uga pga tour players

UGA Golfers On PGA Tour 2023

By Ashok Bhandari , On 25 July 2023 06:41 AM

UGA Golfers On PGA Tour include 1. Kevin Kisne 2. Russell Henley 3. Brian Harman 4. Sepp Straka and more. Bubba Watson first won the Masters in 2012.

The PGA Tour season 2022 - 2023 resumes play in January in Hawaii with the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the University of Georgia golfers will once again lead the nation with 10 proud alumni competing full-time on Tour this season.

UGA pro golfers not only bring great pride and recognition to the University of Georgia by showcasing their talents at the highest level of competition, but they have also agreed to give back to their college by pledging to make a contribution back to UGA for every birdie. 

For now, we have listed 10 University of Georgia golfers who have made it to the PGA Tour and achieved considerable success over the years. 

Kevin Kisner - 39 Years OId

Kevin Kisner played college golf tournaments at the University of Georgia and he was a member of their 2005 NCAA Division I Championship team along with Chris Kirk, Richard Scott, and Brendon Todd.

He turned professional after graduating in the year 2006. In 2010, he played the Nationwide Golf Tour full-time and won once at the Mylan Classic. He finished the year 11th position on the money list and earned his 2011 PGA Tour card.

Furthermore, he failed to earn enough money on the PGA Tour in 2011 to retain his card but finished T-11 at qualifying school to earn his card for 2012.

He is a founder of the Kisner Foundation with his wife Brittany to support organizations that serve children's wellness in one or more of the following areas like health, education, and youth sports. 

Russell Henley - 34 Years Old

Russell Henley played golf for four years at the University of Georgia.

His hardcore dedication and excellent performance at the college tournament earned him the prestigious 2010 Haskins Award, recognizing him as the most outstanding collegiate golfer.

In 2010, he also had the opportunity to compete in the U.S. Open, where he tied for the low amateur spot alongside Scott Langley, showcasing his talent on the big stage.

Henley made history by becoming only the second amateur to win a Nationwide Golf Tour in 2011. He achieved this milestone on the home course at the University of Georgia. 

Russell made his professional debut at the Nationwide Tour's Soboba Golf Classic in September 2011. A year later, he won the Chiquita Classic defeating Patrick Cantlay and Morgan Hoffmann in a playoff round.

Brian Harman - 36 Years Old

Brian Harman was a 3 times 2nd Team All-American on the University of Georgia golf team in college. He won the NCAA Preview in 2005 and the Isleworth Invitational in 2006.

He also won the yearly award for the highest Grade Point Average three times and won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2003. Not only that but he won the Players Amateur in 2005, and the Porter Cup in 2007.

Furthermore, Harman played on the winning 2005 and 2009 Walker Cup and 2007 Palmer Cup teams. 

He is a pro golfer from Georgia who plays on the PGA Tour. He has won three tournaments, including a major championship victory at the 2023 Open Championship. Brian also finished as a runner-up at the U.S. Open in 2017. 

Sepp Straka - 30 Years Old

Sepp Straka played collegiate golf at the University of Georgia from 2011 to 2016, not playing during the 2013-2014 season.

Straka represented his country Austria on the same team as his biological twin brother Sam at the European Boys' Team Championship in 2011. Team Austria finished second and lost in the final against Spain with golfer Jon Rahm on the team.

Furthermore, he is a professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour, where he has won twice. Sepp was born in Vienna, Austria to an American mother and an Austrian father. His family moved to Georgia when he was around 14 years old.

His twin brother Sam also played on the golf team at the University of Georgia, where Straka graduated in business management. 

Harris English - 34 Years Old

Harris English attended the University of Georgia in Athens where he played on the same team as fellow PGA Tour players Russell Henley, Brian Harman, and Patrick Reed.

At the University of Georgia, he studied Consumer Economics and graduated in 2011. That was the same year he turned professional golfer and he remains a huge fanatic of the Georgia Bulldogs football team.

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English showed his talent for the game of golf. He attended Baylor School in Tennessee from 2003 to 2007 where he would lead the school golf team to four state titles. He also won one individual state title in high school.

He has had four PGA Golf Tour victories and earned around $26 million from his successful golf career so far. Harris currently resides in Georgia with his wife Helen Marie. 

Bubba Watson - 44 Years Old

Bubba Watson was born on 5 November 1978 in Florida to his father Gerry Sr. and his mother Molly Marie Watson.

Bubba developed an early interest in games like golf and very soon became passionate about it. He studied at Milton High School where he was part of the school golf team. 

He also studied at the Faulkner State Community College and played golf for them, and was a member of the junior college All-American.

Later on, he transferred to the University of Georgia which was the defending NCAA champion golf team. He played for the University team and helped them win the Southeastern Conference title in 2000.

He has two major championships with victories at the Masters Golf Tournament in 2012 and 2014. Not only that but he has a total of 12 PGA Tour wins. 

Watson reached a career-high 2nd place in the Official World Golf Ranking in 2015. He plays in the LIV Golf League since 2022.

Chris Kirk - 38 Years Old

Chris Kirk is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and won four tournaments on the PGA Tour between 2011 and 2015.

Kirk won again in 2023 after an almost eight-year drought. He finished second in the FedEx Cup Playoffs in 2014 and reached a career-high of 16 in the world rankings in 2015.

Moreover, he played college golf tournaments at the University of Georgia in Athens and was a member of their 2005 NCAA championship team. 

Chris represented the United States in the Eisenhower Trophy in 2006 where he had the joint second-lowest individual score. He was the Ben Hogan Award winner as a senior in the 2007 Walker Cup. 

Brendon Todd - 38 Years Old

Brendon Todd attended the University of Georgia where he was part of the team in 2005 that won the National golf championship. He was a four-time All-American as a collegiate golfer.

He played his junior golf tournament at Prestonwood Country Club in North Carolina. He won the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4A classification individual championship 3 times at Green Hope High School as a freshman, junior, and senior seasons.

In 2008, Todd joined the Nationwide Tour and won the Utah Championship, and finished 19th position on the money list which helped him to earn a spot on the PGA Tour in 2009.

He fired his career-lowest round of 61 during the third round of the Travelers Championship on 27 June 2020. This allowed him to hold the 54-hole lead by two strokes over Dustin Johnson.

Keith Mitchell - 31 Years Old

Keith Mitchell played college golf from 2011 to 2014 at the University of Georgia, where he majored in Business and Real Estate.

In 2015, he played on the PGA tour Latinoamerica, where his best finish was runner-up at the Brazil Open. Mitchell had four other top-ten finishes and earned around $44,295 in 14 starts on that tour.

Moreover, he played on the Web.com Tour in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He began his golf tournament with a sponsor's invite to the Panama Claro Championship in 2016, where he finished in 14th position.

Mitchell finished runner-up at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship on the PGA Tour in 2019. Not only that but he got his first professional golf tournament victory at The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Davis Thompson - 24 Years Old

Davis Thompson is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA tour.

Thompson won the Rex Hospital Open in 2022 and was number one in the world Amateur Golf ranking in 2020 and 2021.

Not only that but he played collegiately at the University of Georgia for 4 seasons from 2017 to 2021, where he earned All- America First Team laurels his final 2 years and was the 2021 Southeastern conference player of the Year. 

Furthermore, he won 4 individual titles at Georgia, including the NCAA regionals in 2019 and 2021. Davis won the Jones Cup Invitational in 2020 and was runner-up at the event in 2019 and 2020. He was the stroke-play medalist at the Western Amateur in 2019.

He reached number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in November 2020 and March 2021, and finished number two in the inaugural PGA Tour University Class of 2021. 

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Georgia golf’s 11 PGA Tour pros making birdies for Bulldogs

Credit: John Minchillo

ATHENS — Georgia golf has come up with a unique way to raise money for the program with what they’re calling the “Dawgs on Tour Birdie Challenge.”

The 2021-22 PGA Tour season gets under way Thursday and, once again, the Bulldogs will lead the all colleges with 11 alums as full-time members.

UGA will be represented this year by current Ryder Cup team member Harris English, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Kevin Kisner, Keith Mitchell, Greyson Sigg, Sepp Straka, Hudson Swafford, Brendon Todd, and Bubba Watson. Those alums have banded together and agreed contribute to the Georgia Bulldog Club for each birdie they record this season.

Meanwhile, UGA alumni and fans can get involved as well by similarly pledging a fixed amount for each birdie made by one any combination of Georgia’s tour players. Donors may pledge a fixed amount for birdies from one, multiple, or all alums. They also may pledge a fixed amount for birdies over specific months or during specific tournaments.

Proceeds can be earmarked for UGA Athletic’s general fund or specifically for the golf team. Georgia will provide updates on each player’s progress and invoices for payments throughout the season.

“I am proud to get the Dawgs on Tour Birdie Challenge started because it connects us PGA Tour players who loved our time at Georgia and love continuing to support the UGA golf team,” said Todd, a 9-year tour member and Athens resident. “I feel like it further solidifies our fraternity of players on tour and sets the precedent for how UGA golfers will stay connected to the program after they turn professional.”

The Birdie Challenge will begin this week with the Fortinet Championship in Napa, Calif., and will continue through the Tour Championship in Atlanta in August of 2022. Sigg, Straka, Swafford, and Todd are in the field.

The birdies program was the brainchild of legendary Georgia golf coach Chris Haack. The Bulldogs have won 66 collegiate tournaments, two national championships, eight SEC titles and produced 62 individual medalists under Haack’s direction since he came to Georgia in 1996. Haack’s players have been named All-Americans 69 times and 15 of his proteges have won a total of 64 times on the PGA (41) and Korn Ferry (23) tours.

According to UGA, these are the birdie averages for Georgia’s pros over the last three seasons are: Harman, 340; English, 339; Straka, 322; Mitchell, 300; Kisner, 297; Henley, 267; Todd, 266; Watson, 244; Swafford, 210; and Kirk, 198. Sigg will be a full-time member for the first time for 2021-22.

UGA has created a website specifically for the Birdie Challenge where fans can get more details and register for the program.

Dawg Tags: The AJC presents a daily look at the one thing you need to know about Georgia athletics today.

About the Author

Chip Towers covers the Georgia Bulldogs for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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Dawgs on Tour

The 2022-23 PGA Tour season resumes play in January in Hawaii with the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the University of Georgia will once again lead the nation with 10 proud alumni competing full-time on Tour this season. These alums not only bring great pride and recognition to the University by showcasing their talents at the highest level of competition, but they have also agreed to give back to their alma mater by pledging to make a contribution back to UGA for every birdie or better they make throughout the PGA Tour season.

We welcome all UGA alumni and fans to show their support of these talented players by making a pledge today. Bulldog Nation can take pride in following the Dawgs on Tour this fall and throughout next spring and summer by pledging a fixed amount for each birdie or better made by any number of our 10 alums on Tour for any desired amount of time throughout the 2022-23 PGA Tour season. Contributions will provide the necessary resources for current and future student-athletes to continue competing for SEC and National Championship for years to come. Donors have the ability to earmark funds towards select UGA Golf funds or the general UGA Athletics fund. Donors will receive updates on each player’s progress and invoices for your pledge payments throughout the season.

The 2022-23 Dawgs on Tour Birdie Challenge got underway in September at the Fortinet Championship in Napa, CA and will conclude at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta in August of 2023. This is a unique way for our fans to have an even greater rooting interest in the Dawgs on Tour while also providing our UGA Men’s Golf Alumni with an extra incentive to making as many birdies or better as possible throughout the 2022-23 PGA Tour season.

Demonstrate your passion for UGA Golf by investing in current and future student-athletes today! Thank you in advance for your consideration of support and participation in this unique program.

Current Scoreboard (Through the TOUR Championship as of 8/28/23)

For reference, full-time UGA Golf Alumni made the following number of birdies this past season:

• Harris English – 133
• Brian Harman – 342
• Russell Henley – 355
• Chris Kirk – 328
• Kevin Kisner – 306
• Keith Mitchell – 373
• Greyson Sigg – 358
• Sepp Straka – 372
• Davis Thompson – 2022-23 – 1st year PGA Tour member
• Brendon Todd – 330

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The UGA Tour: Secrets to former Bulldogs golfers' success on the PGA Tour

Uga will be well presented by former bulldogs this week at the rbc heritage, the pga tour event on hilton head island, south carolina.

University of Georgia men's golf coach Chris Haack has a pat answer ready when asked the same question again and again.

How to explain the tremendous success of his former Bulldogs on the PGA Tour:

"Great coaching," he quips as a faux brag, but it is a valid response.

Since 2008, 11 of his former players have won a total of 44 titles on the PGA Tour, from two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson with 14 victories to Savannah native Brian Harman with three to the latest UGA alumnus to earn his first, Sepp Straka , on Feb. 27 at the Honda Classic.

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Straka is No. 17 in the FedExCup Standings for April 10, with Kevin Kisner (20th), Russell Henley (21st), Hudson Swafford (28th) and Keith Mitchell (30th) in the top 30. Other Bulldogs in the top 125 are Chris Kirk (63rd), Harman (72nd), Brendon Todd (92nd) and Greyson Sigg (118th). 

"Around here, we don't call it the PGA Tour. We call it the UGA Tour," Haack said.

Again, the line's been used before, but that doesn't make it any less true. 

The Masters' field last week included Harman, Henley, Kisner, Straka, Swafford and Watson, with Harris English invited but out following hip surgery in February.

The PGA Tour event this week, the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island, S.C., includes Harman, Henley, Kirk, Kisner, Straka, Swafford and Todd.

"I really can't explain it," Haack said, "other than the fact I feel we've put them in an environment that helps them to get better and understand how to get more comfortable on the golf course and handle pressure and all the psychology of the game that we try to influence on them a little bit.

"Somehow, it seems to work."

This pipeline from UGA to the PGA — with former Bulldogs playing professionally on other tours such as the Korn Ferry — hasn't always worked this well.

Haack became the Georgia coach in July 1996 and would be inducted into multiple halls of fame for an unmatched run in the program. There have been two national championships, eight Southeastern Conference crowns and more than 60 team tournament titles.

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The knock, and that's a stretch, was that for all of its talent over the years, Georgia didn't produce a commensurate number of PGA Tour players. Before the Haack era, UGA had produced five winners on the PGA Tour: Chip Beck (four victories), Terry Diehl (one), Bill Kratzert (four), Peter Persons (one) and Tim Simpson (four).

"That's how other schools would negatively recruit against Georgia: 'Georgia gets all of these great players and none of them end up on the PGA Tour,' " said Harman, 35, a 2009 UGA graduate. "I'm just so happy to be part of the generation that changed that. Now every time any of us come up on TV, that's what comes up, all these Georgia golfers."

Harman credits Haack for building and sustaining a program so strong, "it sort of recruits itself."

Having been around the sport a long time, Haack remembers when UGA had very good players who didn't pursue professional golf, choosing other careers. Haack views it not as a failure but another era, when the tour wasn't so lucrative and there was a different culture on college golf teams.

"When I brought guys in, I didn't let them join fraternities. I made our golf program our fraternity," Haack said. "I think that really changed a little bit of the culture of how we were going to look at things, how we were going to compete in the best tournaments. We just kind of changed the culture of expectations a little bit."

Don't expect Haack's program to produce "cookie-cutter" golfers. It's quite the opposite.

"They didn't try to make us play a certain way," said Spencer Ralston , 24, a 2021 UGA graduate now on the Korn Ferry Tour. "I think the greatest thing that they did when we were in school was they gave us the flexibility and everything to go out and play well."

Ralston said the program has the resources, from the facilities to the tournament travel experiences, to allow the golfers to flourish, have fun and build confidence in their games. 

A team captain for two years, Ralston enjoyed it so much that he played five years with the bonus year granted by the NCAA for COVID-19's impact.

"Each year I think you can see I grew more and more as a person and became a better player," Ralston said in an interview during the Club Car Championship at The Landings Club.

Every golfer is unique

Golfers are going to be different, Haack said, from their swings to their personalities.

"What it boils down to is what are your natural tendencies when the pressure's the greatest?" Haack said. "When all the eyes are on you coming down to that 18th hole, you're going to go and do whatever is natural or easiest or most comfortable."

This is where Haack the golf coach and sports psychologist are one.

"We're not a big cookie-cutter group where we're all trying to do the exact same thing," he said. "What we try to do is put them in a situation up here (in Athens) with the way that we qualify and the way that we get guys going to tournaments, so they get comfortable in their own skin of what works for them in those situations. We make them reinforce that over and over and over so that it just becomes part of their natural regimen."

Haack referred to "the way that we qualify" for tournaments. It's the game within the game that former UGA golfers said sets the program apart. The coach doesn't pick the five golfers who will compete for UGA in a tournament. The golfers basically determine that.

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The "best" golfers — the ones with the biggest names, most accolades, highest ranking, etc. — don't represent the team unless they perform the best at the team qualifier leading up to a tournament. Just like in the pros.

The team has a qualifier of at least three rounds — simulating a tournament — usually at the UGA Golf Course, Athens Country Club and Jennings Mill Country Club in Watkinsville. Sometimes it's up to six rounds, depending on the time between tournaments.

They are still teammates and friends, but the competition is fierce as they play for the available spots. They also can secure a spot with a top-10 individual finish at the most recent college tournament, then still go through qualifying to "bank" a future spot.

Also, if the Bulldogs win a tournament as a team, Haack may stick with the same five to build chemistry as long as each contributed to the victory. If there was a weak link, there's a spot open.

Sticking with the plan

Everyone knows the drill from the start. Haack and associate head coach Jim Douglas are consistent, even if they cannot anticipate which golfers will get hot or which newcomers may break into the lineup.

"You did all the work at home," Ralston said. "When you got to a tournament, you're relaxed, you have fun, you go out and play to your potential."

The golfers may be different types, but they shared "a similar mindset where we weren't afraid of competition," Harman said. "We wanted to challenge each other. We had a really good environment for making everyone better."

Harman, a star at Savannah Christian as well as in junior golf on a national scale, recalled that when he arrived at UGA, he was the top-ranked amateur in the world at 18. 

Haack told him to qualify for his first tournament as a Bulldog, and that never changed.

"There were no passes given," Harman said. "It just builds grit and resiliency. As many times as I argued with Haacker, 'Why are we qualifying? We know how the team's going to be,' we always had to figure it out and go shoot a score. That's what the tour's all about."

There's no special treatment, no excuses, no throwing out a bad round. Every score mattered.

"The hard qualifying sort of hardened us for that life" of a professional, Harman said.

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Haack said that in his 26 years at UGA, only three players had never missed a tournament: Harman, Henley and Kisner.

The better golfer is the one with the lower score, and Haack likes to keep it "cut and dried." He doesn't protect golfers or play favorites.

"That's what we play for; we play for scores," he said. "It's not about who hit it really good but didn't make any putts. It's about scoring. That's the game.

"It's not about who hits it far, who hits it straight, who's got the best chipping stroke. It's about the score. That's what wins and loses money on the PGA Tour. We just ingrain that in them pretty early. That's what it's going to be like the rest of your life, so you might as well get used to competing every day."

Tournament conditions

Joey Garber , 30, plays on the Korn Ferry Tour and was in Savannah for the Club Car Championship. The 2014 UGA graduate is often asked, including from his peers, about so many Bulldogs in the pros.

When he explains about the competition within the team, rather than the coach arbitrarily selecting the lineup, they understand.

"I think that's pretty rare for a coach to put his butt on the line and do it that way," Garber said. "I think a lot of coaches are more comfortable picking their lineup, putting their best players out there. But (Haack) has done a good job recruiting. He has a deep enough squad that he's allowed to do that and trusts all of his players that qualify will play well. It definitely starts from there.

"It prepares you because nothing's given to you in this game," Garber continued. "When you turn pro, you're on your own. I learned that a little bit the hard way. That's the way he gets you ready to play on the PGA Tour, and I think that's why you see success out of so many Georgia players."

It's not a perfect system. Garber was the No. 1 player in college golf when he failed to qualify for an event. There was room for other players to compete as individuals — on other teams this would usually be the sixth- or seventh-best player in the coach's view. So Garber came along and won the whole thing. That didn't help UGA's score.

"I think our coach took a little bit of grief for that," Garber said. "That's just the nature of the beast. I didn't have any qualms about it, nor would, I think, any of my teammates. That's just the atmosphere and culture he creates. You want the best for everyone."

The UGA golf fraternity continues on the PGA Tour as they remain friends and socialize, particularly those among the many pros residing on St. Simons Island. Garber said he moved there in part because of the opportunity to sharpen his skills in practice rounds against fellow islanders who happen to be among the best players in the world.

Haack keeps up with how his former players are faring on the pro tours.

"I'm probably pulling harder for Greyson Sigg than anybody right now," Haack said. "I want to see him win as much as he can possibly win — only because he's marrying my daughter.

"Right now, I'm his biggest fan."

Nathan Dominitz is the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Email him at [email protected]. Twitter: @NathanDominitz

Bulldogs and titles

Since 2008, 11 of UGA head coach Chris Haack's former Bulldogs have won 44 PGA tournaments:

Harris English 7, Brian Harman 3, Russell Henley 3, Ryuji Imada 1, Chris Kirk 4, Kevin Kisner 4, Keith Mitchell 1, Sepp Straka 1, Hudson Swafford 3, Brendon Todd 3 and Bubba Watson 14.

UGA's Davis Thompson carries on Southeast Georgia's Players Championship tradition

Bulldog fans know it well: University of Georgia sports has turned Northeast Florida into winning territory of late.

Could Davis Thompson join the list of Bulldog triumphs on the First Coast? After 18 holes, he's happy with his opening-round rhythm.

"You've just got to give yourself chances out here," he said. "If you can get the putter rolling, you can take it deep."

In his debut round at the Players Championship, the St. Simons Island resident and former Bulldog golfer shot a steady 2-under 70 to enter the clubhouse still in the hunt following Thursday's first round.

Aiming to join the likes of Davis Love III and Matt Kuchar as Southeast Georgia champions at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, Thompson said he's enjoying the near-hometown experience.

"It is nice putting on the Bermuda greens, because it's what we putt on back home," he said.

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While Thompson said it's not his first visit to the course — he played a junior tournament there around age 12 — it's the first one at the top level for the 23-year-old.

He wasn't intimidated. Starting on the back nine in the day's second group, Thompson overcame a bogey on the opening hole, hitting birdies on the fifth and seventh to enter the clubhouse in the top 10 among golfers in the early groups.

"I hit two great shots [on 11] and once I did that, I was kind of in the rhythm of the round," he said.

Originally from Auburn, Ala., Thompson played for the powerful Georgia program from 2017 to 2021 and climbed to the top of the amateur rankings. In his first full season on the PGA Tour after qualifying through the 2021-2022 Korn Ferry Tour season, he entered the week at 32nd in the FedEx Cup standings, and he's no stranger to the upper portion of the leaderboard.

In January, Thompson went head-to-head against Jon Rahm, through the final round at The American Express in California, a tournament that also includes a Pete Dye-designed course. On that occasion, Thompson finished 26 under but had to settle for second, one stroke behind Rahm.

After testing his skills against the world's No. 1 player, he's feeling confident for the challenge of the sport's giants.

"I draw on that experience a lot, but you've also got to move forward and prepare for each new event," he said.

Five winners on PGA Tour made stops at Georgia first

These days, the road to victories and riches on the PGA Tour starts in Athens, Ga., where University of Georgia golf coach Chris Haack is turning out battle-tested players ready to win. Haack’s never had a deeper and more talented group playing the PGA Tour than right now.

This season, which started in early October under the tour’s new 2013-14 wraparound schedule, there have been six wins by former Bulldogs.

“Georgia has always been highly ranked as a college team, so now some of the talent is coming out,” said 2012 Mast­ers champion Bubba Watson, a former Bulldog who won at Torrey Pines this season and has five career tour wins.

“Obviously, Georgia is putting them through the ringer the right way to teach them for later in life in professional golf,” Watson said. “So they’re performing. It’s crazy how much positivity is coming out of the University of Georgia right now.”

Patrick Reed has two wins this season, and Harris English, Russell Henley and Chris Kirk also have won. They are all in the Masters, along with Watson, who has a lifetime invitation as a former champion.

Kirk’s senior year at Georgia was 2007, and Watson’s was 2008. Reed played in fall 2008 before transferring to Augusta State in spring 2009 and leading the Jaguars to national titles in 2010 and 2011 before turning pro after his junior year. English and Henley were in the Class of 2011 at Georgia.

In the past seven-plus months, former Bulldogs golfers have two other wins: English in Memphis in early June and Reed in Greensboro, N.C., in mid-August.

Haack, or “Hacker” as the coach is known by his players, is getting much of the credit for the Bulldogs’ early-season dominance.

“I guess it would have to be all Hacker,” said Hudson Swafford, a Bulldog from the Class of 2011 who is on the PGA Tour. “Hacker gives us all the tools to get better. It’s kind of paid off. Everybody I played with is on tour except Adam Mitchell, and he’s on the Web.com Tour. It’s been a good ride.”

Haack, who took over at Geor­gia in 1996, has created a system that seems perfect for churning out players ready to win as pros. With first-class facilities and pleasant weather for much of the year, he has no problem coaxing many of the nation’s best juniors to Athens. But it’s what Haack does with them once they get there that is notable.

Instead of installing a pre-set lineup, Haack’s system somewhat mirrors that of the PGA Tour. Everyone has to qualify every week, and only a top-10 individual finish in one tournament earns an exemption into the next.

“Pretty much every day while they were here, we had them in a pressure cooker and had them in situations where they were always having to perform,” Haack said. “They really never had a free ride into playing. They were always very used to the competition, and at some point they learned how to handle it. In some form or fashion, they embraced that, and it’s helped them be more successful.”

Said English: “It’s all about the competition, and we had so many good guys that love competing with each other. Hacker was all about just staying out of our way. He recruited the best players to come and play and then just stayed out of the way and let us do what we do. I got better because I was playing against Russell and Hudson and all the guys I love playing against, and it made me better.”

Kirk credits Haack’s system for helping him handle the pressure at last fall’s McGladrey Classic. Likewise, English stayed steady at Mayakoba in mid-November while his nearest rivals faltered, and Henley stood tall in early March at the Honda Classic, where he won the sudden-death playoff.

“Coach Haack has the best philosophy, I think, of any college coach there is,” Kirk said. “We just focused on competition amongst each other. So, I was first-team All-American my junior year and one of the top‑ranked players in the country, and I was playing in qualifying my senior year to get into the next tournament, and I knew I had to play well to make it. So I think that’s really big, you know. We always were very competitive against each other, and that sort of got everybody going. And everyone’s continued to compete really well at the pro level.”

In addition to superb facilities at Georgia, the Bulldogs annually play one of the top schedules in the country, which Henley said helped make the players’ adjustment to the level of competition on the PGA Tour easier. And because of strong booster support, Swafford said the team “got to do a lot of things a lot of other teams didn’t.”

The fact that Athens is just 100 miles from Augusta National could play a role in a former Bulldog joining Watson as a Masters winner.

“Absolutely,” Swafford said. “It’s definitely a good atmosphere there, you have a lot of support just being down the road. I couldn’t think of a better place to win a major.”

Kirk agreed.

“We’ve got a lot of really good players on tour, and I know that tournament means a lot to all of us,” he said. “It probably means more to us than the other guys. Just by the sheer odds of it, we’ve got a bunch of good players who are bound to win it sometime soon.”

Adding a seat for another Bulldog at the annual Champions Dinner would no doubt please Masters Tournament and Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Billy Payne, who played football for the Bulldogs and attends the dinner. But Georgia Tech has done well at Augusta, too.

The Yellow Jackets have as many Masters champions – Larry Mize in 1987 – as the Bulldogs. The school can also lay claim to Bobby Jones, who co-founded the Masters and Augusta National.

This year’s Masters field has a strong contingent of former Georgia Tech players: 2009 British Open champion Stewart Cink; six-time tour winner Matt Kuchar; and Roberto Castro, who finished 21st in the FedEx Cup standings last year.

With so many players with Peach State ties competing this year, Georgia could be on the minds of many come Masters Sunday.

“The Masters is one of those tournaments where the best player normally wins,” said Cink, who lives in Duluth, Ga. “And some of the best players right now are from Georgia.”

Player Gallery: B. Watson

Player Gallery: Henley

From AugustaChronicle.com »

2021 Invitees

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‘Dawgs on Tour: Right Coast Edition

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As the Tour heads east, let’s take a quick look at the former ‘Dawgs who teed it up last week in LA at the Genesis Invitational:

Greyson Sigg shot 77-72 and missed the cut by 6. Brian Harman carded 74-72 and missed the weekend by 3. A pair of 73s for Brendon Todd meant he also missed the cut by 3. Davis Thompson had a shot Thursday, but his Friday 75 meant he went home early. Kevin Kisner matched Harman and caught the redeye Friday night.

Sepp Straka shot 70-71-70-72 to finish at 1 under par and a tie for 46th. $59,560. Harris English opened hot with 66, recorded a cooler 73-72 in the middle, but raced back up the leaderboard with the low Sunday round of 65 and a tie for 12th. $445.000.

And Keith Mitchell continued good early season play, shooting 64-69-69-70 for solo 5th place and $820,000.

Now let’s play some golf in the correct time zone.

Tournament: The Honda Classic, February 23-26, 2023.

Course: PGA National (Champion), par 70, 7,125 yards. Located in West Palm Beach, Florida and close to home for a couple dozen PGA Tour players (they love the Jupiter area).

Purse: $8.4 million in total, $1,512,000 to the winner. These are less than half the payouts from the previous two weeks, and the Tour players took notice. More on that below.

Defending Champ: UGA’s own Sepp Straka. The Olympian (competed in golf for his native Austria) messed around until Sunday when he overcame a 5 stroke deficit on the final day, weathered an untimely downpour on the final hole, but made birdie to capture the title.

Fun Fact: Historically, there are more balls in the water at this tournament that any other on Tour. “The Bear Trap”, holes 15-17, has quite a bit of water. And thanks to dynamics of the attendance and a desire to mimic the WM Phoenix Open, you will hear jeers when balls get wet.

TV Times: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), Saturday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). We lose Jim Nantz and Colt Knost for a few weeks while NBC takes over and gives us Dan Hicks and Smylie Kaufman.

‘Dawgs in the Field: 4. Harris English, Greyson Sigg, Chris Kirk, and defending champ Sepp Straka.

The 2023 Tour schedule started with 2 tourneys in Hawai’i, then Palm Springs, San Diego, Pebble Beach, Scottsdale, and last week in LA. This “West Coast Swing” ended, and thus begins the “Florida Swing” where the Tour begins in West Palm Beach, heads north to Orlando, stops for the biggest purse in golf at the Players (St. Augustine), then takes I-4 over to Tampa for the Valspar. A little “Texas Two-Step” in Austin and San Antonio before the sporting world turns its eyes to Augusta.

So the Arnold Palmer is next week, then the Players. Less than a month later is the Masters. This is after back-to-back “designated events” where the purses are huge and the fields are stacked. No wonder that the Honda will suffer as one of the few breaks players choose to take in the middle of an important portion of the schedule.

If your two highest ranked players are Billy Horschel and Sungjae Im, you might need to think about marketing another aspect of the tournament. But that’s the thing - this tourney raised over $6 million for charity in 2022 alone basically with the same “sub par” field. With a top field, I don’t think those dollars get much higher. This tournament, and most of the attendees, are corporate. Sponsored boxes, swag for days, casual laid-back atmosphere... it is probably doing just fine as a stand-alone run-of-the-mill Tour stop. Because Jack Nicklaus (and wife Barbara) put their clout behind it and get the fat cats to write fat checks to the local Children’s Hospital. Sponsors get their logo plastered, get to mix in elegant hospitality tents, players on the fringes get a start and a chance at FedEx Cup points, and TV gets a February product in sunny South Florida. In essence, mission accomplished.

If you’ve seen any coverage in previous years, you know about the aforementioned “Bear Trap”. Quail Hollow has the Green Mile, Innisbrook has the “Snake Pit”; simply giving a moniker to a small stretch of holes became en vogue in the last 20 years. In our case this week, it does rank as one of the toughest 3 consecutive holes on the PGA Tour. The funny thing is that holes 5-7, though with less water, actually prove tougher (i.e. higher scores). It is just that the Bear Trap is right at the end of the track, so escaping big numbers can often determine the winner.

Keith Mitchell and Chris Kirk did well here last year, and this was the site of Mitchell’s breakthrough PGA Tour win in 2019. On top of that, Russell Henley won the Honda here in 2014 for his 2nd Tour victory. Mitchell and Harris English had good weeks in LA, so there’s a lot to be hopeful for. If, like me, “hopeful” means a Bulldog at the top of the leaderboard Sunday evening. With that, as always...

GO ‘DAWGS!!!

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Stewart Cink turns back clock at Valspar Championship, echoes Phil Mickelson

Stewart Cink, now a member of PGA Tour Champions, holds a share of the lead at the Valspar Championship.

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Is it 2004? Or 2024?

It surely feels like the former, as 2009 Open Champion Stewart Cink holds a share of the lead of the Valspar Championship through 36 holes.

Cink, who now plays on the PGA Tour Champions , turns 51 on May 21. He most recently tied for seventh at the Cologuard Classic, which Joe Durant won.

Now, Cink finds himself in the mix in Palm Harbor, Florida, where he sits atop the leaderboard at 6-under alongside Kevin Streelman, Mackenzie Hughes, Brendon Todd, and Chandler Phillips.

“It feels great. Being in contention feels the same way no matter where you are, to be honest,” Cink said after Friday’s round.

“Obviously, the field is a little different here at Valspar than it was the last time I teed it up at Cologuard in Tucson on the PGA Tour Champions.”

The last time a player aged 50 or older held at least a share of the 36-hole lead in a PGA Tour event was in 2021, when Phil Mickelson and Louis Oosthuizen sat at 5-under par midway through the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. Justin Ray of The Athletic provided that stat after Friday’s second round in Florida.

But Cink achieved another statistical anomaly on Friday.

This year’s Valspar Championship marks the 500th instance in which Cink made a cut on the PGA Tour.

“I didn’t know about that until somebody told me a little while ago, but I guess ‘milestone’ would be the appropriate language to use,” Cink said after his round.

“I’ve been playing out here a long time and I’ve had some ups and downs, but a lot of ups. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed myself. To make 500 cuts, I think that’s pretty respectable, I guess. I know a lot of players are celebratory when they reach 500 events. So to be able to put that number on your cuts made, I’m proud of that.”

The former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket should be proud of that accomplishment, but he should feel proud of how he played on Friday, too.

Battling harsh and windy conditions, Cink fought through the elements to shoot a 4-under 67, which tied the lowest score of the day.

Only eight players in the 148-man field signed for 67s on Friday. Forty-two players shot under par altogether.

“Hit the ball solidly, a few more fairways today, which was nice,” Cink said.

“This golf course requires it all. You have to be long and accurate off the tee, smart with your decisions coming into the greens and hit really solid approaches. Then, the short game—you have to do that everywhere. But there’s a reason that so many players rave about this course. It requires everything, and so far this week, I’ve done everything fairly well.”

The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook is a ball-striking course, and Cink has approached the greens better than anyone so far this week. He currently has gained more strokes approaching the green than any other player and has gained 6.950 total strokes overall, which is tied for first among the field.

Clearly, the 50-year-old can still play among the game’s best, so perhaps he will carry this momentum into Sunday and win his ninth career PGA Tour title. That would be some story.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Next Up In Golf

• Padraig Harrington triumphs at Hoag Classic, wins PGA Tour Champions event on 72nd hole
• Nelly Korda wins LPGA event in thrilling playoff, moves back to No. 1 in the world
• Peter Malnati tears up after Valspar Championship win; first PGA Tour title in 9 years
• Padraig Harrington fights through rain to seize PGA Tour Champions lead
• DP World Tour sees first time winner prevail in thrilling playoff at Singapore Classic
• Justin Thomas falters down Valspar Championship leaderboard due to abysmal putting

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PGA TOUR University Ranking and Roster Updated Ahead of NCAA Championship

PGA TOUR University

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After being ranked in the top-five all season, North Carolina’s Austin Greaser has decided to opt-out of the PGA TOUR University Class of 2023 and use his extra year of NCAA eligibility next season. In all, four top-25 players opted out since Regionals concluded: Greaser (ranked 5th last week), Texas’ Brian Stark (9th), Vanderbilt’s William Moll (14th) and Baylor’s John Keefer (24th). These players have been removed from the PGA TOUR University Ranking and are eligible for the PGA TOUR U Class of 2024.

The removal of these players has improved the ranking of other top-25 players, led by Pepperdine’s William Mouw, who moved up one spot to No. 5. Additionally, Arizona’s Chase Sienkiewicz and NC State’s Maximilian Steinlechner effectively moved into the top 20, as Oklahoma State’s Rasmus-Neergaard Petersen (currently 13th) will drop out of the top 20 when the minimum divisor is applied after the NCAA Championship.

At the top of the ranking is Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg, who became just the second repeat winner of the Ben Hogan Award on Monday. He is in position to finish No. 1 in PGA TOUR University and earn PGA TOUR membership for 2023 and 2024, and he will be eligible to make his pro debut at the RBC Canadian Open (June 8-11).

After finishing runner-up at the Bath Regional, Illinois’ Adrien Dumont de Chassart improved to a season-best No. 2 in PGA TOUR University, while Florida’s Fred Biondi is No. 3 and Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett is No. 4. Overall, 17 of the top-20 players in the PGA TOUR University Ranking are on teams that qualified for the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. The 72-hole, stroke play event begins Friday, May 26, and the PGA TOUR University Ranking will be finalized following the conclusion of the final round on Monday, May 29.

PGA TOUR University ranks players based on the last two years of their collegiate careers. The No. 1 player in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking will earn PGA TOUR membership, while players Nos. 1-5 (fully exempt) and Nos. 6-10 (conditional) will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership. Additionally, players finishing 6th through 20th will earn fully exempt membership on PGA TOUR Canada.

PGA TOUR University Ranking

Week 20/2023

* Did not qualify for NCAA Championship.

^ Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen has completed his season with 16 events on his PGA TOUR University record. When the minimum divisor (18) is applied after the NCAA Championship, he will finish with a Points Average of approximately 811.

In partnership with the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), PGA TOUR University ranks collegiate players based on their average performance in NCAA Division-I men’s team competitions, official PGA TOUR tournaments and select DP World Tour events. The Ranking Period for the Class of 2023 began Week 23/2021 and concludes May 29, 2023, following the final round of stroke play at the NCAA D-I Men’s National Championship.

NCAA Regionals

In the second year of his ranking period, if a player was eligible (on a qualifying team or qualified to compete as an individual) and did not compete in a NCAA D-I Regional Championship, he received 3 points and added a divisor to his PGA Tour University record.

NCAA Championship

For players in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2023, the points distribution for the NCAA Championship is based on a WAGR Power of 1000. Additionally, players in the current season PGA TOUR University Ranking will receive bonus points if they finish in the top 10 of the final stroke-play leaderboard, with the champion earning 15 bonus points. With these provisions, a current-year player will earn 40 points if he wins the individual NCAA Championship.

Answering remaining questions about PGA Tour-Saudi PIF alliance

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan discusses negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. (0:48)

• Senior college football writer
• Author of seven books on college football
• Graduate of the University of Georgia

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- An important step toward a potential peace accord in men's professional golf will take place Monday in the Bahamas when Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, is scheduled to meet player directors of the PGA Tour's policy board, including Tiger Woods .

While the initial meeting might be nothing more than a meet-and-greet -- or a chance "to put a face to a name," as player director Adam Scott puts it -- it might be another step toward reuniting the fractured sport, which has been embroiled in controversy since the PIF helped launch the rival LIV Golf League in June 2022.

"I doubt we'll get into anything substantive in the first meeting," player director Patrick Cantlay said Sunday.

Still, there seems to be a renewed interest from both sides in getting a deal done sooner rather than later. Along with Woods, Scott and Cantlay, player directors Peter Malnati , Webb Simpson and Jordan Spieth are expected to attend the meeting with PIF officials.

"I think it should have happened months ago, so I am glad that it's happening," Rory McIlroy said. "Hopefully, that progresses conversations and gets us closer to a solution."

Here's a look at where the potential PGA Tour-PIF alliance stands.

Why does the PGA Tour need to get a deal done with the PIF?

While there might not be as much urgency for the PGA Tour to strike a deal after it received a $1.5 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of billionaire sports team owners, athletes and others, getting an agreement finalized is probably the best thing for the future health of the sport -- and the tour.

The simple answer is that if the PGA Tour doesn't strike a deal with the PIF, the Saudis will keep poaching its best players. Reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm is the latest star to defect, signing a contract worth more than $300 million in December.

McIlroy said he believes there's a difference between dealing with LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman and Al-Rumayyan. McIlroy said he hopes player directors hear that Al-Rumayyan "wants to do the right thing."

"I think I've said this before: I have spent time with Yasir, and the people that have represented him in LIV I think have done him a disservice, so Norman and those guys," McIlroy said. "I see the two entities, and I think there's a really big disconnect between PIF and LIV. I think you got PIF over here and LIV are sort of over here doing their own thing. So the closer that we can get to Yasir, PIF and hopefully finalize that investment, I think that will be a really good thing."

With top players like Rahm and reigning PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka and other stars now competing in the LIV Golf League, there's no debate that the tour's fields have been depleted, even at its signature events like the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The Players Championship, which used to be revered for having the "strongest field in golf," even seemed watered down this year. There were 60 players ranked 100th or worse in the 144-man field at TPC Sawgrass last week, including 16 ranked 200th or higher.

"Whoever wins this golf tournament is going to have achieved the most incredible accomplishment, to win on this golf course, against this field, but it would be even better if we had Jon Rahm here," Malnati said. "I'll just say it: It would be even better. It would be an even better win."

Golf fans have apparently noticed. According to published reports, TV ratings for the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida, where world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler ran away with a 5-stroke victory earlier this month, were down 30% compared to the final round in 2023. TV ratings for final-round coverage of the Genesis Invitational on Feb. 18 -- when 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama returned to the winner's circle -- were down about 5%.

Monahan said it was too early to evaluate the signature events, especially after weather disrupted three of the first four. Longtime pro Lucas Glover , a two-time winner last year, called the new model of events "selfish" and a "money grab" because the reduced fields prevent many players from competing for $20 million purses.

"You're getting the best players to play, the top guys to show up, but the fields are more competitive when you have bigger field sizes," reigning FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland said. "I think that's just the fact. There's a reason why we're playing the Players Championship with 144 guys.

"But at the end of the day, I don't know what the fans want to watch. Do they want to watch these limited field sizes or do they want to watch the bigger sizes? I really don't know. So, yeah, I just don't know what trajectory we're on."

Why does the PIF need to strike a deal with the PGA Tour?

For all the money the PIF has spent, and all the noise it has made with its unique format that includes shotgun starts, team and individual competitions, and 54 holes, the league is still struggling to get a foothold in the U.S.

Rahm's new team created some buzz in the offseason, and the return of former Ryder Cup star Anthony Kim from a nearly 12-year hiatus garnered headlines. For the most part, however, LIV Golf's TV ratings in the U.S. haven't improved.

According to data obtained by ESPN, the final round of LIV Golf's March 1-3 tournament in Saudi Arabia averaged 208,000 viewers in the U.S. There was a seven-hour time difference, with TV coverage in the U.S. starting at 3:05 a.m. ET. The final round of the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, which Austin Eckroat won for his first PGA Tour victory, averaged 1.362 million.

Former LIV Golf COO Atul Khosla told ESPN in 2022 that the PIF spent about $784 million on the new circuit in 2022, and that didn't include the hundreds of millions of dollars in signing bonuses it paid to lure golfers to the league. In court papers, PIF's lawyers wrote that LIV Golf had generated virtually no revenue in its first season.

At some point, one would expect, the PIF is going to expect some sort of a return on its investment.

McIlroy believes the PIF is interested in investing in PGA Tour Enterprises because it wants to make money.

"Look, they're a sovereign wealth fund," McIlroy said. "They want to park money for decades and not worry about it. They want to invest in smart and secure businesses, and the PGA Tour is definitely one of those, especially if they're looking to invest in sport in some way."

Will LIV golfers still be punished if they come back to the PGA Tour?

Malnati said the biggest issue on the minds of PGA Tour members might be what potential punishment, if any, LIV golfers would face if they wanted to come back to the circuit. McIlroy, even as one of the PGA Tour's most vocal supporters at the beginning of its battle with LIV, has recently changed his tune.

"I think life is about choices," McIlroy said at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. "Guys made choices to go and play LIV, guys made choices to stay here. I think it's hard to punish people. I don't think there should be a punishment."

"If people still have eligibility on this tour and they want to come back and play or you want to try and do something, let them come back."

The Saudis are also negotiating for a clearer path back for its players, according to sources.

However, some PGA Tour members still want their pound of flesh from players who defected to LIV Golf and signed guaranteed, multiyear contracts, some for more than $100 million. Monahan indefinitely suspended them as soon as they competed in a LIV Golf event.

"You would find opinions that run the gamut -- from guys that just have a line in the sand that say never and guys [who are more open to LIV golfers coming back]," Malnati said. "I think Rory's been pretty outspoken that he wants to see the best players playing on the PGA Tour, so we're going to have to net out somewhere in the middle."

A PGA Tour committee has been tackling the delicate issue of potential punishment for months. According to sources, there could be varying degrees of punishment, including suspensions and fines. Players who actively recruited PGA Tour players for LIV Golf (such as Phil Mickelson ) and players who sued the tour in federal court ( Matt Jones , Hudson Swafford , Talor Gooch , Bryson DeChambeau and others) could face more severe punishment than those who left (Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith , Dustin Johnson and others) and didn't criticize the tour publicly.

"That's something that we as a membership and as leaders of the membership, we need to figure that out," Malnati said. "How do we make this happen for people to come back and do it in a way that has some semblance of fairness, some semblance of [justice]? How do we do it in a way that can at least somewhat pass the sniff test and get us to a place where, when we have championships like this, we have a group of the best players?"

If LIV Golf players return to the PGA Tour, would they be eligible for the new equity program?

Malnati, who joined the policy board to represent the tour's rank-and-file players, seemed to suggest that two things would probably happen if a deal with the PIF is reached and LIV golfers are allowed back: They wouldn't return as PGA Tour members and wouldn't be recipients of the initial shares of the planned $1.5 billion equity program that PGA Tour Enterprises plans to grant past, current and future members over the next several years.

It's yet to be determined whether LIV golfers would be eligible for equity shares in the future, according to sources.

"It's going to make players owners of the tour, and guys who violated our policies aren't ever going to be eligible for that," Malnati said. "That's a big deal. Like, that's a big, big deal. So I think, if we do find a pathway for guys to come back, there will certainly be safeguards in place to protect the members of the tour who stayed here."

What happens to team golf and the LIV Golf League if a deal gets done?

Along with greasing the wheels for its golfers to return to the PGA Tour, the Saudis have also dug in their heels when it comes to LIV Golf and keeping its team format intact in some way, sources have told ESPN.

The Saudis either want team golf to be part of the PGA Tour schedule, or for the LIV Golf League to continue in its present form -- with PGA Tour stars competing. Most of the PGA Tour's best players want no part of team golf outside of the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, and they don't want to play in even more tournaments.

Malnati described LIV Golf's team concept as a "very forced team model" and didn't see how it would be part of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup schedule.

"I personally don't want that, but I can always have my mind changed if I see a great idea," Malnati said. "But personally, I don't want that and I don't see a way that we do that -- that we integrate team golf within the FedEx Cup schedule. We're going to have some time to play with in the fall, I think, we're going to have some options, but I just don't know."

When would the sport be reunited?

Even if a deal is struck this spring, the PGA Tour's alliance with the PIF might not take effect until late 2025 or 2026 at the earliest. The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has opened an investigation into the PGA Tour's alleged antitrust behavior, and it wouldn't be closed simply because the former competitors are now partners. Antitrust experts previously told ESPN that a DOJ review could take as long as 18 months.

Even if a deal is finalized, that means the LIV Golf League would finish out this season, which ends at the Greenbrier Golf Club in West Virginia on Aug. 16-18, and probably play next season too.

On Tuesday, Monahan wouldn't offer a timeline, saying, "It's going to take time."

For now, the PGA Tour will ponder its own future while trying to find peace with the PIF and LIV Golf League.

"I think a lot of that is depending upon the fact of what happens to the LIV guys; do they come back eventually?" Hovland said. "I don't think it's a great outlook if we keep being divided for 10, 15 years, whatever, however long it's going to take. There has to be some kind of decision being made in the future."