Dawgs’ Kirby Smart thrilled for this year’s exciting Ryder Cup

Even though it is Vanderbilt week for Georgia football and Kirby Smart, the avid golfer is also excited for the Ryder Cup action.

Not one but two times this week in Smart’s weekly press conference, he talked about golf and the Dawgs on the PGA Tour.

Smart is someone who loves to hit the links, so it’s not surprising that he is ready for the Ryder Cup this week. I mean, I  think anyone in America who loves golf is ready for this week.

There is one Dawg on Team USA in Harris English who is making his first appearance at the event. English has played some of his best golf, so when he qualified, I  was curious to see if anyone at the university would do anything.

The fact that Smart gave him a shout-out during a press conference makes me smile. English loves Georgia football, and I  mean he loves the Dawgs. He is one of those guys who will be checking the score throughout the round on Saturdays. Between him and Hudson Swafford, those two eat, sleep and breathe Dawg football.

"“It’s awesome. We’ve got so many Dawgs on tour. It’s been incredible to see what they’ve been able to do. Harris stopped by practice not too long ago. He had his dad with him, his caddy with him. It great to see him out there,” Kirby Smart said in his press conference. “I’m really proud of what he’s been able to do. He’s a great person, he represents the University of Georgia the right way, I love being around him. I’m pumped for him and the Ryder Cup, one of the coolest events in all of sports to me. I love it, and I’ll be tuning in to see how he does.”"

I  have to agree with Smart about it being the coolest event in all of sports. As a football coach, you’d think he would say the SEC Championship or national title game, but nope, the Ryder Cup — to be honest, I  agree.

The Ryder Cup does something, and it’s incredible to watch it. This event is one of the things that made me start to love golf with Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed in 2016. English and the RSM Classic sent me over the edge into the golf world, but that 2016 Ryder Cup will forever be in my head as one of the greatest sports moments of all time.

However, that quote about English wasn’t the best thing Smart said about golf this week. On Monday, the head coach mentioned something about the Dawgs on Tour raising money.

Smart is pretty philanthropic anyway with his organization, The Kirby Smart Family Foundation. Still, the fact he also wants to donate alongside these PGA Tour golfers just makes my heart happy.

"“One of the things I forgot to mention is excited about the ‘Dawgs On Tour’ and the money that our pro golfers are raising,” Kirby Smart said in his press conference. “I want to give some awareness to that and those guys are challenging everybody to make pledges for the number of birdies they make—so somebody told me I need to make a pledge, so I’m pledging one dollar per birdie for those guys.“You don’t think it’d be much, but somebody told me that could get anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000, but those guys are giving back to the university and I think it’s great,” Smart said. “Anybody that plays here, as an amateur, and then goes on to become a professional and be able to give back, which those pro golfers have done, I think it’s a tremendous honor for them to do that and want to help out with that.”"

While one dollar may not seem much, these PGA Tour players make a lot of birdies, so that can add up quickly. I just love Smart and how he wants to give back, not just through football but by joining the former Dawgs on Tour donate.

He realizes that golf and football go hand-in-hand here in the south and I’m all for it. So many people love both sports equally, including me, so when my favorite head coach does what he does, I’m going to talk about it.

I  cannot wait to see how much money Smart ends up donating along with these Dawgs on Tour. If there was ever something Smart could do off the football field to make him a Damn Good Dawg, it’s this.