(Photo by Sean Taylor)
[su_spacer size=”40″] The tourney will be Georgia’s third event in a dozen-day span. Last Tuesday, the Bulldogs won the Cardinal Kickoff at the Atlanta Athletic Club after finishing the one-day, 36-hole event at even-par 576. Georgia then finished second at the Cougar Classic in Charleston, which concluded Tuesday, by again shooting even-par (864).
[su_spacer size=”40″] “I think this tournament is going to be more mental for us,” head coach Josh Brewer said. “Physically, we’ve shown we can compete with anyone in the country. Now that we’re going six straight weekends (including qualifying), it’s how do we handle it mentally. We’ll probably learn a lot about ourselves this weekend.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia will stick with the same lineup, with senior Manuela Carbajo Ré, junior Harang Lee and freshmen Jillian Hollis, Rinko Mitsunaga and Bailey Tardy in the playing five. That quintet has combined to post seven top-10 and nine top-20 individual finishes to date, as well as 10 par-or-better scores.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “We’ve tried to use these first two tournaments to make sure we’ve learned something about each player,” Brewer said. “(Assistant coach) Whitney (Young) and I, each day in Charleston we took a player and walked all 18. We’re going to do that again in Nashville to make sure we’ve each covered all five players to try to see what holes we might be able to help someone with or some strengths that surprise us in competition.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Hollis led Georgia in Charleston, tying for third individually at 4-under 212. She is one of three different Bulldogs – along with Lee and Tardy – to card a 68 in the first five rounds of the year.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “It was just a great tournament for all of us,” Hollis said. “We had an awesome time, and it shows in your golf game when you’re relaxed and calm and confident. It pays off. I just putted really well and was confident in my game and was relaxed. It’s good to have a day to rest and catch up on school, but I’m excited to play again this weekend.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Mitsunaga leads the team in counting percentage to date.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “Every single day, someone is shooting under par,” Mitsunaga said. “That relieves your stress, knowing that even if you’re not playing your greatest, there’s someone out there shooting under par. That makes you feel less pressure and allows you to focus on your own game. I want to just keep going. It’s fun to play these tournaments. We’re having a great time. We’re definitely excited, not just because we’re playing well, but because we’re bonding.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia is one of eight teams in the 17-school field that was ranked in Golfweek’s pre-season top-30 poll. The Bulldogs were listed at No. 27 and will be competing against No. 8 Alabama, No. 10 South Carolina, No. 12 Northwestern, No. 14 Baylor, No. 16 LSU, No. 17 Virginia and No. 28 Vanderbilt. Rounding out the teams are Auburn, Central Florida, Georgia Regents Augusta, Houston, Louisville, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee, Tulane and Yale.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia has opened the season in impressive fashion. In the Bulldogs’ first 35 seasons of intercollegiate competition, UGA recorded par-or-better tournament team scores six times in 413 events. This fall, Georgia has done so twice in one week.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “I haven’t even really thought about it,” Brewer said. “I’m very excited about the start, but at the same time, you try to remember that cliché, one game at a time. I’m just worried about Nashville right now and trying to continue this run to start the year.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs have competed in the Mason Rudolph 10 times in the event’s 15-year history. Georgia won the team title in 2003, and Jackie Beers and Emilie Burger claimed medalist honors in 2004 and 2012, respectively. For the second time ever, the Legends Club’s South Course will be utilized this weekend.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “We’re playing a different 18,” Brewer said. “We haven’t played this course before. The green complexes will be similar, but we’re going to have to do some work in the practice round and probably have to do some work during day one to continue to learn the golf.”
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