Ji Eun Baik of Cumming won the 28th Georgia Women’s Open at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens. Baik, who also won the tournament in 2018, led wire-to-wire and finished two shots ahead of amateur Nataliya Guseva of Coral Gables, Fla., who plays at the University of Miami.
Baik is only the fourth player who has won the Georgia Women’s Open more than once. She opened with a 4-under 68, the low round of the tournament, and finished at 5-under 211. Baik played golf at Mississippi State. It was her third win on the East Coast Women’s Pro Golf Tour, a first-year developmental tour born to create more opportunities for aspiring female professionals.
Tied for third at 1-under 215 were Victoria Huskey of Greenville, S.C., Elizabeth Moon of Orlando and Thanana Kotchasanmanee of Rome, the Georgia High School Class A Private champion and a sophomore at the Darlington School.
Matt Nagy to defend Georgia Open title
Matt Nagy, a former Kennesaw State standout and mini-pro standout, is the defending champion at this week’s Georgia Open, a 72-hole event which starts Thursday at Jennings Mill Country Club in Bogart.
Nagy, of Buena Vista, won the rain-soaked tournament last year at the Ford Plantation in Richmond Hill. Other past champions in the field include 2019 champion Barrett Waters of Villa Rica, 2017 winner Paul Claxton of Claxton and Georgia Golf Hall of Famer Tim Weinhart, the winner in 2004.
Top professionals include J.P. Griffin of Capital City, who won the Georgia PGA West Pines Classic, Jin Chung of Chateau Elan, who won the Georgia PGA Match Play Championship, and Ted Moon of TPC Sugarloaf, the Atlanta Open champion.
Top amateurs in the field include University of Illinois’ Jackson Buchanan of Dacula, Reinhardt University’s Hunter Clay, who won the Georgia PGA’s Milton Martin Classic, and Aidan Kramer of Georgia Tech, who won the 2021 Atlanta Open and the Rice Planters Amateur in June.
Credit: Special photo
Credit: Special photo
Shea Taylor wins Georgia Amputee title
Shea Taylor shot a 79-71 to win the 29th Georgia Amputee Golf Tournament, known as the Ray Rice Sr. Memorial, at The Club at Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville.
Taylor lost his left leg after a motorcycle accident in 2010. In addition to golf, the former college baseball standout competes in mixed martial arts fighting.
Credit: UConn Athletics
Credit: UConn Athletics
Bulldogs adds two transfers for fall
The Georgia men have added two transfers for the fall season. Michael Shears is a graduate transfer from Vanderbilt, and Caleb Manuel is leaving Connecticut after two years and will be a junior.
Shears played in 20 tournaments for the Commodores, including the 2021 NCAA Championships. He is the son of Michael Shears, who played golf at Georgia in the 1980s.
Manuel had two wins, 11 top-10 finishes and 14 top-20s in two seasons with the Huskies. He was Big East Freshman of the Year and Big East co-champion as a sophomore. He has qualified for next month’s U.S. Amateur and is a two-time winner of the Maine Amateur.
Credit: USGA Museum
Credit: USGA Museum
William Love, Aidan Cohl eliminated from U.S. Junior
Two Georgians reached the match-play portion of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes, Ore.
Atlanta’s William Love, a Westminster graduate who recently won the Georgia Amateur Championship, opened match play by downing Erich Fortlage of Paraguay 2 up, then defeated Christiaan Maas of South Africa in 21 holes in the second round. He was eliminated 1 up in the third round by Nicholas Dunlap of Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Aidan Cohl of Cumming, who plays at Rivers Academy, defeated Dianchao Wu of China 5 and 4 in the first round before losing 3 and 2 to Johnnie Clark of Mesa, Ariz., in the second round.
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