Keith Mitchell teaches Sungjae Im about Georgia football

Anyone is welcome on the Georgia bandwagon, especially in light of two straight national championships. PGA Tour golfer — and UGA alum — Keith Mitchell brought another member aboard this week.

Mitchell played in the Zurich Classic this week with South Korean golfer Sungjae Im. During the round, Im taught Mitchell some Korean.

“Sungjae taught me ‘team captain’ in Korean because he is my team captain. … ‘Jujang,'” Mitchell said. “He’s my team captain. Clearly, that showed today.”

So, Mitchell repaid the favor by teaching Im about something near and dear to his heart.

“I taught him about Georgia football,” Mitchell said.

Sungjae Im, 𝙗𝙞𝙜 @UGAAthletics guy 😆@K_M_Mitchell | @Zurich_Classic pic.twitter.com/6JDknbDphw

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 20, 2023

In the process, Georgia added a new member to its growing fan base as Mitchell taught him about offense, defense, quarterbacks, receivers and much more about the game. It was a mission accomplished for the former Bulldog golfer, too.

“He’s now the biggest Georgia fan in South Korea,” Mitchell said. “He’s a Georgia resident now, so that helps.”

“Georgia fan,” Im said with a smile. “Bulldogs.”

In addition to their language lessons, Im and Mitchell played some pretty good golf, too. Through the first two rounds of the Zurich Invitational, they sat tied for second place with the duo of Doc Redman and Sam Ryder at 15-under. Wyndham Clark and Beau Hossler held the 36-hole lead at 16-under.

As the PGA Tour season goes on, though, there will be a big absence. Tiger Woods announced he underwent another surgery on the leg he injured in a 2021 car crash. The recovery period is about six to 12 weeks for that procedure, according to the Cleveland Clinic, meaning Woods might not be back out on the course until next year.

“Earlier today, Tiger underwent a subtalar fusion procedure to address his post-traumatic arthritis from his previous talus fracture. It was performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley at HSS Sports Medicine Medicine Institute in New York City. He has determined the surgery to be successful. Tiger is recovering and looks forward to beginning his rehabilitation,” the press release said.

Woods managed to make the cut at The Masters this year, but it certainly wasn’t easy for him. He had a hard time walking as the tournament went on and ended up having to withdraw due to plantar fasciitis. Because of his surgery, it’s likely he’ll end up taking some more time off to recover and get ready for next season.

On3’s Wade Perry contributed to this report.