Bulldogs To Play In Inaugural East Lake Cup

The Georgia men's golf team will kick off a busy week Monday in the inaugural East Lake Cup at historic East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

The semifinalists (the Final Fore, if you will) from the 2015 NCAA Championships -- Georgia, LSU, Southern Cal and Illinois -- will compete in the match play event Monday and Tuesday. The women's tournament will feature Stanford, Baylor, Duke and Southern Cal.

Georgia will face LSU on Monday in a rematch of the 2015 national semifinals. Tee times are set from 11:55 a.m. though 1:15 p.m. The championship and consolation finals will be Tuesday. General admission to the East Lake Cup is free.

The Golf Channel will have live coverage from 2-5 p.m. each day and replays from 7-9 p.m. Monday and 6-9 p.m. Tuesday.

Four-fifths of the lineup for the Bulldogs at the 2015 NCAAs will be playing in the East Lake Cup -- seniors Lee McCoy and Sepp Straka, junior Greyson Sigg and sophomore Zach Healy. Junior Jaime Lopez Rivarola earned the fifth spot for the event.

On Monday, Lopez Rivarola will take on Brandon Pierce, Straka will meet Sam Burns, Healy will face Zach Wright, Sigg will play Nathan Jeansonne, and McCoy will go up again Eric Ricard. Wright, Pierce and Ricard were in the lineup for the Tigers at the NCAAs last year.

The winners of the two semifinal matches will meet in Tuesday’s championship match at 11:45 a.m., while there will be a consolation match at 10:05 a.m.

"We are really pleased to be part of the East Lake Cup," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "As members of East Lake, it means a great deal to us to be a part of the inaugural event. Making it to the national semifinals last season was a point of pride for our program, so it's nice that we get to relive that feeling and be recognized for it. I think this event is a great idea and we could not be happier about being involved in the first one."

East Lake is the home of several elite events, including the Tour Championship. The East Lake Cup will benefit the East Lake Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to helping families build better lives and children reach their highest potential through its holistic approach to community revitalization incorporating mixed-income housing, cradle-to-college education and community wellness.

Following the East Lake Cup, the Bulldogs will depart for Hawaii to participate in the Ka'anapali Collegiate Classic Friday through Sunday.

• Keith Mitchell demonstrated the type of man he is recently with a heartfelt email to PGA Tour Latinoamérica President Jack Warfield. Read it here.

• Adam Mitchell has decided to give pro golf another shot. Read about his journey here.

• Brian Harman, Hudson Swafford, Harris English and Kevin Kisner will be competing in the CIMB Classic in Malaysia this week.

• Henley was the top Bulldog in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open last week as he came in 10th at 13-under. Kisner placed 25th at 9-under and Harman was 56th at 3-under. Swafford and Erik Compton missed the cut.

Macpherson Notches 2nd Win In 4 Weeks

Bryden Macpherson

JIUJIANG, China —Bryden Macpherson won the Lushan Open on the PGA TOUR China Series on Sunday for his second Series title in four weeks. Macpherson shot 2-under 68 in all four rounds.

Since returning to China, Macpherson's game has come together, with his two victories and a tie for third in his four starts.

“I think I played this well on the Web.com Tour in pieces,” Macpherson said. “I played really well on Thursday and Friday on the Web.com Tour, and sometimes Saturday morning. But by the ninth hole on Saturday, I would start to drop off. I didn’t feel comf
ortable. I played (in China) last year, and I felt comfortable because I knew how I could play for 72 holes. On the Web.com Tour, I would sometimes get in my own way and stop myself because I didn’t feel that comfortable. Now, I feel very comfortable about going back and playing the Web.com Tour next year.”

The win Sunday was his eighth top-10 in his last nine Series starts and his ninth in 14 career events.

• In case you missed it, Bubba Watson made a big family announcement last week. The two-time Masters champion announced in 2014 that he and Angie were in the process of adopting a second child. On Christmas Eve later that year, Watson announced that the couple had adopted Dakota as their second child. The 36-year-old cautioned at the time, though, that the adoption was not final. A near 10 months later, Watson can now officially say: Welcome to the family, Dakota!

• Hudson Swafford was the top Bulldog at the Frys.com Open in California in 17th place at 10-under. Erik Compton and Brendon Todd were 26th at 9-under, while Russell Henley was 41st at 6-under. Chris Kirk fell into the MDF (made the cut, but did not finish) category and Brian Harman missed the cut.

• Compton, Harman, Henley, Kirk, Swafford and Todd all will be in action this week in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.

• Keith Mitchell finished fourth in the Mundo Maya Open in Mexico on the LatinoAmerica Tour.

Kirk, Watson Help U.S. Retain Presidents Cup

United States' Chris Kirk, right, celebrates after sinking a putt on 18 to defeat Anirban Lahiri of India

INCHEON, South Korea — Chris Kirk and Bubba Watson helped the United States retain the Presidents Cup for the sixth straight time, 15.5-14.5.

United States' Bubba Watson
exchanges a kiss with his wife Angie. 

Kirk gave the U.S. a huge win on the final day as he knocked off Anirban Lahiri. Kirk never trailed, but Lahiri rolled in a birdie on the 14th to square the match and they halved the next three holes with pars. And on the par-5 18th, they matched tee shots and second shots short of the green. Lahiri hit a great pitch to four feet and Kirk's landed 15 feet away. Kirk made his birdie putt, and Lahiri's putt caught the right lip and spun out.

"I have to give credit to Chris for making that putt," Lahiri said. "These things are scripted, I guess. And I wasn't in the script."

Watch Kirk's putt here (scroll down on the page).

That was Kirk's only point of the week for the United States, but it probably made the difference in the U.S. victory.

Watson rolled up three points as he won four-ball and a foursome matches with J.B. Holmes and he halved his singles match and a foursome match.

To view the post-match press conference, including Kirk, please click here.

• Believe it or not, the 2015-16 PGA Tour season gets under way Thursday at the Frys.com Open. Kirk, Hudson Swafford, Brendon Todd, Russell Henley, Erik Compton and Brian Harman are in the field.

• Our friends from GeorgiaDogs.com stopped by the Lettermen's Tournament recently and posted this video.

McCoy, Sigg Shine In Nike Invitational

Buoyed by top-5 efforts from senior Lee McCoy and junior Greyson Sigg, the eighth-ranked Georgia men's golf team came in sixth on Tuesday in the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.

McCoy finished third at 11-under 204, while Sigg was one shot back in fourth at 10-under 205. Texas' Beau Hossler claimed the top spot at 18-under 197.

The Bulldogs closed Tuesday with a 2-under 286 to wind up at 14-under 846. Wake Forest took team honors at 823, followed by Duke and Southern Cal both at 826 and Texas and Stanford each at 834.

McCoy paced the Bulldogs in the final round with a 4-under 68. Sigg added a 3-under 69, while sophomore Zach Healy posted a 2-over 74 and junior Jaime Lopez Rivarola signed for a 3-over 75. Senior Sepp Straka had Georgia's non-counting score of 6-over 78.

Healy landed at 2-over 217 for the tournament, followed by Lopez Rivarola at 6-over 221 and Straka at 9-over 224.

"Lee and Greyson were solid players for us all week," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "They've been playing well this fall, so it's no surprise they did what they did. Our team had a few chances we didn't take advantage of, but we had plenty of good things happen that we can build on moving forward."

The Bulldogs will return to action Nov. 2-3 in the East Lake Cup in Atlanta.

• Chris Kirk and Bubba Watson will be competing for the United States in the Presidents Cup in South Korea this week. Watson and J.B. Holmes will be paired in Thursday's foursomes matches and they will take on Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama.