UGA golf letterman Erik Compton joins Brian Harman and Brendon Todd as first-timers in The Masters field. That means 27 Bulldogs will have played in the tournament over the years. (Getty Images)
AUGUSTA — Greetings from Augusta National Golf Club. I'm on assignment here this week to cover the annual invitational tournament they play down here. You may have heard of it.
There are plenty of UGA angles here at The Masters. There are six Bulldogs in this 98-man field that includes the world’s best golfers. Among them are three first-timers — Erik Compton, Brian Harman and Brendon Todd — and defending champion Bubba Watson. Russell Henley and Chris Kirk are also back for third and second straight time, respectively.
I'll be focusing on Compton, the two-time heart transplant recipient, and the other first-timers in my main story today. You'll be able to read it online along with all our Masters coverage later this afternoon. I'll be down here covering golf all week, but I'll also keeping an eye on all things Georgia as usual.
In the meantime, fear not all you football fanatics as the AJC’s Tim Tucker will be covering the daily goings-on back in Athens with spring football practice and, of course, Saturday’s G-Day Game. So you won’t miss a thing as far as that’s concerned.
As for the golf, you may or may not know, but Georgia has a pretty deep history when it comes to this tournament. Twenty-six Bulldogs have traversed these hallowed grounds over the years. But Bubba Watson remains the only one to claim a green jacket.
The future looks bright, too. Did you see where Georgia junior Lee McCoy made history this past Sunday by winning his third straight tourney (the 3M Augusta Invitational), and his fourth of the season. Perhaps he’ll make it here eventually.
Here’s a list all the Bulldogs’ Masters participants provided by UGA’s Steve Colquitt:
Chip Beck
Arnold Blum
Tommy Barnes
Erik Compton
Terry Diehl
Chip Drury
Harris English
Jimmy Gabrielsen
Vinny Giles
George Hamer
Brian Harman
Russell Henley
Ryuji Imada
Chris Kirk
Billy Kratzert
Franklin Langham
Lyn Lott
Bryden Macpherson
Allen Miller
Griff Moody
Peter Persons
Tim Simpson
Brendon Todd
Tommy Tolles
Bubba Watson
Danny Yates
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