Haack Inducted Into GSGA Hall Of Fame

Coach Chris Haack was inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame recently.

Chris Haack became the first coach inducted into the Georgia State Golf Association Hall of Fame recently at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

"Being inducted was a little overwhelming," Haack said. "Getting there and seeing the names and photos of all the legends of the game from Georgia was unbelievable. To be included in that group, in some form or fashion is amazing. Then to be at the banquet, rubbing shoulders with many of those legends and having them congratulate me, it was a little surreal. I was so humbled by the whole thing."

Haack has been the Bulldogs' head coach since the 1996-97 season. He has led the Bulldogs to a school-record 56 tournament victories, including the 1999 and 2005 national championships and seven SEC titles.

Haack was chosen as the National Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2005 and earned SEC Coach of the Year honors in 1998, 2000, 2006 and 2010. He has produced 56 All-Americans and 14 Scholar All-Americans. Haack's golfers have earned 59 All-SEC certificates, including four SEC Players of the Year and seven SEC Freshmen of the Year.

Said Haack, "To say it's been a fun ride would be an understatement."

Tye Waller

• The Farmers Insurance Open will be played this week at Torrey Pines. Hudson Swafford and Brian Harman are in the field.

• Harman, Russell Henley, Swafford, Brendon Todd and Erik Compton were in action last week in the CareerBuilder Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation. Harman came in 11th to lead the Bulldogs in the field.

• Junior Jamie Lopez Rivarola finished 16th in the Latin America Amateur Championship in Casa De Campo in the Dominican Republic.

• Tye Waller has joined the Bulldogs as a transfer from Georgia Tech. Waller was a nationally rated player coming out of Spalding High School last fall and he reached the 2015 U.S. Amateur. Waller, a freshman, is eligible to play right away and is expected to contend for playing time this spring.

• Keith Mitchell, Scott Parel, Bryden Macpherson and Adam Mitchell are in action this weekend in the Web.com Tour's Panama Claro Championship.

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."