Georgia Named Top Seed For Tuscaloosa

The No. 3-ranked Georgia men's golf team will begin its quest for another national championship May 16-18 at the NCAA Regional hosted by Alabama, according to an announcement Thursday by the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Committee.

The Bulldogs are seeded first in the Tuscaloosa Regional, which will be held at Ol’ Colony Golf Complex. Thirteen teams will compete in the Regional, with the top five teams advancing to the NCAA Championships May 27-June 1 in Eugene, Ore.

Joining the Bulldogs and host/fourth-seeded Alabama will be No. 2 seed Auburn, No. 3 seed South Carolina, No. 5 seed UNLV, No. 6 seed Kentucky, No. 7 seed Kansas, No. 8 seed Charleston, No. 9 seed Lipscomb, No. 10 seed Charleston Southern, No. 11 seed Colorado, No. 12 seed Harvard and No. 13 seed Southern Illinois. Georgia, UNLV, Charleston, Harvard and Southern Illinois were automatic qualifiers as conference champions.

“I thought the SEC Championship was last month,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said with a laugh. “At least we’ll have familiarity with those four SEC schools and they’ll know about us. Looking at our Regional top to bottom, it’s extremely competitive and will be a tough challenge. But that’s how it’s supposed to be this time of year. To contend for and win championships, you have to play your best golf, so we’re excited about the opportunity.”

Georgia has won three tournaments this season, including the SEC Championship. The Bulldogs also have three seconds, a third, two fourths, and a sixth this season. Said Haack, “We’ve been a consistent squad all season, certainly much better than a year ago.”

The other Regional sites are Gallery Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz.; University of New Mexico Championship Course in Albuquerque, N.M.; Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisc.; Vanderbilt Legends Club in Nashville, Tenn.; and Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla.

The Bulldogs were invited to an NCAA Regional for the 21st straight year and for the 27th time in 28 seasons since the format was introduced in 1988-89. The Bulldogs have advanced from the Regional to the NCAAs 20 times. The Bulldogs have been invited to an NCAA Regional in all 20 of Haack's seasons and have moved onto the NCAAs in 17 of the previous 19 campaigns. Haack led the Bulldogs to the 1999 and 2005 national titles, to runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2011, and to the “Final Fore” in 2015.

McCoy, Haack Earn Southeastern Conference Awards

Lee McCoy and Chris Haack of the Georgia men’s golf team have been named the Southeastern Conference Player and Coach of the Year, respectively, according to an announcement Wednesday by the league office.

McCoy and Greyson Sigg earned First-Team All-SEC honors, while Sepp Straka and Zach Healy were selected for the Second Team by the league coaches. Georgia's four All-SEC selections led the conference. Vanderbilt had three honorees and Alabama had two, while Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina and Texas A&M had one each.

“We are all very appreciative of these SEC awards,” Haack said. “To be chosen by the coaches is a great honor. I could not be prouder of our guys. They have worked so hard, and they deserve this recognition. My hat’s off to Lee on being named the Player of the Year. He has been a tremendous leader and ambassador for our program on and off the golf course all season.”

McCoy is the sixth SEC Player of the Year in school history, joining Peter Persons (1986), Jeremy Parrott (1998), Nick Cassini (2001), Chris Kirk (2006) and Russell Henley (2010). McCoy was First-Team All-SEC in 2015 and Second-Team All-SEC in 2014.

A senior from Clarkesville, McCoy has won two times this season, including medalist honors at last month's SEC Championship (the 16th Bulldog to win the league title). He has finished in the top seven in seven of the nine tournaments in which he has played. McCoy has a season scoring average of 69.69 and a career average of 70.86, each of which is better than the current school mark. He is No. 1 in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking, No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and No. 6 in both the GolfStat Cup and the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings. McCoy made national headlines in March when he placed fourth in the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship and was four shots better than final-round playing partner Jordan Spieth, then drove 7.5 hours to play in the Southern Intercollegiate Championships in Athens.

“I’m honored to be chosen as the SEC Player of the Year,” McCoy said. “Our league is stocked with amazing players, so to win this is pretty surreal. All I’ve wanted to do all year is play to the best of my ability and give our team a chance to win. It’s been a fun and amazing year for all of us — and our team still has some pretty big goals.”

Haack earned the SEC Coach of the Year award for the fifth time in his 20-year career. Haack previously was recognized in 1998, 2000, 2006 and 2010. Haack has piloted the Bulldogs to a school-record 59 tournament titles, including three this season. Last month, he led the Bulldogs to his eighth and the program's 29th SEC Championship. McCoy is the fourth SEC Player of the Year under Haack's watch, while McCoy, Sigg, Straka and Healy give Haack 63 All-SEC selections (37 First Team, 26 Second Team).

Said Haack, “I’m humbled by my selection as the Coach of the Year. That award signifies that our team has performed well, so I share this with Coach Jim Douglas and all of our players.”

Sigg ranks second on the team and ninth in the SEC with a scoring average of 71.24. Sigg earned medalist honors — the first of his career — at the Carmel Cup and the Southern Intercollegiates earlier this season. The junior from Augusta has five top-10s this year, including 10th at the SEC Championship.

Straka, a senior from Valdosta, stands third for Georgia and 12th in the league with his 71.50 scoring average. Straka has five top-10 finishes, which is one more than he had in his previous three years. Straka had a stretch in the spring where he notched seven straight and 12 out of 14 par-or-better rounds.

Healy, a sophomore from Peachtree Corners, has a scoring average of 71.55, which ranks fourth for Georgia and 13th for the conference. He won his first collegiate golf tournament this season, claiming medalist honors at the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic. Healy has recorded seven other top-20s this season, including a third-place effort in the Southern Intercollegiates.

Sigg, Straka and Healy earned All-SEC recognition for the first time in their careers.

The No. 3-ranked Bulldogs will learn their NCAA Regional destination on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. The announcement will be made on The Golf Channel. The NCAA Regionals will take place May 16-18, followed by the NCAA Championships May 27-June 1 in Eugene, Ore.

• Speaking of Straka, he's playing in the Mackenzie Tour's Canada Q-School in British Columbia this week. 

• The PGA Tour stop this week is the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina. Brendon Todd, Harris English, Kevin Kisner and Brian Harman are in the field.

McCoy, Sigg Named Semifinalists For Nicklaus Award

Lee McCoy and Greyson Sigg have chosen as semifinalists for the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award. Finalists for the award will be named May 25 and the winner will be chosen June 2. The winner will compete in the Barbasol Shootout June 4 in Ohio for an exemption into the PGA Tour's Barbasol Championship in Alabama July 14-17.

• McCoy, Sigg and the rest of the Bulldogs will learn their NCAA Regional destination on Thursday, May 5, at 9:30 a.m. The announcement will be made on the Golf Channel.

• The SEC golf yearly awards will be announced Wednesday, March 4.

• Bulldog letterman and current Coastal Carolina coach Mike Cook will serve as the U.S. coach for the Palmer Cup, which will take place June 24-26 at Formby (England) Golf Club.

• Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Brian Harman, Hudson Swafford, Erik Compton and Brendon Todd are in action this week in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

• Adam Mitchell, Keith Mitchell and Bryden Macpherson are playing in the Web.com Tour's United Leasing & Finance Championship in Indiana.

McCoy-Led Bulldogs Win SEC Championship

L to R: Zach Healy, Lee McCoy, Coach Jim Douglas, Coach Chris Haack, Greyson Sigg, Tye Waller and Sepp Straka.

 ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — With senior medalist Lee McCoy leading the way, the No. 4-ranked Georgia men’s golf team won the program’s 29th league title on Sunday in the Southeastern Conference Championship on Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course.

Lee McCoy with Commissioner Greg Sankey.

The Bulldogs fired a final-round 5-over 285 to wind up at 13-over 853 and hold on for a 3-shot win over Texas A&M (856). Florida and Arkansas tied for third at 861, while LSU took fifth at 864.

The Bulldogs earned their eighth SEC title under Coach Chris Haack and their first since 2010. It was also the sixth time Georgia has won at Sea Island.

“It’s a feeling that never gets old, that’s for sure,” Haack said. “You never know if you’ll get another one, so I’m so happy that these boys get to experience this. It’s especially nice to see Sepp (Straka) and Lee close out their senior years with an SEC title. … This definitely gives us a boost of confidence heading into the NCAAs that we can maybe go all the way this time.”

“The SEC Championship was one of our main goals all year,” Straka said. “It got a little nerve-racking for sure, but I knew our guys could do it. It feels great to get the ‘W.’”

McCoy paced the Bulldogs to the win as he closed at 1-under 69 to finish at 3-under 207. McCoy notched the seventh win of his collegiate career — one shy of the school record — by two shots over Kentucky’s Tyler McDaniel and three shots over Auburn’s Matt Gilchrest.

McCoy is the 16th medalist in Georgia history, the first since Russell Henley in 2010. He capped his day by slamming down a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 18 — a shot Straka said McCoy “will remember the rest of his life.”

“The individual title means a lot, but not nearly as much as the team title,” McCoy said. “We’ve never even contended since I’ve been here, so this feels incredible. To know I’ll get to leave school with a ring and that I helped the boys win an SEC Championship feels great. … This is our finest moment. This is something we’ll never forget.”

Georgia junior Greyson Sigg came in 10th at 215, followed by sophomore Zach Healy in 18th at 218, freshman Tye Waller at 221 and Straka at 223.

The SEC Network will air a highlights show from the SECs on Sunday, April 24, at 1 p.m.

Bulldogs Set Sights On SEC Championship

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. --- The Georgia men’s golf team will join its fellow league members this weekend in the Southeastern Conference Championship at the Sea Island Golf Club.

The top-seeded Bulldogs will play Friday through Sunday on the par-70, 6,898-yard layout on the Seaside Course. Georgia is ranked No. 3 by Golfweek and No. 4 by GolfStat in this week’s polls.

Georgia will use a lineup of seniors Lee McCoy and Sepp Straka, junior Greyson Sigg, sophomore Zach Healy and freshman Tye Waller.

The Bulldogs will be paired with Auburn and Vanderbilt in the first round on Friday. The players will tee off in 10-minute increments between 7:30-8:10 a.m. Live results and tee times can be found at Golfstat.com and SECSports.com.

“Our expectations are always to win; that’s what we go down there for,” Georgia head coach Chris Haack said. “There are a lot of good teams in our conference, so we know it will be a tough battle, but that’s what’s fun about it. We get to compete at the highest level and that’s what we all signed up for.”

The Bulldogs have won twice this season and own three second-place finishes. Georgia has finished outside the top four in a tournament just once. Sigg twice has earned medalist honors, while McCoy and Healy each have one.

McCoy leads the Bulldogs with a scoring average of 69.78, followed by Straka’s 71.13, Sigg’s 71.19, Healy’s 71.42 and Waller’s 72.33.

“We’re excited about getting into the postseason,” Healy said. “We’ve been a pretty consistent team, especially during the spring. We’re looking forward to the opportunity that we have in front of us this week.”

McCoy currently is rated sixth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and stands sixth in the GolfStat and eighth in the Golfweek rankings. His win at the Linger Longer Invitational last month was the sixth of his career, one shy of the school record. Earlier this week, he was named one of the 10 semifinalists for the Ben Hogan Award.

The SEC is as strong as ever with three schools ranked in the top 10 and four others in the top 20.

“It’s tough, without a doubt,” Haack said. “Like the other sports in our league, there’s no clear-cut team that will win. There’s no one you can point to and say, ‘That’s the team to beat.’ But that’s one of the nice things about it. If you can win or compete for the SEC, you’ve got a good enough team to go all the way.”

Georgia has been a dominant force at the SECs, winning a league-best 28 conference titles. Under Haack, the Bulldogs have secured seven SEC titles, including five of the tournaments held at Sea Island. Georgia also boasts 15 SEC medalists, including Haack protégés Bryant Odom (2001), Brendon Todd (2004) and Russell Henley (2010).

This marks the 16th year for the SECs to be contested on the Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course. The SEC has conducted its annual championship on St. Simons Island since 2001 (Seaside Course 2001-2007, 2010-2015; Frederica Golf Club 2008-2009).

Four Bulldogs Prepare For Masters

Two-time winner Bubba Watson, Kevin Kisner, Chris Kirk and Harris English will be representing Georgia in the Masters this week. Here are some articles we've stumbled across previewing the event.

• A Masters to remember for UGA’s Kevin Kisner

• Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson: I'm scared of the dark, heights - and people

• Kisner plays through trials to earn start in Masters

• Bubba Watson wants to improve himself, not his golf

• 'Dawgs on Tour: Masters Week Edition

• Jeff Knox: The Marker Everyone Wants to Play with at Augusta

• Bubba Watson doesn't mind status

• Kevin Kisner hopes practice rounds, tips pay off

Bulldogs Take Fourth In Augusta

The Georgia men’s golf team finished in fourth place in the 3M Augusta Invitational, its final event of the regular season, on Sunday.

The Bulldogs posted a 3-under par 285 in the final round, bringing their three-round total to 10-under 854. Georgia moved up one spot on the leaderboard in the final round, having entered Sunday in fifth.

Illinois won team honors with a three-round total of 27-under 837. Texas, led by medalist Beau Hossler, finished second at 24-under 840. Host Augusta was third with a total of 18-under 846.

Sepp Straka paced the Bulldogs in the final round, firing a 5-under 67 on Sunday to bring his total to 5-under 211. Straka finished in 11th place for the tournament. Lee McCoy shot a 2-under 70 on Sunday to finish at 7-under 209 on the weekend. He finished in seventh place individually, four shots back of the lead.

In the final round, the Bulldogs also got a 1-over 73 from Zach Healy and a 3-over 75 from Greyson Sigg. Their three-round totals were 1-under 215 and 3-over 219, respectively. David Mackey had Georgia’s non-counting score in the final round with an 8-over 80, finishing at 19-over 235.

Georgia will be back in action at the Southeastern Conference Championship April 15-17.