Armed with the No. 3 national ranking following the fall, the Georgia men’s golf team is slated to play in five regular-season tournaments this spring, according to an announcement Friday by Bulldogs head coach Chris Haack.
Georgia navigated an SEC-only schedule in the fall, including a win in the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate and a runner-up finish in the Vanderbilt Legends Collegiate. The Bulldogs and their conference brethren will remain in the conference footprint this spring with aspirations of advancing to the national tournaments.
“It’s exciting, not just because we’re announcing a schedule, but also because of the boost it provides our players given all they’ve been through with the coronavirus,” Haack said. “Our three fall tournaments were a nice start and now we get the important step of resuming play in the spring, which is really the showcase time of year for our sport. There may be challenges ahead due to the pandemic, but we’ll face those head on. For now, we’re just thrilled about the idea the normalcy that practicing, qualifying, and competing will bring.”
The spring will open Feb. 12-14 in the Florida Gators Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla., then will compete in the LSU Invitational at the University Club in Baton Rouge, La., Feb. 26-28. The Bulldogs will play in the Tiger Invitational at Grand National in Opelika, Ala., March 15-17, followed by the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss., March 26-28. The regular season will end with the Shoal Creek Invitational at Shoal Creek Club in Birmingham, Ala., April 5-7.
The SEC and NCAA tournaments, which were not played in 2020 due to the coronavirus, are back on the calendar. The SEC Championship is slated for April 20-25 at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course on St. Simons Island, Ga. The NCAA Regionals are scheduled for May 17-19 in Albuquerque, N.M.; Nashville, Tenn.; Stillwater, Okla.; Cle Elum, Wash.; Noblesville, Ind.; and Tallahassee, Fla. The top 30 teams following the regionals will advance to the NCAA Championships May 28-June 2 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Bulldogs ended the fall with three players with scoring averages in the 60s — senior Davis Thompson (68.67), fifth-year player Spencer Ralston (69.33), and sophomore Connor Creasy (69.83).