The Georgia women’s golf team will open play in the Gifford Great 8 Match Play, hosted by UCLA at the Brentwood Country Club, teeing off today from 12:20 to 1:00 p.m. ET against Colorado. The Lady Bulldogs’ will play a second round later in the afternoon at 4:20 p.m. ET, and then a single round on Tuesday.

 
 
Seeding for the tournament was determined by averaging the most national rankings of Golfweek and Golfstat. Georgia, which is ranked No. 8 by Golfstat and No. 9 by Golfweek, is the No. 3 seed. Southern Cal is the top seed, followed by UCLA, the Bulldogs, Purdue, Ohio State, Colorado, Oregon and Oregon State.
 
 
“We’re very excited about the tournament and the format,” head coach Josh Brewer said. “This is an opportunity for us to play match play against some of the best teams in the nation and see where we stand. That’s exactly where we hope to be at the end our season at nationals, playing match play against the best teams in the nation to see where we stand. This is a great way to start this two-month stretch that ends with the national championships.”
 
 
The Bulldogs’ lineup will feature seniors Harang Lee and Mary Ellen Shuman and sophomores Jillian Hollis, Rinko Mitsunaga and Bailey Tardy. In addition, junior Isabella Skinner will compete as an individual.
 
 
Coach Brewer will decide his team’s playing order from Sunday’s practice round.
 
 
“I’m glad we’re playing this format because it gives us a chance to figure some things out,” Brewer said “With match play, you have to decide who goes first and who goes last. Traditionally, you want your best player to go last so they are in the match that could mean the most. You also have have to get enough points to make sure that last match matters. I’ll probably experiment with that all week and mix things up a bit to hopefully prepare us better for later this spring.”
 
 
Live scoring will be available throughout the tournament at www.birdiefire.com.