[su_spacer size=”10″] Coach Chris Haack needed just one word to sum up the performance of his Georgia men’s golf team in the first round of the NCAA Championships on Friday at Concession Golf Club.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Led by freshman Zach Healy, the 26th-seeded Bulldogs had the top score of the morning wave and the second-best effort of the day with an even-par 288. Georgia is two shots in back of No. 4 seed Illinois, while No. 19 seed Southern Cal is third at 1-over 289, No. 24 seed San Diego State is fourth at 2-over 290 and No. 7 seed LSU is fifth at 4-over 292.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Haack was overtly relieved that his Bulldogs fared better in Friday’s opening loop than they did in their most recent first round. At the NCAA San Diego Regional, Georgia began with a 19-over and stood 12th out of 13 teams. Had the Bulldogs not rallied with rounds of 10- and 3-under, they would not be playing this week at Concession.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “Getting off to a good start automatically relaxes you,” Haack said. “You don’t have that feeling that you’re already behind the eight ball, like we did in the Regional. At the same time, we’ve got a couple of more rounds to go and if you let up on this course it can jump up and bite you. I hope we can keep it going and that this positive momentum stays with us.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Play will continue Saturday and Sunday with stroke play for all 30 teams. The top 15 will compete in stroke play on Monday and the individual national champion will be crowned. The low eight squads will advance to match play beginning on Tuesday to determine the team champ.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Healy, a freshman from Peachtree Corners, Ga., paced the Bulldogs on Friday as he fired a 2-under 70. It was his 5-under 67 in the second round of the San Diego Regional that ignited the Georgia turnaround.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “I didn’t make any big mistakes today,” Healy said. “I knew where I wanted to hit and where I wanted to leave it. If you can do that, you can manage the course. It’s a difficult course, but if you leave yourself a chance to make putts, you can be OK. But if you’re in the wrong spots, you’re done.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Senior Mookie DeMoss followed Healy with a 1-under 71, good enough for a tie for 13th. Junior Lee McCoy, named Thursday as a finalist for the Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award, signed for a 1-over 73, and junior Sepp Straka finished at 2-over 74. Sophomore Greyson Sigg had the Bulldogs’ non-counting score of 3-over 75.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Haack stressed that there is a long way to go on the course nicknamed “Concussion.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] “This is one of the most difficult courses I’ve ever seen,” Haack said. “You can’t ever let up. It can really wear you out mentally. … That being said, our guys stayed in it today. They kept their heads above water. It was nice to see all five do that today.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs are scheduled to play Saturday alongside UNLV and Houston with tee times running in 10-minute increments between 1:30 and 2:10 p.m. Live results can be found at GolfStat.com.