Live leaderboard: Round 1 of Houston Open

AVONDALE, La. – In New Orleans they do almost everything with music. And so it was the perfect town to implement walk up music for the first time on the PGA TOUR at the Zurich Classic. Some teams picked tunes to pump them up. Others to make them smile and relax. And there were certainly some great moments. Take Justin Rose – a former champion – he couldn’t resist a quick dig at his teammate Henrik Stenson. Rose had the DJ play “Goldâ€� by Spandau Ballet – of course in reference to him besting the Swede at the 2016 Rio Olympics. After raising his arms in triumph on the first tee he walked to Stenson for a high five and a “Sorry Bro,â€� much to everyone’s amusement. The biggest cheers might have come for the duo of Alex Cejka and Ben Crane. The pair cranked out Whitesnake’s “Here I go Againâ€� and performed a quick lip-syncing and headbanging performance. One fan let them know, “Y’all got to hit a good shot after all that now!â€� To which they did. Chris Stroud and Brian Stuard picked Metallica’s “Enter Sandmanâ€�. It was a popular choice as the fans rocked along with it. While the song had clipped off before the famous line one clever observer quipped as they walked off the tee, “Off to never never land.â€� England’s Tommy Fleetwood had his partner Chis Paisley in stitches with their choice of Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhereâ€�. As the lyric pounded out… “I want to be with you everywhere,â€� Paisley couldn’t contain himself. His tee shot was immediately followed by a loud “fore rightâ€�. The first player to hit off in the morning, Joel Dahmen, also lost his ball well right after “I’m Alrightâ€� from Kenny Loggins – made famous in the Caddyshack soundtrack – had him too pumped up. But paired with Denny McCarthy the duo carded a 10-under 62 to rocket to 15-under and into contention. Charles Lewallan and his daughter Tiffany arrived at the first tee on hour before play started just to get a prime spot. The 61-year-old from Long Beach Mississippi was incredibly keen to see how the players took to the new concept. “I think it’s great. It’s a bit different and they seem to be having a good time with it. I loved the headbanging,â€� Lewallan said. “We game early just for this and it has been very entertaining.â€� The man in charge of the music was local lawyer Brett Bonin who DJ’s in his spare time at schools, volunteer groups and local golf tournaments. “You’ve got to do something cool on the side,â€� Bonin – who works for the Louisiana office of alcohol and tobacco control – said. “A good friend of mine got asked to do it but he had several other events going on; I’ve filled in for him whenever he had a conflict. “I’ve done a lot of golf tournaments here with music; I’ve done golf tournaments where they play loud music the whole time; that’s how I ended up being asked to do it.â€� Manned with his computer, an iTunes playlist and an amp and mixer Bonin had clipped each team’s song request down to 10 seconds. He and two friends were up to 1am making sure everything was in order and teed up to the right moment in the song after not getting the final cleared list until after 9pm Friday night. Three different players even called to make sure they had it right. “It’s a level of complexity that you never, ever deal with regular DJ work,â€� Bonin laughed. One of those levels came soon after with Charley Hoffman’s caddy asking for his song, “California Loveâ€� by Tupac, be played longer and during Hoffman’s swing. Bonin said he didn’t have that authority but when Hoffman himself insisted the Presidents Cup player did indeed hit his ball with the tune still blaring. “There’s like 20 different people giving you instructions and trying to figure out who trumps whom is very difficult,â€� Bonin said. They also had to do sound checks in the early hours Saturday with people placed on other holes on the course, making sure the volume wouldn’t adversely affect players out there already playing. Another Presidents Cup player – Louis Oosthuizen – had “Hakuna Matataâ€� play prior to his opening shot. Of course, it means, “no worries, for the rest of your days,â€� but Oosthuizen’s ball sailed left into a bunker. The team still made birdie. Other clever choices from teams included “Down Underâ€� from Men at Work with all-Australian team Cameron Percy and Greg Chalmers; a bagpipe version of Flower of Scotland from Russell Knox and Martin Laird and Toto’s “Africaâ€� from South Africans Tyrone Van Aswegen and Retief Goosen. Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar went with local favorite Louis Armstrong’s “When the Saints Go Marchingâ€� and had them dancing in the stands. And the 36-hole leaders Michael Kim and Andrew Putnam gained respect for poking a little fun at themselves. Choosing “Still D.R.Eâ€� by Dr. Dre they clipped at the lyrics, “Guess who’s back. Still doing this huh? Yeah, Check me out,â€� Putnam is currently 105th in the FedExCup and Kim is back in 171st. Keeping it light and with a fun vibe this week has helped them to a hot start. Those vibes are set to continue for all when the music returns Sunday.

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NEW YORK CITY – Skratch and Mastercard today announced a two-part series documenting the journey of APGA Tour Player of the Year Kamaiu Johnson – who won the inaugural Mastercard APGA Player Achievement Award in 2022 and with it an exemption to play on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, beginning in December. Over six episodes, ‘Relentless Pursuit’ will follow Johnson as he competes on the APGA for the award, prepares for PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and eventually finds out whether he is able to keep eligibility status or qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour and continue the path to the PGA TOUR. “This past season on the APGA Tour was a dream come true and I’m incredibly grateful to have received the Mastercard APGA Player Achievement Award, giving me the opportunity to compete on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica,” remarked Johnson. “I’ve worked extremely hard to have an opportunity like this and I’m excited to share my story through the ‘Relentless Pursuit’ series. Support like this is incredibly important to all of us out on the APGA Tour as we hope to share our stories and provide inspiration to the next generation of minority golfers.” The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization with a mission to bring greater diversity to the game of golf. The Mastercard APGA Player Achievement Award is an initiative to promote the top performer from the APGA Tour’s World Wide Technology Player Development Program, a 12-member subset of the APGA Tour focused on developing minority golfers who have shown success on the APGA Tour and who support its mission. Johnson earned the award after winning the 2022 Mastercard APGA Tour Championship to earn the top spot in the Player Development Program in 2022. He also captured a $50,000 first place prize from the event’s $150,000 purse, each the largest in APGA Tour history. The 29-year-old has four APGA titles in the last three years and has competed in events on the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour. The Mastercard APGA Player Achievement Award will provide Johnson with financial support to play on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, which tees off December 1-4, 2022 at the 116 Visa Argentine Open presented by Macro in Buenos Aires, Argentina followed by the Neuquen Argentine Classic in Chapelco, Argentina before moving to Santiago, Chile from December 15-18 for the Scotia Wealth Management Chile Open presented by Volvo. “Mastercard is focused on creating an equitable and inclusive society, including a commitment to increasing diverse representation,” said Rustom Dastoor, Executive Vice President, Marketing & Communications, North America at Mastercard. “Together with the APGA and Skratch, we are proud to highlight the stories of APGA players, in addition to providing unforgettable opportunities and resources to support their personal and professional development.” A teaser for the first season was released earlier today on Skratch’s social channels including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. The first episode will launch tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 20 and will feature Johnson winning the 2022 Mastercard APGA Tour Championship followed by the release of the second episode on November 2 which will include an appearance from 2022 PGA TOUR Rookie of Year Cameron Young. Season 2 will be released in 2023. “We are excited to work with Mastercard to launch this series and highlight the incredible stories of the individuals playing on the APGA Tour,” said Skratch General Manager Sam Raeburn. “Skratch strives to support diversity in golf, attract a millennial audience and reach a more diverse fan base and we believe this series will do just that.”

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Carson Daly, the defending amateur champ and the host of “The Voice” on NBC, is playing with a heavy heart at this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Daly’s stepdad, Dick Caruso, passed away last October — just five weeks after Daly’s mother, Pattie Daly Caruso, died. It was Dick Caruso, the longtime member at Riviera Country Club, who helped generate Carson’s interest in golf as a youngster. When Carson made his first appearance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2002, he was joined by his mother and stepdad who stayed with him at the Lodge at Pebble Beach. With each subsequent appearance, more of Carson’s family members, including his brother and sister, made the trip to Pebble Beach to cheer on Carson. “It’s become a family event,” he said. Last year, Daly — also a member of NBC’s “Today” show — and his PGA TOUR pro partner Ken Duke won the team portion of the event, giving the family a reason to celebrate that Sunday night. This year, there are 30 family members in attendance, spread out over three rented houses in the area. Carson is leaning on his family this week as he plays for the first time without his parents. But he’s carrying Dick Caruso’s memory with him inside the ropes. Daly has made pins with his stepdad’s photo, and wears one on his cap. He also has his stepdad’s image on his golf balls, with the hashtag #PlayingForPops. “We bonded through golf and on the golf course,” Carson said. “It’s hard this year without him.” It definitely was a struggle on Thursday for the defending team champs. Duke and Daly combined to shoot 76 at Spyglass Hill, leaving the duo in last place — by four strokes — in the 156-team field. Duke shot a 7-over 79 on his own ball but Daly, a 9-handicapper, admitted his own performance was poor. “I’m sort of glad he wasn’t here to see it,” said Daly, who’ll try to make up ground in Friday’s second round at Monterey Peninsula. Daly did feel his stepdad’s presence at Spyglass, but there was definitely a difference from the previous 15 starts he’s made when Pops was in the gallery. “Sometimes I’d see him in the corner and he’d give me a fist pump,” Daly said. “I missed that today for sure.”  

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