Three of Georgia’s four full-time players on the Champions Tour enjoyed successful seasons in 2014, but all three had some extremely close calls that could have made their seasons significantly better. The lone Georgia winner in 2014 was Champions Tour “rookie” Scott Dunlap of Duluth, who defeated Mark Brooks in a playoff in Seattle. Dunlap also had a pair of runner-up … [Read more...]
Kirk shoots to top of PGA Tour standings; Playoffs victory sets stage for future success
When Chris Kirk won the Deutsche Bank Championship Labor Day weekend to take over the top spot in the FedExCup Playoffs standings, a lot of casual golf fans were wondering, “Who is this guy?” Kirk is beginning his fifth year on the PGA Tour, and after three successful but unexceptional seasons, emerged in 2013-14 as one of the game’s best, if not exactly best-known … [Read more...]
Slocum and Swafford retain PGA Tour status; only 2 of 12 Georgians earn cards in Web.com Finals
Two Georgians were among the 25 players who earned PGA Tour cards for the 2014-15 season from the recent Web.com Tour Finals. Milton resident Heath Slocum and recent UGA golfer Hudson Swafford, part of the large contingent of tour players living on St. Simons Island, placed 16th and 19th respectively on the list of players who were competing for the 25 available … [Read more...]
Dunlap captures first Champions Tour title; Wins in Seattle with birdie on first extra hole
Of all the professional athletes who have been categorized as journeymen, few if any fit that description more aptly than Scott Dunlap. The long-time Duluth resident has played golf all over the world in his pro career that dates back to the mid-1980s, winning events in Canada, South Africa and South America. From 1996 to the present, Dunlap has been a member of either … [Read more...]
Brian Harman takes first Tour title
The 2014 run of success on the PGA Tour by former members of the University of Georgia golf team continued in the John Deere Classic, with Savannah native Brian Harman becoming the sixth ex-Bulldog (seven counting one-and-done UGA golfer Patrick Reed) to win this season. Harman joins Masters/Los Angeles Open champion Bubba Watson, Chris Kirk (McGladrey Classic), Harris … [Read more...]
Ex-Bulldog Erik Compton stars at U.S. Open
For his entire golfing career, Erik Compton has been a heart transplant recipient who played golf. After his runner-up finish in the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, Compton may have finally become a golfer who has underdone two heart transplants. Ever since his days as one of the country’s top junior golfers in the late 1990s, almost everything written and said about Compton … [Read more...]
Brendon Todd Todd adds to list of ex-Bulldogs to win on the PGA Tour this year
Brendon Todd became the latest in an increasingly long list of former Georgia Bulldogs to win during the 2013-14 season, taking the Byron Nelson Classic for his first PGA Tour victory. But Todd’s career is unique among the ex-UGA golfers who have won this season. Players like Russell Henley and Harris English were immediate successes on the PGA Tour. Chris Kirk, Todd’s … [Read more...]
Miguel Angel Jimenez Wins Champions Debut in Gwinnett
For the past 25 years, Miguel Angel Jimenez has been a mainstay on the European PGA Tour. He’s won 20 tour events since 1992 and has been a word class player for two decades, regularly competing in majors and World Golf Championship events during that span. Jimenez has won just about every tournament of consequence on the European Tour, contended in almost all the majors and … [Read more...]
Matt Kuchar ends String of Near-Misses with Dramatic Victory in Heritage
When Matt Kuchar arrived on Hilton Head Island for the Heritage Classic, even his famously sunny disposition had to be a little cloudy. Kuchar had played the previous three weeks on the PGA Tour, finishing fifth or better in each tournament. He took home $1.3 million for his efforts, but also made the drive from Augusta to the South Carolina coast with the knowledge that he … [Read more...]