Welcome to ‘Dawgs on Tour, your one stop shop for news about former Georgia Bulldogs dominating the pro golf ranks.
GlimmerTwinDawg, your intrepid correspondent for good walks spoiled, is busy this week preparing to go out on tour with The Rolling Stones. I understand he’s in charge of counting Keith’s guitar picks and replacing the tennis balls on the bottoms of all the walkers, so you may be stuck with me for awhile.
This week the PGA Tour rolls into Torrey Pines, with another solid contingent of Bulldog alums vying for the title at the Genesis Invitational. The Genesis is the tournament formerly known as the L.A. Open, the Northern Trust Open, and the Nissan Open. And for the first time since 1998 the tournament is being played somewhere other than the historic Riviera Country Club. While the course itself wasn’t damaged, Riviera is within the mandatory evacuation area for the recent L.A. wildfires, and much of the surrounding area was devastated by the blaze.
Another change is that the tournament’s host, one Eldrich “Tiger” Woods will not be playing, having withdrawn due to the unfortunate death of his mother last week.
So it’s with a collectively heavy heart that the Tour caravan heads back to the famed San Diego layout, where Bulldog Harris English won only three short weeks ago in the Farmers Insurance Open. While he’a the last player to win a PGA Tour event on this course he’s not technically the defending champion of the event. That’s Hideki Matsuyama, 5th in the World rankings and back (albeit in a different location) to defend his title.
One story for this week? The rough. It’s reputedly diabolical even by Tour standards. Nothing gets fans to tune into a non-major like the promise of watching the world’s preeminent golfers get lost in waist high grass like a 30 handicapper.
And it’s a heavy-hitting lineup that will be trying to stay out of the thick stuff at Torrey Pines. Seven of the top ten in the World Golf Rankings will be on hand, including #1 Scottie Scheffler and #3 Rory McIlroy.
A total of five ‘Dawgs will be vying for the title: Harris English, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Sepp Straka, and Davis Thompson. It’s a slightly lighter contingent than in some recent weeks. Part of that is owing to the invitational nature of the event, with only 72 players in the field. But also we’re at the point in the season where some golfers are picking and choosing the best tournaments to warm up for or qualify for the Majors coming up later in the season. Chris Kirk for example has already played five tournaments this season. This weekend is a good time to take a break before the Tour moves east to Florida and Texas to begin the run-up to the Masters in April.
Straka and English have both notched a win on the young season. Henley has also played some exceptional golf, carding a pair of top ten finishes in only three starts on the season. But this event is going to be a tough one, with the most competitive field so far in 2025. However for his trouble the winner will take home a cool $4 million. Not bad for a week’s work in the California sunshine.
Television coverage will begin this afternoon at 4:00 eastern (1:00 local time) on the Golf Channel.
Go ‘’Dawgs!!!