Finau is U.S. Ryder Cup team captain’s pick

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR announced an hour-long special titled “PGA TOUR 2018: Mr. Palmer’s Legacy presented by Mastercard� that will look at the remarkable legacy of golf’s greatest ambassador, Arnold Palmer. Produced by PGA TOUR Entertainment, “PGA TOUR 2018: Mr. Palmer’s Legacy presented by Mastercard� will explore Palmer’s greatest attributes, which led to his profound impact on the game, and how he has inspired players and tournaments on the PGA TOUR. The show will highlight five areas of Palmer’s life that helped create his legacy: International Icon: As a leading figure in the game of golf, his faithful “Arnie’s Army� reached all corners of the globe. Palmer’s impact on The Open Championship and passion for world travel even influenced countries where golf wasn’t at the forefront. Picking up the game late, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson’s passion was inspired by goals of winning The Open. His boyhood dream came to fruition in 2016 when he won the event and claimed the Claret Jug, a prized possession in the golf world thanks in part to Arnold Palmer. The Gentleman: It wasn’t just how Palmer played the game, it was also how he carried himself both on and off the golf course. In both victory and defeat, or simply by treating anyone he came across the right way, he epitomized what it means to be a true gentleman. Carrying out this aspect of Palmer’s legacy is four-time PGA TOUR winner Webb Simpson. A recipient of the Arnold Palmer Scholarship at Wake Forest, Simpson followed the example Palmer set and applied it to not only his golf career, but how he lives his life as well. The Underdog: While his swashbuckling style of play quickly made an impact in the golf world, Palmer’s blue-collar background and everyman personality portrayed him as the underdog and was something which resonated with nongolfers as well. Spain’s Jon Rahm comes from humble beginnings, yet he carries a similar energy and charisma, which has led to a rapid rise in the golf world in just his second season on TOUR. The Family Man: With all the success in his career, a family life was very important to Palmer. Whether it was spending time with his wife, children or grandchildren, making time for family was a priority. Palmer’s relationship with his grandson, Sam Saunders, was well documented later in his career as Sam was an aspiring golfer in the game. Now on the PGA TOUR, Saunders appreciates the lessons from his grandfather and remembers to honor his legacy, while making sure to forge his own path. The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard: Since its inaugural year in 1979, the Arnold Palmer Invitational quickly grew into a signature event on the PGA TOUR, thanks to Palmer’s passion for running his own event. The tournament continues to display Palmer’s qualities with a world-class experience for fans and players, but more importantly, through the event’s charitable efforts. Palmer’s philosophy for giving back serves as an inspiration for others to pursue both passion and purpose in their own lives, a sentiment that resonates with Mastercard’s Start Something Priceless movement which is set out to inspire people across their passions. Click here for preview of the special on PGATOUR.COM.

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NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — Adam Svensson had two eagles in a 10-under 62 to take a two-stroke lead Thursday in the PGA TOUR’s Barbasol Championship. Playing through temperatures in the 90s at Keene Trace, the Canadian eagled the par-5 15th and eighth holes. The first eagle came after his lone bogey on No. 14, and the second — on a 31-foot putt — gave him the lead. “I had a couple of top 25s the last few events and I’ve always had, not issues, but just kind of struggled a little with the putter,” said Svennson, whose best finish this season was a tie for seventh at the Sony Open in Hawaii. “I’ve been working more on putting than I have ball-striking, usually it’s the other way around for me. The extra work and extra time spending with putting has helped my game even more than just hitting balls.” Ricardo Gouveia of Portugal and Robin Roussel of France each shot 64. The Barbasol Championship is the DP World Tour’s first co-sanctioned event in the U.S. and features 50 players from the DP World Tour among 156 competitors. The winner will get the final spot next week in The Open Championship at St. Andrews. Gouveia is making his second PGA TOUR start. “It was a great round, really solid off the tee, hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, holed some good putts,” said Gouveia, who overcame a back issue that forced him to withdraw from the pro-am Wednesday. “Just a very solid round. Roussel eagled the par-5 11th in a bogey-free round that included six birdies. Trey Mullinax was at 65 with Matti Schmid, Camilo Villegas, Max McGreevy, Michael Kim, David Skinns, Mark Hubbard and Bo Van Pelt.

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