ATHENS, Ga. — The 2022-23 schedule for the Georgia men’s golf team features three events within the state walls and several familiar venues for the Bulldogs, per the release by Coach Chris Haack on Tuesday.
“We are very excited about the schedule we have assembled,” said Haack, who is starting his 27th season. “Week in and week out, we are going to have tremendous tests of golf, both from the courses and the fields. That’s exactly what you are looking for as a coach. We want to be challenged and we want to succeed at that level. The regular season will push us to great heights and we will be primed for the postseason run because of it. We can’t wait to get started.”
The Bulldogs will open the season Sept. 7-8 in the Frederica Cup at Frederica Golf Club on St. Simons Island. Georgia will join its conference brethren Sept. 25-27 for the SEC Match Play Championship hosted by Jerry Pate at Old Overton Country Club in Vestavia Hills, Ala. The Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational Tournament will take place Oct. 3-4 in Fort Worth, Texas, at Colonial Golf Club, the site of the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge since 1946. Georgia will wrap up the fall with a trip to Maui, Hawaii, Oct. 28-30 for the Ka’anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational at Ka’anapali Golf Resort.
The Bulldogs will jump into 2023 with the Southwestern Collegiate Jan. 30-Feb. 1 at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif. Georgia will compete Feb. 12-14 in the Puerto Rico Classic at Rio Mar Golf Club in San Juan. The Southern Highlands Collegiate will take place Feb. 26-28 in Las Vegas, Nev., at Southern Highlands Golf Club.
The Bulldogs will look to defend their 2022 title in the Linger Longer Invitational March 19-21 at Great Waters Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Eatonton. Georgia’s Linger Longer victory last season was the 67th of Haack’s coaching career. The Bulldogs will conclude the regular season April 2-4 in the Calusa Cup at Calusa Pines Golf Club in Naples, Fla.
The postseason will open with the SEC Championship at Sea Island Golf Club on St. Simons Island April 19-23. The Seaside Course is the home of the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic. The Bulldogs will compete in an NCAA Regional May 15-17 at a site to be determined (Auburn, Ala.; Bath, Mich.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Morgan Hill, Calif.; Norman, Okla.; and Salem, S.C., are the 2023 hosts). If Georgia advances from the Regional, it will compete in the NCAA Championship May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“I have lofty expectations for this team,” Haack said. “Our players have been competing in tournaments all summer, so they will return to school in a couple of weeks playing at a high level. We will put them in some additional competitive situations heading into the season to push them even more. We’ll also begin to establish our identity and build our chemistry, which is so important for a program’s success and progress.”
The Bulldogs return a nucleus of seniors Nicolas Cassidy, Connor Creasy, and Ben van Wyk, and sophomores Buck Brumlow and Maxwell Ford — all of whom appeared in the 2022 NCAAs. Georgia will be adding graduate transfer Michael Shears, junior transfer Caleb Manuel, and incoming freshman Carter Loflin.