The Golf season is in full swing so there’s a lot going on and a lot to keep up with. We’ll break it down in three parts: a recap of last week on Tour, a preview of this week’s PGA Tour event, and an update on the current Bulldogs playing collegiate golf.

In Coachella Valley last week , 7 former Bulldogs teed it up at the American Express. It wasn’t as good as the week before at the Sony, where 10 Classic City Canines all started and all 10 made the cut. But it was still pretty good:
Brendon Todd and Chris Kirk both missed the 54 hole cut by 3 shots.
Sepp Straka tied for 49th at 9 under par.
Greyson Sigg was 12 under, good for T25
Russell Henley stayed steady, and followed his solo 2nd in Hawaii with a 14 under par T14 finish.
Brian Harman hung around and mounted a charge on Sunday, jumping up 15 spots and eventually tying for 3rd.
And Hudson Swafford matched Harman’s 64, recording 7 birdies in a 9 hole stretch, eagling the par 5 16th hole, birdieing the 17th, and draining an 8 footer for par and the win on the 72nd hole. He gets 500 FedEx Cup points, and over $1.3 million for that effort.

And that makes 13 straight years a former Georgia Bulldog golfer has won on the PGA Tour. Every one of them a protégé’ of current Men’s Golf Coach Chris Haack.

So now we move slightly south and west, across the Santa Rosa mountains, to the San Diego area. And to Torrey Pines - one of the best municipal golf complexes in the nation.

Tournament: Farmers Insurance Open, January 26-29, 2022

Course: Torrey Pines GC (South), 7,765 yards, par-72. Torrey Pines GC (North), 7,258 yards, par-72

Defending Champ: Patrick Reed. Leading or tied for the lead each day, Reed shot a Sunday 68 to win by 5. Some might say that his score was artificially low, as he received a favorable ruling on the 10th hole that remains in controversy. He was granted relief from an embedded lie from his tee shot in the rough, even though video proves the ball bounced at least once to where he claims it embedded. But he’s a cheater several times over, so we don’t need to go too much into that.

Fun Fact: The land the course sits on was originally a military base until after WWII when it was sold to the City of San Diego. Who did various things on it, even constructing a racetrack. It eventually became golf courses in the 1960s.

TV Times: Wednesday, 12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Thursday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (Golf Channel). Friday, 3 p.m.-5 p.m. (Golf Channel), 5 p.m.-8 p.m. (CBS). Saturday, 2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 4:30 p.m.-8 p.m. (CBS). Moving the tournament up a day (Wed-Sat) so as to not conflict with NFL conference championships also allows CBS to join the fray and broadcast some of the action.

‘Dawgs in the Field: 4. At least that’s by my count. Last week’s winner Hudson Swafford, Greyson Sigg, Keith Mitchell, and Sepp Straka.

And to keep the golf conversation going, let’s turn our attention to the undergraduates currently representing the University of Georgia.

The Men’s Golf team opens the Spring 2022 in the prestigious Southwestern Invitational at North Ranch Country Club in California. Of the 14 teams playing, 6 are ranked in the top 25 in the nation, 3 in the top 10. The Georgia Bulldogs are currently 13th, but things are trending.

After round 1, Georgia recorded 9 under par. That was good for a 4 stroke lead over #3 Arizona State, and 8 shots better than host and #7 ranked Pepperdine. The individual leaderboard is more crowded, but led by Bulldog Senior Trent Phillips at 6 under par (66).

Day 2 wasn’t as kind to the Red and Black. Georgia shot even par 288 (4 counting scores), but Pepperdine shot 11 under to blow by the Bulldogs, and Arizona State shot a blistering 13 under par. So Georgia now sits in 3rd, 3 shots out of 2nd place and 9 shots out of 1st. Trent Phillips was able to get around in 70 strokes (2 under) and now has company in 1st place with Devon Bling from UCLA.

TV coverage is on Golf Channel starting at 4:30 pm ET.

So there’s what’s happening in both the pro and collegiate ranks. So if you’re not completely suckered in by the basketball team beating Alabama, there are ‘Dawgs chasing little white balls for your entertainment. And as always...

GO ‘DAWGS!!!