Bryson DeChambeau continues to push the speed barrier

England’s Paul Casey carded an eight-under-par 64 in the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic on Saturday to take a one-shot lead heading into the final round.

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DORADO, Puerto Rico – Carlos Delgado lives across the street from TPC Dorado Beach, but laughs when he admits he doesn’t really play much golf because during his decorated Major League Baseball career as a first baseman he didn’t have as many days off to pick up the game, “like pitchers.� But Delgado, now 45, is one of the key celebrities on site this week at TPC Dorado Beach as the Puerto Rico Open Charity Pro-Am. He’s one of most celebrated Puerto Rican baseball players of all time, having hit more home runs and knocked in more RBIs than any of his countrymen. He said this week is an important one for the island, as it helps to show people watching on TV that Puerto Rico is once again for open for business after the devastation of last year’s Hurricane Maria. “People know that we’re capable of hosting a tournament this big again. Putting together an outing like this and having it benefit a lot of organizations is great,� he said. “Hopefully by 2019 it’ll be a great event and all the pros will come in and we can use it as a bigger platform to show off Puerto Rico and tell the world we’re ready to host a great event.� Delgado said he couldn’t speak to his parents for nearly a week after the hurricane – the most devastating natural disaster in Puerto Rico’s history – and didn’t realize the scope of the devastation until the Internet and TV stations came back online. He admitted it was a sad sight to see his country in ruins, but now things have turned around. There’s a heightened sense of Puerto Rican pride and the whole island is rallying together to help out. He visited over 30 municipalities across the island in the immediate few days after the hurricane and every area looked different, he said. Jose Guzman won the 1991 MLB Comeback Player of the Year award and was a pitcher for nine years with the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs. He said the worst thing for him during the hurricane was that he tried for almost two weeks to get a hold of his family, but he couldn’t get through. “You sit down and have your dinner and you’re thinking: ‘where’s my family?’ he said. They were OK, and although the first time tournament organizers called him he had some things to do, he quickly realized that playing in this event was for his country. “People still need to know we need help, and that’s what we’re here for,� he said. “I was born and raised here and I will do anything I need to do to help this country.� That’s been a common refrain from the celebrities who were here this week, as Puerto Ricans have spent the last few months banding together to rebuild. “Weather is beautiful again. There’s a lot of work to be done and a lot to learn from this experience like how to react, how to react quicker, how to prepare… and September will roll around and we’re going to have hurricane season again, a lot quicker than we thought it’d be. But you just have to be ready and hopefully we never experience that,� said Delgado. “If that is the case, I hope Maria taught us a lesson.� Ivan ‘Pudge’ Rodriguez, a first-ballot baseball Hall of Fame member and World Series champion, spends most of his time in Florida, but was one of the first to answer the call for this event as the native Puerto Rican’s parents and extended family were on the island during the hurricane last year. “It was pretty tough,� he said. “It was devastating.� Rodriguez is a golf lover, but he said he’s playing this week for a greater purpose. “I always love to be involved. I’ve been helping in Puerto Rico for a while. An event like this, we sat down and I said I would work with them and do everything we can, and that’s why I’m here,� he said. Rodriguez and Delgado both pointed to the positivity of the Puerto Rican people as a key thing over the last few months as the recovery efforts were under way.  “We think that Puerto Rico is the greatest country in the world,� said Delgado. “We didn’t want to see it as devastated as it was after Maria, so we wanted to do stuff to make it better. We’re not quite there yet, but slowly but surely we’re getting there.� Rodriguez said the PGA TOUR and all the sponsors have done a great job so far of raising money to help the needs of Puerto Rico, and although not all the golf courses are open yet, he waxed poetic about how great the sport is on the island. “It’s one of the favourite sports to play, and especially at this beautiful place,� he said of TPC Dorado Beach. After 10 years the Puerto Rico Open was replaced on the TOUR schedule this year with this year’s unique event that saw past TOUR winners and fellow professionals alongside LPGA Tour players and Puerto Rican celebrities like Delgado, Rodriguez and Guzman to raise money for the island’s relief efforts. The group has already raised more than $500,000 and is primed to bring in more by the time the event concludes. It will return in 2019 as a full-fledged PGA TOUR event.

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DETROIT – Given that he had delivered his opening tee shot in Wednesday’s pro-am at 7:20 a.m. – a tee time that had necessitated an arrival to Detroit Golf Club just after sunrise – and followed that up with a “Shot For Heroes� ceremony that introduced a vehicle by which more funds will be raised for a charity that is already up to $1 million, then put himself in front of a heartwarming presentation to 15-year-old Anthony Trudel at the request of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, by late afternoon Rickie Fowler could not be blamed if he were dragging. Instead, he talked with enthusiasm about two trails of rejuvenation – his golf game and with Dan Gilbert’s vision for Detroit. As for the former, Fowler shrugged off a second-round 77 at the recent U.S. Open that took him out of contention and chose to focus on success earlier in the season – a fifth career win at the Waste Management Phoenix Open that was celebrated with family and friends who had never seen him raise a PGA TOUR trophy, and four other top 10s. “So far, it’s been a fun year,� he said. But it’s the latter that motivates Fowler in a different fashion, a more personal way. True, he’s got a sponsorship deal with Quicken Loans and Rocket Mortgage that is profitable, but Fowler has come to admire Dan Gilbert (the 57-year-old founder of Quicken Loans) and the man’s dream to revitalize Detroit. Fowler said he saw first-hand the Motown life Monday night. “Got a solid five hours in downtown. It’s cool to hear the stories of how much it’s changed, not just over the last five to 10 years, but really in the last two,� said Fowler. “A lot of stuff going on.� And, be advised, that Fowler knows what it means to have “a lot of stuff going on.� Consider his dance card once his 18-hole pro-am, was concluded – more than five hours, by the way, that was spent inside the ropes with one Kid Rock. “Fun to be in his hometown,� laughed Fowler, who plays golf or has dinner with Kid Rock frequently in the Jupiter, Florida, area. “I’ve heard a lot about Detroit from him.� Fowler helped introduce the “Shot For Heroes� corner at Detroit GC where visitors can take two 60-yard wedge shots and donate to a cause that wants to end homelessness for military veterans. It was an appearance at the “Shot For Heroes� ceremony that was especially sweet, because Fowler has become involved with the Trudel story since he heard about it in the spring of 2018. He lives about an hour south of Fowler’s home in Jupiter and was diagnosed with a brain tumor during a visit to a hospital in Boca Raton. From there, Trudel was air-lifted to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami and through Make-A-Wish, Trudel forwarded the desire to meet Fowler, one of his heroes. As a special guest of the Rocket Mortgage officials this week, Trudel spent time with Fowler Wednesday at Detroit Golf Club. The youngster hit balls, was gifted a new set of Cobra golf clubs, and learned that he’d be an honorary observer of Fowler’s second-round. “I told him to make sure he brings me some good luck and we’ll have some fun out there,� said Fowler. All of the duties, Fowler acknowledged, came with being “part of a tournament and kind of, I guess, in a little bit of a ‘host’ role.� But now 30 and in his 10th PGA TOUR season, Fowler has learned to effectively juggle his golf, his business interests and his personal life and when it comes to the proceedings this week, “it’s something I want to succeed.� There’s no reason it can’t come in conjunction with a level of golf that highlighted the earlier months of 2019 when in an eight-tournament stretch Fowler had a win, three other top 10s, and a spot inside the top 10 in the Officials World Golf Ranking. The goal going forward, he said, is simple. “Put myself in a good position for the (FedExCup) Playoffs,� he said. “I put myself in a great position early in the year, but you want to finish just as well as you started.�

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