Strong Finishes By Bulldogs on PGA and Nationwide Tour



Bubba Watson tied for second at The Travelers Championship

 Bubba Watson came close to capturing his second win of the season at The Travelers Championship on Sunday.  Watson fired a pair of 65's on the weekend to finish tied for 2nd at 13 under par, just a shot behind winner Marc Leishman.  Watson has had success at The Travelers in the past, he won his first career tour event at The Travelers in 2010.  Fellow Bulldogs Brian Harman finished tied for 24th at 7 under and Harris English tied for 64th at 1 under.

On the Nationwide Tour at the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, Hudson Swafford carded a four round total of 13 under to finish 4th.  Richard Scott finished tied for 9th at 11 under, Scott parel was tied for 48th at 5 under and Paul Claxton finished tied for 59th at 2 under.

The next event on the PGA Tour schedule is the AT&T National and the next event on The Nationwide Tour is The United Leasing Championship. 

Bulldogs Playing Well In Connecticut and Kansas

A group of Bulldogs found their names near the top of the leaderboard after the first day of play on both the PGA and Nationwide Tours.  The PGA Tour stops in Cromwell, Connecticut this week for the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands while the Nationwide Tour is in Wichita, Kansas for the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open.

After round one of play at the Travelers, Bubba Watson and Kevin Kisner are tied for 5th place after a 4 under par round of 66.  Harris English and Brendon Todd are both tied for 43rd at 1 under par.  Brian Harman fired an even par 70 and sits in a tie for 58th, while Ryuji Imada is in 121st after a 4 over 74.

Round 2 of the Travelers Championship can be viewed live on The Golf Channel from 3-6 and scoring can be followed live at http://www.pgatour.com/

At the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, six Bulldogs are competing in the field this week.  After round one, Hudson Swafford and Paul Claxton are currently tied for 15th, thanks to a first round 4 under par 67.  Justin Bolli and Richard Scott are both tied for 31st at 3 under par while Russell Henley is tied for 56th at 2 under and Scott Parel is tied for 80th at 1 under par.

Live scoring of the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open can be followed live at http://www.pgatour.com/

Bulldogs' Mitchell Earns All-America Honors

Sophomore Keith Mitchell was named All-American for the 2011-2012 season

Keith Mitchell of the Georgia men's golf team has been chosen as a Division I PING Honorable Mention All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America, according to an announcement on Wednesday.
Mitchell, a sophomore from Chattanooga, Tenn., paced the Bulldogs at the NCAA Championships in Pacific Palisades, Calif., earlier this month with a ninth-place individual finish. Mitchell had rounds of 73-72-69 to wind up at 1-over 214.
 
Mitchell finished the year with a team-best scoring average of 71.83. He recorded five top-20 efforts in eight events and was in the top 10 three times.
 
This marks the first time in Mitchell's career that he has garnered All-America honors.

Round One of U.S. Open

The first round of the 2012 U.S. Open gets started today at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.  There will be three former Bulldogs competing in the field, Brian Harman, Paul Claxton, and Bubba Watson.

Bubba Watson will be the first Bulldog on the course when he tees off at 10:33 eastern time on hole #9 with playing partners Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

Paul Claxton tees off at 12:16 eastern time on hole #1

Brian Harman tees of at 5:35 eastern time on hole #1.  Harman has played two other additional USGA Championships at The Olympic Club, the 2004 U.S. Junior and the 2007 U.S. Amateur.  Harman was medalist at the 2004 U.S. Junior before loosing in the semi finals of match play.

Live scoring can be followed at http://www.usopen.com/ and television coverage will be on ESPN starting at noon.

Former Bulldogs Qualify for U.S. Open

Two former Bulldogs, Brian Harman and Paul Claxton, qualified for the 2012 U.S. Open to be played next week at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Brian Harman advanced out of the sectional qualifier in Columbus, Ohio by shooting 4 under par on the Scarlet Course at Ohio State.  Harman will play in the Open at the site of the 2004 U.S. Junior where Harman was the medalist of the stroke play portion with a score of 133.

Paul Claxton advanced out of the sectional qualifier in Rockville, Md by shooting 1 under par at Woodmont Country Club.

The 2012 U.S. Open begins in June 14.  Harman and Claxton will be joined in the field by fellow Bulldog, Bubba Watson.

Complete U.S. Open qualifying results can be found by visiting the U.S. Open site here:
http://www.usga.org/news/2012/June/48-Advance-To-Open-From-Sectionals/

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.