Georgia Golfers Finish 17th At NCAA Championships

Sophomore, Keith Mitchell, was the low Bulldog at the NCAA Championship tying for 9th individually

The Georgia men's golf team saved its best for last on Thursday at the NCAA Championships.

The Bulldogs carded a 4-over-par 288 at The Riviera Club, seven shots better than their first round and 10 strokes better than their second round. Thursday's loop gave Georgia a three-day total of 29-over 881.

The Bulldogs, however, fell short of their goal of a top-8 finish to advance to match play. Georgia wound up in 17th place, six shots behind eighth. The teams advancing to match play starting on Friday were Alabama (859), UCLA (861), Texas (869), California (871), San Diego State (871), Washington (872) and Oregon (873). Kent State and Florida State shared the eighth spot at 875 and will have a playoff on Thursday to determine which team moves on.

"We're disappointed about not being able to advance, but we definitely closed on a high note," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "We avoided some of the big pitfalls today. We played a little looser today and down the stretch we finished better, which is something we wanted them to do."

Sophomore Keith Mitchell paced the Bulldogs on Thursday, firing a 2-under 69. Sophomore Brian Carter added a 1-over 72, junior T.J. Mitchell had a 2-over 73, freshman Nicholas Reach signed for a 3-over 74 and sophomore Joey Garber posted a 4-over 75.

Keith Mitchell wound up as the top Bulldog in the field, coming in ninth at 1-over 214. T.J. Mitchell finished at 5-over 218, followed by Reach at 12-over 225, Carter at 13-over 226 and Garber at 14-over 227. Illinois' Thomas Pieters claimed NCAA medalist honors as he finished at 5-under 208.

And while the 2012 season may be over, the Bulldogs quickly turned their attention to the 2013 campaign.

"Being here was a great accomplishment for our team," Carter said. "It's a tremendous help not losing anybody. Next year, the NCAAs are in Atlanta, and if we keep growing up, we might have a really good shot at it."

"Before the round, we told the guys we wanted them to learn for the future," Haack said. "We wanted to stress what it takes to have a complete round and how valuable every shot is for all three rounds. As they look back, they'll find a couple of shots they'll wish they had saved. If they learn that, it will be helpful down the road."

Added Keith Mitchell, "If we stick to our game plan next year and play strong through the fall and spring, I think we'll be fine."

Bulldogs Slip To 19th At NCAA Championships



Junior T.J. Mitchell is one of two Bulldogs tied for 25th individually at the NCAA Championship



 After climbing into contention early in the second round, the Georgia men's golf team slipped further back at the NCAA Championships on Wednesday at The Riviera Club.

The 20th-seeded Bulldogs successfully navigated the front nine and vaulted from the middle of the pack into the top 10. That position was a critical one as the top eight teams after Thursday's third round will advance to match play while the other 22 teams will be eliminated.

However, on the back nine, the Bulldogs went 12-over par and wound up at 14-over 298 for the day. After two rounds, Georgia is in 19th place at 25-over 593 --- nine strokes behind current eighth-place teams California, Kent State, Florida, Southern Cal and Illinois (584). Alabama has the overall lead at 572.

"We know exactly what we need to do," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "We're nine shots back, and it's up to us to get them back. We can't expect or rely on anyone to give them to us. Nine shots is a reachable goal, but we've got to show that we want it. Our goal all season has been to make it to match play at the NCAAs. Thursday is a growing-up kind of day for us. We need to come out blazing and try to get ourselves into that top eight. We had some positives early on today, so we need to build off of those. We also had some negatives, and we need to learn from them. Every walk around this golf course is an opportunity to learn and to perform well."

The Bulldogs will tee off in 10-minute increments on Thursday from 10:30 to 11:10 a.m. EST. Georgia will be paired with Chattanooga and Texas A&M.

Sophomore Keith Mitchell paced the Bulldogs on Wednesday with a 1-over 72. Junior T.J. Mitchell signed for a 3-over 74, while sophomore Joey Garber had a 4-over 75, and sophomore Brian Carter and freshman Nicholas Reach each posted a 6-over 77.

The Mitchells (no relation) are tied for 25th in the individual race at 3-over 145. They are eight strokes behind leader Thomas Pieters of Illinois (137). Reach is at 9-over 151, followed by Garber at 10-over 152 and Carter at 12-over 154. The individual national champion will be crowned following Thursday's round.

"Hopefully, we can keep our noses down all the way through the round Thursday," Keith Mitchell said. "We need to fire on all cylinders. We've got nothing to lose now. We need to shoot at every pin and make every putt because it could be our last competitive round of the year."

"We've got to put it together for a complete round," Haack said. "We've got to play all 18 and keep it going because anything can happen out here. We've played both nines well and both nines bad. We need to remember the good stuff and do it again."

"We need a good round Thursday," T.J. Mitchell said. "We're nine down, but you never know what will happen. The course is tough, so we've just got to hang in there, let it go and see what happens."

Live results and tee times can be found at NCAA.com.

Dawgs Advance to NCAA Championship

Needing a top-5 finish, the 24th-ranked Georgia men's golf team secured a berth in the NCAA Championships with a fourth-place effort on Saturday in the Athens Regional at the UGA Golf Course.

The Bulldogs finished at 12-over 864 with a 12-over 296 in the final round and next will play in the NCAAs May 30-June 3 at the Rivera Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Also advancing from the Athens Regional were Alabama (828), East Carolina (853), North Florida (858) and Iowa (866). Long Beach State's Philip Chian (210) claimed the regional's individual berth.

"At the beginning of the year, knowing all the new faces we were going to put in the lineup, I didn't even know if we'd have a chance to make it to the regionals," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "To be able to not only make it but finish fourth and move on, I'd say it's been a great year. No matter what happens, it's been a great year."

"Luckily we had enough clutch pars to get it done," sophomore Joey Garber said. "Whether you're first or fifth you're going, so we're happy about that."

The Bulldogs, sporting a lineup of one junior, three sophomores and a freshman, advanced to the NCAAs for the 14th time in 16 seasons under Haack. Georgia won the 1999 and 2005 NCAA titles and came in second in 2007 and 2011.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs got a 2-over 73 from junior T.J. Mitchell, 3-over 74s from Garber and freshman Nicholas Reach, and a 4-over 75 from sophomore Brian Carter. Sophomore Keith Mitchell had the Bulldogs' non-counting score of 7-over 78.

T.J. Mitchell came in seventh individually at 2-under 211, seven shots behind medalist Justin Thomas of Alabama (204). Carter placed 18th at 3-over 216, Garber finished 29th at 6-over 219, Reach came in 45th at 8-over 221 and Keith Mitchell placed 51st at 9-over 222.

"My heart lost a few years again and I'll probably have a few more gray hairs," said Haack, whose 2010 Bulldogs lost in a regional playoff and whose 2011 squad advanced by one stroke. "It is such a stressful week. To be able to get through it and make it, that's all we needed to do. We probably made it a little tighter than we needed to make it, but the guys came through. We're all excited, we'll have some fun and get ready for nationals. ... This is a great learning experience for these guys and it will pay dividends down the road."