Discovery and PGA TOUR to Create First-of-its-Kind International Golf Service

Brooks Koepka will miss next month’s Presidents Cup due to a knee issue.

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ATLANTA – Paul Casey sits in his post round press conference and awaits the question. He knows it is coming. He’s already answered it 100 times but he knows, it’s coming again. Or at least some version of it. “How can you turn all these close calls into a win?â€� “What have you learned from the close calls you can use tomorrow?â€� “What would it mean to finally close the deal after so many close calls?â€� “How have you managed the frustration of coming so close so often?â€� Whichever way you spin it – the fact Casey has nine top 10s in the FedExCup Playoffs, including three runner ups, without winning one – has become a hot topic. In his last eight FedExCup Playoff events, he has six top-5 results. In the last two Playoff seasons he’s 80-under par, the best of anyone. He has 28 of 31 rounds in the FedExCup Playoffs at par or better since the start of 2016. In his last three seasons, he has 23 top 10s on the PGA TOUR but still only boasts the 2009 Shell Houston Open as his lone victory in the USA. The Englishman does have 12 career European Tour wins, so it is not as if he’s foreign to the top spot. The last of those though came at the KLM Open in 2014. But now he stands on the edge of ending the drought, and perhaps doing it in dramatic fashion. After opening the TOUR Championship 66-67-65 he sits at 12-under par and in the lead alone. He’s two shots clear of Kevin Kisner and Xander Schauffele and five shots clear of the next best contenders in Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas. He could not only win the event, but also the season long FedExCup. “I don’t get frustrated when you ask. I take it as motivation. I take it as a compliment and then take a serious look at it as to okay, how can I make it happen. Because if you didn’t think I was capable, you wouldn’t ask me,â€� Casey said of the constant questioning as he faces a potentially restless night sleeping on the lead. The 39-year-old says many of his top-10 finishes haven’t really been true great opportunities. This one is. And given he has been to East Lake three times before and finished T4 (2010), T5 (2015) and 4th (2016) in those campaigns, he’s feeling confident. Not only is he in the box seat to win the TOUR Championship, but currently he is projected to also claim the season long FedExCup given the leaderboard. Coming in at 10th on the points list Casey needs to win the TOUR Championship and hope for the following help… Jordan Spieth needs to finish in a 3-way tie for 4th or worse. Spieth sits T13. Justin Thomas needs to finish T3 or worse. Thomas sits T4. Dustin Johnson needs to finish in a 3-way tie for 2nd or worse. Johnson is T13. Marc Leishman needs to finish T2 or worse. Leishman is T22. Jon Rahm can force a playoff for the FedExCup if he is 2nd alone behind Casey. Rahm is T6. “It would be amazing. I haven’t thought about it too much because I’m just trying to get the job done,â€� he added about the prospect of the FedExCup trophy and $10 million bonus. “Certainly it would be very satisfying knowing that I’ve had ups and downs in my career and this would be the biggest victory of my career.â€� Fellow Englishman Justin Rose, who also has desires of winning but sits seven shots back in a tie for ninth, knows it must be tough for his friend. “He’s had a great season. I think that’s obviously what’s got to be on his mind, when is it going to convert to a victory, for sure,â€� Rose said.  “He’s been knocking on the door and he loves this golf course. This is obviously a place he feels very comfortable so it could be good timing for him as well if he keeps playing well.â€� Casey has been the 54-hole leader twice on TOUR, converting one time in Houston over eight years ago. He averages 68.77 on Thursday’s this season on the PGA TOUR, ranked 1st on TOUR. Come Sunday its 70.33 which has him T67th on TOUR. The reason, he says, is putting too much pressure on himself. As such he will try to remain as relaxed as possible in the final round. “I’m probably trying too hard and maybe taking risks that are probably unnecessary,â€� Casey explained. “I have to hit fairways, I have to continue to hit quality tee shots. Same attitude. Maybe I’ll be a bit more nervous… It’s all those things. It’s just sort of maintaining the process. If I do that, then fingers crossed, everything takes care of itself.â€� The shakiness over the last few years gives life to the chasers. Jason Day, who will start six shots back in a tie for seventh, was ready to apply the heat. “That kind of gives us a little bit of hope knowing that he’s probably had opportunities before and hasn’t quite got over the line,â€� Day said.  “You never want to wish something bad against someone, but obviously if you can get yourself in contention and kind of capitalize on maybe the experiences that he’s had since 2009, he hasn’t won, that’s just how the game works.â€� Casey feels he’s ready to stand up to the heat this time. It won’t be long and we’ll know.

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To Justin Thomas, it just seemed like the least he could do. In both the pro-am on Wednesday and then again today in the opening round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Thomas played the iconic par-3 16th stadium hole at TPC Scottsdale wearing a Kobe Bryant jersey. This one wasn’t the No. 8 or 24 from Bryant’s incredible NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, but rather the No. 33 from his time at Lower Merion High School outside Philadelphia. Just owning the jersey showed Thomas has long been a fan of the man lost to the world in tragic circumstances last Sunday.   Thomas admitted it was the first time he’d cried for a man he’d never met when news of Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other people that were killed in a tragic helicopter accident broke. It was a moment that will have a lasting effect on Thomas and, perhaps, all of the PGA TOUR family. Related: Leaderboard | Amy paying it forward Thomas was already sporting Bryant tributes on his wedges, stamping “Mamba Mentalityâ€�, “Kobe Bean Bryantâ€�, “Black Mambaâ€� and “81 pointsâ€� on them. His putter cover, and that of other TOUR players this week, is purple and gold and has “RIP Kobe” and “RIP Gigi” written on it. “I’ve always been a huge fan of his. I’ve always loved watching him play, just loved hearing about his work ethic and stuff that he did on and off the court and how he just always worked harder than everybody else,” Thomas said. It’s probably the reason… I mean, obviously, he’s freakishly talented… but why he was better than everybody else because he was going to work harder to get there and just kind of will himself to be a winner. That’s something that I hope to do when I’m out there playing, when I have a chance to win the tournament, I want to have that Mamba mentality, if you will, to try to close it out.â€� When Thomas walked onto the 16th and put on the jersey, the full house was certainly appreciative of the action. In a house where commotion and booing is common, the fans celebrated the gesture in fine spirit. He was not the only one. Several stars had their own homages.   Some included Max Homa and Tony Finau, who also wore Bryant jerseys. Chants of “Kobe, Kobe, Kobeâ€� filled the air as they noticed Finau also had purple and gold shoes. It continued with Bud Cauley and Gary Woodland donning their Scotty Cameron putter covers, along with Bryson DeChambeau, who had written ‘8’ and ’24’ on his shoes. TaylorMade staffers also had 24 on their golf balls. Finau was on course last Sunday at the Farmers Insurance Open when the news broke. He and fellow Nike athlete Tiger Woods were both clearly emotional when they were told. Finau has long made it known he was a Bryant fan. He couldn’t help but return to the feelings he felt when he lost his own mother in a tragic car accident in 2011. Finau’s manager, another huge Lakers fan, drove from Los Angeles to San Diego when the news broke to be there for Finau as he finished. “That will probably give you an idea of how much an impact Kobe was in my life just as a sports junkie. I’m a huge fan of basketball, the NBA and the Lakers, and in huge part because of Kobe Bryant,â€� Finau said last Sunday. “He was a star… His work ethic is something that will be talked about, that’s what his legacy is. I remember actually wearing his shoes out here in 2016 just giving him props for the Mamba mentality and kind of what he taught a lot of athletes in pursuing your dreams. His legacy for sure is one of hard work and commitment to your craft. That’s Kobe Bryant.â€� Finau vowed to try to live up to the work ethic he so admired in Bryant. “The way to live a life that respects Kobe and that he would respect is one to have the Mamba mentality,â€� he continued. “Maybe that’s something that I need, work even harder at your craft and have more love for your craft and maybe that’s something that we all need as athletes, to have that Mamba mentality.â€� The accident was also a stark reminder of how precious, and sometimes fleeting, life can be. Gary Woodland certainly took that message from the terrible news. Woodland was a college basketball player before golf became his full focus, and as such, was intimately in tune with Bryant’s career on the court. He also enjoys the Mamba mentality and can recite most of Bryant’s records and stats. But it is Bryant’s life after the NBA that has Woodland most in awe. Bryant, the father of four girls, was the man Woodland was keeping tabs on. He has some experience in losing a child, like Vanessa Bryant is facing now. Woodland’s two-year-old son Jaxson was due to be one of twins before Gary and his wife Gabby lost the other baby during a troubled pregnancy. Since then, they have welcomed twin girls into the family, born last year. Woodland was so affected by the news that he took Jaxson to the course for the first time while he practiced earlier this week. He was all of a sudden mindful of creating memories with his growing toddler and making every moment count. “The biggest tribute is trying to imitate Kobe in the way to be a father like he was and work hard every day because you never know when it’s taken away from you, so you can’t take any day for granted on and off the golf course,â€� Woodland said pre-tournament. “When you see him with his children, he looked like he was happy, he was smiling all the time, laughing, when he was coaching her. That’s the love and energy that I want to have and it makes me sad that him and his daughter and seven other people’s lives were taken away way too soon. I want to be there for my kids and not have to miss anything, because you never know.â€� What we do know is we all need to treat life like the gift it is because the reminders will keep coming. Bryant wouldn’t want it any other way.

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