Bubba Watson not only former Bulldog burning up pro golf

ATHENS – It's catching on. Former members of Georgia's golf team are finding it's a good time to be a Bulldog.

Three of them were back on campus on Monday as part of media day for the Stadion Classic at UGA, the annual Nationwide Tour event which will be played on the UGA Golf Course on May 3-6.

Defending champion Russell Henley, who won last year’s tournament while still a senior at UGA, Hudson Swafford and Richard Scott are now Nationwide regulars and are back to play again. Scott, who played on the Bulldogs’ 2005 national championship team, accepted a sponsor’s exemption from the Stadion on Monday.

They represent a small part of what has been a really big year in pro golf for the Bulldogs. In addition to giving his fellow Bulldogs inspiration, Bubba Watson’s victory at the Masters -- the first major championship to be won by a Bulldog -- draws attention to the good work being done by coach Chris Haack with Georgia’s golf program.

“Everything he does has a purpose,” Henley said. “He has his laid-back attitude and he wants you to have fun when you play and do your own thing that works for you. He does things differently than a lot of coaches. But then you look at all the Georgia guys that are all of the sudden coming out and playing well on the tours. There are a lot Bulldogs playing great golf and that’s because ‘Hacker’ coached them the right way.”

Among the highlights:

• In addition to Henley's Stadion win last year, the Macon product made the U.S. Walker Cup team and now is a full-time player on the Nationwide Tour. He has made three cuts in six events.
• Harris English won the Children's Hospital Invitational last year as a Nationwide player and has made eight cuts with five Top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour this year.
• Chris Kirk won the Viking Open on the PGA Tour last year.
• Erik Compton won the Nationwide's Mexico Open last year.
• Brendan Todd took top honors at PGA Tour Qualifying school and has earned $361,957 this year.
• Swafford won the HGM Hotels Classic last year on the eGolf Tour and has made four cuts in six event so far on the Nationwide circuit.