After a one-year hiatus, the Georgia men’s golf team returns to the Schenkel E-Z-GO Invitational this year. The Bulldogs enter this weekend’s tournament at Forest Heights Country Club boasting a No. 2 national ranking according to GolfWeek — the highest ranked club in the 18-team field.
“For the community, it’s a big deal,” GSU coach Larry Mays said of having Georgia in the tournament. “We’ve got a lot of people who went to Georgia that live in Statesboro. There are a lot of alumni that love to see Georgia in the field, and it’s always nice to play against in-state competition. They’re a very talented team, and we want to play the best competition we can.”
The Bulldogs will be participating in the Schenkel for the 26th time in the tournament’s 28-year history. Georgia has won the team title four times, including back-to-back crowns in 2000 and 2001, placed in the top five 20 times and claimed three individual crowns. Last year, the Schenkel coincided with a tournament in Houston, which Bulldogs opted to play in because their former coach Dick Copas was being honored there. UGA coach Chris Haack said the Bulldogs are glad to be back in Statesboro.
“The Schenkel has always been a very, very good tournament for us,” Haack said Thursday. “We enjoy coming down there. There are a lot of good Bulldogs down there. It’s a great community event, and the (host sorority) Phi Mu girls do a great job. The opportunity to come back presented itself, and we’re looking forward to it.”
The Bulldogs are coming off a second-place finish at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Championship in Las Vegas last weekend and are loaded with some of the top individuals in the country. Sophomore Brian Harman is the sixth best player in the nation according to GolfWeek, while seniors Chris Kirk and Brendon Todd are ranked No. 9 and No. 19, respectively.
“We’ve got good senior leadership from Chris Kirk and Brendon Todd — they’ve both been playing very well and been very good for us,” Haack said. “The team is playing with some confidence right now, so we are just looking forward to competing.
“We haven’t seen the golf course yet, but if history repeats itself the greens are usually pretty tough. We’ve got to putt well and try to make a lot of birdies.”
Thirty six holes of the 54-hole tournament will be played Saturday beginning with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Sunday’s final round will start at 8 a.m. and be followed by an awards ceremony at approximately 3 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
Fans can follow this weekend’s action online at www.golfstat.com.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
“For the community, it’s a big deal,” GSU coach Larry Mays said of having Georgia in the tournament. “We’ve got a lot of people who went to Georgia that live in Statesboro. There are a lot of alumni that love to see Georgia in the field, and it’s always nice to play against in-state competition. They’re a very talented team, and we want to play the best competition we can.”
The Bulldogs will be participating in the Schenkel for the 26th time in the tournament’s 28-year history. Georgia has won the team title four times, including back-to-back crowns in 2000 and 2001, placed in the top five 20 times and claimed three individual crowns. Last year, the Schenkel coincided with a tournament in Houston, which Bulldogs opted to play in because their former coach Dick Copas was being honored there. UGA coach Chris Haack said the Bulldogs are glad to be back in Statesboro.
“The Schenkel has always been a very, very good tournament for us,” Haack said Thursday. “We enjoy coming down there. There are a lot of good Bulldogs down there. It’s a great community event, and the (host sorority) Phi Mu girls do a great job. The opportunity to come back presented itself, and we’re looking forward to it.”
The Bulldogs are coming off a second-place finish at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Championship in Las Vegas last weekend and are loaded with some of the top individuals in the country. Sophomore Brian Harman is the sixth best player in the nation according to GolfWeek, while seniors Chris Kirk and Brendon Todd are ranked No. 9 and No. 19, respectively.
“We’ve got good senior leadership from Chris Kirk and Brendon Todd — they’ve both been playing very well and been very good for us,” Haack said. “The team is playing with some confidence right now, so we are just looking forward to competing.
“We haven’t seen the golf course yet, but if history repeats itself the greens are usually pretty tough. We’ve got to putt well and try to make a lot of birdies.”
Thirty six holes of the 54-hole tournament will be played Saturday beginning with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Sunday’s final round will start at 8 a.m. and be followed by an awards ceremony at approximately 3 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
Fans can follow this weekend’s action online at www.golfstat.com.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
