HOLLYWOOD, S.C. – Led by medalist Russell Henley, the Georgia men’s golf team earned its first victory of the season on Monday at the Charleston Shootout.

Playing at The Links at Stono Ferry, the Bulldogs posted a 20-shot victory over College of Charleston. Georgia finished at 18-under 846, including an 8-under 280 in the final round Monday.

Henley led the charge for the Bulldogs as he recorded a 9-under 207 with three straight loops of 3-under 69. The junior won for the second time this season and for the fourth time in his career. Henley bounced back from an illness that kept him out of the Feb. 21-23 Puerto Rico, the first tournament that he has missed in his collegiate career.

The Bulldogs also placed Harris English second and Bryden Macpherson fourth in the individual race. English fired a 4-under 68 Monday to wind up at 8-under 208, while Macpherson, playing in just his second collegiate tournament, had a 2-under 70 for a total of 3-under 213. Wills Smith and Rob Bennett each finished with 1-over 73s and tied for 18th at 5-over 221.

“I am very proud of all the guys,” said Coach Chris Haack, who now has led the Bulldogs to at least one victory in 12 of his 14 seasons. “I thought they showed a lot of focus and played with a lot of confidence. It was good to get Russell back in the lineup, and he didn’t miss a beat. We got good scores out of all the guys, and that’s all a coach can ever ask for.”

The Bulldogs return to action March 12-14 in the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas.

Silva Zamora Leads At Kinderlou Challenge

VALDOSTA, Ga. – Georgia’s Marta Silva Zamora was atop the individual leaderboard at the Kinderlou Forest Challenge here on Monday when play was suspended late in the second round of the day due to darkness. The Bulldogs were tied for sixth, 12 shots off the lead.

Silva Zamora carded an even-par 73 in the morning and was at 1-under through 15 holes in the afternoon. She is tied with Chattanooga’s Emma de Groot and Vanderbilt’s Marina Alex, although de Groot and Alex had completed 13 and 10 holes of the second round, respectively.

“Marta continues her really strong play,” head coach Kelley Hester said. “Every good team in every sport has someone they know they can can cout…a ‘go-to’ player. Marta is that.”

Tulane leads the team field. The Green Wave followed a 1-over 293 in the morning with a 2-over effort in the second round when play was halted. No. 14 Tennessee is second, five shots back at 8-over, followed by Ohio State at 10-over, No. 20 LSU at 12-over, No. 16 Florida at 13-over, the Bulldogs and No. 19 Vanderbilt at 19-over and No. 15 Virginia at 19-over.

“We’re young and we have great potential,” Hester said. “I think we were 5-under through the first nine holes this morning. Part of being young is that we also make mistakes. A day like today certainly gives us a better idea of what we need to work on. We struggled with our putting some today. It’s not that we’re not capable. We just couldn’t keep it going in the morning. I think we played better in the afternoon. We’re still getting the rust off from the winter. I’m seeing a lot of good things. We just need to eliminate some of the bad.

In the morning, the Bulldogs counted Silva Zamora’s 73, a 75 from Kendall Wright and a pair of 77s from Carolina Andrade and Milena Savich. Georgia dropped Emilie Burger’s 78.

In the afternoon, Silva Zamora was 1-under through 15, Burger and Savich was 1-over through 15 and 12, respectively, and Andrade was 4-over through 15. Wright was 5-over through 15.

Play resumes today, with an additional 18 holes scheduled to wrap up the 54-hole event.