On the undergraduate side, Coach Chris Haack has his student-athletes picking up right where they left off this summer. As you may remember, the Dawgs finished 3rd in the nation via a semi-final loss to eventual national champion LSU in the match-play format. We lost senior Mooke DeMoss, but he's playing on the Canadian mini-tour and hopes to get promoted to more serious paydays soon. That being said, the current roster competed in the Carmel Cup this past weekend, and did more than alright. Played at Pebble Beach, Georgia placed second overall in the team event, finishing 6 strokes behind Oklahoma State. Junior Greyson Sigg (not Lambert), finished in a 3-way tie for low medalist before winning it outright in extra holes, so congrats to Greyson. I hope I get to say that a lot in the coming months.
Moving to the pro circuit, The US President's Cup team was announced Tuesday afternoon, and team captain Jay Haas will have two former Bulldogs on his 12 man roster. Bubba Watson and Chris Kirk both qualified based on points. If you remember, Chris Kirk was controversially left off the US Ryder Cup roster last year, and he was fresh off a big win at the Deutsche Bank and a stellar 2014 campaign overall. But he was an automatic qualifier this year, and joins Bubba as Red & Black representing the Red, White & Blue. The biennial competition will be played late October in South Korea, and pits a U.S. team vs. an International team (excluding Europe, which is the U.S. vs. Europe on even-numbered years).
And the FedEx Cup playoffs have rounds 1 and 2 in the books, and though there were some casualties, the top 70 golfers left standing include many former Bulldogs. Nine former Bulldogs made round 1, and eight made round two. We had another casualty this past weekend, as Hudson Swafford just couldn't muster enough to move into the top 70. He eagled #15 in the last round, but a double-bogey coming in spelled disaster for his chances. That being said, here's who will tee it up in Chicago for the BMW Championship September 17-20 (playoff ranking in parentheses):
Bubba Watson (5)
Kevin Kisner (15)
Harris English (32)
Chris Kirk (37)
Brendon Todd (48)
Brian Harman (50)
Russell Henley (58)
Only the top 30 advance past the BMW to the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta. And as of now, Bubba is still in the running for the $10 million bonus money. So while football takes center stage, there remains lots of Bulldogs chasing little white balls. Whatever your flavor, we're doing well and it is a source of pride for any UGA fan.
GO 'DAWGS!!!