Spring Break
No. 1 men's golf misses SEC title
Team takes third in conference games
KEVIN COPP
Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: Sports
For the second straight year, the No. 1 Georgia men's golf team could not capture the crown in the SEC Championship, taking third place this weekend at Frederica Golf Club in St. Simon's Island.
The Bulldogs saved their best for Sunday's final round, carding a 7-under-par 281 to finish 2-under-par for the tournament.
With teams going low across the board on Sunday, Georgia actually lost ground, falling to No. 2 Alabama, who captured the title with a team score of 11-under and No. 14 South Carolina, who finished one shot better than the Bulldogs to take a distant second place.
Head coach Chris Haack expressed his disappointment in the result.
"You always want to win the conference," Haack said. "We tip our hats to Alabama. They kind of went out there and won it today."
Georgia's Brian Harman, Russell Henley and Adam Mitchell all finished in the top 10, with junior Harman and freshman Henley tying for fourth overall at 2-under for the weekend.
Alabama's Michael Thompson captured the individual title with a score of 8-under.
The Bulldogs get a two week break before returning to action in the NCAA Regionals, which will be held
May 15-17. The top 10 teams from each of the three regionals will advance to the NCAA Championship.
Haack said that this year's squad should be just as successful at managing the disappointment and returning to form for the remainder of the postseason.
"Our goal from the outset is to try and put ourselves in a position to try to win the conference and the NCAA," Haack said. "These guys don't need any more motivation than this loss. They'll probably come out and work a little bit harder. That's just the way golf is."
The Bulldogs saved their best for Sunday's final round, carding a 7-under-par 281 to finish 2-under-par for the tournament.
With teams going low across the board on Sunday, Georgia actually lost ground, falling to No. 2 Alabama, who captured the title with a team score of 11-under and No. 14 South Carolina, who finished one shot better than the Bulldogs to take a distant second place.
Head coach Chris Haack expressed his disappointment in the result.
"You always want to win the conference," Haack said. "We tip our hats to Alabama. They kind of went out there and won it today."
Georgia's Brian Harman, Russell Henley and Adam Mitchell all finished in the top 10, with junior Harman and freshman Henley tying for fourth overall at 2-under for the weekend.
Alabama's Michael Thompson captured the individual title with a score of 8-under.
The Bulldogs get a two week break before returning to action in the NCAA Regionals, which will be held
May 15-17. The top 10 teams from each of the three regionals will advance to the NCAA Championship.
Haack said that this year's squad should be just as successful at managing the disappointment and returning to form for the remainder of the postseason.
"Our goal from the outset is to try and put ourselves in a position to try to win the conference and the NCAA," Haack said. "These guys don't need any more motivation than this loss. They'll probably come out and work a little bit harder. That's just the way golf is."
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