Bulldogs won the Carmel Cup in Pebble Beach, Calif., with the same lineup.
"Chemistry is critical in team golf and we're really seeing that with the five guys," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "Their confidence in themselves and each other is up, especially now that they've won twice together. I was pleased with how consistent we were all week. We stayed away from any big numbers and we made our putts. I hope we can carry the momentum into the next one."
Also Tuesday, in the Puerto Rico Individual on the par-71 Ocean Course, Jaime Lopez Rivarola shared medalist honors with Georgia Tech's Chris Petefish. Lopez Rivarola closed with a 3-under 68 to finish at even-par 213. DeMoss was the Puerto Rico Individual medalist a year ago.
The win was the 55th in Haack's career, which began with the 1996-97 season. Haack has led the Bulldogs to at least one win in 17 of his 19 seasons, including the 1999 and 2005 national championships and seven SEC titles. He extended his own school record for most victories by a Georgia golf coach.
The Bulldogs will return to action March 9-11 in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters in Las Vegas.
• The PGA Tour stop this week is the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The field includes defending champion Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Brian Harman, Hudson Swafford, Harris English, Kevin Kisner and Erik Compton.
• In last week's Northern Trust Open, Brendon Todd and Bubba Watson were the top Bulldogs at 2-under. English was 30th at 1-over and Henley came in 26th at 7-over. Compton, Swafford, Harman and Kisner missed the cut.
• The folks at Augusta.com have done a pre-Masters piece on Bubba Watson, including interviews with Georgia coaches Chris Haack and Jim Douglas.
