Davidson plays amid LPGA trans policy dispute

The course setup for this week's The American Express was the purpose of the phone call, but there was one topic Jeff Haley wanted to discuss first. "As soon as we get on the phone, he starts talking to me about his backswing," said Steve Rintoul, the PGA TOUR's senior tournament director, with a laugh. "I said, ‘Let's hit a few balls when you get out here (to California).'" Haley loved golf and he loved his job as an agronomist for the PGA TOUR, a position he held for more than three decades. He passed away Jan. 9, a day after that conversation with Rintoul. He was just 58 years old. "The fact that he's not going to be here, it's devastating," Rintoul said. Rintoul recalls their final conversation fondly because it illustrates his friend's passion for the game and for his craft. While they were talking, Rintoul could tell from the noise in the background that Haley was in the middle of another activity. What was he doing? Fixing the irrigation system for his neighborhood association. "As an agronomist, you would think that's the last thing he wants to do when he gets home," Rintoul said. "But that's the kind of guy he was. He just did it. "He was a gentle giant, very affable, very mild-mannered. More than anything, he was a really good friend." Haley was just the third agronomist ever hired by the PGA TOUR. His peers remember him for his grace and kindness, as someone who was eager to solve problems instead of casting blame. He is survived by his parents, wife Lisa and daughter Marena, son Jason and daughter-in-law Crystal Collins, grandchildren Lexie, Alyssa, Alera, mother-in-law Rosie Dolinski, brother Rob, Marty, Trent and Meredith Haley and many loving aunts, uncles, and cousins. "He was a good man. He didn't speak a lot, but when he did you listened," said three-time TOUR winner Johnson Wagner, a fellow Virginia Tech alum. A standout athlete in high school, Haley was offered college scholarships in both football and golf. He accepted a golf scholarship to Virginia Tech, where he played all four years. It was at Virginia Tech that he found his passion, earning a bachelor's of science degree in agronomy. Shortly after graduating in 1985, he accepted a job as superintendent at TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Florida, which was then the venue for The Honda Classic. In 1989, he became one of the first members of the PGA TOUR's Agronomy department. Fellow TOUR agronomist Bland Cooper called him the agronomy department's "rudder" who was quick to put things in perspective. Haley's focus was on helping others, not talking about himself. Cooper, who'd worked with Haley for more than a decade, said he only recently learned that Haley had been offered a football scholarship. "Jeff was always the person I called when I was struggling with something," Cooper said. "He could help you quickly bring things back into focus. It's easy for superintendents to beat themselves up if a course isn't where you want it to be. He would always say, ‘We'll get through this.'" Mark Dusbabek, who played in the NFL before becoming a TOUR rules official, said Haley loved talking football, but they also shared a special bond as the fathers of daughters. "He never wanted the spotlight but you could always count on him to have his job done and be very detail-oriented," Dusbabek said. The American Express, which is being played this week at PGA West, the Wells Fargo Championship and TOUR Championship were among the events Haley set up for several years. "From the beginning of this tournament, we were fortunate to have the best people from the PGA TOUR to guide and assist us," said Johnny Harris, president of Quail Hollow Club, the venue for the Wells Fargo Championship. "Jeff made everything he touched better." That wasn't just true of golf courses. His peers praised his gentle, caring spirit. "If you didn't enjoy working with Jeff Haley, you didn't enjoy what you were doing professionally," Cooper said. "He made it very enjoyable for everyone. "Jeff always had a way to keep it in perspective. He never pointed the finger at anybody and at times he took the blame to protect a superintendent. He was the consummate professional."

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When Agustin Piza was a kid growing up in Tijuana, Mexico, golf was just one of the many sports he learned to play. “It never really caught my attention,” Piza says. “I preferred to play football, basketball, tennis — whatever I could sweat and bump into somebody and get all muddy from the experience and everything. So, I was just being a kid out there. “Golf never did it for me at that time. After he graduated from college with a degree in architecture and a desire to work in the sports arena, though, Piza decided it was time to give the game another try. He grabbed his old clubs and started to practice only to find his swing had deserted him. “Then I was mature enough … to now stop and listen to the birds, listen to nature, enjoy the experience,” Piza says. “And of course, by then, since I lost my swing, I was like, holy moly, this is difficult. “I’m like, whoa, wow. I thought this was easy. … Wait a minute. So, it taught me all these lessons in one afternoon, and I just got hooked.” Piza has gone on to become a highly respected golf course architect with a masters from the University of Edinburgh and more than 70 projects on three different continents on his resume. He counts himself lucky to have worked with Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio, to name a few. The decision to give back to the industry he loves was an easy one. First, Piza designed short course in Lima, Peru that serves 100 kids who might not otherwise have the chance to play the game. And seven years ago, he created Primer Swing to introduce youngsters to golf. Carlos Ortiz and Abraham Ancer, who each picked up their first PGA TOUR wins last year, and Esteban Toledo, the first Mexican to win on PGA TOUR Champions, were on hand to help launch the program. Among those on Primer Swing’s board of directors was Benjamin Salinas, a billionaire businessman who is the vice president of the board of Grupo Salinas and was instrumental in bringing PGA TOUR golf to Mexico. “And Mr. Benjamin Salinas spoke to me and said, ‘Hey, Agustin what do you think if we do it the other way around? What do you think if Primer Swing evolves to the First Tee of Mexico?’” Piza recalls. “Let’s do this together.” With Grupo Salinas as the primary sponsor, Salinas as the chairman and Piza as the director, First Tee — Mexico was launched in November 2017. It’s one of six international chapters in the First Tee network which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Less than four years after launching First Tee — Mexico, some 300 kids participate at the 10 chapters, including the newest, Lomas de Coyococ, at Club Lomas de Coyococ, Morelos, announced earlier this week. “There is a saying, and a very famous saying that if everybody played golf, the world would be a better place, and I truly believe that,” Piza says. “It gives us all these tools and skills to understand life, to live it in an 18-hole round. … “So, all of these lessons can translate into better human beings, better citizens of Mexico, better citizens of the world. And that is the objective.” Ortiz, who grew up playing with his parents and grandfather and a close-knit circle of friends, loves seeing how First Tee — Mexico is exposing the game to a wider audience of kids. “It’s great, especially in a country like Mexico, having golf accessible to everybody — all kinds of people, not depending on having a private club or if your parents come from money or not,” he says. “I think what they’ve done starting and taking it on, the Salinas family, it’s great to grow the sport because having these kids involving in sports and actually in a sport like golf, it’s huge. “Even though they end up becoming professionals or not, it’s always going to have an impact in, in their life.” One of the chapters is in Puerto Vallarta where the Mexico Open presented by Vidanta is being played this week. About 25 First Tee members were on hand to meet and take selfies with some of the PGA TOUR’s top players on Tuesday and attend a clinic presented by Ancer. “These children appreciate everything,” Piza says. “It’s arguably one of my favorite days of the year.” First Tee — Mexico offers a character building program created around core values and empowering youth to build inner strength, self-confidence, and resilience that they can carry to everything that they do.. But First Tee — Mexico has added a key pillar – empathy. “We thought that one was a very important pillar to have,” Piza says. “We think empathy is what’s lacking in this world nowadays.” In addition to the character building and teaching the kids how to play golf, First Tee — Mexico has a program built around the skills it takes to maintain a golf course — how to mow a green, how to rake a bunker, how to edge the bunkers, … and ultimately how to operate a golf course. “So, we’re teaching them not only the core values, not only the game, but also a set of skills so that they can, when they finish the program, they would hopefully push themselves and become part of this industry,” Piza says. “And with our context, somebody can give them a job or a part-time job, and they could hopefully pay for their studies and continue with their lives. “That’s what we want to achieve. That’s what we’re shooting for. We’re shooting for a chapter in every state of Mexico so that every corner of Mexico can have this opportunity of learning this fabulous game of life that has all of these and offers all of these indirect and direct advantages — sustainable advantages, the economic and the ecologic, and in the social aspect.”

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PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Paul Casey drove into Innisbrook and saw his picture on posters and programs, just what he needed to forget the cut he missed last week. He played Friday as though he wants those photos to stay here. Casey holed a 30-foot eagle putt on the 599-yard fifth hole and made short birdie putts on the other three par 5s on his way to a 5-under 66, giving him a share of the lead with Austin Cook among the early starters Friday in the Valspar Championship. No one has ever won back-to-back at the Valspar Championship since it became a PGA TOUR event in 2000. “I’ve never defended a professional event. I would love to do that,” Casey said. “Mentally last year I was hoping I would win, wanting to win. This year, knowing that I have won around here, I have a slightly different approach to it, and I played today quite aggressively and tried to take advantage of the golf course that I knew was going to get very, very tough this afternoon.” Casey and Cook, who shot a 67, were at 6-under 136. Scott Stallings (68) and Sungjae Im (67) were one shot behind, while Dustin Johnson overcame a rough patch early in his round with five birdies on the front nine to salvage a 69. Johnson was two shots behind on a Copperhead course he hasn’t seen in nine years. Joel Dahmen and Sepp Straka, who shared the 18-hole lead at 5 under, were among those playing in the afternoon. Casey last year ended eight years without winning on the PGA TOUR when he closed with a 65 and had to wait to see if Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed could catch him. It was the centerpiece of a resurgence for Casey, a 41-year-old from England who is back among the top 16 in the FedExCup standings.  He opened in the morning calm with a 10-foot birdie putt and did the rest of his damage on the par 5s. The eagle putt followed a blind shot over a hill on the longest hole at Innisbrook. He went bunker-to-bunker on his final hole at No. 9 and made bogey to slip into a tie with Cook. “Everybody is going to make bogeys. If you can just minimize those, it puts you in a good position,” Casey said. He spent the opening two rounds with Johnson, who had to maximize his birdies after his start. Johnson thought he might have had too much club on the par-3 13th and was stunned to learn that it had come up short enough to catch the slope and roll down toward the water, leading to double bogey. On the next hole, a par 5 where he had to lay up from the rough, Johnson had a 104-yard wedge for his third shot that traveled only about 50 yards. There was a reason for that. “As soon as he hit it, he said, `Just don’t go in a divot,'” said Austin Johnson, his brother and caddie. It found a divot. “It was big,” Johnson said, holding his hands about a foot part, which might have been a slight exaggeration. “I mean, it was long. It was deep. It wasn’t … I don’t think it was from a professional.” He managed to get that up-and-down by making a 5-footer to avoid losing another shot. Johnson started the front nine with four birdies in five holes, including one birdie putt from 35 feet on No. 3, and is back in the game. Gary Woodland also played with them and three-putted from 7 feet for double bogey on his last hole for a 71 that was almost certain to miss the cut. Woodland had the longest active cut streak on the PGA TOUR at 22, last going home on the weekend at THE PLAYERS Championship last May. On the other side of the course was 17-year-old Akshay Bhatia in his PGA TOUR debut. Playing on a sponsor exemption, he was at 3 under for the day and even par for the tournament through eight holes until a muffed chip and a missed putt led to double bogey at No. 9 that killed his momentum. Bhatia bogeyed his last two holes for a 72 and finished at 4-over 146 to miss the cut. He plans to turn pro later this year after the Walker Cup if he makes the team. The cheers he heard in some corners of Innisbrook were inspiring, especially behind the 12th green, where the rowdy fans chanted his first name to make it sound like the “Ole” cheer at the Ryder Cup. “It was sick. That was dope,” Bhatia said, adding that he hopes he can hear that at the Ryder Cup “in five, six years down the road.”

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