Draws and Fades: Rocket Mortgage Classic

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HONOLULU – Presidents Cup star Marc Leishman has, on behalf of International Team Captain Ernie Els and his other International team members and assistant captains, revealed a $125,000 donation from their 2019 Presidents Cup charitable funds to the relief efforts of the Australian bushfires. The announcement came from the four-time PGA TOUR winning Australian after his third round at the Sony Open in Hawaii and adds to the fundraising efforts he, and fellow players in the field at Waialae Country Club had already committed. “I want to thank the rest of the International Team for their contributions to the cause and I know all of Australia – and particularly the victims – will be very grateful,â€� Leishman said. “These bushfires are an ongoing crisis that continues to cut a devastating path right across Australia so support from the global community is crucial. It has been heartening to see the resiliency of the Australian people and to see the firefighters and volunteers from around the world coming together to continue this important fight. “But the scale of the destruction is huge and it will continue to take a team effort from every corner of the globe as we look to the future. The fires are expected to burn through the Australian summer and coming months and the families who lost loved ones, homes and priceless memories will feel the effects for years to come. So too will our unique wildlife so all support is greatly appreciated.â€� Leishman and fellow Australian and International Team member Cameron Smith plus TOUR players Matt Jones, Cameron Davis, Rhein Gibson, Cameron Percy and Parker McLachlin had already announced they would donate funds for every birdie and eagle they record in the tournament. The Presidents Cup and PGA TOUR vowed to match all player donations from the Sony Open up to $125,000 as well. Through two rounds the players had combined for over $14,000 worth of birdies. With the TOUR’s match plus further additions from Leishman’s Begin Again Foundation the number stood over $35,000 with two rounds to go. The new additional and significant donation comes as a team effort from the International squad that narrowly lost 16-14 last month when the biennial team event was played at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia. “The International Team was made to feel at home and felt tremendous support and hospitality from the great people of Australia. Our players came together to pitch in to help the efforts of these tragic fires, the brave men and women in harm’s way and those impacted by the devastation,â€� Els said. “We hope that our donation can not only have an impact in Australia but will also encourage others to do what they can to help.â€� To date, more than 10 million hectares (over 38,610 square miles) have been burned across Australia’s six states – an area about the size of Leishman’s adopted American state of Virginia. For comparison, the 2019 Amazon rainforest fires burned more than 7 million hectares while California’s wildfires combined to burn just over 100,000 hectares in 2019 and 404,000 hectares in 2018. Multiple fires are still raging. There have been at least 27 lives lost and destruction of homes is in the thousands. The unique wildlife of the country has also taken a cataclysmic hit with estimates of more than a billion animals being affected. There are fears some smaller species could face extinction or functional extinction – which is where the species declines to a point where they no longer play a significant role in their ecosystem. International Team veteran Adam Scott has also called on others to join the relief efforts if they can. “The outpouring of support from across the globe has been incredible, but there is still so much that needs to be done,â€� the Australian 13-time TOUR winner said. “Thank you to this team for giving back to a place that is near to my heart and has done so much to support the Presidents Cup and the game. Fires are expected to burn to March so please help out by donating at any point when you can.â€� Leishman and his fellow Sony Open players trying to raise funds continue to implore others in the field to join the efforts to ensure the full $125,000 match from the Presidents Cup and PGA TOUR is reached.

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Rory McIlroy – needing a win at Augusta National to complete the career Grand Slam — plays well late in the season, and therefore will benefit from a rescheduled Masters. RELATED: What to know about a November Masters | Roundtable: Most emotional Masters | All-time Masters Power Rankings That was the logic Jack Nicklaus used when he recently told the Golf Channel the new November date could benefit the two-time FedExCup champion. After all, it was only last November when McIlroy beat Xander Schauffele in a playoff at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. McIlroy’s late-season theatrics also include winning two FedExCups, two PGA Championships, and two (European Tour) DP World Tour Championships in Dubai. All of those accomplishments came in golf’s late, August-through-November stretch. And now the Masters is set for Nov. 12-15 in the revised golf calendar announced earlier this week. A win that week by McIlroy would make him the sixth player to achieve the career Grand Slam, although theoretically Jordan Spieth (PGA Championship, now Aug. 6-9) or Phil Mickelson (U.S. Open, now Sept. 18-21) could beat him to the punch. (Mickelson, by the way, is not yet qualified for the U.S. Open.) In a sense, trying to predict how McIlroy might fare at a November Masters is a fool’s errand. For one thing, the coronavirus pandemic may or may not allow for the tournament, and others, to come off at all. For another, the top-ranked player in the world is by definition best equipped to adapt to any change – be it a new date or some other twist. Oh, also: It’s not like McIlroy needs to change his fortunes all that much to win the Masters. He has finished in the top 10 there in five of his last six starts. That the course suits him has been obvious since he led by four shots through 54 holes in 2011, only to fall apart on the back nine on the way to a final-round 80. As he said last year about Augusta National, “If I haven’t figured it out by now, there’s something wrong.â€� Had the Masters been held as originally scheduled this week, McIlroy surely would’ve been a a big favorite. Not just because of his track record and obvious motivation, but also his recent form – seven consecutive worldwide top-5 finishes, including all four of his PGA TOUR starts in the 2020 calendar year that has left him currently No. 3 in the FedExCup standings. In fact, going back to his last 14 worldwide starts, he has two TOUR wins and 10 other top-10 finishes. He seemed to be peaking at the perfect time. Now he’ll need to peak again in six months. Asked on a Golf Channel media conference call Thursday what they thought of Nicklaus’ assessment, analysts Notah Begay III, Brandel Chamblee and Justin Leonard did not disagree, but gave their own reasons why November might suit McIlroy just fine, or better than that. “I’ve never been to Augusta in November, but my guess is that the golf course could play a little bit softer,â€� Leonard said. “… We know how well Rory McIlroy plays in kind of softer conditions.â€� (McIlroy cruised to his first major title, the 2011 U.S. Open, on a wet, soft course at Congressional and has since dominated on other wet, soft venues, particularly at the PGA.) Added Chamblee, “My friends who have played there in November tell me the golf course plays quite long.â€� (McIlroy was second in driving distance and sixth in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee when the season was suspended after round one of THE PLAYERS Championship last month.) “I can’t imagine any scenario that doesn’t favor Rory,â€� Chamblee added. Leonard and Chamblee also noted McIlroy’s remarkable consistency (a TOUR-leading 14 top-10s, with three wins, last season), and his ability to put together long stretches of greatness. That could bode well for him in a late summer and fall that could be chock full of big events. Begay seconded that and added another factor that might help McIlroy: No longer the season’s first major, the Masters – if the reconfigured schedule goes according to plan – would be the last. “So that might change a little bit of the mind-set,â€� Begay said. “That might change a little bit of the approach. He might have already won one by then.â€� Not only would McIlroy be coming in hot, he would be coming to a Masters for which the golf world would not be converging with quite the usual amount of pent-up anticipation. “So it actually could benefit him in a couple of ways from a mental standpoint,â€� Begay said. Added the Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner, moderating the discussion: “Just to put a button on this Rory conversation: 27 pro wins combined, European Tour and PGA TOUR, seven of those wins have come in the month of September or beyond, and deep into November.â€� Add it all up and a Masters in November might leave McIlroy with a very warm feeling, indeed.

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