‘Big Mike’ makes most of viral moment

DALLAS AND PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – To commemorate Giving Tuesday, Omni Hotels & Resorts today announced that more than 76,000* meals have been donated to local Feeding America food banks through its PGA TOUR Birdies-or-Better campaign. To date, Omni’s Say Goodnight to Hunger program has provided more than 14 million meals to help end the fight against hunger. “With a long-standing commitment to giving back to those in need, Omni is proud to have provided more than 76,000 meals as a result of our PGA TOUR Birdie-or-Better initiative through our Say Goodnight to Hunger program,� said Peter Strebel, president of Omni Hotels & Resorts. “The program also elevates our commitment to golf and working with our strategic partner at the PGA TOUR.� Omni’s first major sports league-wide sponsorship began in June and prompted the brand to develop the Birdie-or-Better campaign as a way for Omni, TOUR players and tournaments to come together for a great cause, while celebrating Omni’s two-year anniversary of the Say Goodnight to Hunger program. Through the promotion, Omni provides four meals to a family in need for every birdie-or-better made during each PGA TOUR event. Omni began the program in June and the current donation totals ran through the TOUR Championship in September. Meal donations were made to local Feeding America food banks in each tournament’s home city and include: • North Texas Food Bank • Tarrant County Area Food Bank • Capital Area Food Bank • The Greater Boston Food Bank • Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank • Second Harvest Food Bank • Community Foodbank of New Jersey • Atlanta Community Food Bank “More than 40 million people in America struggle to put food on their tables. Feeding America is grateful for Omni’s commitment to fighting hunger,� said Matt Knott, president at Feeding America. “Through the Say Goodnight to Hunger campaign, Omni helps local food banks across our nation feed people in need. The addition of the ‘birdie promotion’ is yet another way Omni provides support to local communities.� Omni’s Birdie-or-Better campaign for the 2018-19 PGA TOUR Season started at the Safeway Open in October and will end in August 2019 at the TOUR Championship in Atlanta. On average, more than 60,000 birdies and eagles are recorded during a PGA TOUR season. “Omni’s support of food banks is impressive, and its Birdies-or-Better campaign complements the amazing charitable contributions made by each of our tournaments across the country,� says Tyler Dennis, chief of operations for the PGA TOUR. “We are proud to support Omni’s commitment to feeding families and reducing hunger nationwide.� As an Official Marketing Partner of the PGA TOUR, Omni provides a variety of benefits to players, including the highest-level membership in Omni’s Select Guest® loyalty program and a designated number of room nights for members of the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions and Web.com Tour.  

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We know that you miss the competition on the PGA TOUR. So, together as we move forward through this hiatus, we will be taking a moment every week to recognize the tournaments that have been postponed or canceled, albeit in the familiar format of the Power Rankings. If you’ve lost track of where we are on the schedule – no matter your devotion as a fan, it’s a reasonable possibility – the Valero Texas Open was scheduled to be contested this week. With 89 editions in the books going back to the Warren Harding administration in 1922, suffice it to say that we’ve launched our special series with as large a database as the state in which the tournament has been held. The commitment is to rank only 10 golfers with honorable mentions who cannot go overlooked. It’s often not easy to limit a traditional Power Rankings to the usual 15, so there could be some solid debate generated when reviewing the entirety of a tournament’s history. As always, you are encouraged to engage in the conversation beneath the file. No doubt many of you are ready to reconnect in that space. I miss it, too. Only tournament success is considered for this version of the Power Rankings. Customary variables such as site and recency bias also do not carry as much influence. Rather, it takes into account era-dependent dominance and consistently strong form over time, but it doesn’t compare eras, project head-to-head considerations or adjust for quality of talent and field depth in any edition. As one example of history made at the Valero Texas Open, Tommy Armour III owns the tournament’s low aggregate of 26-under 254 in 2003. It also was a PGA TOUR record until Justin Thomas went one lower at the 2017 Sony Open in Hawaii, but it’s TA3’s only top-10 finish at the VTO in 21 appearances. It was a momentous week to be certain, but he didn’t come close to cracking the Power Rankings. Enjoy! ALL-TIME POWER RANKINGS: VALERO TEXAS OPEN 10. Loren Roberts Twenty-one years after debuting with a T22 in 1981, he prevailed as a 47-year-old in 2002, and then placed T2 in his title defense. Five top fives and two T9s baked into his 15-for-19 record. 9. Ben Hogan After three consecutive runner-up finishes through 1942 and a 27-month stint in the Army during World War II, he returned to Willow Springs Golf Club with victory in 1946. 8. Bill Mehlhorn Nicknamed Wild Bill and often wearing a cowboy hat, his wins in 1928 and 1929 punctuated a run of five straight top-five finishes, but he didn’t place worse than T16 in eight appearances. 7. Ben Crenshaw Won the first of his 19 PGA TOUR titles at Woodlake Golf Club in 1973. Added another victory in this event in 1986. Overall, he went 18-for-22 with six top fives and another two top 10s. 6. Jay Haas Totaled 23 starts and connected for two victories (1982, 1993), two seconds (1996, 1998), two T5s (1983, 1999) and another pair of top 10s. 5. Byron Nelson In eight starts from 1934-1946, he went T2-3rd-Win-T4-T8-T2-2nd-3rd. If there’s an upset, it occurred in 1945 when he won 18 times. His runner-up here was one of seven that season. 4. Sam Snead In five appearances comprising of at least one round on three different courses, he went 3rd-3rd-Win-2nd-Win and scored 86-under. Closed out his latter title in 1950 with a pair of 8-under 63s. 3. Arnold Palmer Six top 10s in just seven appearances, but he won three consecutive editions through 1962, the first year that Oak Hills Country Club hosted. 2. Justin Leonard Three wins, two seconds, a T5, a T10 and two T11s, all in 11 appearances at LaCantera Golf Club’s Resort Course from 1995-2009. His scoring average in 42 rounds on the par 70 was 67.48. 1. Charley Hoffman No. 1 in all-time earnings with a win (2016), two seconds and a third at TPC San Antonio. Two top 10s and a T11 at LaCantera. All told, he’s 14-for-14 with 11 top-15 finishes. HONORABLE MENTIONS • Mike Souchak … Recorded only three top 10s in 13 tries, but he established the 72-hole scoring record in 1955 at 27-under 257 at Brackenridge Park Golf Club. It was a mark that stood for 46 years, but the previous year, also at Brackenridge, Chandler Harper matched the then-record aggregate of 259 first set by Byron Nelson at the 1945 Seattle Open, one of Lord Byron’s 18 victories that season. • Bob Estes … The native Texan made 26 appearances, the first 25 consecutively from 1989-2013. His first TOUR title at Oak Hills in 1994 was one of seven top 10s and 14 top 25s in the event. • Lee Trevino … Because comparing actual dollars won is unfair over time, it’s notable that he reached six figures in tournament earnings with his last payday (T9) in 1983. His five top fives included a $45,000 victory in 1980. • Corey Pavin … Cashed in 16 of 19 appearances with an 11-start peak from 1988-2000 during which he recorded all eight of his top-15 finishes. It included a win (1988) among five top 10s. • Duffy Waldorf … Captured two wins at LaCantera (1995, 1999) among seven top 10s from 1989-2003.

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As we roll through the second half of the season, players look to make the final push for the FedExCup at Firestone. Round 2 tee times Round 2 leaderboard HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN PGA TOUR LIVE: Coverage – (7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. ET). Telecast: Golf Channel (1 p.m. – 6 p.m. ET) Listen: PGA TOUR Radio (11 a.m. – 3 p.m. ET) NOTABLE PAIRINGS Note: Round 2 tee times have been delayed 45 minutes due to weather (New tee times are reflected below). Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Adam Scott 8:45 a.m. ET off the 10th tee Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar 8:55 a.m. ET off the 10th tee Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day 9:55 a.m. ET off the 1st tee Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama 10:05 a.m. ET off the 1st tee

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