• Chris Kirk, Russell Henley, Hudson Swafford and Harris English are playing in the Quicken Loans National this week.
• Sepp Straka, Erik Compton and Keith Mitchell are playing in the Web.com Tour's Nashville Golf Open Benefiting the Snedeker Foundation.
• Several Bulldogs are in action this week in the Dogwood Invitational -- Davis Thompson, Spencer Ralston, David Mackey, Will Chandler, Trevor Phillips and Jaime Lopez Rivarola.
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Sigg Chosen As A Third-Team All-American
Sigg, also a Third-Team by each outlet in 2016, finished the season with a scoring average of 70.50, which ranks third in the Georgia record book. The Augusta native wound up with six top-10s and eight top-20s in 11 stroke-play events, including a victory in the Linger Longer Invitational. Sigg was a First-Team All-SEC pick as determined by the league’s coaches.
Sigg is the 60th All-American in Coach Chris Haack’s 21 seasons at Georgia.
Sigg completed his collegiate eligibility in May and is currently playing on the Mackenzie Tour in Canada.
• Paul Claxton qualified for his first PGA Championship by finishing third in the PGA Professional Championship in Oregon. Claxton played on both the PGA and Web.com tours and he currently is PGA Director of Golf at Hawk’s Point Golf Club in Vidalia, Ga. The PGA Championship is slated for Aug. 10-13 at Quail Hollow.
"I'm looking forward to the PGA Championship," he said. "That was my goal coming out here, so I'm very pleased that I was able to do that. I've never played in one, so I'm looking forward to it. I've been working in a shop for two years, so I was leaking a little oil coming in. I need to work on my game a little bit before I head to Quail Hollow. It was fun to get in the hunt and feel a little pressure. It lets me know that I have some work to do and that's OK. I enjoy practicing and hopefully I'll get to do some more of it."
• Hudson Swafford, Brian Harman, Harris English and Bubba Watson will be in action this week in the Travelers Championship.
• Sepp Straka and Keith Mitchell are playing in the Web.com Tour's Lincoln Land Charity Championship.
• Scott Parel will be competing in the American Family Insurance Championship on the Champions Tour.
Monday, June 19, 2017
Harman Takes Second In The U.S. Open
He bogeyed the 12th and 13th holes. In the group ahead leader Brooks Koepka didn't slip up.
The leader going into the final round Sunday, Harman finished with an even-par 72 tie for second with Hideki Matsuyama at 12 under, four shots behind Koepka.
Harman dropped back on the back nine after going bogey-free on the final nine holes over his first three rounds.
"You've got to tip your cap. He went and won the golf tournament on the back nine," Harman said.
He said that he didn't believe in moral victories. Still, this was a pretty good weekend for the 30-year-old Harman, who was playing in just his eighth major. It was just the third time he made the cut.
A guy considered a short-hitter made quite an impression on the longest course in U.S. Open history. The 5-foot-7 Harman said he thrives on playing with what he calls a proverbial chip on his shoulder that dates to when he was a kid playing football.
"Yeah, I've never been a big, big man in any sport I've played," he said. "Yeah, it's definitely something I draw upon."
He showed spunk after holding off Dustin Johnson at the Wells Fargo Championship in May, a victory that secured Harman a spot at Erin Hills.
True to form, Harman didn't wither away on Sunday. either.
He birdied two of the next three holes following his bogeys on Nos. 12 and 13.
"I made the birdie right there at 14 ... then (Koepka) birdied 14, 15, 16," Harman said, "and that was kind of lights out."
Trailing by three shots at the 17th hole, Harman desperately needed to make a long birdie putt to keep alive his faint championship hopes. Up ahead, fans were cheering on Koepka.
Harman's 26-foot attempt from the edge of the green strayed left. He had to settle for par.
His tee shot at the 18th hole landed in a bunker. He looked dejected at times as he made his way up to the green, with Koepka's victory already assured. Harman ended up closing with a bogey.
"Good job," his wife, Kelly, said as she greeted her husband with a kiss.
Harman won the 2003 U.S. Junior Amateur. On Sunday, he picked up his sixth top-10 finish and third top-3 finish since joining the PGA Tour in 2012.
A couple fewer mistakes on the back nine might have given Harman a better chance at a major breakthrough.
"Yeah, if you had told me I was going to shoot 12 under this year at a U.S. Open and not win," he said, "I would have taken the bet for sure."
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
English Joins 4 Other Dogs In U.S. Open Field
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| Harris English hits a shot during the U.S. Open sectional event in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday. |
Harris English advanced on Monday from the sectional qualifying tournament in Memphis, Tenn. English finished second with a two-round score of 9-under.
English will join earlier exempt Bulldogs Bubba Watson, Kevin Kisner, Brian Harman and Russell Henley.
In Memphis, the cutoff for the nine players advancing turned out to be 7-under. Brendon Todd wound up at 5-under, followed by Spencer Ralston at 1-under.
At Hawks Ridge in Ball Ground, Nicholas Reach shot 5-under but was two shy of the 7-under scores put up the lone two advancers. Joey Garber shot 1-under and Michael Cromie was even.
Erik Compton was even in Columbus, Ohio, where the cutoff was 8-under. Lee McCoy was 7-over in Tacoma, Wash., which had a cutoff of 1-under. McCoy was playing one day after winning his first professional tournament in the Mackenzie Tour’s Freedom 55 Financial Open in Vancouver, British Columbia.
• The Bulldogs have pulled ahead in the latest Rivals Cup standings with more than $13.2 million in earnings this year. Arizona State is second with $12.98 million.
• English, Henley, Hudson Swafford and Chris Kirk will be in action this week in the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn.
• Compton and Keith Mitchell are scheduled to play in the Web.com Tour's Rust-Oleum Championship in Illinois.
• McCoy and Greyson Sigg will be competing in the Mackenzie Tour's Bayview Place Cardtronics Open in Victoria, British Columbia.
Sunday, June 4, 2017
McCoy 1st, Sigg 8th In Mackenzie Tour Event
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| Lee McCoy |
McCoy, making his first appearance on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada, finished at 20-under 268 with rounds of 66, 69, 67 and 66. He was eight shots clear of Hunter Stewart and Jordan Niebrugge. That is the largest margin of victory ever in a Mackenzie Tour event.
McCoy’s former Bulldog teammate, Greyson Sigg, who capped his collegiate career last month, finished eighth in his professional debut. Sigg was 10-under, including a third-round 68.
“This is certainly one of the most memorable weeks in my life,” said McCoy. “To play in front of a crowd and with this many good players is certainly special. I knew nobody was going to lay down out there, and to get away by as many as I did was something I could have never predicted.
“People don’t understand how good the players are on this Tour. There’s so many good players in this field, and I knew I had a tall task today with Scott in my group, and Niebrugge and Jake (Knapp) right behind me. Those guys have so much firepower and they’re all very accomplished players."
For McCoy, the win represents a sharp turnaround in his fortunes from the end of 2016, when he broke his wrist in two places in a car accident before the Second Stage of Web.com Tour Q-School. Now, he’s one step closer to earning Web.com Tour status for 2018.
“It sure beats sitting on my couch, I can tell you that,” said McCoy with a laugh. “My goal is to try to simply win as much as I can. I’m 1-for-1 I guess, but you certainly can’t win every week with this many good players, but I’m going to try to win as many times as I can.”
McCoy was making his first career start on the Mackenzie Tour after earning status at the USA East #1 Q-School in April. McCoy becomes the first player to win in his first Mackenzie Tour start since Drew Weaver won the 2015 Freedom 55 Financial Open.
McCoy becomes the fourth straight player to make the Freedom 55 Financial Open his first win on the Mackenzie Tour, joining Joel Dahmen (2014), Drew Weaver (2015) and Dan McCarthy (2016).
McCoy’s 20-under total of 268 represents the lowest score in the history of the Freedom 55 Financial Open.
As part of his win, McCoy earns seven free coupons for a daily rental car from AVIS.
