Georgia Prepares For Southern Intercollegiate

The second-ranked Georgia men’s golf team is set to host the Southern Intercollegiate on Monday. The one-day, 36-hole event will feature 14 total teams teeing off starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Athens Country Club. There is no fee for admission.

The Bulldogs will enter nine players in the field. The lineup will include seniors Lee McCoy and Sepp Straka, junior Greyson Sigg, sophomore Zach Healy and freshman Tye Waller. Matthew Beringer, Jack Larkin Jr., Jaime Lopez Rivarola and David Mackey will all compete as individuals.

“Playing tournaments is so different than practice or qualifying,” Georgia head coach Chris Haack said. “You actually get to see what guys are capable of doing when the light goes off. Being able to get everyone some experience, to post a score and to put a little pressure on everybody, that’s always a good thing to see how they’re going to perform. It will be fun to see all nine out there.”

Georgia took team honors at the 2015 Southern Intercollegiate after firing a 1-under-par 575 in the 36-hole event to win by 13 strokes.

“It’s a home tournament so it’s always cool to play out here at a course we all know pretty well,” Straka said. “It’s good to get that win in (in Mexico) going into this one and we’re kind of just trying to gear up at the right time here. We really want it to click by SECs and the postseason.”

The SICs were the brainchild of Georgia athletic director Herman Stegeman and Athens Country Club founder Lon Dudley in 1934. The first tournament was held in 1935 and ran annually through 1942. It resumed in 1946 and was held through 1965, then was relaunched in 1975 and ran through 1990. Past individual medalists include Wake Forest’s Arnold Palmer in 1950, Oklahoma State’s Bob Tway in 1979 and Centenary’s Hal Sutton in 1980.

Georgia will be joined by Arkansas, Augusta State, Francis Marion, Furman, Gardner-Webb, IUPUI, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Savannah State, Stetson, USC Upstate, Western Carolina and Youngstown State.

McCoy, 7 Other Bulldogs In Valspar

Lee McCoy will be one of the eight Bulldogs in the field this week for the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship.

McCoy, a senior for the Bulldogs, gained one of the eight sponsor's exemptions for the event by virtue of his win last season in the 3M Augusta Invitational.

McCoy grew up in the Palm Harbor, Fla., area and estimated he has played Innisbrook's Copperhead Course nearly 1,000 times.

"This one is extraordinarily special just because of where it is," McCoy said, "I'll have a lot of family and friends out this week. Before I turned 15, I couldn't drive a cart, so I would come out here on weekend mornings or in the afternoon during the week and find groups that didn't have a fourth," McCoy said. "I'd ask if they'd mind if I played with them because I can't drive a cart. Met a lot of people playing that way."

If he makes the cut, as an amateur he can't cash a check. But thanks to a new PGA rule, amateurs can donate winnings to charity. McCoy knows exactly what to do if he is fortunate enough to play on the weekend.

"A good friend of mine runs a charity called Fifty Legs, which provides prosthetics to kids and adults," McCoy said. "I would donate anything to them. That's a big goal for me this week, too."

Brian Harman, Brendon Todd, Erik Compton, Chris Kirk, Harris English, Russell Henley and Hudson Swafford also are in the field.

Bulldogs Win Tournament In Mexico

LOS CABOS, Mexico --- The Georgia men’s golf team secured its first victory of the 2015-16 season Tuesday, winning the Querencia Cabo Intercollegiate by a margin of 10 strokes over second-place South Florida. 

The Bulldogs shot a 1-over-par 285 in the final round, bringing their three-round total to 18-under 834. The tournament score was highlighted by a 16-under 268 in the second round, which tied for the fifth-lowest round in school history.

"I am really pleased with the way this tournament went for us," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "Our second round (a 16-under 268) was really fun to watch, especially since it was so balanced. We were able to dig in during the third round and hold on against a very good South Florida team. It was great to see Lee and Sepp, our two seniors, do a fantastic job leading us all week. We got better as a team in this tournament and the confidence of a win will only help us moving forward. We've got some time before our next one, so we'll get back to Athens and keep plugging away to get ready for the stretch run."

Lee McCoy capped off his best finish of the season with a 3-under 68, ending up tied for second individually at 8-under 205. On Wednesday, he was chosen as the SEC Golfer of the Week.

Straka finished in sixth place, with Sigg was 10th and Healy was 18th.

The Bulldogs will be back in action March 14 when they host the Southern Intercollegiate at Athens Country Club. 

Bulldogs Finish Third In Puerto Rico

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico --- After a solid performance in its spring opener, the Georgia men's golf team finished in third place at the Puerto Rico Classic.

The Bulldogs completed the third round at the Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa with a 1-under par 287, bringing their three-round total to 13-under 851. Team honors went to Alabama at 25-under 839.

Zach Healy paced the Bulldogs in the final round with a 2-under 70. Lee McCoy and Sepp Straka each carded an even-par 72, while Jaime Lopez Rivarola shot a 1-over 73. Greyson Sigg had Georgia's non-counting score of 2-over 74. 

Straka tied for seventh individually at 5-under 211, six shots back of Alabama's Robby Shelton (11-under 205). Healy finished at 3-under 213, followed by McCoy and Sigg at 2-under 214 and Rivarola at 5-over 221.

In the Puerto Rico Individual on the par-71 Ocean Course, Jack Larkin Jr. finished in a two-way tie for seventh place at 4-over 217 after a final round score of 3-over 74.

"We're happy with the way things went with our first spring tournament," Georgia head coach Chris Haack said. "By and large, we were pretty solid all week. We can take a team score of 13-under and build on that. After every tournament, we take a look at the good and the bad and keep putting in the work. We know this team has tremendous potential, so we'll keep plugging away."

The Bulldogs will return to action Sunday through Tuesday in the Querencia Cabo Intercollegiate in Mexico.

Watson Wins Northern Trust Open

Bubba Watson

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bubba Watson ended his big week in L.A. as the star of his own show Sunday at Riviera.

Two shots behind with four holes to play, Watson made birdie on two of his last three holes to overtake Jason Kokrak and hold off Adam Scott for a one-shot victory in the Northern Trust Open.

Watson, who closed with a 3-under 68, won at Riviera for the second time in three years and moved back to No. 4 in the world.

He was among a half-dozen players who still had a chance over the back nine under warm sunshine. Watson took advantage of some late mistakes by Kokrak, who was going for his first PGA Tour victory, and his two birdies were enough to turn back the late heroics of Scott, who chipped in for birdie on the 18th for a 67.

Watson, Scott, Kokrak and K.J. Choi were tied for the lead through 11 holes remaining and all of them dropped shots to fall out of the lead.

"For me to come back ... and pull one out in a tough way means a lot," Watson said.

He finished at 15-under 269 for his ninth career victory on the PGA Tour.

"A guy like Bubba, he's very tough to beat," Scott said. "He's proving tough to beat from that position. He's wearing the course out on the toughest day."

What a week for Watson. He took his 3-year-old son to hang out with Justin Bieber. He made a cameo appearance in a "Girl Meets World" episode (they even gave him a line), and he dashed out of Riviera to hang out with his pals at the Los Angeles Clippers-Golden State Warriors game Saturday night.

Best of all was winning another tournament.

Bulldogs To Open Spring In Puerto Rico

The No. 10 Georgia men's golf team will open the spring portion of its schedule in the 18th annual Puerto Rico Classic.

The Puerto Rico Classic will take place Sunday through Tuesday at the Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa's River Course, a par-72 track covering 6,945 yards. The Bulldogs will look to repeat as champions of the event, taking home the crown of the 15-team tournament in 2015.

"We're looking forward to a great week to get things underway," head coach Chris Haack said. "This tournament has treated us well in the past and is a nice kick start to the spring. Hopefully we can use this tournament to shake off the rust and get things moving in a positive direction for the rest of the year. We have high expectations for this this team and are excited to get the ball rolling."

Haack will use a lineup of seniors Lee McCoy and Sepp Straka, juniors Greyson Sigg and Jaime Lopez Rivarola, and sophomore Zach Healy. Redshirt freshman Jack Larkin, Jr. will compete in the individual tournament as well.

Georgia is currently ranked 10th in the most recent edition of the Golfstat poll, while the Bulldogs are No. 16 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.

"Everyone is looking forward to this trip," said Straka. "This is one that people try extra hard to qualify for, going down to Puerto Rico, especially in February. It gets pretty chilly here, so it'll be nice."

Joining the Bulldogs for the tournament will be Purdue, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Oklahoma, UNC-Greensboro, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.

The Bulldogs will play with Oklahoma and Northwestern on Sunday. Live results can be found at BirdieFire.com.

The Bulldogs won the Puerto Rico Classic in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2015. Chris Kirk and Hudson Swafford were individual medalists in 2006 and 2009, respectively.

McCoy Named To Hogan Award Watch List

Georgia senior Lee McCoy

Georgia senior Lee McCoy has been named to the watch list for the Ben Hogan Award, which is presented annually to the top golfer based on all collegiate and amateur competitions during the past 12-month period.

McCoy also has been chosen as one of three finalists for 2015 Collegiate Athlete of the Year by the Atlanta Sports Council. The awards ceremony will be held Thursday, Feb. 25, at The Fox Theatre.

McCoy's top finish of the fall came in the Nike Golf Collegiate, where he placed third. He has been invited to play in the PGA Tour's Northern Trust Open Collegiate Showcase on Monday at Riviera Country Club. He finished tied for third at that event last year. McCoy is individually ranked 17th in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings and 23rd in the Golfstat Cup Standings.

Past Hogan Award winners include Georgia's Chris Kirk in 2007. By winning four times last season, McCoy tied the single-season record for wins held by Kirk in 2006-07 and Russell Henley in 2009-10. McCoy, who was named a First-Team All-American last season by the GCAA and Golfweek, broke the school single-season scoring average at 70.08.

McCoy was a member of the 2015 Walker Cup, Palmer Cup and Pan Am Games squads and he reached the match play portion of the 2015 U.S. Amateur.

The 25-man watch list for the award includes Dawson Armstrong of Lipscomb, Derek Bard of Virginia, Sean Crocker of Southern California, Charlie Danielson of Illinois, Thomas Detry of Illinois, Jonathan Garrick of UCLA, Nick Hardy of Illinois, Rico Hoey of Southern California, Sam Horsfield of Florida, Beau Hossler of Texas, Michael Johnson of Auburn, Hank Lebioda of Florida State, Maverick McNealy of Stanford, Matthew NeSmith of South Carolina, Jordan Niebrugge of Oklahoma State, Corey Pereira of Washington, Jon Rahm of Arizona State, Antoine Rozner of Missouri-Kansas City, Matthias Schwab of Vanderbilt, Robby Shelton of Alabama, Aaron Wise of Oregon, Adam Wood of Duke, Cameron Young of Wake Forest and Will Zalatoris of Wake Forest.

The list of 10 semifinalists, which could include individuals not on the watch list, will be unveiled on Wednesday, April 13. On Tuesday, May 3, that group will be pared down to three finalists. The finalists will attend a black-tie banquet at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday, May 23, prior to the start of the PGA Tour's Colonial National Invitation Tournament, where the winner will be crowned.

McCoy and his Georgia teammates will open the spring portion of the schedule Feb. 21-23 at the Puerto Rico Classic. The three-day event in Rio Grande will pit the Bulldogs against Alabama, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Purdue, UNC-Greensboro and Virginia Tech. Georgia finished first at the 2015 edition of the tournament, with McCoy, tied for fourth, being the highest rated Bulldog in the event.

• Russell Henley, Bubba Watson and Brendon Todd are in action this week in the always-entertaining AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.