Sister acts spice up inaugural LPGA team event

You knew that golf would lead the return of live sports competition of any kind at the highest level in the United States. Given its inherent physical distancing, it was just a matter of when and where for players and fans to reconnect in the era of COVID-19. TaylorMade Driving Relief on Sunday, May 17, forever will mark the reentry. It’s an 18-hole team skins match pitting Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson against Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff. Four-ball format will be used throughout. All $4 million committed is reserved for relief efforts for the pandemic. There is no prize money for the professionals. RELATED: Fans at home will be able to contribute to TaylorMade Driving Relief’s COVID-19 relief efforts thanks to PGA TOUR Charities’ online and Text-To-Give donation platforms powered by GoFundMe Charity. Click here to donate. MORE: TaylorMade Driving Relief to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts | Live golf set to return | Seminole Golf Club ready for its close-up | Key clubs: Rory’s driver | Similarities run deep for Fowler, Wolff You are in for a treat. Augmenting the experience is that Seminole Golf Club is hosting. It basks in privacy, but it’s unassuming in that it hasn’t sought a mechanism to attract attention. What better a time than right now for the Donald Ross creation to introduce itself to a television audience and the most avid golfers and fans who never have laid eyes on the property? If it wanted unique, it got it. The captive audience is the bonus. The 90-year-old stock par 72 situated hard against the Atlantic Ocean in Juno Beach, Florida, is a work of art. It’s golf in its purest form. With sand dunes and 185 bunkers, it looks and plays like a links, albeit with palm trees and other tropical flora within view. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw recently completed a three-year renovation of the course. If you’re reminded of their restoration of Pinehurst No. 2 for the 2014 U.S. Open, well, you should be. That’s another Ross masterpiece and the collaborative vision isn’t unintentional. Ross’ genius routing and his use of the topography remain his signatures on the track that tips at just 6,836 yards on only 140 acres. Because of its location, wind is the primary defense. Come Sunday, prevailing breezes at 10-15 mph are forecast. This will allow for the course to test as designed. The old saying at Seminole is that every hole presents a different wind direction because of the angles, but the forces generating the invisible enemy cannot be predicted no matter the preparation. Keeping the ball low and on the ground at times will be necessary and fun to watch. Rain will fall in the days leading up to and possibly in passing on Sunday. Even though the bermuda greens drain well, any reduction in speed could (should?) be offset with challenging hole locations. Because of extreme cant in spots and omnipresent run-off areas, the local parlance includes a reference of “greens visited in regulation.” It’s a snarky tip of the visor after approaches fail to hold their targets. Indeed, distance control and precision on approach will be at a premium. The format of the skins game is ideal for the cause. Talent of the quality donating its time should yield numerous pushes and allow the gamble to swell. With Nos. 14 and 15 as par 5s, heroics, or at least attempts, are guaranteed. In the round-long taffy pull defining the levels of difficulty of where holes will be cut, those two should be ripe for eagles. The guys will be deep enough into the day by then to have shed whatever competitive rust is remaining. While unlikely, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that this important event could persuade outgoing seniors who played golf collegiately to return for one more season. In late March, the NCAA extended the eligibility for seniors competing in spring sports for one year, and Seminole will be hosting the Walker Cup in May of 2021. 1. Rory McIlroy & Dustin Johnson With the way McIlroy was hitting it for months, he’d be forgiven if he thought about taking on Fowler and Wolff alone. In seven starts worldwide since a T3 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, McIlroy hasn’t finished worse than T5 twice. Now, with Johnson as his wingman and playing four-ball, this is as formidable an multinational duo as you’re going to see. DJ’s low ball flight is built for this, too. 2. Rickie Fowler & Matthew Wolff Since they size up as the weaker of the teams, if they pull off victory, you won’t be able to rule out their connection as Oklahoma State products, toughness shaped in the wind as they cut their teeth and/or the value of being prohibitive underdogs with nothing to lose. Still, while Wolff is full of swagger that should make for great TV, this has the feeling of a little too much, too soon for the 21-year-old. Head-to-head in individual competition against McIlroy and DJ in his young career, Wolff is a combined 0-10-1.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - The PGA TOUR and FanDuel Sportsbook agreed today on a multi-year content and marketing relationship designating FanDuel an Official Betting Operator of the PGA TOUR. By joining the TOUR's Official Betting Operator program, FanDuel will have rights in the United States to use PGA TOUR marks, rights to advertise within TOUR media and TOUR partner platforms, plus content and video rights allowing FanDuel to create pre-game and post-game betting programming, as well as distribution of highlights to users who have placed bets. Additionally, the PGA TOUR and FanDuel will collaborate to deliver odds-based content to fans via TOUR Digital Platforms like PGATOUR.COM and the PGA TOUR app. "We have long admired FanDuel's brand, product and marketing strategies as well as the leadership position it has taken since the legalization of sports betting in 2018," said Norb Gambuzza, SVP, Media and Gaming at the PGA TOUR. "We are excited to bring FanDuel into the PGA TOUR's Official Betting Operator program as we continue to engage new fans in this rapidly growing space." FanDuel Sportsbook has seen substantial growth in golf gaming: • Golf has recorded the highest single event handle on FanDuel Sportsbook over nine of the last 12 Sundays. • FanDuel Sportsbook's total golf handle in New Jersey in 2020 already has surpassed the total golf handle from 2019, even without [13] weeks of PGA TOUR competitions during the shutdown. "Golf interest is up on FanDuel, so we are excited to deepen our relationship with the PGA TOUR," said Mike Raffensperger, CMO FanDuel Group. "We will now be able to offer unique gaming experiences on our platform, special TOUR related promotions for our customers and an enhanced content experience across the TOUR's properties to really prove to bettors across the nation that there are More Ways to Win at FanDuel." Following the Supreme Court's decision that overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, the TOUR instituted an integrity program in collaboration with Genius Sports to protect its competitions from betting-related corruption. Later that year, the TOUR announced a global partnership with IMG ARENA to license its official, live scoring data to betting operators all over the world. The PGA TOUR is a Platinum Member of the National Council on Problem Gambling, committed to industry-leading responsible gaming practices

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Our experts from PGATOUR.COM make their predictions for the Presidents Cup this week at Royal Melbourne. The experts make their predictions for the winning score, man of the match, and a comment for their reasoning.

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