English-Led Bulldogs In Fifth At NCAA Championships

Hudson Swafford after holing a putt on hole 9 in round one.

The Georgia men's golf team opened the NCAA Championships in fifth place on Tuesday at Karsten Creek Golf Club.

The Bulldogs, who are seeded 12th, fired a 3-over-par 291 in the first round and are tied for fifth with Ohio State. Georgia Tech snared the first-round lead with a 5-under 283.

After three rounds of stroke play, the top eight teams will advance to match play to determine the national champion. To a man, the Bulldogs said being in the top eight after the first round is mentally satisfying.

"We came out of the gate stronger, which was our goal," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "We stumbled a little at the end. But overall, it was a good day. We put ourselves in a good position. But this golf course can jump up and bite you, so we've got to play well the next two days too."

"It feels good to be in the mix after the first day," said senior Harris English, who paced the Bulldogs with a 2-under 70. "The past couple of tournaments, we haven't gotten off to a good start. Our goal is to win stroke play, and we've got to keep that in mind and go after it tomorrow."

With English leading the way, the Bulldogs got off to a blistering start and spent much of the early part of the round atop the leaderboard. The Bulldogs played the front nine 4-under, including English's 5-under 31. He eagled the first hole and added three birdies on the front nine. He tacked on another birdie on No. 10 to start off at 6-under.

"What we did on the front nine shows that can we make birdies out here," English said. "We hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. It was definitely promising."

English is fifth in the individual race, three shots behind Georgia Tech's James White. Senior Hudson Swafford is ninth at 1-under 71, including an eagle on the par-5, 551-yard 18th. Sophomore T.J. Mitchell signed for 2-over 74, followed by senior Russell Henley at 4-over 76 and sophomore Bryden Macpherson at 10-over 82.

The Bulldogs will tee off on Wednesday at 9:10 a.m. Live results can be found at ncaa.com.

"We've got to stay patient," Haack said. "This is one of the toughest golf courses we'll play all year. We have to keep it in play and give ourselves a lot of chances. We have to avoid the big numbers."

Bulldogs Begin Quest for Third National Championship

The Men's Golf Team will begin play in the 2011 NCAA Championship today in Stillwater Oklahoma.

The Bulldogs will join 29 of the nation’s top teams at Oklahoma State’s Karsten Creek Golf Club (par 72, 7,416 yards). Georgia is guaranteed of playing Tuesday through Thursday in the stroke play portion of the tournament. After Thursday’s round, the tournament medalist will be recognized and the top eight teams will advance to the match play bracket, with four matches on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday to determine the national champion.

“Our mindset is that we have a chance to win this golf tournament,” said Coach Chris Haack, who led the Bulldogs to NCAA titles in 1999 and 2005. “That’s the only way to go into the nationals.”

Haack will use a lineup of seniors Harris English, Russell Henley and Hudson Swafford, and sophomores Bryden Macpherson and T.J. Mitchell. Swafford and English have appeared in two NCAAs each, while Henley has played twice with his teammates and last year as an individual when the Bulldogs’ 12-year run of consecutive berths was snapped. Macpherson and Mitchell will be making their NCAAs debuts.

Georgia’s players will tee off in 10-minute increments between 2:30 and 3:10 p.m. on Tuesday and between 9:10 and 9:50 a.m. on Wednesday. The Bulldogs are the tournament’s No. 12 seed and will be paired with 10th-seeded LSU and 11th-seeded Texas in the first two rounds. Oklahoma State, UCLA and Alabama are the tournament’s Nos. 1-3 seeds.

Prior to their arrival in Stillwater, the Bulldogs held a players-and-coaches-only retreat to get prepared.

Asked what his message was, Haack recounted it almost in Rockne-esque terms: “When we’re playing at the nationals, it’s not just for you, it’s for all of us. If you’re on the golf course and things go bad, don’t panic. You’ve got teammates you can depend on. Remember that we’re doing this as a team. It’s not an individual thing. If we bond together and pull for one another, great things can happen. This is our chance, our time, our moment.”

Georgia got a look at Karsten Creek last September in the PING/Golfweek Preview. The Bulldogs came in third, just five shots behind home-standing Oklahoma State. Swafford finished second, while Henley came in 10th and English placed 16th.

“Every course is different, and a team feels most comfortable when a course sets up well for it. That’s how we feel about Karsten Creek,” Haack said. “Having played well there in the fall makes a huge difference. When guys love a golf course, that’s a good thing. It beats the alternative of having negative vibes about a place.”

Live scoring can be found at golfstat.com and on the NCAA Championship homepage.