UGA leads all college programs with 4 former players in Masters final round
AUGUSTA — Through 22 holes at the Masters, the only place University of Georgia graduate Brian Harman appeared to be going was back home to St. Simons.
There wasn’t a whole lot of “woofing” going on.
Harman shot 79 the first day and was 10 over par after a second-round bogey at No. 4. Then, nothing changed, except the results. Harman recovered to shoot 69 — 10 shots lower than Thursday — and continued to build the momentum on Saturday with a personal-best 67.
“I believe in myself,” he said. “I know it’s always right around the corner. It’s hard to keep telling yourself that sometimes when you haven’t seen a lot of evidence, but I’ve got 15 years to show you that right around the corner is pretty good.”
The Masters 2026
The 90th edition of the Masters Tournament tees off at Augusta National Golf Club this week. Here’s everything you need to follow the action.
THE CHAMPION: Rory McIlroy owns Augusta, wins second straight Masters title
FINAL ROUND: Five final takeaways from the 2026 Masters | Rory McIlroy makes history again Surprises, disappointments: Henley ties for third on birthday | Sights and sounds from the 18th green
GEORGIANS: High schooler on Masters debut: ‘Everything I dreamed it would be’ | UGA leads all college programs | Bulldogs legend showed up for the 1960 Masters. He’s been every year since. | Phenom’s path began with skipping rocks in South Georgia
PHOTOS: Final round | Round 3 | Golf fashions | Round 2 | Masters tournament starts | Par 3 contest | Contenders warm up | Practice rounds tee off
AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL: One rule for keeping toddlers quiet: Don’t say ‘birdie’ | Ticket-resale restrictions are popular subject | What Masters golfers would do as patrons at Augusta: ‘Have a lot of beers’ | How much it would cost to buy one of every item at the Masters Golf Shop
THE TRADITIONS (FOOD): Inside Rory McIlroy’s Champions Dinner menu | Make The Masters’ iconic 3-ingredient cocktail at home | Everything to know about pimento cheese this Masters week
WHAT TO WATCH: Why Augusta National could be ‘even more difficult’ this year | Augusta National can bring top players to their knees | Mason Howell’s path to Augusta
MASTERS GNOME: Masters gnome craze hits ‘Hunger Games’ levels amid final-edition rumors | Gnomes lead the secondary market outside Augusta National
The veteran left-hander will start the last round at 1-under — not close enough to win the tournament, but definitely good enough to contend for the honor of being the low Bulldog.
“It’s nice to see a couple of good rounds around here,” Harman said. “Just trying to have another good round tomorrow and see if I can’t catch lightning here one year.”
Georgia has more former players in the field than any other college program. Oklahoma State is second with three former players remaining in the field. Texas, North Carolina, Cal, UNLV, UCLA and Wake Forest each have two.
Former Bulldogs Harman, Russell Henley, Harris English and Sepp Straka all made the cut. All four are under par entering the final round.
“They’re all friends of mine,” Harman said. “I’m trying to beat everybody, not just the guys from Georgia.”
Henley is currently the low Bulldog; he also shot a career-best 65 on Saturday and stands at 6-under 210. Henley hit 11 of 14 fairways and needed only 25 putts, avoiding a three-putt for the first time this week.
“Super calm conditions, and I just felt like I hit my irons great and gave myself a lot of looks for birdie and had some good par saves. Extremely pleased,” Henley said.
Sepp Straka shot 3-under 69 and is at 2-under 214. He only hit seven fairways but finished his second straight round without a three-putt and needed only 28 putts.
Straka said, “Today was definitely my worst round. I was just able to make some putts.”
Harris English shot 71 for the second straight day and is tied with Harman at 215.
Harman admitted he shot himself out of the tournament on the first day, but said he didn’t change anything to initiate the turnaround.
“I’ve been driving the ball a lot better,” Harman said. “Been in position a lot. The first day I just mishit a couple irons that led to bogeys instead of birdies. If I hit good shots, there’s no telling how that round gets turned around. That’s what’s so interesting about this place. There’s just no faking it.”
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
