Lee tops LPGA event in Michigan; pregnant Lewis tied for 2nd

IRVING, Texas –  Alan Edmondson first began collecting the autographs of every Masters winner on his golf cap 25 years ago. He wasn’t sure this year if he had the energy to chase after another one. Much easier, he thought to himself, to have a previous champion win again. But when pressed prior to this year’s Masters for the name he most wanted to add to his cap, Edmondson had one response. Sergio Garcia. “Honest truth,” Edmondson said. Last month, Sergio did his part by winning at Augusta National. And on Tuesday at the AT&T Byron Nelson, Edmondson – a Dallas resident since 1980 – collected his signature, as Garcia added his name to a unique piece of memorabilia steeped in golf history. Garcia became the latest to sign Edmondson’s cap, putting his name right next to his mentor and idol, fellow Spaniard Seve Ballesteros. “It’s an honor to be on that hat,” Garcia said. Garcia became the 43rd Masters winner to sign the cap. There have been 51 different winners. When Edmondson began his quest in 1992, six had already died – Horton Smith, Henry Picard, Ralph Guldahl, Jimmy Demaret, Craig Wood and Claude Harmon. Two others, Ben Hogan and Cary Middlecoff, were too ill to sign. “Hogan was my biggest regret because he lived closed by in Fort Worth,” Edmondson said. Since then, 10 of the Masters champs that signed the cap have died, the latest being Arnold Palmer. That what makes the cap so unique. No fan can hope to duplicate what Edmondson has already acquired. It actually began by a chance meeting and an unexpected inquiry. At the 1992 Masters, one of Edmondson’s friends was in attendance and bought the cap. He gave it to Edmondson as a souvenir. That next month, Edmondson went to the Tuesday practice round for the AT&T Byron Nelson, proudly wearing his Masters cap. He was headed for his car late in the day when he saw Fred Couples walking toward him, heading for the range. Couples had won the Masters that year. Edmondson asked if he wouldn’t mind signing the cap. Couples obliged. Another fan, having witnessed the exchange, caught up with Edmondson and said, “I’ll give you $100 for the cap.” “That’s when the lightbulb went off,” Edmondson said. He turned down the offer. When he got home, he told his wife Betsy and their 4-year-old daughter Callie about his interesting afternoon and his idea to get more signatures. “That sounds great,” Betsy said that night. “I just have two questions: Where’s the $100 and why do you still have that stupid cap?” Since there was no internet back then, Edmondson visited a nearby library and found the list of all Masters winners. He now had the names. All that was left was getting the signatures. He made it a fun father-daughter project, and Callie has been by his side for most of the signatures. Thanks to the two annual PGA TOUR stops in the North Texas area – at TPC Four Seasons and at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth — Edmondson could start making inroads. He often met the players when they showed up at the course to sign in. The Dallas-area also used to play host to a PGA TOUR Champions event, allowing Edmondson to get some of the older winners such as George Archer and Doug Ford. After a few years, he had just a handful of signatures and felt the need to step up the pace. So he told one of his church friends about it – a friend who just happened to be a former three-time winner on the PGA TOUR, Texas native Rik Massengale. Massengale quickly offered his help on the project. “He thought it was a fun idea and really helped me get a purpose for it,” Edmondson said. Massengale was instrumental in getting Phil Mickelson’s signature on the cap. In fact, Mickelson invited Alan and his daughter to join him on the range. That same day, they also got Mike Weir’s signature. Massengale also introduced Edmondson with introductions to Billy Casper, who at the time was playing with Rik’s brother Don on PGA TOUR Champions. Casper lived in California and didn’t have any events scheduled for Texas. But on one trip to Florida, Casper had a layover at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Edmondson met him at the gate – this was before current security measures that now prevent non-fliers from getting close to the gate – and got the autograph between flights. On at least one occasion, one Masters champ encouraged another to sign the cap. It happened with Mark O’Meara, the 1998 champ. O’Meara had already signed the cap. He was at TPC Four Seasons waiting to play a practice round with his good friend Tiger Woods, and he told Alan and Callie to wait with him. When Tiger walked out, they got his signature. All the signatures have been acquired in person. Most have come in either at the local TOUR stops; obviously they didn’t have trouble getting local favorite Jordan Spieth’s signature after his win two years ago. But Edmondson has also flown to Ohio to get the signature of Herman Keiser (1946 winner) and to Florida for Angel Cabrera (2009 winner). “It was just a labor of love meeting those guys,” Edmondson said. Only one time has Edmondson given the cap to someone else to get a signature. It was at TPC Four Seasons, the year before the successful attempt to get Tiger’s autograph. Edmondson gave the cap to Tiger’s former agent Hughes Norton – and for five minutes was a nervous wreck. He even asked Norton for his business card in case something happened to the cap. When the agent returned and said he couldn’t find Tiger, Edmondson was disappointed but relieved to have the cap back in his possession. Edmondson used to keep the cap in a plexiglass case on a shelf in his closet. But then his home was burglarized. The thieves took Callie’s collection of 500 Beanie babies. They also took several of Edmondson’s caps — including one he had bought at the Hard Rock Café in Cabo San Lucas that was right next to the Masters cap. But for some reason, they didn’t take the cap with all the signatures. When Edmondson got home and realized how lucky he was that the cap was still in his closet, he took quick action. “Within 10 minutes, it was in a safe-deposit box at our bank,” he said. Given its age, the cap is in very good condition. The material hasn’t faded and neither have the signatures. Because it was sold in the days when style was less a consideration, it has an old-timey look, certainly not a sleek one. That’s a blessing in disguise. “There’s still lots of room to sign on it,” Edmondson said. “And it stands up nicely,” added Callie. How long will they keep the project going? Certainly no reason to stop now. Edmondson will soon turn 68. Callie is 29 and just started her family a year ago. “We’ll keep going as long as we can,” Edmondson said. But if Spieth or Garcia were to win a second Masters next year, Edmondson won’t mind taking the next year off.

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THE OVERVIEW SILVIS, Ill. – Tweet, tweet, tweet. Get ready for another birdie blitz at the John Deere Classic. No course on TOUR yielded more birdies (30,042) than TPC Deere Run between 2000-2016. And second place isn’t not even close. TPC River Highlands was next at 26,516. “If you get content with just hitting a couple fairways and greens and making a couple putts you’re probably going to get passed by,â€� said 2012 winner Zach Johnson. “Aggressive mentality is one thing. But I like to play it as almost like a conservative aggressive approach. … I know there are certain pins you can get after and certain pins you probably shouldn’t. “I think that’s the beauty of this track. It does have some teeth if you’re overly aggressive and does have some teeth if you’re off. That’s why we see a separation (between players), too.â€� Since 2003, the par-4 scoring average at TPC Deere Run has been the lowest of any course played on TOUR (minimum 60,000 holes played). Players have averaged 3.997 on the two-shotters at TPC Deere Run, narrowly making it the lone course where the par-4 scoring average is below par. For added excitement, there were 83 hole-outs at last year’s John Deere Classic. Only TPC Southwind (86) allowed more last season. The winning score at TPC Deere Run, which has hosted the tournament since 2000, has never been worse than 16-under 268, and the winner has broken the 20-under barrier in seven of the past eight years. The exception was Jordan Spieth’s victory in 2013, when he shot 19 under. Steve Stricker set the tournament scoring record, 26-under 258, in his 2010 win. Why all the low scores? TPC Deere Run’s fairways were the second-easiest to hit last season, with players finding the short grass on 74.5 percent of tee shots. The course also had the third-lowest proximity to the hole on approach shots of 150-175 yards last season (26 feet, 9 inches). The course’s generous disposition, and the softening of the course thanks to a few storms, should set us up for another shootout in Silvis, Illinois. Berger may be making his debut at TPC Deere Run, but he is coming in pretty hot. He won the FedEx St. Jude Classic and lost a playoff at the Travelers Championship to Jordan Spieth’s dramatic bunker hole-out. Berger is ninth in the FedExCup and well on his way to representing Team USA in the Presidents Cup. A winner here in 2014, Harman has added another title to his resume with his win over FedExCup leader Dustin Johnson at the Wells Fargo Championship. Harman also was runner-up at the U.S. Open, and currently ranks eighth on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting and 17th in birdie-or-better percentage. Leads the Power Rankings this week as he trends towards something big. A solo eighth at the U.S. Open and T3 at the Travelers Championship in his last two starts are among five top-10s in 2017. Also led for a long time at The Masters. Seems destined to take it through four rounds sometime soon. THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER Rank PLAYER COMMENT THE FLYOVER A closer look at the 476-yard, par-4 finishing hole. TPC Deere Run saves its toughest for last, testing any player who wants to walk away with the trophy at the John Deere Classic. The hole played to a 4.16 scoring average last year, making it one of just four par-4s at TPC Deere Run to play over par (Nos. 9, 11 and 15 are the others). The hole was birdied approximately 1/7th of the times it was played last year (65 of 453). It was the third-hardest fairway (69.5 percent) to hit at TPC Deere Run last year and second-hardest green (56.3). THE LANDING ZONE The 361-yard, par-4 14th hole gives players an opportunity to take a chance down the stretch. The short par-4 is downhill, putting it within reach from the tee for many players in the field. A bunker protects the front-left of the green, while a steep, shaved slope sits behind the green. This was the third-easiest hole at TPC Deere Run, playing to a 3.704 scoring average. There were 158 birdies on the hole last year, compared to just 18 bogeys and three doubles. WEATHER CHECK TEMPS: Lows will be in the 60s during the week, while the high temperature is due to break 90 on Thursday and sit in the high 80s the remaining days. RAIN: There is a 60 percent chance of rain on Thursday and Friday, and a 50-percent chance before clearing Saturday. There is a 20 percent chance of storms Sunday. WINDS: Wind could get up to 15 mph on Thursday, but the remaining rounds call for 6-12 mph breezes. ODDS AND ENDS 1. MOORE RETURNS: The defending champion is returning from a short injury hiatus. He’s been resting a sore shoulder since the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide in early June. Sitting 61st in the FedExCup, Moore wants to make a charge similar to last season, when he parlayed his win at the John Deere with three top-10 finishes in the Playoffs, including a playoff loss to Rory McIlroy at the TOUR Championship. Moore is 8 for 8 in cuts made at TPC Deere Run, with his last 23 rounds straight being under par. 2. LAST OPEN DOOR: The John Deere Classic is the third and final PGA TOUR event that is part of this year’s Open Qualifying Series, which offers spots in the upcoming Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. The top finisher this week who is not already exempt into The Open (and who finishes among the top five at TPC Deere Run) will earn the last spot into the year’s third major. Last week, Xander Schauffele, Robert Streb, Sebastian Munoz and Jamie Lovemark earned spots in The Open with their finishes at The Greenbrier Classic. 3. VETERAN SUCCESS: Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson might not be yapping at the heels of those leading the FedExCup race this season but the two stalwarts are unquestionably a pair of kings when it comes to TPC Deere Run. Stricker won three consecutive titles from 2009-2012 and has seven top-10 finishes in 15 starts here. Since 2000, Stricker is a 154 under par at TPC Deere Run. Johnson is 153 under. The next best player is Charles Howell III, who is 103 under. Stricker has eight rounds of 64 or better since 2000, while Johnson has five. Johnson won the event in 2012 and has 258 birdies since 2003, the most of any player. Stricker has 241 birdies in that run. Johnson has 39 rounds below 70 since 2000, the most of any player, ahead of Stricker’s 30.

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