University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs, Haack Have ‘More To Go’
May 20, 2026 | Men's Golf, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Chris Haack looked as intense as ever on Wednesday afternoon as he stood to the left of the ninth fairway at the UGA Golf Course, watching senior Carter Loflin's final tee shot bounce into the woods. Georgia's longtime men's golf coach is retiring at the end of the season, and his Bulldogs were battling to be one of the five teams to advance out of the Athens Regional and go on to next week's NCAA Championships.
"I was hoping to see one out in the middle of the fairway; instead, I saw one down in the woods, so that perplexed me," he said with a smile, after everything turned out just fine.
It was a bit of a nail-biter, but the Bulldogs got it done.
When the College of Charleston lipped out a birdie putt on the ninth hole — Georgia, BYU and Charleston were playing together, teeing off on No. 10 to start their rounds — the Bulldogs stood alone in fifth place at 19-under par, with the Cougars finishing in sixth, one stroke back. The top five teams from each regional advance to the NCAAs at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
Haack's 30-year career, which has included two NCAA titles, eight SEC championships, 119 All-Americans, and so much more, will continue for a while longer. Georgia announced in February that Haack was retiring at the end of the season, and he's talked about the end of his career on multiple occasions since then, but Wednesday afternoon was the first time the emotions of it hit him.
"The only time I've thought about it was coming up (the ninth hole, Georgia's last of the day). I didn't want this one to be my last one," he said, choking up a little as he talked. "I hadn't gotten emotional all year until just then. ... I'm just glad we've got more to go.
"I think, probably, it was because it was in front of the home crowd, knowing how good they've always been to me."
On a day that saw a lot of teams make a lot of birdies and bogeys — the 13 teams playing combined for 281 birdies, two eagles, and 178 bogeys — Georgia's players made 23 birdies and 15 bogeys. They also made a lot of clutch pars.
All five Bulldogs shot under par, with James Earle leading the way with a 3-under round. Grayson Wood shot 2-under, and Loflin, Matt Moloney and JD Culbreth each shot 1-under. Only the top four scores count, so even if Loflin hadn't gotten out of trouble in the woods, his score wouldn't have counted.
Earle, a sophomore, shot even on his first nine and then made four birdies on his second, including three in a row on Nos. 6-8, before closing his round with a bogey on the ninth. Earle said he felt a little pressure out there, both because Georgia was chasing a top-five spot at home and because of what was at stake for his coach, but the 90-degree heat made it "hard to think about anything but not passing out." Amid all of that, he said he focused as well as he could.
Of his three straight birdies to help Georgia get to 21-under at one point, Earle said "we needed every single one of them." He made a long putt with a lot of break for birdie on No. 6.
"I had about a 35-foot slider that broke about eight feet, and it tripped in right over the edge. And from that point on, I was like, All right, let's go," he said.
Earle's day included six birdies and three bogeys to shoot 68. Freshman JD Culbreth's round was also a mix of highs and lows. He shot 2-under on his first nine, but then made four straight bogeys on Nos. 1-4. He followed that with three birdies in a row and then a pair of pars to close out an adventurous round of 69.
"It was definitely that, for sure — beyond that," he said, adding that he and his teammates "clutched up" and got the job done. "The four bogeys I made, I didn't really feel like I hit a bad shot on some of them, played pretty well, and just kind of got to some bad spots; it happens. That made it a lot more frustrating, but I knew I needed to get a score there for some insurance."
Vanderbilt won the regional with a score of 28-under, Louisville was second at -26, Auburn (-22) placed third, and BYU (-20) came in fourth.
The Bulldogs were alone in third for a while during their second nine, and also dropped down to sixth at one point, but in the end, they got the job done — for themselves, their head coach, longtime associate head coach Jim Douglas, who is also stepping down, and Loflin, the team's only senior. Assistant coach Mookie DeMoss, who played for Haack and Douglas, will take over as head coach.
"It's awesome," Culbreth said. "It's really tough to play at home. It's obviously a huge advantage in some ways, but probably a lot more pressure underneath, especially Haacker's final year and Doug's final year, that made it a lot tougher — and Carter's final year.
"That's all I thought about the whole time; just trying to do it for them. I know everybody else felt the same. I think there's maybe some more pressure on it, but I think it's more of an incentive to, every shot mattered that much more. It's everybody's dream to make it to Nationals."
The Bulldogs did, and Haack will wrap up his career where he's so often led his team, at the NCAA Championships. A fitting place for a fond farewell.
Staff Writer
Chris Haack looked as intense as ever on Wednesday afternoon as he stood to the left of the ninth fairway at the UGA Golf Course, watching senior Carter Loflin's final tee shot bounce into the woods. Georgia's longtime men's golf coach is retiring at the end of the season, and his Bulldogs were battling to be one of the five teams to advance out of the Athens Regional and go on to next week's NCAA Championships.
"I was hoping to see one out in the middle of the fairway; instead, I saw one down in the woods, so that perplexed me," he said with a smile, after everything turned out just fine.
It was a bit of a nail-biter, but the Bulldogs got it done.
When the College of Charleston lipped out a birdie putt on the ninth hole — Georgia, BYU and Charleston were playing together, teeing off on No. 10 to start their rounds — the Bulldogs stood alone in fifth place at 19-under par, with the Cougars finishing in sixth, one stroke back. The top five teams from each regional advance to the NCAAs at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
Haack's 30-year career, which has included two NCAA titles, eight SEC championships, 119 All-Americans, and so much more, will continue for a while longer. Georgia announced in February that Haack was retiring at the end of the season, and he's talked about the end of his career on multiple occasions since then, but Wednesday afternoon was the first time the emotions of it hit him.
"The only time I've thought about it was coming up (the ninth hole, Georgia's last of the day). I didn't want this one to be my last one," he said, choking up a little as he talked. "I hadn't gotten emotional all year until just then. ... I'm just glad we've got more to go.
"I think, probably, it was because it was in front of the home crowd, knowing how good they've always been to me."
On a day that saw a lot of teams make a lot of birdies and bogeys — the 13 teams playing combined for 281 birdies, two eagles, and 178 bogeys — Georgia's players made 23 birdies and 15 bogeys. They also made a lot of clutch pars.
All five Bulldogs shot under par, with James Earle leading the way with a 3-under round. Grayson Wood shot 2-under, and Loflin, Matt Moloney and JD Culbreth each shot 1-under. Only the top four scores count, so even if Loflin hadn't gotten out of trouble in the woods, his score wouldn't have counted.
Earle, a sophomore, shot even on his first nine and then made four birdies on his second, including three in a row on Nos. 6-8, before closing his round with a bogey on the ninth. Earle said he felt a little pressure out there, both because Georgia was chasing a top-five spot at home and because of what was at stake for his coach, but the 90-degree heat made it "hard to think about anything but not passing out." Amid all of that, he said he focused as well as he could.
Of his three straight birdies to help Georgia get to 21-under at one point, Earle said "we needed every single one of them." He made a long putt with a lot of break for birdie on No. 6.
"I had about a 35-foot slider that broke about eight feet, and it tripped in right over the edge. And from that point on, I was like, All right, let's go," he said.
Earle's day included six birdies and three bogeys to shoot 68. Freshman JD Culbreth's round was also a mix of highs and lows. He shot 2-under on his first nine, but then made four straight bogeys on Nos. 1-4. He followed that with three birdies in a row and then a pair of pars to close out an adventurous round of 69.
"It was definitely that, for sure — beyond that," he said, adding that he and his teammates "clutched up" and got the job done. "The four bogeys I made, I didn't really feel like I hit a bad shot on some of them, played pretty well, and just kind of got to some bad spots; it happens. That made it a lot more frustrating, but I knew I needed to get a score there for some insurance."
Vanderbilt won the regional with a score of 28-under, Louisville was second at -26, Auburn (-22) placed third, and BYU (-20) came in fourth.
The Bulldogs were alone in third for a while during their second nine, and also dropped down to sixth at one point, but in the end, they got the job done — for themselves, their head coach, longtime associate head coach Jim Douglas, who is also stepping down, and Loflin, the team's only senior. Assistant coach Mookie DeMoss, who played for Haack and Douglas, will take over as head coach.
"It's awesome," Culbreth said. "It's really tough to play at home. It's obviously a huge advantage in some ways, but probably a lot more pressure underneath, especially Haacker's final year and Doug's final year, that made it a lot tougher — and Carter's final year.
"That's all I thought about the whole time; just trying to do it for them. I know everybody else felt the same. I think there's maybe some more pressure on it, but I think it's more of an incentive to, every shot mattered that much more. It's everybody's dream to make it to Nationals."
The Bulldogs did, and Haack will wrap up his career where he's so often led his team, at the NCAA Championships. A fitting place for a fond farewell.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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