The No. 20-ranked Georgia men’s golf team won the Crooked Stick Invitational on Tuesday by one stroke over Vanderbilt.
Playing Carmel Golf Club’s par-72, 7,516-yard layout, the Bulldogs posted a final-round score of 7-over 295 for a tournament total of 3-over 867. The Commodores landed at 4-over 868 for the event.
Senior Calum Masters finished second, junior Davis Thompson came in fourth, and senior Spencer Ralston placed eighth individually to pace the Bulldogs.
The win is the second of the fall for the Bulldogs as they claimed the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate in Louisiana last month.
The victory is also the 65th of Coach Chris Haack’s career, which began with the 1996-97 season. Haack has led the Bulldogs to at least one team title — including the 1999 and 2005 national championships — in 19 of his 23 campaigns.
Masters, a transfer from Troy playing his one and only season for the Bulldogs, picked the perfect time to find his first Georgia round in the 60s as he signed for a 4-under 68 on Tuesday.
Thompson followed Masters at 2-over 74 in the final round. Sophomore Trent Phillips added a 4-over 76 and Ralston carded a 5-over 77. Senior Will Chandler had the Bulldogs’ drop score of 10-over 82.
Masters finished at 5-under 211, just one shy of Marquette’s Tyler Leach. Thompson came in at 3-under 213, and he has finished in the top eight in all of the Bulldogs’ four fall events, including his second career victory in the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate. Ralston checked in at 1-over 217, followed by Phillips at 10-over 226, and Chandler at 19-over 235.
Playing as an individual, freshman Connor Creasy posted a 4-over 76 on Tuesday for a tournament total of 11-over 227.
“That was a chore, but winning a tournament should be that way,” Haack said. “It’s not supposed to be easy. You’re supposed to get pushed by other teams and the elements and the course, and all of that happened. But our guys never blinked. They stayed focused on what they needed to do, and now they get to celebrate another win. I’m so proud of all of them.”
The Bulldogs will wrap up the fall in the Ka’anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational in Hawaii Nov. 1-3.