Month: October 2017

Vegas playing for his people at Presidents CupVegas playing for his people at Presidents Cup

JERSEY CITY, N.J. –  Jhonattan Vegas misses the memories. It’s been nearly three years since he last visited Venezuela because of the political instability that has rocked the country. “It feels like a decade, to be honest,â€� he says. He used to return to his homeland annually, and each visit was a chance to see family and friends and reflect on the stories that make up his improbable path to the PGA TOUR. “Even though Houston is my home right now, there’s nothing like Venezuela. It’s the place that I grew up, where I have my roots,â€� Vegas says. “That’s one of the things I miss about being home, is reliving a lot of those stories.â€� He grew up on a nine-hole course in a Venezuelan oil camp, hitting rocks with a broomstick when he started the game as a toddler. He fondly recalls the nights that his father, Carlos, drove overnight to tournaments so that Jhonattan could sleep before teeing off the next morning. Or the times their car broke down in the middle of nowhere, stranding them in a rural area until help arrived. At 17, Jhonattan left Venezuela, where Hugo Chavez’s government had declared war on the game, to move to the United States. He arrived in Houston with his clubs, a bag of clothes and 10 words of English in his vocabulary. “Not having a ton and fighting to get to where I’m at right now, … that makes the journey a lot more fun,â€� he says. Jhonattan, 33, is now a three-time PGA TOUR winner and making his Presidents Cup debut this week at Liberty National. He is the first golfer from Venezuela to play this event, though his most successful season comes during a tumultuous and tragic year for his country. More than 100 people have been killed this year in protests against the government. “To him, the painful situation of the country makes him feel a lot of pain and emotions and tarnishes a bit the fact that he is playing the Presidents Cup,â€� Carlos says through a translator. “His joy, that all the South Americans feel, has been overshadowed by this situation.â€� The country has plunged into chaos while Nicolas Maduro, Chavez’s hand-picked successor, has seized control of the government. Severe shortages of food and medicine have put Venezuela’s citizens in peril, while falling oil prices and hyperinflation have sent the economy into an abyss. A February study revealed that 75 percent of the population had lost an average of 19 pounds, while a third of citizens were eating two or fewer meals per day. Eighty-two percent of households were living in poverty and 93 percent didn’t earn enough to cover basic food needs, according to Venezuela’s Living Conditions Survey. “We’re getting to the point that the country is on such a horrible path that no matter your political views or who you are or what you do, we have to get our country moving in a whole different direction,â€� Jhonattan says.“The more we can … be outspoken and make people aware of it, that’s the only tool that we have that can hopefully have an impact on shaping our country the right way.”  Two months ago, he used his third PGA TOUR victory as an opportunity to speak out against the government. Sitting next to the trophy from the RBC Canadian Open, Jhonattan directed his phone on himself and spoke words of support to the people in his homeland (the following is an English translation of his message): “This is not a moment to be happy, personally as a Venezuelan, due to everything that is happening in our country, all the deaths that have occurred since the past few months. The truth is, my third victory on the PGA TOUR is something very beautiful and special. However, I can’t be happy, because of everything that is going on in our country, and all the suffering that our people have every day. “I feel that I should express my feelings at this moment. Thank you all for the support that I have been receiving on social media, and all the messages that you have sent me to win here.  “This is something that I would like to dedicate to my country, Venezuela, for everything that it has given me until now. Venezuela deserves the best of us. Venezuela is more than us. Venezuela had and has been here. We need to take care of it, to do everything that we can for our country. Our country deserves the best. This is for you, this is for Venezuela. Let’s fight for our country and for the end of this government that doesn’t represent anybody. I love you all and Viva Venezuela.â€� There’s nothing like Venezuela. It’s the place that I grew up, where I have my roots. The same day as Jhonattan’s victory at Glen Abbey, an election was held for a Constituent Assembly that would nullify the opposition-led legislature, effectively giving Maduro unobstructed authority. Neighboring countries questioned the election’s legitimacy and rejected the result. The United States’ ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, called the vote a “sham election.â€� Citizens protested in the streets, and the government responded with water cannons, rubber bullets and batons; at least 10 people were killed, according to The New York Times. The unrest, and the well-being of his family in Venezuela, has dominated Jhonattan’s’ thoughts this year. “Having some success actually hurts my family there because obviously I put myself and my family in a whole different spotlight,” he says. “That attracts unwanted attention. It’s been hard to deal with that, making sure that everyone is safe. We have been fortunate enough that nothing crazy has happened, but you can’t take it for granted.” Politics and sports are often intertwined, though the golf course is rarely the site of such statements. Jhonattan feels compelled to speak about the situation, despite the fear of government retribution or crime against his family in Venezuela. “Jhonny is above all things a Venezuelan,â€� says his longtime swing instructor Kevin Kirk, who lived in Venezuela as a child. “Things in the country aren’t great now, but he’s proud to be a Venezuelan, he’s proud to be from South America. One thing about Jhonny that may be a little different from other kids, he definitely is more motivated by things outside of him, like representing his country. That stuff is more fulfilling for him than doing things for himself. “Jhonny loves his country. Historically, we’ve tried to kind of make him aware that, say what you want to, but there’s consequences to what you say. He’s historically been more guarded, but I think the state of affairs in Venezuela currently and the fact that several of his other peers had spoken out and started being more vocal — combine that with the adrenaline from winning a golf tournament — and it was probably the perfect storm, the perfect time to make a statement.â€� Kirk, who lived in Venezuela from 1968-1975, has fond memories of his years there. The Texan remembers the strong ex-pat communities that congregated around the country’s oil fields. Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, according to Forbes, and the country was enriched by its exports. It was once a prosperous, relatively stable country. Venezuela is where Kirk says he fell in love with golf. He took lessons from Franci Betancourt, who represented Venezuela in the World Cup three times, and remembers American stars coming to the country to play in winter tournaments on some of the country’s classic courses. Jhonattan had a joyful childhood, as well. Each afternoon, he’d ride his bike from school to the local golf course and play with the other kids living in the camp. “It was a great life,â€� he says. That changed when Chavez was elected in 1998. Ever since, Venezuela’s politics have had an impact on Jhonattan’s family and his career. Chavez declared the game a sport for the bourgeois and began shutting down its courses, including the course where Jhonnattan learned the game, Morichal. Carlos ran the food concession at the course, but lost his business after signing a recall petition against Chavez in 2003.   Carlos is not surprised that his son has spoken out. “I think that at that moment he was thinking about our foundation for children who live in poor conditions and abandonment,â€� Carlos says. “He is saddened by the fact that he cannot continue helping because the situation in the county hasn’t allowed it. Canada was a springboard to speak out to the leaders and say, ‘It is time. Please give the country a chance to rise and allow him to do what he can as a human being.’â€� The Jhonattan Vegas Foundation was founded to help underprivileged children in Venezuela, but its efforts have been stifled by the government. Carlos says he recently received an email from a children’s hospital in their hometown of Maturin, asking for ventilators. They need to get the state’s authorization before the ventilators can reach the hospital, though. It has become increasingly difficult to get goods into the country. “We are trying,â€� Carlos says. “The children in our hospital are dying.â€� “It’s definitely frustrating seeing what’s happening and not being able to do much to help,” Jhonattan says. For now, all he can do is speak.

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2017 Presidents Cup: Day 3 highlights2017 Presidents Cup: Day 3 highlights

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International Team plays for prideInternational Team plays for pride

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Notes and observations from the third day at the Presidents Cup, where the International Team is on the brink of a heavy defeat. The U.S. Team dominated morning Foursomes 3.5-0.5, then were almost as impressive in afternoon Four-ball matches to the tune of 3-1. They are just a point away (14.5-3.5) from clinching the Cup in Sunday singles. For more from Liberty National, click here for the Daily Wrap-up.  PLAYING FOR PRIDE AND PRICE The odds of the International Team winning all 12 singles matches on Sunday to win the Presidents Cup are around 15,000/1. As such, Sunday becomes mostly about pride and about the future. It also is about the past. With Captain Nick Price likely finishing up his term having now overseen three Cups, the focus is on where to from here. “We may be down, but we are not out,â€� Price said “We’ve given it our best shot this week. We’ve just come up against a juggernaut of an American Team that has not put a foot wrong, it seems like, in three days. They have had all the momentum and we’ve had nothing. “There’s an outside shot tomorrow, and the guys all know that. They are going to go play for their pride, they are going to play for themselves, they are going to play for the team and they are going to play for us (captains). “They are going to do their best. You’re not going to be able to take the spirit away out from our team, that’s for sure.â€� Anirban Lahiri, who with Si Woo Kim provided the only International Team win on Saturday, said the side would play with freedom and a determination to send Price out on a better note. Price has been the most popular International leader in some time and the score line has cut the Zimbabwean deep. “We can compete. We haven’t this week but going into tomorrow, I think we have to enjoy ourselves a little more,â€� Lahiri said. “It’s difficult to do that when you’re down the way we’ve been but I think all of us are going to go out there and try and play our best. We’ve got a mountain in front of us, but nothing to lose. “All 12 of us, caddies, and everybody, we feel terrible about this being Nick’s last captaincy, and we’ve not played well. This is not the way we’d like him to leave. We want him to go out on a happy note. So we are going to give him our all and we are going to play for our pride and for him.â€� LAHIRI REDEMPTION KEEPS SLIMMEST OF HOPES ALIVE Two years ago Anirban Lahiri had a 4-foot putt to give the International Team at least a share of the Presidents Cup. It missed. And they eventually lost the Cup by a point. Since that moment the Indian star had wanted a chance for redemption and while his impressive efforts on Saturday didn’t clinch the Cup, they did stop a dominant U.S. Team from doing so. Si Woo Kim and Lahiri sat all square with Charley Hoffman and Kevin Chappell through 15 holes before Lahiri buried a 16-foot birdie putt, pointing it into the hole as it dropped, to go 1 up. But the drama was far from over. On 17 Hoffman’s approach came up short of the green while Lahiri sat 19-feet from the hole. Hoffman chipped in and celebrated like he’d won the Cup, chest bumping Chappell and running around in euphoria. Once the deafening noise subsided Lahiri lined up his putt – and drained it – ensuring Sunday’s singles would not be dead rubbers. “I think the Americans have done it all week. They seem to make the turn, just around the clubhouse, which is the 14th, and they make birdies down the stretch. They make putts; they hole shots,â€� Lahiri said. “I was sitting in the morning when I came in, and I said one of us or some of us have got to try and do the same. We have to try and make those putts and make those birdies coming home. I guess that was just a good seed in my head when I started out today.â€� On 18 he was left with a 3-foot par putt to secure the 1-up win but as he lined it up Chappell conceded it in a display of good sportsmanship. The International Team had been privately upset at some of the American antics, including Phil Mickelson and Kevin Kisner’s three amigos dance on Friday. “There has not been as much sportsmanship as there should be up until those last two holes,â€� Lahiri added. “So I think that should kind of demonstrate to everyone here how we really should play the game, with the right kind of spirit.â€� ODDS AND ENDS Since 2015 Jason Day has won eight PGA TOUR events including a major and a WGC – Dell Match Play Championship. Unfortunately, his past two Presidents Cups in that time frame have not been as prolific. Day is now 0-7-2 in the last two Cups combined. He plays Charley Hoffman in singles on Sunday as he tries to get an elusive win. The 11-point lead by the U.S. Team heading into Sunday’s Singles Matches surpasses the previous record of nine points; the International Team led by nine points in 1998 and ended up beating the U.S. Team 20.5 to 11.5. The largest overall margin of victory in Presidents Cup history after all sessions is 11 points, when the U.S. defeated the International Team 21.5 to 10.5 in 2000. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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