The Georgia men’s golf
team will open the spring portion of its schedule next week in a locale quite
different than the one the Bulldogs just left.
Georgia will be playing in the Puerto
Rico Classic, its traditional spring opener, Sunday through Tuesday. When the
Bulldogs departed Athens earlier this week, the temperature was in the 20s. The
forecast for Rio Grande is temperatures in the mid-80s.
“No one on the team is complaining
about that,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “It will be nice to get into some warm
temperatures for a few days. It will also be nice to get cranked back up. We’ll
shake off some rust in Puerto Rico and begin to get an idea about where we’re
heading. This team has tremendous potential and we know we can be in contention
by the end of the year.”
Haack will use a lineup of seniors
Mookie DeMoss and Nicholas Reach, juniors Lee McCoy and Sepp Straka, and
sophomore Greyson Sigg. That quintet won the Carmel Cup title at Pebble Beach
earlier this season. Sophomore Jaime Lopez Rivarola will compete in the
individual tournament as well.
McCoy is the nation's third-rated
player and he leads the Bulldogs with a 68.89 scoring average. He finished
first, second and fifth individually in his three fall events.
Joining the Bulldogs for the tournament
will be Purdue, Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina State, East Tennessee
State, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma,
Alabama, UNC-Greensboro and Tulsa.
The Bulldogs won the Puerto Rico
Classic in 2006, 2007 and 2009. Chris Kirk and Hudson Swafford were individual
medalists in 2006 and 2009, respectively.
