ATHENS, Ga. — The University of Georgia men’s golf team will begin the spring portion of its schedule at the Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, with play beginning on Sunday, Feb. 11.
The Bulldogs lineup will consist of graduates Beck Burnette, Connor Creasy and Ben van Wyk, senior Caleb Manuel and junior Buck Brumlow with freshman Camden Smith competing as an individual.
MEDIA INFORMATION
Dates: Sunday, Feb. 11 – 13
Location: Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
Course: Grand Reserve Country Club
Live Stats: https://gado.gs/bd1
Georgia Season Stats: https://gado.gs/bd3
Puerto Rico Classic Record Book: https://gado.gs/bd2
BULLDOG BULLETIN
Puerto Rico Classic: The event is held at the Grand Reserve Golf Club and played on a par-72, 7,451-yard format. This is the 31st year of the Puerto Rico Classic and the third time at the Grand Reserve Country Club, which also serves as the site of the PGA TOUR’s Puerto Rico Open.
The field is comprised of host No. 29 Purdue, the College of Charleston, No. 9 ETSU, Iowa, Marquette, Minnesota, No. 30 North Florida, No. 25 Ohio State, No. 15 Oklahoma, No. 4 Ole Miss, South Carolina, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 13 Virginia and Wisconsin.
This will mark the 25th time that the Bulldogs have competed in the tournament, winning it four times – 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2015. Georgia has finished in third place or better in 12 of its 24 total appearances thus far. Georgia student-athletes have taken home first place twice, with Chris Kirk winning in 2006 while shooting an 11-under, 205 and Hudson Swafford in 2009 with a 12-under, 204. In the individual standings, the Bulldogs have been represented in the top-10 34 times.
Last year, Georgia finished third in the event with a 24-under, 840 total. Brumlow led the Bulldogs as he carded the second top-10 finish of his career with a seven-under 209.
Dawgs in the Polls: On Scoreboard Powered by Clippd rankings, Georgia is currently rated No. 43 as a team. The program is also receiving votes in the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches’ poll. The Bulldogs have a trio of individuals in the PGA TOUR University Rankings, all within the top 60. Van Wyk leads the team with a No. 36 ranking, fellow grad student Creasy comes in at No. 57 while senior Manuel rounds out the Dawgs in the rankings at No. 60.
Last Time Out: The Georgia men’s golf team capped off the fall on Oct. 26-28, 2023, at the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic in sixth place with a 31-under 821. Van Wyk earned his second-straight top-10 finish on day three at the Royal K?’anapali Course.
The Bulldogs were paced by Burnette and van Wyk during round three on the par-71, 6,700-yard layout. The graduate students both shot a five-under 66, with van Wyk ending tied for eighth at 10-under 203 on the individual leaderboard while Burnette concluded the tournament tied for 30th at five-under 208.
Georgia shot 14-under 270 on the last day, tying it for the second-best final round of any team. ETSU and Oklahoma claimed co-championships at 42-under 810.
Showing Out in Final Season: Captain van Wyk has saved some of his best play for his final year of collegiate golf. The George, South Africa native was the only player on the team with multiple top-10 finishes in the fall. In Hawaii, van Wyk paced the team with a 10-under, 203, tying his career 54-hole low to finish tied for eighth place.
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 round of 70 and is one of four players who has played in all 12 rounds across four events during the fall. He has the highest percentage of counted rounds on the team as well, with his score being added toward the team total in 95.8 of his 12 rounds, shooting under par 10 times. He has finished his first three tournaments with a two-under-par final and capped off 2023 with a six-under at the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic.
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.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men’s Golf on X @UGAGolf, on Instagram @UGAGolf, or check out information online at georgiadogs.com.
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