7 Bulldogs Slated For Sony Open

Seven Bulldogs will be playing this week in the Sony Open in Hawaii: Harris English, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Kevin Kisner, Hudson Swafford and Brendon Todd. The Waialae Country Club in Honolulu is set up as a par-70 reaching 7,044 yards.

• At last week's Hyundai Tournament of Champions, also in Hawaii, Kisner came in ninth at 16-under, Bubba Watson finished 10th at 15-under and Kirk was 24th at 9-under. Kisner and Watson played together in the final round.

Kirk, Kisner, Watson Set For Hyundai Tournament Of Champions In Hawaii

Kevin Kisner

The PGA Tour's 2015-16 schedule will resume Thursday through Sunday with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Plantation Course at Kapalua in Hawaii.

Chris Kirk, Kevin Kisner and Bubba Watson are slated to play in the 32-man field.

Watson is making his fifth appearance in the event and finished in the top 10 in the last two. Kisner, by virtue of his win in The RSM Classic on St. Simons Island, leads the FedExCup Standings with 888 points. Kirk is continuing to work his way back from a broken hand that sidelined him for much of the 2014-15 campaign.

Mitchell Earns Web.com Tour Status

Congratulations to Adam Mitchell, who came in 21st in the Web.com Tour Q-School Sunday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. By virtue of the top-45 finish, Mitchell earned fully exempt status on the Web.com Tour for 2016. Mitchell wound up at 4-under 282, paced by a first-round 68.

Mitchell quit competitive golf earlier this year to take a full-time job with his uncle’s company, Mitchell Metals. A few months after entering the office life, though, Mitchell’s competitive spark returned and he advanced through first and second stages with confidence.

"It’s just amazing,” Mitchell said told PGATour.com. “That golf ball, it doesn’t know who’s hitting it … it didn’t know that I was working and stopped playing. That’s just the way it is. If you keep battling and battling and believing in yourself, it shows you what you can do. I just got a fresh start and a fresh outlook and a fresh perspective. I know what the other side’s like, and it’s motivation not to do it. Because I know I have a gift. I know I’m a great golfer. It’s going to be a fun couple of months. A fun rest of my career.”

Also competing in the Web.com Tour Q-School were Keith Mitchell (108th, 6-over), Matt McQuillan (123rd, 8-over), and T.J. Mitchell (147th, 18-over). Scott Parel withdrew after three rounds.

• Harris English and Matt Kuchar came in second in the Franklin Templeton Shootout in Naples, Fla. They combined to finish at 28-under, just two behind Jason Dufner and Brandt Snedeker.

Watson Wins Hero World Challenge

Bubba Watson poses with his trophy Sunday.

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — A few years after Bubba Watson made it onto the PGA Tour, he started waking up early to play practice rounds with Tiger Woods. He didn't ask a lot of questions of the world's No. 1 player who already had 14 majors when he was 32.

"I learn by watching and listening," Watson said. "So I just watched. How would you not want to learn from the best player of our generation?"

Woods, the tournament host, was watching Sunday as Watson delivered a performance that looked familiar in its efficiency.

Staked to a two-shot lead going into the final round, Watson made four birdies in seven holes and was never seriously challenged. He sailed home to a 6-under 66 and a three-shot victory over Patrick Reed at Albany Golf Club in the Hero World Challenge.

Watson wasn't even planning to play this week. He turned down his invitation a few months ago because he didn't have a passport for his newly adopted daughter, Dakota. But when PGA champion Jason Day backed out to stay home with his newborn daughter, Watson's wife was able to expedite all the right documents for the family to come over to the Bahamas.

He left with a $1 million payoff and a firm grasp on No. 4 in the world the rest of the year.

"I guess I've got to thank Jason Day for backing out. I have to thank the U.S. government and passport office for getting Dakota a passport so we could be here," Watson said. "For us, it's a good ride, a fun ride."

Even if it didn't feel easy to him, it sure looked that way.

Watson didn't make a bogey all weekend until the final hole, when he jokingly asked NBC field reporter Notah Begay how many shots he needed to win. He played it safe and made bogey, and all that cost him was the tournament record.Watson finished at 25-under 263, one shot from Jordan Spieth's record last year at Isleworth.

Watson's year is not finished. He was headed to New York on Sunday night to catch a flight to Asia for the Thailand Open.

The two-time Masters champion already had a two-week trip away from his family, and he didn't want to do that again. So when there was uncertainty about getting his daughter a passport for the Bahamas, he decided he would stay home this week and asked the tournament to let him know if anyone pulled out.

Day withdrew, Watson's wife spent eight hours in an Arizona office trying to get all the paperwork and they were on their way.

Watson seized control with seven birdies and an eagle on Saturday in ideal weather for a two-shot lead over Paul Casey, and he started fast with birdies on the second and third holes to keep his distance. No one got closer than two shots all day, and as Fowler made a move with a 30 on the front nine, Watson answered with two straight birdies to start the back nine, and then it was a matter of finishing.

For Watson, the next step is to be a more consistent winner. This was the ninth victory worldwide in his career, and the second straight year he has won multiple times.

"I want my name to be close to that leaderboard every tournament, every year, so people are always talking about Bubba Watson, about how consistent he is and good he is," Watson said. "That's my whole focus right now, every year getting better and better."

Chandler, Phillips, Ralston Sign With Bulldogs

The Georgia men's golf team recently received national letters of intent from three talented prospects, according to announcement by Bulldogs head coach Chris Haack.

The Bulldogs signed Georgians Will Chandler of Atlanta and Spencer Ralston of Gainesville as well as Trevor Phillips of Inman, S.C. They will join the squad for the 2016-17 season.

Chandler, who attends The Marist School, earned state medalist honors as a freshman and has helped the War Eagles win three consecutive state championships. He was chosen as the 2014 Georgia State Golf Association Junior Player of the Year after winning the AJGA Davis Love III Open, placing second in the Georgia Amateur Championship and coming in ninth in the Georgia Junior Championship.

A senior at Gainesville High School, Ralston holds the Red Elephants' school and state scoring records. Ralston has helped Gainesville win three region titles, three Hall County titles and 24 tournaments overall. He won the SJGT Orchard Hills Junior Classic in 2014 and 2015 and the Joe Cheves Junior Invitational and the U.S. Open local qualifier in 2015. Ralston is a three-time Hall County champion and he is a three-time U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier.

Phillips has led Boiling Springs High School to back-to-back state championships and he has earned All-State, All-Region and All-County honors for the Bulldogs. He also helped Easley High School claim a state championship. Phillips has posted three top-7 efforts in 2015, including a runner-up effort in the AJGA Wells Fargo Junior Classic and a third-place finish in the Scott Robertson Memorial, and he won the 2012 SCJGA Jimmy Self Junior.

"We are so excited to have these three guys join our program," Haack said. "We've been watching them play and improve for the past several years and we know we've signed three talented players. We expect Will, Spencer and Trevor to come in and compete right away for playing time. They are excellent prospects."

Kisner Secures First PGA Tour Win

Kevin Kisner was all smiles after his win on Sunday.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Kevin Kisner ended a year marked by second-place finishes with his first PGA Tour victory Sunday at Sea Island.

Staked to a three-shot lead going into the final round of the final tournament of the year, Kisner ran with it. He doubled the size of his lead at the turn by going out in 30, and he breezed home with a 6-under 64 to win by six shots over Kevin Chappell.

Kisner became the sixth first-time winner in the fall start to the new season, though this was hardly a surprise.

The 31-year-old played so well this year that he rose to No. 25 in the world. He just didn't win. He lost in playoffs at Hilton Head, Sawgrass and the Greenbrier, and he was a runner-up for the fourth time in a World Golf Championship two weeks ago in Shanghai.

This one wasn't even close.

Kisner rolled in a 6-foot birdie putt on the second hole, and no one got closer than four shots the rest of the way. He tapped in for par on the 18th hole to shatter the tournament record with a 22-under 60.

Better yet was seeing year-old daughter Kate running toward him.

Kisner scooped her up and said, "We did it!"

Did he ever.

"I've just been playing so well all year," Kisner said. "I knew one day it was going to happen when I was going to make all the putts. I did it on the front nine."

If there was a turning point, it would have been on the par-5 seventh hole when Kisner's second shot landed in a native bush in the dunes short of the green. He chose to hammer it out of there and moved it about 5 feet, then chipped 8 feet by the hole. Graeme McDowell missed his 10-foot birdie putt and Kisner holed his for par. His lead stayed at four shots, and Kisner followed with a wedge to 8 feet for birdie on the next hole, and a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 9 to go six clear.

Kisner goes into the six-week break atop the FedEx Cup standings and eager for his next chance. The victory allows him to start 2016 one week earlier in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua.

"I hope the floodgates are open," Kisner said. "You've got to believe you can win on Thursday. I hope that catapults me into believing that every week."

Healy Wins In Hawaii, Secures National Award

Zach Healy shows off his Ka'anapali Collegiate Classic plaque Sunday.

     LAHAINA, Hawaii --- Zach Healy earned medalist honors for the first time in his career as he led the Bulldogs to a second-place finish in the Ka'anapali Collegiate Classic.
     Healy, a sophomore, finished at 8-under 205, including an even-par 71 on Sunday on Royal Ka'anapali Golf Course. He claimed a 1-shot victory over Clemson's Brad Dalke.
     "I stayed really patient and tried to play stress-free golf knowing that, in the wind, tap-in pars were really good," Healy said. "I really putted well this week and kept the ball in front of me. I made some key putts and struck the ball real well."
     Afterward, Healy was chosen as the Golfweek Player of the Week.
     The 12th-ranked Bulldogs placed second at 3-under 849 after closing with a 2-over 286. Oklahoma -- coached by former Bulldog Ryan Hybl -- completed a wire-to-wire victory at 15-under 837.
     Healy was supported by senior Lee McCoy, who added a fifth-place finish at 2-over 215.
     The Ka'anapali Collegiate Classic was the Bulldogs' fifth and final fall event. Georgia was second in three events, fourth in one and sixth in one.
     The Bulldogs will return to action in February in the Puerto Rico Classic.
     • Harris English, Hudson Swafford, Brian Harman, Brendon Todd and Erik Compton will be in action this week in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Mexico.
     • Kevin Kisner finished as the runner-up in the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China, while English was 23rd, Bubba Watson was 35th and Chris Kirk was 76th.
     • Todd missed the cut in the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi.