Rory McIlroy blows Steve Elkington’s bad tweets into deep space with Wikipedia screenshot

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Webb Simpson has completed his career resurrection in style by dominating THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Simpson – a former U.S. Open champion who has spent three years reinventing himself after the anchor putting ban – claimed his fifth PGA TOUR win by four shots after a 1-over 73 final round. “It’s been a long time. We did it,â€� Simpson said as he embraced his wife Dowd on the final green. It left him 18 under for the tournament to be four shots clear of Charl Schwartzel (67), Jimmy Walker (67) and PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Xander Schauffele (67) who tied for second place at 14 under. Such was Simpson’s dominance that he was able to hook his approach on the 72nd hole into the water, make a double bogey, and still finish well clear. Jason Day – winner of last week’s Wells Fargo Championship – continued his good form to card a final round 68 to be tied fifth with Jason Dufner (68) at 13-under. It is Simpson’s first win since taking out the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas in October 2013. The win is projecting the 32-year-old to eighth place in the FedExCup and inside the top 25 players of the world rankings. Simpson also becomes the ninth player to have won THE PLAYERS and a U.S. Open with the victory making him World Golf Hall of Fame eligible in the future. Along the way he equaled the course record with his second round 63, and also the 36 and 54-hole PLAYERS scoring records at 15-under 129 and 19-under 197 respectively. Despite making the cut on the number Tiger Woods moved as close as four shots behind during Sunday’s round and into a tie for second. But a costly double bogey on the island par-3 17th hole dropped him back down the leaderboard and his 3-under 69 left him tied for 11th. “I played so well this weekend unfortunately just didn’t cash it in,â€� Woods said. Earlier Brooks Koepka had equaled the course record with a 9-under 63, a round that included an albatross with a 6-iron from 208-yards on the par-5 16th hole. FedExCup leader Justin Thomas is projected to move to world No. 1 after closing with a 6-under 66 to finish in a tie for 11th. He takes over from Dustin Johnson who had held the position from February 2017 for a total of 64 weeks – but struggled to a Sunday 72 to finish tied 17th.

Click here to read the full article…

AVONDALE, LOUISIANA – Zurich Insurance is renewing its sponsorship of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans through 2026.  The seven-year extension was announced today, the final day of the 2018 tournament, by Zurich North America CEO Kathleen Savio, PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan and CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation Steve Worthy. The Fore!Kids Foundation is the local host organization of the Zurich Classic. Zurich became title sponsor of the tournament in 2005 and last signed an extension through 2019. Last year, the Zurich Classic became the PGA TOUR’s only official team event. The innovative format continued for this year’s tournament as the city of New Orleans celebrates its 300-year anniversary. “New Orleans has a resilient past with a bright future, and we’re proud to extend our sponsorship of the Zurich Classic, continuing our teamwork with charitable organizations,â€� said Savio.  “The Zurich Classic is a wonderful opportunity to work side by side on and off the course to create opportunities, overcome challenges and win.â€� Zurich assumed sponsorship of the tournament just months before Hurricane Katrina devastated the region. Zurich and its employees became deeply rooted in New Orleans’ recovery, and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans became the first major sporting event to commit to returning to the city for 2006. Zurich executives and employees have been intimately involved with the community and the Fore!Kids Foundation’s charitable initiatives ever since. These include hands-on support of SBP, established after Katrina to rebuild homes in storm-ravaged areas of the city, and St. Michael Special School for children with significant learning disabilities. Funds from Zurich and the tournament helped to build a Vocational Training Center that bears Zurich’s name and a state-of-the-art playground at the school. “I can’t say enough about the dedicated support Zurich has provided to the Fore!Kids Foundation and the New Orleans area from the outset of sponsoring the Zurich Classic of New Orleans,â€� Monahan said. “It really has been an ideal association from the outset, when Zurich became so entrenched in the recovery process following Hurricane Katrina. That bond has continued to grow over the ensuing years and, I’m excited to say, will continue to do so for many more to come.â€�    Officials, in fact, have referred to New Orleans as Zurich’s adopted home. “Zurich has been an incredible partner and their support has allowed us to impact the lives of countless children in our region,â€� Worthy said. “We greatly appreciate their love of our community, and we look forward to our future, working together to make this event and its impact continue to grow.â€�   About PGA TOUR By showcasing golf’s greatest players, the PGA TOUR engages, inspires and positively impacts our fans, partners and communities worldwide. The PGA TOUR co-sanctions more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Series-China. Members on the PGA TOUR represent the world’s best players, hailing from 25 countries (84 members are from outside the United States). Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to more than 1 billion households in 226 countries and territories in 23 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations to maximize charitable giving. In 2017, tournaments across all Tours generated a record of more than $180 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to $2.65 billion. The PGA TOUR’s web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. About Zurich Insurance Group Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With about 53,000 employees, it provides a wide range of property and casualty, and life insurance products and services in more than 210 countries and territories. Zurich’s customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, as well as multinational corporations. The Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information about Zurich is available at www.zurich.com. In North America, Zurich is a leading commercial property-casualty insurance provider serving the global corporate, large corporate, middle market, specialties and programs sectors through the individual member companies of Zurich in North America, including Zurich American Insurance Company. Life insurance and disability coverage issued in the United States in all states except New York is issued by Zurich American Life Insurance Company, an Illinois domestic life insurance company. In New York, life insurance and disability coverage is issued by Zurich American Life Insurance Company of New York, a New York domestic life insurance company. For more information about the products and services it offers and people Zurich employs around the world go to www.zurichna.com. 2012 marked Zurich’s 100-year anniversary of insuring America and the success of its customers, shareholders and employees.

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…