FedEx donates $100,000 to Heart to Heart International's COVID-19 relief efforts through Justin Thomas, Bud Cauley birdie challenge

Adam Scott had been a part of six International Teams without a victory in the Presidents Cup before he felt he just had to say something. Aside from the drawn effort in his debut in South African in 2003, they had all been losing teams. As a senior member of the playing force heading to Korea in 2015 Scott went to captain Nick Price with an idea, a request … it was almost an insistence. “We had to come together better as a group, earlier in the week,â€� Scott explains. “By the end of the tournament we always become the best of mates and want to go out and play it all over again. Unfortunately, we had already lost.â€� It is the stuff of legend that the International Team closing party is perhaps more fun than their winning American counterparts. Over the years, U.S. Team members have been known to slip out of their own celebrations and head over to the losing sides soiree. Realizing the connections that were forging should have been helping them play better earlier in the week, Scott went to Price and asked for the opening Monday of the week to have a greater purpose. A bonding session. If we want to beat an American team, who are always 12 unbelievably good players, you have to be all in and all playing for each other. And so, on that Monday in Korea the extended team of caddies and players and assistants and everyone involved got together in the evening. “I felt strongly about a few things and I said to Nick I think it is really important we have a fun evening when we get there on Monday. Don’t just say you’re free to go to bed – make people want to stay,â€� Scott recalls. “We had to make it fun. Let’s have some speeches, get a comedian, get a magician if you have to, do whatever it takes to get everyone jacked up about the week as a unit early.â€� The notion might seem trivial. Particularly if you’re American. But remember, the U.S. Team members play on the PGA TOUR together. They all see each other a lot and practice together. They usually team up in the Ryder Cup. They are already a solid unit playing under one flag. The International Team is made up of multiple countries and cultures. Some, like Australia and South Africa (who make up the clear majority of the International Team most years) are arch enemies on the sporting fields in popular sports like rugby and cricket. It is not natural to come together without some effort. Then, of course, the Asian and South American countries have different cultures as well and sometimes there is a language barrier. It can be easy to leave someone feeling like they’re on the outside … not quite part of the inner circle. “Sometimes too much is made of the golf side of things, the statistics and the foursomes and the pairings and all that,â€� former player and now assistant captain Geoff Ogilvy says. “I just think that team feel ‑‑ do you want to win for your teammates more than the other team want to win for their teammates – that’s the key. “It’s the guys that come together best as a team that usually thrive, and that’s a harder deal for the internationals, so that’s really the big challenge for us.â€� Perhaps Europe’s Ryder Cup squads are the model. The bond in some of those sides has appeared beyond unbreakable. You can see the cohesiveness and togetherness. On paper, they looked like they were going to lose every time, but when it came down to playing, it just looked like there was something extra there. “It’s like, wow, the whole is greater than the combined pieces,â€� Ogilvy adds. Scott says a big reason why the core of the team campaigned to have Price back for a third time as captain as he did create the best team vibe they’ve had in recent times. And they are confident they can build further on it. “Nick had done a great job getting guys individually excited to be there but once we were all in the room, we had to solidify the team passion,â€� Scott continues. “We may not have quite locked the doors but the entire extended unit certainly bonded that night and it was a great way to start the week. “It was really evident after the last few cups before that how tight knit we were across the entire team, not just the players. “If we want to beat an American team, who are always 12 unbelievably good players, you have to be all in and all playing for each other.â€� Of course, history shows the International Team still lost the Presidents Cup in 2015 but this time it was just by a single point. They were perhaps a Sang-moon Bae flubbed chip away from a historic win on Sunday. Quite an improvement considering they’d lost by three or more points in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. And so the bonding session will once again be implemented at Liberty National in New Jersey later this year. Potential rookies like PLAYERS Championship winner Si Woo Kim, Emiliano Grillo, Hideto Tanihara, Adam Hadwin, Byeong Hun An, Yuta Ikeda or Cameron Smith will be immediately welcomed into the fold. “I want everyone in here ready to go early. Getting the rookies and young guys familiar with how the whole week works because once the bell rings Thursday it just goes by in a flash,â€� Price confirmed while doing a reconnaissance mission with his assistant captains earlier this week. “We all know each other but we don’t really know each other. Younger guys know Ernie Els but they’ve never sat down and had lunch with Ernie, or with me for that matter, and there can be a little bit of intimidation – they don’t know where their place is. “So the whole idea is to make them feel they have a place, they’ve earned their place here and that they are part of this group that is made up of the players, the caddies, the wives, the support staff – everyone. Even though you are out there on your own there are 50 people on the sideline pulling hard for you.â€�

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SATURDAY MORNING FOUR-BALLS Match 1: Rory McIlroy / Sergio Garcia, Europe, def. Brooks Koepka / Tony Finau, USA, 2 and 1 Holes won: Europe 6, USA 4 Holes led: Europe 15 USA 0 Recap: The real Rory McIlroy turned up on Saturday morning and with the help of a solid Sergio Garcia the Europeans controlled this match until a brief late fightback from the U.S. A McIlroy birdie on the third hole kick-started the theme of the morning as the home side surged to 4-up through eight holes. The Americans tried to make a run at them late and reinvigorated feelings from their Friday comeback win when they claimed the 14th, 15th and 16th holes to pull within a hole. But two huge putts on the 17th green, the first a long par putt from McIlroy to free up his partners birdie attempt, the second Garcia’s long dagger to secure the win. McIlroy, who had zero birdies in the Four-ball session Friday, posted five of them Saturday. Quotes: “It was amazing. I think we played great all day. Obviously they started coming hard at us the last few holes, a couple little mistakes here and there, but we knew that we just had to keep giving ourselves chances and the way we’re playing … it was great for him to make that, gave me a little more freedom and great to roll it in.â€� – Sergio Garcia “Four up, five to play, you’re thinking win the 14th and get this thing over and done with, and then to be going up 17, it’s not what you want, but we tried to just make the best of the situation and Sergio was so clutch. It’s great. The fire and the passion that he has, it’s infectious, and it rubs off on me pretty well.â€� – Rory McIlroy Match 2: Paul Casey / Tyrrell Hatton, Europe, def. Dustin Johnson / Rickie Fowler, USA, 3 and 2 Holes won: Europe 5, USA 2 Holes led: Europe 14 USA 0 Recap: Paul Casey opened the match with scorching form with five birdies in the opening six holes helping set up a 2-up lead. By the turn the European duo was 3-up and while Johnson found some form on the back nine his three birdies on the back side were not enough to handle the home side. Combined Hatton and Casey were 9 under and just refused to let the Americans breathe. Quotes: “It’s been 10 years. Desperately wanted to be back on this team because I know how good it is. I mean, all these guys are amazing, and you know, once you’re a Ryder Cupper, you’re always a Ryder Cupper. I can’t tell you how good I feel – you just don’t want to make the team, you want to contribute.â€� – Paul Casey “It’s amazing. I’m at a loss for words. It’s such a special moment. Obviously to be here is an honor and then to win a point for the team is very special. Obviously playing alongside Paul, he’s a Ryder Cup legend. What a player he is. It was the Casey Express train the front nine. I was just trying to help out when I could.â€� – Tyrrell Hatton Match 3: Francesco Molinari / Tommy Fleetwood, Europe def. Tiger Woods / Patrick Reed, USA, 4 and 3 Holes won: Europe 6, USA 2 Holes led: Europe 13, USA 0 Recap: Europe’s hottest team continued to roll, beating Woods/Reed for the second time in Four-balls and moving to 3-0-0 for the week. The decisive stretch came early in the back nine when Molinari won three consecutive holes with birdies after Woods had squared the match with a birdie on the 10th hole. Molinari answered by knocking his tee shot at the par-3 11th to within 5 feet, then practically sprinted toward the green as the momentum turned. He continued to stripe his irons to gain control of the match. Woods was solid but had little help from Reed, who struggled off the tee. He nearly found the hospitality tents at the seventh and he hit into the gallery at the 11th. The only two holes the U.S. won during the match were from Woods’ birdies at the seventh (from 30 feet) and 10th (from 8 feet). With Woods and Reed both finding trouble at the 15th, Fleetwood closed out the match with a par. Quotes: “Today we were solid, and just started riding that wave again on the back nine when Fran started playing great, and I just kind of stood by his side and tried to hit decent golf shots and stay in the hole and let him go free.â€� – Tommy Fleetwood “We were ready this morning. I think any time we had to step it up today, we did, either one of us.â€� – Francesco Molinari

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SILVIS, Ill. – You cry all the tears and put your life on hold. You hug your loved ones and look for ballast anywhere you can find it. You prepare, but are never really ready. And then, when it’s over, you begin to step back into your old life, unsteady but resolute. “Kandi just wanted to return to something normal,� Hunter Mahan said of his wife, whose sister, Katie Enloe, died of leukemia last week. “You’re never going to forget, but you’ve just got to wake up the next day, and God willing you will wake up the next day and start living.� Mahan returned to competition with a 1-under 70 in the first round of the John Deere Classic on Thursday. He is here in the Quad Cities with Kandi; their three children; Mahan’s mother, Cindy; and Kandi and Katie’s mom, Debbie. They’ve rented a house for the week and are trying to get back to normal, whatever that might be now. “We’ve heard the first year is the hardest with birthdays and holidays,� said Mahan, who has played the Web.com Tour and the PGA TOUR this season. “It’ll be a hard year. I have bad moments, and Debbie—a mother losing her kid is pretty heartbreaking.� For six-time TOUR winner Mahan, 36, getting back to normal looks like golf. On a muggy Thursday at TPC Deere Run, he drove his ball into an old divot hole in the 18th fairway, but after assessing the situation he hit his approach to just inside eight feet and made the birdie. After signing his scorecard, Mahan obliged a few autograph seekers and indulged a reporter. The orange “KJE� on his white golf bag was a reminder of his last few months. Katie Jo Enloe was 35, and in addition to her husband, Jason Enloe, the former Web.com Tour player and now SMU men’s golf coach, she left behind two daughters, Emma, 5, and Maddie, 3. “My girls, my family are devastated right now but believe in the good Lord that he will provide us all with peace and happiness in the future,� Jason Enloe wrote on Instagram. “I sincerely have appreciated the notes, phone calls and generous gestures during the last 6 months. God has a plan, and we must trust in him that Katie is in heaven and will guide all of us as we continue our journey on Earth.� Katie was diagnosed in January, and late last month left the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to be surrounded by her family at home in Dallas. Mahan withdrew from the Quicken Loans National, where Meagan Laird, wife of PGA TOUR pro Martin, organized an orange-ribbon campaign for leukemia awareness in Katie’s honor. The campaign galvanized the players, one of whom was Ryan Armour, one of Jason’s best friends from the Web.com Tour, who would finish second to Francesco Molinari. Instead of worrying about the Quicken and the topography of TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, Mahan was miles away both literally and figuratively, huddled up with his family. He had planned on playing A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, too, but couldn’t see how. The situation at his mother-in-law’s house back in Dallas was too dire. “We just stayed at Debbie’s house, and just bunked up on the floors and were with her,� Mahan said. “I would come home and take care of the kids, my mom would take care of the kids.� At the end, the call came at 4 a.m., and Hunter stayed home with the kids while Kandi rushed to her mother’s house. Katie died before Kandi got there. The funeral was last Friday. Now much of the family are here at the John Deere, thinking about Katie, yes, but also birdies and bogeys, Hunter’s FedExCup number (161), and other odd things from their old life. “My wife was ready to get out here,� Mahan said. “She hadn’t traveled in a long time. And it’s good for Debbie to get out here with us, get out of her house, which have bad memories for her right now. Good time for her to just start her process, whatever that is. Hard to imagine, but to be with her daughter and a couple of her grandkids is about as good a therapy as you can get. “Kind of the new reality for our family,� Mahan added. “It’s nice to be out here, but also you’re still sad and emotional about everything that’s happened. That won’t go away for a long time.�

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