Day: January 14, 2021

2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am to be played without traditional pro-am format2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am to be played without traditional pro-am format

January 14, 2021January 14, 2021| 13:00

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - The PGA TOUR, in conjunction with AT&T, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Pebble Beach Company, today announced that the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am will be played without the traditional multi-day pro-am format due to local COVID-19 circumstances in the Monterey Peninsula. The professional portion, featuring 156 players, will be played as scheduled, February 8-14, 2021, and will be held on only two courses: Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course. "We are incredibly grateful for the commitment of our title sponsor AT&T, corporate partners, PGA TOUR, Pebble Beach Company, Monterey Peninsula Country Club and volunteer community," said Steve John, Tournament Director and Monterey Peninsula Foundation CEO. "While we will truly miss watching the actors, musicians, athletes and other amateur participants that make this event so special, we are pleased to continue on with the professional competition, enabling the Foundation to support nonprofits in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties. Our charitable giving will target basic needs like food insecurity, educational inequities and health inequities brought on by the pandemic." The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2021, had previously announced spectators will not be on-site at this year's event. Through the unwavering support of AT&T, the second-longest running title sponsor on the PGA TOUR, the tournament will continue to maximize charitable contributions in the area. Since 1947, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has generated more than $176 million for charities in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties. "While the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am may look different, AT&T is proud to continue our legacy of supporting the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and is committed to ensuring a positive impact on the local charities who benefit from the tournament proceeds each year," said Lori Lee, CEO of AT&T Latin America and Global Marketing Officer. "It's unfortunate that we won't be hosting the amateur portion of the tournament, but the safety of the fans, the players and the volunteers is our top priority. We look forward to welcoming the fans and the amateur players back next year." In addition, a pro-am will be conducted Wednesday morning to support local charitable giving. The ‘Every Shot Counts' pro-am will allow participants the opportunity to help drive grantmaking by targeting four key initiatives. Just as every shot counts, every dollar contributed will be invested by Monterey Peninsula Foundation in critical areas brought on by the pandemic. Over the last five months, the PGA TOUR has successfully hosted Wednesday pro-ams, an integral part of tournament week. With a limited number of amateur participants, the pro-am is conducted in accordance with a comprehensive health and safety plan, including COVID-19 testing. Since the tournament moved to the Monterey Peninsula in 1947, the final action has unfolded on the iconic holes of Pebble Beach Golf Links. The tournament plans to return to the traditional pro-am format - conducted over three courses - in 2022. "This was a very difficult decision, but the right one given the recent surge in COVID-19 cases," said Bill Perocchi, Chief Executive Officer of Pebble Beach Company. "Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have put the health and safety of our guests, employees and community first. We know this will create challenges for many local charities this year, but we are confident that the incredible giving associated with this event will continue well into the future. We appreciate the support from Monterey County and the State of California in helping to ensure a safe and successful professional tournament, as well as from our partners at AT&T, the PGA TOUR and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation." The 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which was won by Nick Taylor in 2020, will be broadcast by CBS, Golf Channel, PGA TOUR LIVE, DIRECTV's "PGA TOUR Experience" and PGA TOUR Radio. Fans also can follow along the tournament's social media channels on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. "The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am's lineup of celebrities competing with the PGA TOUR's best players with the Monterey Peninsula as the backdrop has been a perfect marriage of sports and entertainment since 1947," said Tyler Dennis, Executive Vice President and President, PGA TOUR. "The PGA TOUR and our partners have maintained that the health and safety for all involved with our events and the communities in which we play is our No. 1 priority, and for that reason - together with AT&T, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Pebble Beach Company - we feel strongly this decision, while difficult, was the right call to make given the current environment. We thank our title sponsor AT&T for their support of this reimagined event and for the positive impact that will continue in the region through the charitable initiatives of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation." For more information about the tournament, visit www.attpbgolf.com. For more information about the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and opportunities to give, visit www.montereypeninsulafoundation.org.

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Morikawa: ‘That’s my goal, to inspire people’Morikawa: ‘That’s my goal, to inspire people’

January 14, 2021January 14, 2021| 11:30

I've realized over the last couple of weeks, after the tough start I had both at the U.S. Open and Shriners, that this is without question a new PGA TOUR season. Yes, I can use all those positives that came from my breakthrough victory at the PGA Championship, but that doesn't necessarily mean things are automatically going to come my way now. The proof in that was missing the first two cuts of the 2020-21 season. Sure, I may be a major winner now, but I still have to play good golf, and everyone out here is really good at golf, too. That's what makes the PGA TOUR awesome, is that any week anyone can win. I've really just got to focus in on getting ready for this new season, and prep in a way to slowly get into the rhythm of things. I definitely think I'm a little more mature than the average 23-year-old, but that's just kind of the head I've always had on myself. I've always tried to be that way—tried to be level-headed and not be too immature. I don't know where that comes from. I don't know that if you're a parent you can just go teach and instill those qualities in your kid. That's just who I've been. That's just me. All that being said, I'm lucky enough to have an excellent group around me that's always trying to keep me on the right track. My longtime coach, Rick Sessinghaus, is big on psychology and being a mental coach. For 15 years now, he's been all about implementing the actual swing and the physical aspects of golf with the mental side of the game and incorporating both. I think they have to mesh really well together. So if one is working well and the other isn't, you might not end up playing great golf consistently. We're continuously trying to find things that work, or certain words that might stick out in my head that help me play a little better and just go from there. My girlfriend, Kat Zhu, has been huge in that area, too. She played collegiate golf at Pepperdine, so she understands the challenges of the game as well as anyone. Especially last summer, she was traveling all around with me while I had no status, and if I didn't have her, I would have been traveling by myself to places I've never been with a caddie that I just met. She made things a lot easier. And it wasn't as lonely. And I think that's why I was able to go out there and just play golf, and she could get my mind off of it after or before the rounds. But when I was there, I could just relax and actually go enjoy golf instead of stressing about what this round may be or what this shot may count as. And my parents, Blaine and Debbie, have given me everything I've ever wanted, and I couldn't have been more fortunate to grow up in a family like that. I've been very lucky and blessed to have that in my life. For them to teach me to respect others, that's huge. They really want me to be respectful to anyone. It doesn't matter who you're with or who you're around. You never know who someone might be, who they are or what they've gone through. Just respecting others was the big thing they taught me when I was growing up as a kid. I may be American, and obviously I represent the United States, but it was so cool going to Japan last year for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and see people recognizing me a little bit easier than they might have out here at a regular PGA TOUR event in who-knows-where. My dad is a Japanese American from Hawaii, and my mom is a Chinese American from California, but the fans there could still see that they are similar to me, and there's a sense of pride in that. They can see that someone like them has been able to succeed out here on the PGA TOUR. I have never seen fans like that, where they line up on the first tee—and every other hole after that—just giving you claps when you hit a tee shot, no matter where it goes. That's what was really cool, to see their love for the game out there. They love golf. As players, we love to see those reactions from people that just really embrace being there. They want to be there just as much as we want to be there playing golf. So yes, I'm American and I fully embrace that, but it's cool to see other people look at me—and maybe even look at me as a role model, even though I'm only 23—and use that to their inspiration, I hope. It's crazy to think about that, because I feel so young. I feel like them. I feel like a kid. If a kid in high school comes up to me, I don't feel that much older than them. But I've already done things that mean a lot, and I have to fully embrace that. I have to realize the position I'm in and just have fun. These kids want to have fun, I want to have fun. So for me to show them how I have fun out there is really important. That's my goal, just to inspire people to do what they love, whether that's in golf or whatever. Dream big and go do it.

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Why Howell III is the TOUR’s ultimate gear junkieWhy Howell III is the TOUR’s ultimate gear junkie

January 14, 2021January 14, 2021| 9:00

Every player on the PGA TOUR has a special relationship with his clubs. Some rely on simplicity and don't adjust much, like last week's winner Harris English. On the opposite end of the spectrum are players that just love to test and test. Charles Howell III has become the chosen son of GolfWRX.com for one simple reason, the guy loves to geek out on gear—and not just his gear. He loves all gear. There are few players on TOUR who carry the passion and curiosity for golf clubs that Charles has. Especially when it comes to the testing process, Howell has a system he has relied on for years to help him not only get dialed but to understand the nuances of his equipment. This week at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Howell will try to finally break through for his first win on the islands where he has been a top-10 machine with multiple top 10s and two near misses in 2012 and 2013. For this tournament, the tinkering is minimal but significant. Howell with tee it up in Hawaii with a new shaft in play, a Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X. Howell told PGATOUR.COM the Ventus fits his unique needs, "I'm kind of a strange one in that I'm looking for something that's stable but doesn't feel overly hard, and that shaft seems to … match that." Regarding figuring out what goes in the bag more generally, WRX spoke with Howell III over the holiday, and this is what he had to say in regards to his process. “Obviously, playing for a living gives me the advantage of testing a ton of stuff, but it's just as fun doing the research at home (online) and understanding what certain equipment can do and the idea behind it." "I still rely on testing as much as I can to see what works, but it's the pursuit of knowledge that keeps it all fresh week in and week out. Technology is so good these days, but like anything you have to ask questions, look around try some stuff and then make a decision.” Now, it must be understood that Howell III isn't pulling clubs in and out of his bag every tournament. Being a Titleist staff member for the past few seasons, his bag stays pretty cooked with the help of Titleist Tour Rep JJ VanWezenbeeck. However, there are times when changes are needed, and CH3 isn't afraid to jump companies to find the right fairway wood, hybrid or putter. It's a study in a player that is constantly on the pursuit of knowledge and trying to find that one little edge week to week. Is it a healthy or effective method? Maybe. Some players can do it and some avoid it like the plague, but for Howell III, it's one of the things in the game that keeps him engaged and excited. Nothing wrong with that. Here is what Howell has the bag this week's Sony Open in Hawaii. Driver: Titleist TSI3 (10 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X 3-wood: Ping G425 LST (14.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Atmos Black Tour Spec 8 X 7-wood: Ping G410 (20.5 degrees @20) Shaft: Fujikura Atmos Black Tour Spec 9 X Irons: Titleist T100 (4-6) 620 MB (7-9) Shafts: Project X LZ 6.5 (hard stepped) Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M, 60-08M) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: Scotty Cameron 009M Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align

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