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.

Bulldogs Playing In Nike Invite Next Week

The Georgia men's golf team will be back in action Sunday through Tuesday in the Nike Invitational at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon. The Bulldogs will be joined by Washington, Oregon, Southern Cal, Oklahoma, TCU, Duke, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and Arizona.

• The Bulldogs came in fourth in the stroke play portion of the DICK'S Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup. The Bulldogs fired a final-round 4-over 288 at the Golf Club of Tennessee to land at 8-over 860. Vanderbilt took top honors at 3-under 849, topping Virginia in a sudden-death playoff. Zach Healy finished 16th at 2-over 215, 10 shots in back of Alabama's Robby Shelton (8-under 205). Lee McCoy followed at 3-over 216, while Greyson Sigg came in at 4-over 217, Sepp Straka wound up at 5-over 218 and Jaime Lopez Rivarola had a 12-over 225.

In the match play portion, McCoy won his match and Lopez Rivarola squared his as Georgia went 1.5-3.5 against Florida State. The ACC nipped the SEC 15.5-14.5 to retain the Challenge Cup. The ACC leads the series with the SEC 2-1.

• Bubba Watson was the top Bulldog at the Tour Championship, coming in fifth at 4-under. Harris English took 22nd at 5-over and Kevin Kisner placed 28th at 18-over.

• Keith Mitchell had his largest payday as a professional, pocketing more than $15,000 in the PGA Tour's Latinoamerica Aberto do Brasil. Mitchell and Kent Bulle were topped by Alexandre Rocha in a playoff that last seven holes.

3 Bulldogs In Final 29 At Tour Championship

• The FedExCup Playoffs will conclude this week with the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The top 29 players (down from 30 after Jim Furyk withdrew Tuesday) are in the field, including Bulldogs Harris English, Kevin Kisner and Bubba Watson. English will tee off at 11:40 a.m. on Thursday, followed by Kisner at 12:40 p.m. and Watson at 1:40 p.m.

Erik Compton acknowledges the Sanford Stadium crowd.

• The Bulldogs will return to action Friday through Sunday in the DICK'S Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup in Kingston Springs, Tenn. Georgia, which won the inaugural event in 2014, will use a lineup of seniors Lee McCoy and Sepp Straka, juniors Jaime Lopez Rivarola and Greyson Sigg, and sophomore Zach Healy.

• Erik Compton was recognized at last Saturday's football game between Georgia and South Carolina. The two-time heart transplant recipient has partnered with Donate Life America and Genentech on the “Play Through with Erik Compton” campaign to raise awareness of organ donations and urge fans to become organ donors. For more information, visit donatelife.net.

John Tillery, Scott Brown, David Robinson and Skip Evans.

• Thanks to everyone who participated in the 17th annual Bulldog Open last week at the UGA Golf Course. Our program has reached national elite status due to everyone who is involved with the Tee-Off Club. The overall (and afternoon) winners were Skip Evans, Scott Brown, David Robinson and John Tillery. David Guhde, Chris Maxwell, Chase Young and Willis Dobbs won the morning flight. The runner-up teams were Kevin Shields, Michael Murphree, Scott Spayed and Trent Harrell in the morning and Tom Dudley, Charlie Land, Jimmy Rigsby and Johnny McGoogan in the afternoon. The closest to the hole winners were Clem McDavid (3), Palmer Bush (8), Bonneau Ansley (13) and David Robinson (16).

• Reminder that The Golf Lettermen's Four Ball Tournament will be held Friday, Oct. 2, at the UGA Golf Course. Contact Denise at dsaliba@sports.uga.edu or 706-369-6066 for more information.

• Vinny Giles, Jack Hall and John Gibbs will be competing this week in the U.S. Senior Amateur in New Jersey.

McCoy, Team USA To Play For The Walker Cup

Georgia's Lee McCoy and his United States teammates will be playing this weekend for the Walker Cup at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England.

Play will begin Saturday at 4 a.m. EDT (9 a.m. local) with foursomes, followed by singles at 8:45 a.m. EDT (1:45 p.m. local). Sunday's singles will be at 3:30/8:30 a.m. and 8:15 a.m./1:15 p.m.

Matches will be aired on ESPN3/WatchESPN at 9 a.m. Saturday and 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

The Walker Cup is contested by male amateur golfers, one team from the United States and one team comprised of players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This is the 45th Walker Cup match. The U.S. leads the overall series 35-8-1.

McCoy, a senior from Clarkesville, Ga., had one of the most celebrated campaigns in school history a year ago. He earned First-Team All-America and All-SEC honors in leading the Bulldogs to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship. McCoy set the single-season scoring average (70.08), matched the single-season record with four victories, and became the first Bulldog in school history to win three straight tournaments. He appeared in three professional events this summer – the U.S. Open, the Travelers Championship and the John Deere Classic, making the cut in the latter. McCoy also helped the U.S. win the Palmer Cup and finish second in the inaugural golf portion of the Pan Am Games.

McCoy joins George Hamer, Arnold Blum, Vinny Giles, Allen Miller, Jimmy Gabrielsen, Griff Moody, Danny Yates, Franklin Langham, Nick Cassini, Erik Compton, Brian Harman, Chris Kirk, Adam Mitchell, Harris English and Russell Henley as Bulldogs chosen for the Walker Cup. Giles, Gabrielsen and Yates also have served as U.S. captains.

Sigg First, Bulldogs Second In The Carmel Cup

Greyson Sigg shows off his award after winning The Carmel Cup on Sunday.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Greyson Sigg made par on the first playoff hole to claim medalist honors at The Carmel Cup on Sunday at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Sigg, a junior from Augusta, posted his first collegiate victory. He ended regulation tied with Hannes Ronneblad of Texas Tech and Matthias Schwab of Vanderbilt at 2-under 214. Sigg made par on the extra hole, while Ronneblad and Schwab each made bogey.

Sigg helped the Bulldogs come in second in the team race at 1-over 1,081 — six shots in back of Oklahoma State (1,075).

Junior Sepp Straka followed Sigg in 10th place at 1-over 217, while junior Jaime Lopez Rivarola and sophomore Zach Healy took 16th at 2-over 218. Redshirt freshman Jack Larkin Jr. wound up at 7-over 223 and freshman David Mackey finished at 10-over 226.

"We could not be prouder of Greyson," Georgia head coach Chris Haack said. "He's worked very hard to get to this point. He's been a very steady player for us the last couple of years, so it's nice to see him break through and get one. Our guys were pretty solid all weekend. We had a lot of positive moments and we can build on that success moving forward."

The Bulldogs will return to action Sept. 25-27 in the DICK'S Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup in Kingston Springs, Tenn.