Former Ryder Cup player Alliss dies aged 89

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PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan wrote this letter to all employees and players this week and approved it for public distribution. This past weekend, I – like many of you, I’m sure – spent a lot of time trying to understand and process the civil unrest that has engulfed many cities across the United States, following the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The hardships and injustices that have and continue to impact the African-American community are painful to watch and difficult to comprehend. And as a citizen of this country and a leader of this organization, I must admit that I’m struggling with what my role should be. But I am not giving up. I’ve often heard that if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. What can I say? What should I do? I’m certain many of you are asking those same questions. In the midst of that confusion, as usually happens, the PGA TOUR family steps up to shine a light of perspective and compassion. First, I had several meaningful and emotional conversations this weekend with colleagues and friends in the African-American community, who – once again – showed me that sometimes listening and making a commitment to understand are the only things you can offer, and that’s OK. And I learned that two of our PGA TOUR YOU groups – CORE and HONOR — took it upon themselves to work over the weekend on a unified message … reminding all of us at the TOUR of our shared values, offering help for those who may need it and providing perspective on how to be there for each other as we navigate this incredibly complex and painful issue, together. What I was left with was this: make no mistake about it – someone you know and care about is hurting right now, even if they haven’t told you that directly (and, of course, our work-from-home, socially distant way of living right now is not helping the cause). And if anyone at the TOUR is hurting, we should all hurt. That’s how a family works. To that end, please also spend a few minutes on THIS ARTICLE that expresses an important and powerful viewpoint from the African-American community, not only in relation to the recent tragic headlines, but also the fear and sadness created by the inequality and racism that still presides in the 21st century. Too often we just move on when we are not directly influenced by the news of the day. Yes, we have all been impacted by the global pandemic, but we should also be painfully aware and impacted by the dividing lines in our country. We might not know exactly what to do right now, but we shouldn’t be deterred. We should communicate and learn. We should talk to our family, friends and colleagues in an open and compassionate way. We should grow as individuals and as an organization. And, most importantly, we should demand better. Jay Monahan

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SILVIS, Ill. — A lot happened while Morgan Hoffmann spent more than two years in the Costa Rican jungle, in search of his own holistic cure to the rare form of muscular dystrophy that threatened to end a once-promising career in professional golf. News of significant changes to the Rules of Golf didn’t reach him. Now back in the game, feeling good and eager to use his platform to share news of a new way back to health, Hoffmann is familiar with most of the major changes handed down by the United States Golf Association in 2019. Putting with the flagstick in the hole? Sensible enough. Legally grounding a club in a hazard? “Interesting,” he said with some skepticism. Taking a drop from knee-high? “Weird,” Hoffmann said. Until Thursday morning, however, Hoffmann was unaware that accidentally deflecting your own ball in the course of a shot no longer constitutes a one-shot penalty, per Rule 11.1. So when his hack at a ball plugged in a green side bunker at TPC Deere Run’s par-3 16th struck the lip, flew upward, then backward and bounced off the brim of his cap back into the sand, Hoffman assumed he was hitting 4 on his next shot. After nearly holing his next attempt, he was understandably happy to discover he’d tapped in to save bogey. “It makes sense that it’s not a penalty; I was happy it wasn’t,” he said after being so informed by playing partners Cameron Champ and Cam Davis. “It was an absurd lie and I was happy to get away with bogey.” Hoffman is playing in the John Deere Classic after receiving a sponsor’s exemption just two days earlier, when three-time Deere winner Steve Stricker withdrew. Replacing one of the Deere’s perennial favorites meant that Hoffmann also earned a spot in one of the featured groups on ESPN+, so every one of his shots was streamed on PGA TOUR LIVE. Hoffmann posted a 1-over opening round on Thursday and will have to rally Friday afternoon to make the cut. But he’s done that here before. In 2013, Hoffmann played his first 19 holes of the tournament in 4 over. “I played the next 17 holes in something crazy to make the cut,” he remembered. Hoffmann tied for 17th that year and shared third three years later. “Good memories to rally on this course,” he said. With a medical extension having expired at last week’s Travelers Championship and no additional PGA TOUR starts currently scheduled, Hoffmann will need a serious rally to find his way back to full TOUR status sometime soon. At worst, he’s exempt into the second stage of Q-School for having made a combined 100 cuts on the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour. Yet, having seemingly conquered his health challenge in unorthodox fashion in the wilds of Costa Rica, Hoffmann is content to take each day as it comes. “My perspective on life has changed so much,” he said. “lt’s just beautiful to be back out here.”

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