Koepka ready to get back to work after nearly 3 months off

With the 43rd Ryder Cup recently rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Captain Steve Stricker announced revised selection criteria for the U.S. Team that will compete Sept. 21-26, 2021 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. All points earned by U.S. players since qualifications began in 2019 will continue to be recognized. The U.S. selection criteria will now extend through the second 2021 FedExCup Playoff event (BMW Championship). The points system for the American team will include the top six players on the points list securing spots on the U.S. team. Previously, the top eight players had been expected to secure spots. The remaining six players will be selected and announced by Captain Stricker following the 2021 TOUR Championship. Previously, the captain was to select four players. • 2019 Major Championships ◦ 1 Point per $1,000 earned ▪ The Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open & The Open • 2019 WGC Events and THE PLAYERS Championship ◦ 1 Point per $2,000 earned ▪ WGC-Mexico Championship; WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship; THE PLAYERS Championship; WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational; WGC-HSBC Champions • 2020 Regular PGA TOUR events ◦ 1 point per $1,000 earned ▪ Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, through the Mayakoba Golf Classic (Dec. 3-6) ▪ 2020 Opposite Field PGA TOUR events will NOT receive points • 2020 Major Championships ◦ 2 Points per $1,000 earned for the Winner ◦ 1.5 Points per $1,000 earned for all others to make the cut ▪ PGA Championship, U.S. Open, Masters only • 2021 Regular PGA TOUR events ◦ 1.5 Points per $1,000 earned ▪ Beginning January 10, 2021 (Sentry Tournament of Champions), through the end of the second FedEx Cup Playoff (BMW Championship); including THE PLAYERS Championship and WGC events ▪ 2020/21 Opposite Field PGA TOUR events will NOT receive points • 2021 Major Championships ◦ 2 Points per $1,000 earned for all others to make the cut ▪ Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, Open Championship

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When Kelly Gibson was 8 years old, his father took him to his first PGA TOUR event at Lakewood Country Club in New Orleans. “I watched Jack Nicklaus beat Miller Barber on my dad’s shoulders,â€� Gibson recalls, the memory of that playoff still vivid even after 47 years. And he’s either attended, competed or been associated with every Zurich Classic of New Orleans since – with the exception of the four years when he played golf at Lamar University. Until this week, of course. There will be no Zurich Classic in 2020. No two-man teams playing at TPC Louisiana – a golf course that Gibson helped design with the legendary Pete Dye and fellow pro Steve Elkington. None of the Big Easy’s famed restaurants like Drago’s and Emeril’s and the Acme Oyster House set up on the property dishing out food for the fans. The tournament is one of nine TOUR events and one major championship that have been canceled as the world desperately tries to flatten the deadly coronavirus curve. Gibson understands, of course, and knows that his hometown has been particularly hard-hit as one of the country’s early hot spots. But there’s still a void. “I never missed it physically hurt, injured, surgery, or anything,â€� says the 55-year-old Gibson, whose last appearance as a player was in 2007. “This will be the first time really in 47 years I wasn’t involved in the tournament in some way, shape, or form.â€� On Tuesday – for the 31st year — Gibson would have hosted a junior clinic at TPC Louisiana for between 50 and 100 youngsters and their parents. Once, Lexi Thompson, an 11-time LPGA champion and Zurich ambassador, helped him with it. Vijay Singh, Charley Hoffman, Jason Dufner and J.B. Holmes, among others, have also demonstrated shots for the kids. “I try to make it interactive,â€� Gibson says. “I usually try to bring up some of the kids to hit. There’s been a few years where if I had the time, and we had the space to do it, I let every single kid that shows up hit at least one shot. “It’s exciting for them because I can remember that first time when I was 8 years old, seeing Jack Nicklaus, and all I’m trying to do is say, ‘Hey, I was in your shoes at one time.’ I’m from New Orleans. I’m from the West Bank. I grew up just like where you grew up, and this is the reality. “It’s essentially like a kid going to a football game and getting to meet (New Orleans Saints quarterback) Drew Brees on the field.â€� Gibson, who is hunkered down at home like the rest of us these days with his wife and two almost-teenaged daughters, also serves on the board of the Fore!Kids Foundation that puts on the Zurich Classic. He knows the charitable impact the tournament has on a wide variety of New Orleans organizations. Restaurants, hotels and bars, among other establishments, also see an uptick in revenue, as well. At the same time, though, the fifth-generation New Orleans native has seen his hometown repeatedly persevere. After the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, Kelly quickly created a non-profit called “Feed The Reliefâ€� and raised more than $1 million to help feed first responders in the port city and neighboring areas. The organization is now the Kelly Gibson Foundation, focused not only on first responders but also the military and children’s athletics, including a robust junior golf tour consisting of nearly 20 events. Turns out, the Zurich Classic was the first major sporting event held in New Orleans after Katrina hit in August 2005, albeit at a different course (English Turn in 2006) because TPC Louisiana sustained considerable damage. And Gibson knows the 2021 edition of the tournament will mark another triumphant return. In the meantime, Gibson is entertaining himself and his friends on Facebook with daily posts about his days on the PGA TOUR. A friend challenged him, and Gibson, a consummate storyteller in person, didn’t back down from doing it in cyberspace. He hasn’t missed a day since that first post at 2:25 p.m. on March 24. “I said, ‘It’s story time. Name a place, a color, or a person. I’ll try to tell a story to help pass this time during this difficult period,’ â€� Gibson recalls. “So, people started replying. Tell a story about Butler National. Tell a story about your favorite golf course on TOUR; least favorite. Tell a story about Dennis Trixler. Tell a story about Lee Janzen.â€� And Gibson has taken those comments to heart. He’s written about meeting presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford at the 1995 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. At the same time, there was the meeting with Ben Hogan that almost didn’t happen. Oh, and the brush with Elton John on his honeymoon. And can you believe he hit seven – count ‘em, seven – spectators are the Greater Greensboro Open one year? “It’s a view into my life which could seem egotistical, or this is just Kelly frustrated doing stuff because he’s bored,â€� Gibson says. “Actually, I’m doing this to entertain friends. “It’s been therapeutic, or maybe cathartic is the word.â€� And we all need a little of that these days.

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