An beats Kim in playoff, wins 2nd Euro tour title

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., SEA ISLAND, Ga. and CHICAGO – RSM US LLP (“RSM�) – title sponsor of The RSM Classic since its debut in 2010 – announced that Cameron Champ has won $300,000 through the Birdies Fore Love charitable giving competition for recording the most birdies (or better) over the first eight events of the 2018-19 PGA TOUR Season. As part of the program, the money will be donated to Champ’s charity of choice, The Cameron Champ Foundation in support of STEM education and youth golf. The top three players who accumulated the most birdies (or better), beginning with the Safeway Open in Napa, California, and concluding at The RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia, were awarded with $300,000, $150,000 and $50,000, respectively, for charitable donations to the players’ choice of children- and/or family-focused charitable organizations that are building the middle-market leaders of tomorrow. J.J. Spaun finished second and will donate $150,000 to his charity of choice, the United Way earmarked for low income families affected by the California wildfires, while Joel Dahmen, a cancer survivor, finished third in the RSM Birdies Fore Love competition and will donate $50,000 to the Send It Foundation in support of young adult cancer fighters through the gift of outdoor adventure and community. 
“The RSM Classic and our partnership with the TOUR and the Davis Love Foundation provide an incredible venue to further RSM’s commitment to stewardship,� said Joe Adams, managing partner and CEO with RSM US LLP. “We are honored to have donated more than $2.8 million to support 65 charities across the United States and Canada through this year’s Birdies Fore Love program.�

Winning players designated funds to charitable organizations dedicated to building tomorrow’s middle-market leaders through programs that support education, as well as organizations committed to improving the lives of youth through a focus on hunger, housing and health. “We had an incredibly successful week, thanks to another exciting tournament with Charles Howell III winning, the announcement of RSM’s extension as title sponsor through 2025 and then capping it off with the success of the Birdies Fore Love program with more than $2.8 million donated this year,� said The RSM Classic tournament host Davis Love III. “I couldn’t be prouder of how The RSM Classic has grown over the years. Congratulations to Cameron Champ for winning the Birdies Fore Love competition and choosing a wonderful charity cause to receive the donation.� In addition to announcing its extension as title sponsor, RSM unveiled plans to further expand the Birdies Fore Love program for the start of the 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season. Not only will the top three finishers in total birdies (or better) from all fall events on the 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season schedule earn $300,000, $150,000 and $50,000, respectively, for a charity of their choice, but the player who records the most birdies (or better) in each fall event in 2019 will earn $50,000 for a charity of his choice, which brings the total to $1 million donated through the program each year. RSM got a head start for next year this week by awarding $50,000 to Patrick Rodgers who recorded the most birdies (or better) at The RSM Classic to give to a charity of his choice. Since the inception of The RSM Classic in 2010, RSM and the Davis Love Foundation have donated nearly $12 million to charities that support education and organizations that support children and families in the areas of hunger, housing and health. More than 200 organizations across the U.S. have benefited from these donations, including the Boys and Girls Clubs, Special Olympics, Blessings in a Backpack and Folds of Honor, just to name a few.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Before what promises to be an intense day at a Masters chock-full of contenders, the tournament got off to a genteel start with its traditional opening ceremony. Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus strolled out of Augusta National’s white clubhouse shortly before 8:15 a.m. on a chilly Thursday morning, parting the patrons as they made their way to the first tee. Augusta National’s new chairman, Fred Ridley, introduced the two honorary starters as “men whose legacies will live forever throughout the history of Augusta National.� The tee shots of Nicklaus and Player offered a quaint respite from a modern age focused on quantitative analysis. Even the fitness-crazed Gary Player doesn’t care about his swing speed. Jack Nicklaus is as competitive as they come – and of course he’d love to sneak his drive past Player’s – but we’re not worried about his launch angle. We’re honoring history. “I said, ‘Jack, don’t worry about outdriving me now. You’ve been outdriving me for 50 years,’� Player said. In an era obsessed with what’s next, this short ceremony offers a sweet sentimentality that can easily be lost in a cynical age. The rest of the day will be about parsing through the performances of the game’s best players. Instead of worrying about the future, the honorary tee shots are an opportunity to reflect on the past. With nine Green Jackets between them, they’re two of just five men who have won the Career Grand Slam. The tradition of honorary starters began in 1963 with Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod. Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead were the first tee’s legendary triumvirate from 1984-1999. The Big Three of Nicklaus, Player and Arnold Palmer reunited on Augusta National’s first tee from 2012-16. This is the second year that Nicklaus and Player have teed off together since Palmer’s passing in 2016. While it pains the two proud champions to no longer see their shots sail over the valley in the first fairway, the patrons are pleased simply to see the two legends swing a club and appear on Augusta National one more time. “Time moves on,� Nicklaus said. And now, a potentially historic Masters is officially underway.

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