Golf’s second major of the year begins on Thursday as the 103rd PGA Championship will take place on the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, South Carolina. The PGA Championship is back being the second major after being the first last year and the last one before that. This is the second time the PGA Championship has been held at this course. The first time was 2012 and Rory McIlroy won by eight strokes to win his second career major (he has four now). Also in 2012, Bubba Watson finished tied for 11th. He was the only former Bulldog in the field. This time around, Bubba is one of eight former Bulldogs in the field.
Last year eight Bulldogs were in the field as well and all eight made the cut. Brendon Todd had the best finish as he was tied for 17th while Harris English and Kevin Kisner also finished in the top-20 when they finished tied for 19th. A Georgia Bulldog has never won this prestigious event, but several have come close. Here are the top 13 finishes all-time by a former Dawg –
Here is a closer look at all eight former Georgia golfers in the field in their quest to win to famed Wanamaker Trophy.
HARRIS ENGLISH – Official World Golf Ranking (22nd)
Harris English is currently the highest ranked golfer among former Dawgs according to Official World Golf Rankings. He has played 17 events this season and has made the cut 13 times. Back in January, he won his third PGA Tour event when he won the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He already has five top-10 finishes this season. The most top-10s he has had in a season was seven back in 2014. Last April he had his best Masters result when he finished tied for 21st
In 2020, English had his best ever finish at the PGA Championship. He finished under par in three of the four rounds. He also had 11 birdies throughout the tournament and had an eagle on the 16th hole on the final day. Here is how the Valdosta native has fared at the PGA Championship.
BRIAN HARMAN – Official World Golf Ranking (47th)
Brian Harman has played in 18 events this season and made the cut an impressive 17 times. His best finish was tied for third at The Players Championship last March. Last season, he played 22 events and made 17 cuts as well. The season before that he made just 16-of-29. Like English, Harman had his best ever Masters finish back in April. He finished tied for 12th but was tied for second halfway through the major.
Last season at the PGA Championship he tied his best round at this event when had a 2-under 68 in the first round as he played bogey-free golf. He has only one top-20 finish at the PGA Championship. Can he do it again? Here is the Savannah native’s career at the PGA Championship –
RUSSELL HENLEY – Official World Golf Ranking (57th)
Russell Henley has played in 16 events this season and has made the cut 12 times. Twice he has finished third and four times he has finished in the top-10. Five is the most times he finished in the top-10 in one season (2017). He did not play in this year’s Masters and has only played in one major from 2019 to now.
The one major he played in that time was last season’s PGA Championship. He had exactly three birdies in each of the four rounds, but it was final round where he made just one bogey. Henley has made the cut at the PGA Championship the last five times he has played there. Check out all the results at this major for the Macon native -
CHRIS KIRK – Official World Golf Ranking (63rd)
At the end of the 2020 season, Chris Kirk’s Official World Golf Ranking was over 250. It is now at 63. This season, Kirk has made 13 of 16 cuts including a runner-up finish in the Sony Open in Hawaii back in January. In 45 of 54 rounds this season, Kirk has shot even par or better. This is the first time he has played in a major since 2018.
The 2018 PGA Championship was the last time he has played in this event and it also happened to be his best finish there. It also snapped a streak of three missed cuts in a row in this major. Here are all the results for the Knoxville, Tennessee and Woodstock native at this major -
KEVIN KISNER – Official World Golf Ranking (44th)
Kevin Kisner for the most part has been the most successful former Bulldog over the last few years until this year. In 2021, Kisner has made just eight cuts in 15 events. He has missed the cut in his last four events. Back in November he did finish second in a playoff at the RSM Classic. At the Masters back in April he missed the cut after shooting a 72, 77.
Last season at the PGA Championship, Kisner had 19 birdies with seven of them coming in the opening round. Overall, he has played the PGA Championship six times and four times he has made the cut. All four times he finished in the top-20 and each time he has finished the tournament under par. Here are the results for the Aiken, South Carolina native at the PGA Championship -
HUDSON SWAFFORD – Official World Golf Ranking (194th)
Hudson Swafford has only made six of 13 cuts this season, but one of them was his second career PGA Tour victory. Last September, Swafford won the Corales Puntacana in the Dominican Republic. Six months later he played in that same tournament and finished tied for sixth. His other PGA Tour win happened in 2017 at the CareerBuilder Challenge. Also in 2017, he played in the only PGA Championship. He has yet to make the cut in any of the five majors he has entered. So, this can be the first made cut at a major for the Tallahassee, Florida native.
BRENDON TODD – Official World Golf Ranking (60th)
Brendon Todd has made the cut in 15 of 18 events this season. In one third of those made cuts he has finished in the top-25 with his best finish coming in a tie for eighth at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December. Todd finished tied for 46th at The Masters, but since then he shot under par in six of eight rounds.
Last year was Todd’s best finish at the PGA Championship. His tied for 17th finish was the best of the eight Bulldogs that made the cut. Seven of his 15 birdies in the 2020 PGA Championship happened in the first round. How has the Pennsylvania and North Carolina fared in all PGA Championships – Check it out below -
BUBBA WATSON – Official World Golf Ranking (55th)
Bubba Watson is still the only former Bulldog to win a major (2012 and 2014 Masters). This season, Bubba has made 11 of 14 cuts. Four of those 11 times he made the top-10 and seven times he has made the top-25. After finishing tied for 26th at The Masters in April, he has shot under par in eight of his last 12 rounds of tournament golf.
As you can see from the top graphic, not only the Bubba have the best finish at The Masters by a former Dawg, he also has the best PGA Championship finish by a former Dawg. The 2020 PGA Championship was the first time he made the cut at this major since 2016. Here are all the PGA Championship results for the Bagdad, Florida native -
Here are the Thursday and Friday tee times and pairings for all the Bulldogs entered…
I also want to give a special shoutout to another former Bulldog, Greyson Sigg. Sigg won his first Korn Ferry Tour title (just below PGA Tour) by winning the Visit Knoxville Open last week. He entered the final round three strokes back and finished the tournament at 20 under par. It was his eighth top-10 finish this season. Someday soon, I might be mentioning his name in the previews of former Georgia players in the majors.
