ATHENS — The University of Georgia men’s golf team will conclude the fall portion of its schedule at the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic in Maui, Hawaii on Oct. 26-28.
The Bulldogs lineup will consist of graduates Beck Burnette, Connor Creasy and Ben van Wyk, junior Buck Brumlow and freshman Camden Smith with junior JT Herman and sophomore Carter Loflin playing as individuals.
BULLDOG BULLETIN
Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic: The event will be held at the Royal K?‘anapali in Lahaina, Maui, played on a par-71, 6,700-yard format. Each day will feature a shotgun start slated to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET.
The field is comprised of host Hawaii, Air Force, Boise St., Clemson, Colorado, CSUN, Denver, East Tennessee St., Gonzaga, Kansas, Liberty, Louisiana Lafayette, Mount St. Mary’s, North Florida, No. 19 Oklahoma, Sacramento St., San Jose St., UConn and Wyoming.
Georgia finished in ninth place in the event last year with a 19-under 833, led by two Bulldogs finishing in the top 10. Oklahoma won the team title shooting 41-under 811.
Maui Wildfires Relief Charity: In partnership with 501(c)3 organizations Spare for Change and Member for a Day, the Ka’anapali Classic Collegiate will be raising money throughout the three-day, 54-hole event to directly benefit Maui’s wildfire victims, including Ka’anapali Golf Courses’ own associates who were effected by the disaster.
“It will be a somber yet joyous tournament to support those affected by the fires,” said Hawaii men’s golf coach, Scott Simpson.
The campaign has no minimum donation. Those interested in contributing can either make a one-time donation or can choose a dollar amount to give for each birdie or eagle made by Georgia throughout the tournament.
Donation Page: https://gado.gs/b1l
Dawgs in the Polls: Georgia also has a trio of individuals in the PGA TOUR University Rankings, all within the top 60. Van Wyk leads the team with a No. 34 ranking, fellow grad student Creasy comes in at No. 56 and senior Caleb Manuel rounds out the Dawgs in the rankings at No. 58. As a team, Georgia is receiving votes in the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches’ poll.
Last Time Out: The Bulldogs finished the Ben Hogan Collegiate in seventh place, paced by van Wyk, who placed in the top-10 for the fourth time in his career. The graduate student finished with a four-under 206 behind 13 birdies across 54 holes, tied for the second-most of anyone in the field. Brumlow carded a two-under 208, good for his third top-20 collegiate finish. As a team, Georgia shot seven-over 847 to finish in the top half of the team standings.
Worth More Than a Buck: In his junior year, Brumlow has played some of his best collegiate golf this season. The Cartersville native holds the lowest average score of 70.3 per round and the best average versus par of -0.6 under par. Brumlow is one of four players that has played in all nine rounds across the three events this season and is the lone golfer to have all nine of his rounds counted towards the team score. He has finished each event with a two-under par final.
Sophomore Surge: In the first tournament of his second collegiate season, Carter Loflin earned the first top-five finish of his career at the Valero Texas Collegiate. He began with bogeys on holes one and four on the final day of the event but would not bogey another hole. The Duluth native finished the third round with seven birdies over the last 14 holes, moving up 13 spots on the player leaderboard to finish tied for fifth with two other golfers. This marked his best finish at an event since shooting eight-under at the Ka’anapali Classic last season, where he finished 10th.
Haack Enters 28th Season: Chris Haack was named the Georgia men’s golf coach on July 18, 1996 – and he has guided the Bulldogs to their highest levels of success. Coach Haack has coached the Bulldogs to two national championships (the only two in school history), eight Southeastern Conference crowns, 68 team tournament titles, and virtually every squad and individual record.
During his 27 previous seasons leading the program, the Bulldogs have advanced out of the NCAA Regional round and into the championships 23 times. Haack has also guided the team to at least one tournament win in 23 of the 27 seasons during his time as the head coach.