Bubba Golf enjoying mini-revival in 2020

Charlie Sifford was a bit out of sorts when he teed it up in the first round of in the 1969 Los Angeles Open. He had been battling the flu. Or maybe it was just a bad, bad cold. Whatever had him under the weather, though, Sifford’s lungs rebelled, and he couldn’t bear to light up one of his trademark stogies. “I hate playing golf without a cigar,â€� Sifford later recalled in his autobiography, “Just Let Me Play.â€� “I get nervous and uncomfortable without that stogie in my mouth. “But every time I tried to smoke one that week, I started coughing my head off.â€� The break in his 25-year tobacco habit didn’t seem to bother Sifford that week 50 years ago as he played in the tournament now known as the Genesis Open. He opened with a 63 at Rancho Park that included a six-hole stretch on the back nine that Sifford played in 7 under, giving him a three-stroke lead. “It was one of those magic rounds where it all comes together, and you start thinking about shooting at the pin on every single hole,â€� Sifford wrote in 1992. The then-42-year-old Sifford, the first African-American to play on the PGA TOUR, led by two after shooting even par in the second round, then three again heading into the final 18 holes after another 71. He was paired with South African Harold Henning in the last round. Sifford had quite the partisan cheering section that day. A native North Carolinian who learned the game by caddying for 60 cents a day in Charlotte, he made his home in Los Angeles at the time. His wife Rose and their two sons, Craig, a toddler, and Charles Jr., a student at Cal State Long Beach, were also in the gallery. “There’s nothing like being ahead on the last day in your hometown,â€� Sifford wrote. He needed that support, too. When Sifford bogeyed the 12th hole, he was tied with Henning and Dave Hill, who was in the penultimate group. A 20-footer for birdie at the 14th then gave Henning sole possession of the lead. Sifford birdied the 16th hole to pull even with the South African. After saving par from 6 feet at No. 17, Sifford had to two-putt from 40 feet at the 18th to force a playoff with Henning, whose birdie putt had stopped inches from the hole. Unlike two years earlier, when Sifford won what is now known as the Travelers Championship, he said he was more “exhilaratedâ€� than nervous as he battled Henning down the stretch. But there was something missing. “Man, how I ever made it through that tense day without a cigar, I’ll never know,â€� Sifford wrote. Sifford ended up sealing the victory on the first playoff hole with a pinpoint 9-iron that settled 3 feet from the hole for birdie. He wrote in his autobiography that his heart was beating so loudly he thought he’d drown out the cheers of the partisan crowd. “This time I didn’t cry when they handed me that big, oversized check for TV,â€� Sifford wrote. “I laughed. Rose was at my side and she laughed, too. It was one of the best times I’ve ever had.â€� Sifford celebrated that night at Willie Davis’s Center Field Lounge. Among the attendees were other African-American golfers who were looking for places to play, men like Lee Elder, Rafe Botts, Pete Brown and Bill Spiller. A month later, the golfing pioneer was honored with a parade in L.A.’s Watts neighborhood on Feb. 3, which had been proclaimed as Charlie Sifford Day. There was a party that evening at a nightclub called the Black Fox. “It’s just so wonderful to think that a black man can take a golf club and be so famous,â€� he told the crowd at the nightclub. “I just wish I could call back 10 years.â€� A decade earlier, of course, he would have been in his prime. But the PGA’s Caucasian-only clause wasn’t lifted until 1961 and even after it was, Sifford and other black golfers still battled to find places to play the game they loved. Even prior to Sifford’s victory in Los Angeles that week, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote this about the man: Before Charlie Sifford, if a Negro walked on a golf green in this country, chances are he was carrying somebody else’s clubs or a wet towel to wipe somebody else’s ball. If he was in the grille room, he was carrying somebody else’s coffee. He came to fix a shower, not take one. Golf was not a game for the ghetto. Neither did it leave any time for carrying picket signs, joining demonstrations or running for office. Charlie birdied, not talked, his way through racial prejudice. He broke barriers by breaking par. His weapon was a 9-iron, not a microphone. Charlie stands as a social pioneer not because he could play politics but because he could play golf. In 2004, Sifford became the first African-American inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Five years later, the Genesis Open began offering the Charles Sifford Memorial Exemption to a deserving minority golfer. This year’s winner is long-time pro Tim O’Neal. Two of the past recipients – J.J. Spaun and Harold Varner III — are now playing the PGA TOUR. Tiger Woods, who calls Sifford calls the “grandpa that I never had,â€� now hosts the Genesis Open, which benefits his foundation. He is keenly aware of the importance of Sifford’s win 50 years ago. “It meant a lot to all of us who are participating in the game who are nonwhite to have Charlie have had the success he had, to have him go through the struggles that he went through to win here,â€� Woods says. “It’s such a historic site, and against some of the best players that ever lived, was something that was very special. “If it wasn’t for Charlie and others who paved the way, I don’t think my dad would have ever played the game of golf and hence, I probably wouldn’t be here doing this press conference and be involved in the game like I am.â€�

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Former FedExCup champion Justin Thomas has harnessed the positives of his winless season thus far in an effort to springboard his quest for a second season-long trophy. Thomas, the 2017 FedExCup champion, sits 17th in the points race this year despite failing to register a win. Only Tony Finau (13th) sits higher in terms of winless players. But Finau has been healthy and played 21 times while Thomas sat out a chunk of the season, including the PGA Championship, with a wrist injury and has made just 16 starts. Having won nine times in the three seasons prior to this one Thomas could have easily slipped into negative thinking around this trophy-free campaign thus far. But the 26-year-old feels his moment could be yet to come as he lines up to defend the last title he did win – the World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Of course that win came at Firestone South in Akron while this year he finds himself at TPC Southwind in Memphis for the first time. He comes with form having finished tied for ninth at the Scottish Open and then tied for 11th at The Open Championship over the last two weeks. RELATED: Featured Groups, tee times | Power Rankings | The First Look  “Every event’s very important over the course of the entire year, but it definitely is now because you’re running out (of time) … I really feel like I’m trending in the right direction,â€� Thomas said from TPC Southwind. “Had two really positive weeks at the Scottish and then The Open last week. Felt like easily could have gotten a couple top-5s out of those two weeks … I feel like I’m very, very close to winning again. “I’ve been saying that all year, but got my putter, I feel like, kind of back, a lot closer to where I would like it.â€� Indeed the putter has been his downfall this season with Thomas ranked 170th on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting. He’s offset that by being third on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green and second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. The mental dilemma for Thomas has been his drive is all about winning. So finding the positives this season takes a bit of effort on occasion. “I don’t play golf for money, I don’t play golf for anything other than trying to win, and that’s all I’m trying to do,â€� he said. “But I’m 17th (in the FedExCup) while missing a major and two events that I feel like I had a really, really good chance to win. So no, it’s been very far from a failure of a season or a bad season. “I definitely feel like I could have and should have played a lot better and won a couple times, but it’s golf. There’s only one winner every week and I understand that, that you need to have some things go your way when you win and I just haven’t had that happen. “But I still have a lot of positives to show from this year and we have four or five really big events left in the season on golf courses that I feel like can suit my game if I’m playing well. We could have another great end of the season.â€� Given the cross Atlantic trip and change in time zones Thomas said he’d likely rest more than grind on the course in the lead up, despite having no history at TPC Southwind. He was thankful the mercury wasn’t pushing triple digits like it has a tendency to do in this part of the world. “If you gave me the option of playing a golf course that I love and my body didn’t feel good and I was tired and I was jet lagged versus a course I’ve never seen in my entire life but I was rested, I was ready to go, I’ll take being rested and ready to go,â€� Thomas said “Trying to get rested and get my energy back is going to be most important for me.â€�

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Dustin Johnson has withdrawn from next week’s Hero World Challenge but still plans on competing in this year’s Presidents Cup. Johnson underwent arthroscopic surgery in September to repair cartilage damage in his left knee. He has not played since finishing last in the TOUR Championship. Johnson wrote on Twitter that he made the decision to withdraw after “a lot of careful thought and consultation.� “While my recovery from knee surgery is complete, I feel another week of physical therapy and practice will best prepare me for the Presidents Cup,� Johnson added. “I have informed Captain Woods of my decision, which he fully supports and understands.� Chez Reavie will replace Johnson in the Hero field. Reavie is coming off a career year that saw him finish eighth in the FedExCup. He won the Travelers Championship and finished third in the U.S. Open. Two players have already withdrawn from the upcoming Presidents Cup because of injury. Brooks Koepka reinjured his knee in South Korea and was replaced by Rickie Fowler, while Jason Day had to be replaced by Byeong Hun An after suffering a back injury. Johnson won this year’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship and was runner-up in both the Masters and PGA Championship, but he’s not had a top-10 since leaving Bethpage Black in May. Reavie will be making his debut in the Hero, which begins Wednesday in Albany, Bahamas. The tournament concludes Saturday to give the U.S. Team time to travel to Australia for the Presidents Cup.

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