Bulldogs Ready For Phoenix Open

Erik Compton watches a tee shot during the Farmers Insurance Open.

• The PGA TOUR stop this week is the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. Erik Compton, Harris English, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk and Bubba Watson are in the field, while Kevin Kisner is one of the alternates. The tournament will be held Thursday through Sunday at TPC Scottsdale.

• Compton was the top Bulldog in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif. He finished 19th at 4-under.Watson was 23rd at 3-under and Brendon Todd was 37th at 1-under. Kisner, Hudson Swafford and Russell Henley missed the cut.

• The current Bulldogs are hard at work preparing for the 2014 portion of their schedule. Coach Chris Haack's charges will return to action Feb. 23-25 in the Puerto Rico Classic.

• The 2014 Tee-Off Club membership brochure will be going out in the next few days. If you have any questions about the Tee-Off Club, contact Denise Saliba by email or 706-369-6066.

Six Bulldogs Ready To Tee It Up In Farmers Insurance Open

Brendon Todd was the top Bulldog in the Humana Challenge, placing sixth.

The PGA TOUR stop this week is the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines (South) in La Jolla, Calif.

The Bulldogs in the field include Erik Compton, Russell Henley, Kevin Kisner, Hudson Swafford, Brendon Todd and Bubba Watson.

Saturday has been designated as "University Day" and PGATOUR.com is planning a package on the Bulldogs. Once the segment comes live, we'll link it to the blog.

• Coach Chris Haack was a guest on Talk of the Tour on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio on Thursday. To hear some of the interview, click here.

• At the Humana Challenge in La Quinta, Calif., last week, Todd was sixth at 23-under, followed by Swafford in 25th at 17-under, Harris English in 33rd at 16-under, Kisner in 48th at 14-under, Compton in 69th at 12-under and Brian Harman in 82nd at 7-under.

• The 2014 Tee-Off Club membership brochure will be going out in the next few days. If you have any questions about the Tee-Off Club, contact Denise Saliba by email or 706-369-6066.

Kirk, English, Swafford Go Top 10 In Hawaii

Chris Kirk came in second in the Sony Open on Sunday.

The Sony Open leaderboard certainly had a Georgia flavor.

At Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Chris Kirk came in second at 16-under after holding the 54-hole lead. Harris English finished fourth at 14-under and Hudson Swafford took eighth at 10-under. The Bulldogs also boasted 20th-place efforts from Ryuji Imada and Brendon Todd (9-under). Brian Harman placed 32nd at 7-under and Russell Henley came in 51st at 4-under. Kevin Kisner and Erik Compton missed the cut.

• The PGA TOUR stops this week at the Humana Challenge in La Quinta, Calif. Compton, English, Harman, Kisner, Swafford and Todd are scheduled to participate.

• There is a nice feature on Swafford and English on the PGA TOUR's website. Check it out here.

English Paces Bulldogs In Hyundai TOC

Chris Kirk came in 16th in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

The 2014 portion of the PGA TOUR schedule got under way in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Plantation Course at Kapalua in Hawaii.

Harris English was the top Bulldog, finishing 11th at 12-under. Chris Kirk was 16th at 10-under and Russell Henley was 27th at 3-under.

The TOUR stops this week at the Sony Open in Waialae Country Club in Hawaii. English, Kirk, Henley (the defending champion), Ryuji Imada, Erik Compton, Brian Harman, Brendon Todd, Hudson Swafford and Kevin Kisner are in the field.

English, Kuchar Team Up To Win Franklin Templeton Shootout

Matt Kuchar and Harris English hold the Franklin Templeton Shootout trophy on Sunday.

Who says Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets can't work together?

On Sunday in Naples, Fla., former Georgia standout Harris English teamed with ex-Georgia Tech star Matt Kuchar to run away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout.

English and Kuchar shot a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record.

English and Kuchar finished at 34-under 182, playing their last 28 holes at Tiburon in 25 under. They opened with a 64 on Friday in modified alternate-shot play and had a 60 on Saturday in better ball.

The duo beat Retief Goosen and Fredrik Jacobsen by seven strokes, matching the tournament record for margin of victory set by Curtis Strange and Mark O'Meara in 1989 in the inaugural event.

"It was a fun week," Kuchar said. "This is one of my favorite events of the year. I wish we could more team events. I realize during the year, that's difficult but to mix up the formats and have a partner here is just a lot of fun. It's nice to perform well."

Kuchar and English, who replaced the injured Brandt Snedeker in the field, each earned $385,000.

"It's such a relaxing event," English said. "It's really cool being part of this event."

Goosen and Jacobsen closed with a 61, but had little chance to catch the winners.

"It was unbelievable, quite an exhibition," Jacobson said. "Both guys were putting well and they're solid ball-strikers, so we knew we had to pick up the pace. But they played so well, there's not much you can do about it."

Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter had a 59 to finish third at 26, and Chris DiMarco and Billy Horschel were fourth at 24 under after a 60.

Beringer, Healy, Larkin Sign With Bulldogs

Matthew Beringer, Zach Healy and Jack Larkin have signed national letters of intent with the Bulldogs, according to an announcement by Coach Chris Haack.

Beringer lives in Macon and attends Stratford Academy (the same school that produced Bulldog All-American Russell Henley). Beringer was the state medalist as a  freshman, has been named All-Region three times, and is a two-time All-State selection. He has recorded several wins on the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour, including the Tournament of Champions in 2009. Beringer was chosen as the All-Middle Georgia Golfer of the Year by the Macon Telegraph in 2011. He represented the state in the 2010 Georgia-South Carolina Challenge Match.

Healy is a native of Peachtree Corners and attends Norcross High School. Healy was the medalist and led Norcross to the 2013 state championship, and he earned Player of the Year honors. Healy won the 2013 Atlanta Amateur Match Play Championship. He had a top-20 finish in the 2013 Georgia Amateur and made the cut in the event as a 13-year-old. Healy has numerous top-5 efforts in American Junior Golf Association events, including a runner-up finish in the 2013 Davis Love III Junior Open and the 2012 Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All-Star. In 2012, Healy won the East Coast Golfweek Invitational.

Larkin attends Marist and lives in Atlanta. He helped Marist win back-to-back state championships with a runner-up individual effort in 2013 and a third-place finish in 2012. Larkin twice was named to the Class AAAA All-State Team.  Larkin finished second in the Georgia State Golf Association's State Junior Championships and won the SJGT's Junior Peach Blossom and Glen Arven Junior Classic. He is the son of Jack Larkin, who played for the Bulldogs from 1980-83 and captained the squad his senior year.

"We are excited about having Matthew, Zach and Jack join our program," Haack said. "We've watched them hone their games the last few years, and I'm confident that they all can make a significant on our program on the course and in the classroom. If they continue to work hard and improve, they are capable of being in the running to play for us right away next season."

Macpherson Qualifies For Open Again

Bryden Macpherson will play in the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Bryden Macpherson came in fourth in the Emirates Australian Open on Sunday to qualify for the 2014 Open Championship.

Macpherson, who played for the Bulldogs from 2010-2012, fired rounds of 71-70-69-69 to wind up at 9-under 279. The top two spots went to Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott, while John Senden was third and Macpherson tied with Rhein Gibson for fourth.

The Open has gone to a new qualifying system for 2014 called the Open Qualifying Series in which 14 events around the world will serve as qualifying possibilities for players not already exempt into the Open.

Senden, Gibson and Macpherson were the top three players in the top-10 at the Australian Open not already in the field for the Open Championship, to be be played July 17-20 at Royal Liverpool in England.

There will be other qualifying tournaments, including two in Asia and one in South Africa as well as three tournaments in Europe and three in the United States. The AT&T National, the Greenbrier Classic and John Deere Classic will serve as PGA Tour events in which players can qualify.

Macpherson played in the Open in 2011 after becoming the second Australian to win the Amateur Championship. 

“Today’s a great day," Macpherson said Sunday. "I played well today and all week really. The Open was amazing the first time I played in at Royal St George’s. I played quite well and I think links golf sets up for me very well. For me The Open is golf, it’s where it all began in Scotland. It is golf at its purest and you can’t beat that.”

• Georgia is No. 1 in the Rivals Cup standings, which ranks NCAA programs that are having the greatest impact in professional sports. The Bulldogs boast two winners already this season in Harris English and Chris Kirk, each of whom has more than $1 million in earnings. The Bulldogs also have points from Brian Harman, Brendon Todd, Bubba Watson, Kevin Kisner, Erik Compton, Hudson Swafford and Russell Henley.