Augusta National to host women’s amateur tournament the week before the Masters Tournament

Excel Sports Management already represents many of the world’s top golfers, including Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas. It just added the most famous player in college golf, as well. J.R. Smith, the former NBA star now attending North Carolina A&T, has signed with Excel to represent him in potential NIL deals on the course. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the deal, citing Excel’s Lance Young. The NCAA’s new name, image and likeness legislation allows Smith to endorse products through things such as commercials and social media postings. Smith has six million followers on Instagram. He has drawn “significant” interest from equipment companies, clothing manufacturers and video game companies, Young told ESPN. Smith was drafted into the NBA out of high school in 2004. His 16-year career included two championships – in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers and 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers — and the 2013 Sixth Man of the Year Award. He is in his second semester at North Carolina A&T, an HBCU in Greensboro, North Carolina, where the avid golfer is a member of the men’s golf team. He made his competitive debut for the Aggies in October, shooting 83-78-79. “Golf is one of those games that has you feeling really high and or can bring you down to your knees and humble you,” Smith said in August. “And to have that feeling and knowing that all of the game’s pretty much on my own hands and I don’t have to worry about teammates to pass the ball and receiving passes and playing defense so, I can play my game and just have fun.” Smith has said that he wants to serve as a bridge to golf for underrepresented minority groups. He’s already had an impact at A&T. It was announced in December that the school’s golf teams have entered into an agreement with TaylorMade to receive equipment and accessories such as bags, gloves and hats. “We embrace the growth of golf at (historically black colleges and universities),” said TaylorMade program manager copyrighter Tony Starks. “We want to be a part of that. For TaylorMade, this is a perfect partnership as we strive toward broadening the sport of golf. “If it is to have sustained success at HBCUs, recruiting is pivotal. In a positive sense, we want to have a large impact through the visibility of our product with a school like North Carolina A&T. We hope to broaden the audience so that the public at large knows there is great golf played at HBCUs.”

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Byeong Hun An will make his Presidents Cup debut for the International Team at Royal Melbourne after Jason Day has been forced to withdraw with a back injury. Day reaggravated an ongoing back complaint during practice in Palm Springs after returning from the recent Mayakoba Golf Classic, forcing the 12-time PGA TOUR winner to forego his position on Ernie Els’ International Team on Dec. 12-15 and his place in the Australian Open next week. Captain Els moved quickly to name a replacement in An, who was unlucky not to be selected in the first place given a strong start to the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season. “We wish Jason well and hope his back recovers quickly. We were eager to have Jason as part of the team at Royal Melbourne and his experience will be missed,â€� Els said. “The good news is that there were a number of strong and qualified players available to choose from when I made my captain’s selections. To have someone as steady and talented as Ben An puts us in a great position to succeed. Ben played extremely well this fall and throughout the year and he will fit in nicely on this team.â€� An was third at the Sanderson Farms Championship and added top-10s at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES (T6) and ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP (T8). He also finished T14 at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and sits 16th in the FedExCup after the fall series. While An is winless in his 103 PGA TOUR starts the 28-year-old has three runner ups and has match play pedigree as the youngest ever winner of the U.S. Amateur – taking out the 2009 title as a 17-year-old. “I’m sorry to hear that Jason has been forced to withdraw from the International Team and I wish him a speedy recovery. It was a huge surprise to receive a call from Ernie who told me that I was in the team,â€� An said. “It has been a goal of mine all season to be on the International Team and I am honored to play in my first Presidents Cup. I’m looking forward to joining Ernie and the rest of the team in Melbourne and, more importantly, contribute to the International Team’s goal to win the Cup.â€� An’s selection brings the average age of what was already the youngest Presidents Cup team in the events history further down to just under 29 and gives Els seven rookies in his 12-man squad. Only once before has the International Team had seven newcomers – in 2013 at Muirfield Village. Coincidentally current team members Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen and Hideki Matsuyama were three of those debutants in Ohio and might be able to impart some wisdom to their teammates. With the U.S. team holding a 10-1-1 advantage overall in the biennial contest perhaps new blood is exactly what the Internationals need. “I’m here to try and win enough points to get us over the line, and that’s what the players’ mission is, is to try and get enough points to get the Cup back. If that’s off the back of the rookies, so be it,â€� Els said earlier this month. Meanwhile, the injury is worrisome for Day, who is winless since early 2018 and managed just one top-10 finish after the Masters last season. In his last start in Mexico – which came right after Els plumped for him as a captains pick – Day was out of sorts and missed the cut. The 32-year-old has a history of back problems that have hindered him throughout his career. “I’m quite disappointed I won’t be coming home to play in either the Australian Open in Sydney or the Presidents Cup the following week in Melbourne,â€� Day said via a statement. “I was quite looking forward to both events. I had been prepping all week in Palm Springs when I was injured. Frustratingly, I’ve been through back problems before and my medical team decided it best to shut down all practice and play. “Therefore, I wanted to inform Golf Australia as well as provide Ernie as much time as possible to best prepare our International Team for Royal Melbourne. I look forward to playing at home in the near future. My best to all the competitors in Sydney and my teammates in Melbourne.â€� Day did not elaborate on his recovery period but it is likely he won’t return before the Farmers Insurance Open on Jan. 23-26 where he is a two-time champion.

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JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Phil Mickelson rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to cap off another big day for the Americans and set a record for the largest lead after two sessions in Presidents Cup history. Another day like this and that’s what the International Team will be — history. Mickelson and Kisner never led against Jason Day and Marc Leishman until the par-3 18th hole Friday at Liberty National. Mickelson poured in his birdie putt, and Leishman missed his from about the same range. About the only thing that went wrong was the celebration. Mickelson, who on Thursday cropped himself out of a selfie with the last three U.S. presidents, missed a move in the “Three Amigos” dance with Kisner. “I’m clearly the worst selfie taker. I’m the worst `Three Amigos’ dancer. But I can putt,” Mickelson said. Mickelson, who has played in all 12 Presidents Cups, has 24 match victories to tie the record set by Tiger Woods in eight appearances. Woods was looking on in his role as an assistant to U.S. captain Steve Stricker. And that’s about all the International Team could do. Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Hadwin were 2 up with four holes to play against Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed and had to settle for a halve. Even that felt like a small victory for the International Team because Spieth had birdie putts on the final two holes that narrowly missed. Justin Thomas, already with a big year behind him as a major champion and the FedExCup champion, teamed with Rickie Fowler for another easy victory. They have trailed only one hole in their two matches, and they became the first partnership to beat Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace. They took the lead for good when Fowler made a 15-foot birdie putt on the third hole, and then Thomas produced the loudest cheer of the afternoon at a pivotal moment on the 14th hole. Oosthuizen hit his approach to 6 feet, while both Americans missed the green. From the left bunker, Thomas blasted out perfectly and watched in drop in for a birdie that kept the International Team from cutting the deficit to 1 down. Thomas birdied the next hole, and his bunker shot on the 16th hit the pin and somehow stayed out. The shortest match of the day belonged to a pair of American rookies, Kevin Chappell and Charley Hoffman, who sat out the foursomes matches in the opening session. They were 3 up after four holes against Charl Schwartzel and Anirban Lahiri and never let up in a 6-and-5 victory. Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, close friends and the last two U.S. Open champions, took their first lead on the par-3 10th with Koepka’s birdie, and Johnson showed rare emotion on his final two birdies in a 3-and-2 victory over Adam Scott and Jhonattan Vegas. Just like the opening session, the matches looked as though they could go either way until the back nine. At one point, the International Team led in three matches, only for all of them to turn. In the five matches, the Americans won 13 holes on the back nine, compared to just three for the International Team. The Americans have a 9-1-1 lead in the series, their only loss coming in 1998 at Royal Melbourne. But it has at least been close after the opening two sessions, with neither side leading by more than two points since 1998. With an 8-2 lead, the Americans have a mathematical chance to clinch on Saturday, which features four matches of foursomes in the morning and four matches of fourballs in the afternoon.

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