Georgia’s Lineup
1. Jenny Bae – 5-3; Sr.; Suwanee, Ga.; Collins Hill High School
• Participated in 2022 ANWA
• Invited to Curtis Cup practice session by USGA
• Reached the round of 16 at 2021 U.S. Women’s Am
• Won 2021 Georgia Am & Open
2. Jo Hua Hung – 5-4; Sr.; New Taipei City, Taiwan; Chih Ping Senior High School
• Leads team with 13 POB rounds
• Participated in the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open
• Named to SEC Academic Honor Roll in both 2020 & 2021
• Tabbed SEC All-Freshman in 2019
3. Caterina Don – 5-6; Jr.; Pinerolo, Italy; Istituto Maria Immacolata in ScuolaParitaria DM
• Notched three top-10 finishes in five tourneys this spring
• Participated in the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open
• Made the cut at the ANWA in both 2019 & 2021
• Helped lead Italy to 2018 World Junior Girls’ Team Championship
4. LoraLie Cowart – 5-4; Fr.; Carrollton, Ga.; Carrollton High School
• Missed fall due to a wrist injury
• UGA’s top finisher at the Liz Murphey, tying for 8th
• Tabbed AJGA All-America in 2020
• Medalist at the 2020 National HS Golf Association Invitational
5. Candice Mahé – 5-8; Jr.; Gourin, France; Lycee Sainte Jeanne D’Arc
• Began the spring with a runner-up showing at the Lady Bulldog
• Participated in the 2021 ANWA
• Gold medalist in the co-ed field at the 2019 Spirit International
• Won the 2019 Spanish Ladies Am
Bulldogs Begin Play At SEC Championships On Wednesday
Georgia will open play in the 2022 SEC Championships on Wednesday morning at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Ala. The Bulldogs will be paired with Mississippi State for the opening round, teeing off from hole No. 10 in 10-minute increments between 9:20-10:00 a.m. ET.
“It’s why you work not only for the past eight months but for years and years,” head coach Josh Brewer said. “This is why you do it.”
Georgia’s lineup will feature seniors Jenny Bae and Jo Hua Hung, juniors Caterina Don and Candice Mahé and freshman LoraLie Cowart.
Bae and Hung lead the Bulldogs in virtually every statistical category. Bae paces the team with a 72.59 average, while Hung tops the roster with 13 par-or-better rounds. Each has produced five top-20 individual finishes.
They are also the only golfers in Georgia’s lineup who have played in the SEC Championships. Hung tied for 12th individually in 2019, while Bae tied for 10th last spring. Both golfers went 2-0 in match play in 2019 when the Bulldogs’ semifinal match with Ole Miss was extended to pair of 21-hole contests.
“The two seniors have had great success at the SECs,” Brewer said. “We came within a playoff hole of having a chance to win an SEC title their first year, and they both played well individually last year given the circumstances.”
While they sport plenty of tournament experience, Don and Mahé will be making their SEC debuts. They likely would have competed in the last two championships; however, the 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and they missed last year’s tournament due to health and safety protocols.
“We’ve had a couple of odd years,” Brewer said. “You wouldn’t think we’d have a couple of juniors playing SECs for the first time as talented as they are, but that’s the case. I sense an almost freshman enthusiasm from them as they prepare for the tournament.”
The Bulldogs, who are No. 27 in the latest Golfstat and Golfweek rankings, are the No. 10 seed at the SECs. The league currently sports three top-10 and nine top-25 teams.
“It’s why we play in this conference,” Brewer said. “It’s why I want to coach here. It’s why student-athletes want to come here. You know it might be harder to win your conference than a national title. It’s exciting, and we know we’ve got to play well. We think we’re peaking at the right time and when it really matters.”
Georgia spent much of the fall ranked among the nation’s top-15 teams. The Bulldogs fired a school single-round record of 14-under at the Cougar Classic and shot 15-under – their second-best 54-hole mark ever – to win the team title at the Illini Invitational at historic Medinah Country Club.
However, Georgia dropped dramatically after a 13th-place showing at the Stanford Intercollegiate when the Bulldogs played the final two rounds in a play-four, count-four situation without Jenny Bae. After covering their first nine fall rounds at a combined 25-under, Georgia shot 39-over in California.
“I’m actually really excited and starting to feel the thrill that we’re playing against the best teams in the country at the SECs,” Bae said. “I feel like we have a really good chance. I’m more excited about the match play than the stroke play because we play stroke play at almost every tournament.
“I know that we have to make stroke play first, but I have full confidence in every one of my UGA teammates that we’ll be able to qualify for match play,” Bae added.
Following 54 holes of stroke play qualifying on Wednesday through Friday, the top eight teams will advance to a bracketed match play competition. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be Saturday and the championship match will be Sunday, with live coverage on the SEC Network from 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. ET.
“I’m definitely really excited because SECs is always one of the biggest events we have,” Hung said. “Everyone has practiced so hard to get ready. I think Greystone is my type of course. We don’t play it that long, around 6,300 yards, and short irons are my strength. Also, I definitely took some notes in my yardage book the two times I’ve played there so in practice I’ve been focusing on the yardages I need to prepare for during the tournament.”
UGA’s SEC History
Georgia has captured a league-leading 19 SEC Women’s Golf Championships. The Bulldogs have won 11 team titles and eight medalist honors.
Florida ranks second with 18 conference championships, nine team and nine individual titles, while Auburn ranks third with 16 crowns, 10 team and sixindividual.
The Bulldogs, Gators and Tigers have combined to capture 53 of the 80 all-time SEC titles in women’s golf.
Bulldogs Know How To Win
Every member of Georgia’s lineup has impressive individual titles to their names.
Jenny Bae was a three-time winner in a weeklong span last summer, capturing top honors at the Georgia Women’s Amateur, the Georgia Women’s Open and a U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifier between June 30-July 5.
Jo Hua Hung recorded seven victories in the three years before she arrived at Georgia, including a quartet of wins in U.S. events. She also sports an appearance in the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open.
Caterina Don is one of only two Georgia golfers to win their collegiate debut. She captured medalist honors at the 2019 Minnesota Invitational after shooting 9-under over 36 holes. She also made the cut at both the 2019 and 2021 editions of the Augusta National Women’s Am.
Candice Mahé won five times on European soil before coming to the U.S. to compete collegiately. Most notably, she won the 2018 French Girls’ Amateur by 12 strokes and captured the 2019 Spanish International Ladies Am, where she defeated Italy’s Alessia Nobilio in the championship match.
LoraLie Cowart was tabbed Georgia’s High School Player of the Year in 2021 after winning medalist honors at the class 6A state tournament. Additionally, she was the wire-to-wire winner at the 2020 National High School Golf Association Invitational at Pinehurst, where she birdied her final two holes to clinch the two-stroke victory.
Winning isn’t confined to Georgia’s golfers. Head coach Josh Brewer won the 1998 Indiana State Amateur and led Indiana to the 1998 Big Ten Championship, while assistant coach Caroline Westrup was medalist at the 2006 World Amateur Team Championships and a five-time winner while competing for Florida State.