With a nod toward the program's illustrious history, the Georgia men's golf team will be hosting the Southern Intercollegiate Championships on Monday at Athens Country Club.
The 1-day, 36-hole event will begin at 8:30 and there is no cost for admission. The Bulldogs have entered nine players are set to tee off between 9:50-10:14 a.m. on the first and 10th holes.
When the Bulldogs found themselves with one extra day of competition for the spring, Bulldogs coach Chris Haack organized the event with 13 additional schools. When it came time to name the tournament, Haack chose the Southern Intercollegiate Championships.
The SICs were the brainchild of Georgia athletic director Herman Stegeman and Athens Country Club founder Lon Dudley in 1934. The first tournament was held in 1935 and ran annually through 1942. It resumed in 1946 and was held through 1965, then was relaunched in 1975 and ran through 1985.
Individual medalists include Wake Forest's Arnold Palmer in 1950, Oklahoma State's Bob Tway in 1979 and Centenary's Hal Sutton in 1980. Georgia's winners include Lester Kelly in 1955, Bob Moser in 1959, Cobby Ware in 1960, Vinny Giles in 1966, and Chip Beck in 1976, 1977 and 1978.
"We're happy to be the host school for this tournament and we're just as happy that we can dust off the old SICs name," Haack said. "We've enjoyed reading about the history of the event and what is means to our program and to Athens. Some of the giants of golf have played in this tournament. Golf has been played in this town and on this campus for a long, long time, so it's been good for our current players to learn more about the impact this tournament made."
Haack will use a lineup of seniors Mookie DeMoss and Nicholas Reach, juniors Lee McCoy and Sepp Straka, and sophomore Greyson Sigg. Georgia also will enter senior Sam Straka, sophomores Parker Derby and Jaime Lopez Rivarola, and freshman Zach Healy as individuals.
Joining the Bulldogs will be Charleston Southern, Francis Marion, Furman, Georgia Regents University, Georgia State, Lipscomb, Maryland Eastern Shore, Presbyterian, Princeton, Savannah State, Stetson, Western Carolina and Youngstown State.
