D. Johnson leads by 5 at Tour Championship

It has been one year since the Tiger Woods-led United States Team lifted the Presidents Cup at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club after one of the most memorable matches in history. It took a valiant comeback on Sunday for the U.S. to catch an underdog International Team, which was comprised of a record seven Presidents Cup first-timers. One of those rookies, Abraham Ancer of Mexico, made plenty of noise Down Under as the 28-year-old earned 3.5 points to lead the International Team. While his memorable play at Royal Melbourne is in the rearview mirror, Ancer's charitable impact from the 2019 Presidents Cup is just beginning to be felt. As is tradition at the Presidents Cup, players and captains are not paid for their participation. Instead, each is granted a specific charitable allocation to donate to organizations of their choice. Ancer, who holds dual citizenship in Mexico and the United States, calls San Antonio home and designated the First Tee of Greater San Antonio to receive a portion of his Presidents Cup charitable funds. As of this past weekend, the effect of that donation was on full display at TPC San Antonio. The inaugural "Game Changer Texas Shootout," a Presidents Cup-style event organized by First Tee Greater San Antonio, featured the top eight First Tee Greater San Antonio youth golfers against the top eight players from First Tee Greater Austin. The two-day tournament took place Dec. 12-13 at TPC San Antonio. These golfers not only qualified by their golf skills but by maintaining an A/B Honor roll and accumulating over 800 volunteer hours amongst them. "We were extremely excited to launch this inaugural tournament as a result of the funds we have received from Abraham Ancer & the Presidents Cup," said Carrie Kimbell, Executive Director of First Tee Greater San Antonio. "Through his generosity, First Tee Greater San Antonio is able to provide even more local opportunities for these amazing kids." With Ancer competing overseas, the Greater San Antonio team was captained by Ancer's friend and Korn Ferry Tour member Roberto Diaz, while two-time PGA TOUR winner Andrew Landry captained the Austin team. What ensued on the golf course created lasting memories for the youth and their professional captains. During Saturday morning 9-hole Four-ball matches, Captain Landry consulted Austin's Meredith Speer on club selection at the very challenging third hole, and Meredith responded by carding her first hole-in-one from 159 yards. Luck almost struck twice in the same family as her brother Nicolas in the group following Meredith put his shot to two inches. With San Antonio leading 7-5 entering Sunday afternoon's Singles matches, it came down to the final two matches, with San Antonio's Lindsay Lee taking a 2-up lead to the 17th hole and securing the deciding ½ point for her team. Final Score: San Antonio 11, Austin, 9. As the memories from a historic conclusion in 2019 at Royal Melbourne slowly fade, the charitable mission of the Presidents Cup is still hard at work around the world. This time, the symbol of its impact was brought to life through fist pumps, high fives and plenty of smiles.

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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 Glen Abbey. Round 2 tee times Round 2 leaderboard HOW TO WATCH PGA TOUR LIVE: Featured Groups – (7 a.m. – 3 p.m. ET), Featured Holes – (3 p.m. – 6 p.m. ET) Telecast: Golf Channel (3 p.m. – 6 p.m. ET) Listen: SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, (Noon – 6 p.m. ET) NOTABLE PAIRINGS Adam Hadwin, Nick Taylor, Grayson Murray 8 a.m. ET off the 10th tee Dustin Johnson, Jim Furyk, Jhonattan Vegas 8:10 a.m. off the 10th tee Smylie Kaufman, Brian Gay, Stewart Cink 1:05 a.m. off the 10th tee Bubba Watson, Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar 1:25 p.m. ET off the 1st tee

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Though it may have seemed uncertain months ago, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson could both be at this year’s Ryder Cup. Woods’ car accident in February and Mickelson’s poor play made uncertain their status for this year’s edition of the biennial matches between the United States and Europe, which will be held Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. Mickelson won last week’s PGA Championship, however, and Woods appears to be making progress in his recovery. He was recently photographed in public, appearing on the Instagram feed of a young cancer patient who met Woods at a soccer game. Woods was out of the walking boot he wore in last month’s Instagram post, but he was on crutches and his right leg, which received the worst of the injuries from his February crash, was covered in a compression sock. Woods’ return to play remains uncertain but he has shown a passion for serving at team events in any capacity. That’s true of this year’s Ryder Cup, as well. “He’s all in with us,” U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker said this week. “He’s all in to help us in any capacity that he can. We’re not sure health-wise where he will be at at that point, but he’s all in. That’s the kind of guy he is. What he means to the players is a great deal and what he can bring to the team is insurmountable, too. Hopefully we can have him be a part of it in some shape or form.” Woods first served as a vice captain at the 2016 Ryder Cup, bringing the same competitiveness to his captaincies as he has shown on the course throughout his career. He also was a vice captain under Stricker at the 2017 Presidents Cup before performing admirably as a playing captain in the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne. The United States won all three events. “I’d love to have him there,” Stricker said at last week’s PGA Championship. “Who wouldn’t, right? The guys really respect him and he did a great job obviously as a captain, but he was an assistant captain of mine in 2017 of the Presidents Cup and he was unbelievable. He would do anything for you and he’s totally, totally vested in the situation and the process and almost to the point of he’s on it early and so much, it’s like, dude, we’ve still got months to go yet.” After winning the PGA, Mickelson moved from 52nd to 16th on the U.S. points list. He’s still 10 spots outside of automatic qualification but certainly on Stricker’s short list for one of the six captain’s picks. “There was a reason why he was 52nd, right? He wasn’t playing all that great. Well, now there’s a reason why he’s 16th, because he had one great tournament,” Stricker said. “But now I need to see what he’s going to do from this point forward. We still have a lot of play left. I’m rooting for him. He’s a great team player. He’s great in the locker rooms. He’s a great partner. So I’d love to see him continue what he did this last week and keep climbing that point list because I think he’s a huge benefit for our team. Bottom line, I think he does us a lot of good.” Mickelson’s popularity and his victory in the PGA of America’s flagship event will make him a strong candidate. The PGA of America also runs the Ryder Cup. Mickelson’s candidacy is also bolstered by the similarities to Kiawah Island and Whistling Straits. “I told people last week before the PGA started that I was going to watch who plays well there because it’s a Pete Dye course on a body of water and the wind blows,” Stricker said. “There’s a lot of similarities to whistling straits. That’s a feather in his cap if (Phil) needs a pick.” John Daly in 1991 was the last American to win the PGA Championship but fail to qualify for that year’s Ryder Cup (Rich Beem won the 2002 PGA but did not play in that year’s Ryder Cup, which was delayed by 9/11, because the rosters were frozen from 2001). Mickelson’s role should he not make the team remains uncertain. The 2019 Presidents Cup was the first team event since the 1993 Ryder Cup where Mickelson wasn’t on the U.S. roster. Could this year mark Mickelson’s debut as a vice captain, a role that would prepare him for future Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup captains? It remains to be seen, but the possibility of both Woods and Mickelson at the Ryder Cup, in any capacity, is good news.

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