Starrs Mill High School to Coastal Georgia to the University of Georgia, George Langham always wanted to sport the red and black; now, as a redshirt senior, Langham and the 2025 Georgia golf squad have everything in front of them to make a run for the SEC Championship and more.
Hailing from Peachtree City, Georgia, Langham grew up a Dawg as his father Franklin raised him. Franklin played golf at Georgia (1989-91) and was named an All-American after his senior season. As his love of golf grew, the red and black coursed through George’s blood while he grew up just 100 miles from Athens.
“I didn’t really play competitive golf until ninth grade,” said Langham. “I made some high stakes shots in some big tournaments, and I realized, ‘Hey golf is fun, and I can do this.’”
Langham went on to win two state championships at Starrs Mill and a decision for college loomed. Despite his success at the high school level. Langham wasn’t quite ready for SEC golf at UGA. Communicating with Georgia head coach Chris Haack thanks to Langham’s connection with the program through his dad, George wound up committing to the College of Coastal Georgia and head coach Mike Cook.
Cook was a Georgia golfer in the early 1980s. That network of Bulldogs proved to be consistent in Langham’s early career.
“I stayed in touch with Haacker and those guys,” said Langham. “After some good years and becoming an All-American at Coastal, I felt that I was good enough to come to Georgia, and the guys here thought I was good enough too.”
Langham, a Bulldog since birth, made it. He earned the Georgia bag and proudly wears the ‘G’ on his chest. However, his story doesn’t end here. Just making it isn’t enough. It’s time to win and win at a high level in the ultra-competitive SEC.
Georgia clinched the first place finish at the Linger Longer Invitational in March. Langham finished as the second lowest Bulldog tied for sixth with a six-under score in the tournament. As a team, the Bulldogs went 30-under, besting No. 18 Alabama by two strokes. Georgia’s historic program with Haack at the helm alongside associate head coach Jim Douglas and second-year assistant Mookie DeMoss expects victory, but it isn’t a guarantee, it’s earned.
“At Georgia, we qualify every week,” said Langham. “You know, some coaches let their seniors play at tournaments because they’ve been there the longest. It doesn’t matter here. We qualify for each tournament, and Haack, no matter your age, puts the golfers that are playing the best golf at the time out there so we have the best chance to win.”
This is a long-standing tradition under Haack and his staff, one that separates Georgia and has put so many golfers on Tour. I’ve interviewed Brian Harman, a winner at the Valero Texas Open this past weekend, Harris English, another winner on Tour this year, and Kevin Kisner, the longtime successful professional. Each one says the same thing, “The qualifiers. That’s what prepares you for the Tour coming from Georgia.” Langham said no different.
With the addition of DeMoss to the staff, Langham said he brings an even more structured, modern take on practice. DeMoss is a UGA golf letterman, helping the 2015 team to the Final Four at the NCAA Championships as captain of the squad. He followed his time at Georgia with an extensive list of professional tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamérica. DeMoss then caddied for several Dawgs on Tour: Sepp Straka, Chris Kirk, Brendon Todd and Keith Mitchell. DeMoss knows what it takes, said Langham.
Straka and Kirk alongside five other former Dawgs on Tour will appear at Augusta National this week. With seven former Bulldogs playing for the green jacket, Langham and I had to talk a little Masters before the first major of 2025.
“You have to be able to putt as we all know in Augusta, so I’ll go with Sepp (Straka) for Georgia guys,” said Langham. “I played with him at Athens Country Club [last week]. He seems dialed in, so I gotta go with him.”
Despite being No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings and No. 14 in the Official World Golf Rankings, Straka’s odds to win are quite long, at +6600.
“I think Russell [Henley] is playing really well right now too,” said Langham. “He’s a type of guy that has been putting really well and is definitely a sleeper.”
Henley’s odds are at +5500, the best among Dawgs on Tour, as he sits at No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings and is the No. 7 ranked golfer in the world.
“One longshot… Davis [Thompson],” said Langham. “I mean he bombs the ball. That will always give you a chance.”
Thompson is +12000 to win the Masters. There’s some great value out there for some talented Dawgs on Tour. Don’t overlook the home state guys as they go for the title at the 89th Masters.
It’s no coincidence there’s so much success on Tour from these former Dawgs. We didn’t even talk about Harman, and he just won the event preceding the Masters. Can the lefty win his second major? I wouldn’t put it past him. All that to say, the success on Tour can be attributed to Georgia, and now, Langham is learning the same.
“It’s like the national championship in every tournament in the SEC,” said Langham. “I think we’re working in the right direction right now with our best golf in front of us. Winning the SEC in my last year would be a great way to finish out college, and I think we can. I think if you win the SEC too it’s like a precursor for the national championship because all of the top teams in the country are in the SEC.”
Langham has fulfilled his dream of playing for Georgia, but he wants more where “it just means more.” Let’s win the SEC! Let’s have a Dawg on Tour win the green jacket! That’s a ++ right there!