Garcia alters course, wants to stay on Euro tour

As Quail Hollow Club gears up for the Presidents Cup this fall, TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm has stepped in to host the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship. If the latter course rings a bell, that’s because this staple of Washington, D.C. area golf has seen plenty of PGA TOUR action. It’s going to play long. It’s going to play thick. And if we’re lucky – really lucky – maybe we’ll see a repeat of one of history’s most mind-boggling feats. 1. HISTORY LESSON The Wells Fargo Championship has looked not to a rookie, but to a proven TOUR venue to host this year’s tournament. While TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm spent the last three years off the TOUR schedule, it was a stalwart for much of the previous three decades. In 1987, the Kemper Open (later known as the Booz Allen Classic) moved to TPC Potomac after seven years at Congressional Country Club down the road in Bethesda. The tournament would stay at TPC Potomac through 2006, with the exception of 2005, when it made a one-year return to Congressional while TPC Potomac underwent renovations. In 2007, the Quicken Loans National, hosted by Tiger Woods and the TGR Foundation, replaced the Booz Allen in the Washington D.C. area and set up shop at Congressional. The tournament would shift to a variety of locations, including two stops at TPC Potomac in 2017 and 2018. The course also hosted the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship in 2010 and the Korn Ferry Tour’s Mid-Atlantic Championship in 2012 and 2013. In the Booz Allen Classic era the winners at TPC Potomac included Tom Kite, Lee Janzen, Steve Stricker, Justin Leonard, Rich Beem, Rory Sabbatini and Adam Scott. In the Quicken Loans era, Kyle Stanley knocked off Charles Howell III in a 2017 playoff, and Francesco Molinari shot a final-round 62 and cruised to an eight-stroke victory, his maiden PGA TOUR title, in 2018. Woods handed Molinari the trophy that day, and it was a sign of things to come. Three weeks later, Molinari won The Open Championship in the same group as Woods at Carnoustie. Two months after that, Molinari beat Woods three times at the Ryder Cup. Six months later, Tiger got some revenge at Augusta, winning the 2019 Masters. 2. A NEW LOOK Rory Sabbatini and Adam Scott are part of the bridge from the old TPC Potomac to the new TPC Potomac. The 2003 and 2004 Booz Allen Classic champions, respectively, will play a different track in their 40s than they did in their 20s. After the competition left TPC Potomac, then called TPC Avenel, in 2006, a sweeping renovation of the course modernized the layout. The Rock Run Stream Valley, one of the main tributaries of the Potomac River, had become badly eroded by the end of the Booz Allen tenure and caused frequent flooding. As part of the renovation, 5,000 linear feet of the mainstream and 2,250 linear feet of eroding stream banks were restored, enhancing the presence of water on the course while leading the way to a new, modern irrigation system. The renovation also brought the addition of 15 acres of trees, the restructuring of the course to a 7,124-yard par 70, and a re-building of bunkers to their intended Mid-Atlantic style, while adding some Scottish-themed traps. Greens, tees and fairways were rebuilt with Bentgrass. The 2006-08 renovation also dramatically altered the middle of the course. The par-5 sixth hole was turned into a long par 4. The par-3 ninth hole was rebuilt, while the 10th and 11th holes were combined into a par-5 10th hole playing around the restored creek. The 12th hole became the 11th hole, and the par-5 13th hole was split into a par-3 12th hole and short par-4 13th. TPC Avenel was now TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. This name was intended to pay tribute to the history of Avenel Farm, once Maryland’s largest short-horned cattle farm, while also ushering in a new era for the PGA TOUR’s TPC Network venue. 3. ARNIE’S ACES TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm made its 1986 debut by way of a couple of legends. It served as the first site of the Chrysler Cup, a senior team event featuring a U.S. squad captained by Arnold Palmer and an international roster captained by Gary Player. This would serve as a precursor to the Booz Allen Classic’s arrival in 1987. On the Tuesday before the event, Palmer, one week before his 57th birthday, was playing a practice round when he hit a 5-iron on the 182-yard par-3 3rd hole and watched the ball land and roll right into the cup – the first hole-in-one at one of golf’s newest competitive tracks. The next day, on the same hole, with the same club, Palmer hit another beautiful iron shot at the pin. “Don’t go in the hole again,” he yelled. “Don’t do that!” It did. Palmer’s amazing two-fer marked his 12th and 13th career aces, and a commemorative plaque was promptly installed on the third tee. He would credit his hole-in-one theatrics as important for publicizing the Chrysler Cup in its first year. A TV camera had caught the Wednesday (second) hole-in-one, and while the world was still 20 years from Twitter, local TV news would pick up the clip while newspaper writers worldwide gushed about the unlikely feat. 4. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE By the final years of the Booz Allen, TOUR pros had figured out TPC Potomac. Adam Scott won with a 21-under total in 2004. Ben Curtis followed with a 20-under score to win in 2006. But after the renovation, scores cooled off. Mark O’Meara shot 7 under to win the 2010 Senior PLAYERS at TPC Potomac. On the Korn Ferry Tour, David Lingmerth shot 8 under to win there in 2012, as did Michael Putnam in 2013. When the PGA TOUR returned in 2017, Kyle Stanley knocked off Charles Howell III in a playoff with both players finishing 72 holes at 7 under. Francesco Molinari was the exception to the rule, shooting a post-renovation record of 21 under to win here in 2018. But to be fair, runner-up Ryan Armour was all the way back at 13 under. And as history now shows, Molinari was about to play lights-out golf for the next few months. This Wells Fargo Championship probably won’t be a birdie-fest. The new TPC Potomac features more water hazards, more tree trouble, and more distance at a lower par. It’s no pushover. 5. A TOUGH 5 Most weeks on TOUR, the par 5s are players’ four best friends. At TPC Potomac, there are only two, and they’re beasts. The first, No. 2, is scheduled to play 641 yards this week, already making it a three-shot hole by distance. The tough decision on the second shot is not about taking aim at the green, but whether players feel comfortable carrying a dry gulch two-thirds of the way down the fairway. Around the green, a deep bunker awaits on the left side, hoping to gobble up any approach shots that miss left. Hit the bunker and par becomes an outstanding save. The par-5 10th hole, a combination of the old 10th and 11th holes, plays to 591 yards, and the greater challenge here is the angle. A slight dogleg left requires a player to hit a long enough tee shot down the right side of the fairway – away from the hole – to have an angle into the green. A narrow landing area short of the green and a sea of bushes, plus no shortage of thick rough short and left of the green, present all sorts of stress for the second shot. This explains much of the challenge at TPC Potomac. Without gettable par 5s, and two-putt birdies rare, birdies must come the old-fashioned way on the grounds of the old Avenel Farm.

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WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, West Virginia – The two sand-colored Humvees at the center of the circle stand in stark contrast to the well-manicured lawn and red, white and blue flowers that frame the grand entrance to the iconic Greenbrier Resort. The Black Hawk helicopter that touched down on the 18th green Tuesday afternoon was an anomaly, as well. Ditto for the four paratroopers who cascaded out of the skies with an giant American flag on Wednesday. Members of the military, any of whom get into the tournament for free this week, served as caddies during the pro-am. And a C-130 plane brought play to a brief standstill Wednesday as it flew over the mountains and buzzed the 18th green. While things may seem a little different here at a resort better known for its golf, horseback riding, falconry and even glass blowing, though, it’s with good reason. This is the week of A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. The eighth renewal of the PGA TOUR event has a new name and a new focus that reflects the history of the resort that has hosted 27 U.S. Presidents, including the incumbent, Donald Trump, on Tuesday night. With the tournament being played during the week of July 4th, the decision to honor the military was a no-brainer. “We’ve always tried to find some way to have that military tie-in and I think we just decided it was time to take it a step further and really show that commitment,� says Cam Huffman, director of communications for The Greenbrier. The family-friendly resort is always a popular stop for TOUR pros. But the week-long military presence has added another dimension for Bubba Watson and his brood, particularly his 6-year-old son Caleb who is one of many who have gotten up-close-and-personal with the Humvees this week. “My son says he’s going to be an Army man,� reports Watson, who has a summer home at The Greenbrier. “He has been sitting on those every day. They haven’t changed but he wants to see them every day.� Watson’s late father Gerry was a Green Beret who served during the Vietnam War and he’s always a staunch supporter of the military. So Watson, who has already won three times this season, would like nothing better than to add his fourth here this week. “It’s just one of those things that would mean a lot to my family, just to honor my late dad,� Watson said. “It would be a cool thing.  There are so many story lines and that would be cool for me to (win) it.� The military connection at The Greenbrier dates back to the Civil War. The Old White Hotel, which stood on the property before The Greenbrier was built, was actually used as a hospital for both Confederate and Union soldiers at one point or other during the Civil War. The Army even bought the hotel during World War II and used it as a hospital for the wounded. Known as the Ashford General Hospital from 1942-‘46, it was dubbed “The Shangri-La for Wounded Soldiers and Airmen� as service members were able to use all the facilities while they recovered. German POWs tended to the grounds and worked in the mess hall, among other duties. “The spa was still open. The golf was still open. It was more of a rehab thing for soldiers to participate in some of those activities while getting back to normal,� Huffman says. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was among the more than 24,000 military members treated at Ashford Hospital. He fell in love with the facility, and he and his wife, Mamie, even celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary at the Top Notch Cottage, which was built prior to the Civil War. General John W. Pershing completed his memoirs while staying in the same place. Eisenhower later decided that The Greenbrier would be the perfect place to build a secret facility to house Congress in case of a nuclear attack. So construction on what was called “Project Greek Island� began in 1958. Workers were told it would be a conference facility, and in fact, some of it was used for that purpose. Beyond those concrete walls that were 3 feet thick, though, was a facility that could house more than 1,000 government officials – complete with metal bunk beds and its own communications system. For 30 years, until it was “outed� in the Washington Post in 1992, The Bunker stood ready to serve. It was even stocked with enough food to last six months – just in case the worst happened. As something of an adjunct to The Bunker, the landing strip at nearby Lewisburg Airport had to be expanded so that it could accommodate the likes of Air Force One, as was the case on Tuesday night when President Trump arrived. Roads in and out of the town of 4,000 were shut down as the motorcade made the 20-minute trek to the resort and back again. “Actually, even when the President is not coming in, Air Force One does a lot of touch down practices at that airport, training exercises and stuff,� Huffman says. Trump spoke for roughly 30 minutes at a “Salute to Service� dinner for about 100 members of the military and pro-am participants. It was his fifth visit to West Virginia, whose governor, Jim Justice, is a close political ally and owns The Greenbrier. “We’ve had meetings for weeks to make sure everything is set and perfect,� Huffman says. “It’s kind of eye-opening to see everything that goes into it. They know every step he’s going to make when he’s here, exactly when and where he’s going to be, who’s going to be in his eyesight while he’s here. “So there’s a lot of planning that goes into it. But I think no matter what your political beliefs are, it’s all worth it to know that you have the President of the United States at your event.�

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Notes and observations from Thursday’s first round of the Wyndham Championship, where Matt Every shot a career-best, 9-under 61 to lead after the morning wave of the first round. North Carolina native Webb Simpson headed up a group of five players at 63, while 53-year-old University of North Carolina alumnus Davis Love III was among those at 64. For more coverage from Sedgefield Country Club, click here for the Daily Wrap-up. LOVE STILL A WYNDHAM WIZARD Davis Love III won the 2015 Wyndham Championship, becoming the third-oldest TOUR winner at 51 years, four months, 10 days of age, but he never got a chance to defend his title. That’s because the 21-time winner, who will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in September, was recovering from hip surgery at last year’s Wyndham. Now 53 and bidding to become the oldest winner ever on TOUR—Sam Snead was 52 when he won for the eighth time in Greensboro in 1965—Love hit all 18 greens in regulation on the way to an opening-round 64 on Thursday. “I like old style golf courses, traditional architecture,â€� Love said of Sedgefield C.C., a 1925 Donald Ross design. “This is certainly one of the best on TOUR. This one and Greenbrier are two of my favorite courses now on TOUR, and it’s not a bomber’s golf course. It’s one where you have to think your way around it, put in the right positions.â€� Love has three wins in Greensboro, and this week marks the 25th anniversary of his first, at nearby Forest Oaks. He’s won the PGA Championship and THE PLAYERS Championship, twice. He has played vital roles in Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup victories, and now his son Dru, who shot a 3-under 67 at Sedgefield on Thursday, sometimes plays in the same tournaments. But DL3, 209th in the FedExCup, just keeps on going through a torn labrum in his hip, through a broken collarbone (snowboarding) last winter. He played with Webb Simpson and Ryan Moore on Thursday, which couldn’t have been a better group, what with Simpson also getting hot, and Moore reminding Love that he’d gone low and won last time they played together here, in 2015. “I’d like to keep playing with him for a while,â€� Love said. SIMPSON’S CAREER REVIVAL CONTINUES Webb Simpson was another familiar face in the spotlight Thursday, what with Simpson having been born in Raleigh and currently residing in Charlotte, North Carolina. He also won the 2011 Wyndham, and named his third child Wyndham, for good measure. (No, the other three aren’t named Deutsche Bank Championship, Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, and U.S. Open.) Alas, it’s been a lean couple of years since Simpson’s fourth and most recent victory, at the 2014 Shriners Hospitals. Although he made the FedExCup playoffs the last two years, he didn’t win, and slogged through self-doubt. Now, though, Simpson, 32, is starting to look like his old self. Simpson lost a playoff to Hideki Matsuyama at the Waste Management Phoenix Open earlier this season, and is 37th in the FedExCup. On Thursday, he started on 10 and scorched the back nine with a 7-under 28; made two bogeys on the front; and ultimately signed for a 63. “I got a little excited thinking about—I’m not that far off from 59,â€� Simpson said. “But on the cart ride to the first tee I tried to kind of put it aside and get that ball in the fairway. Yeah, you don’t have many opportunities out here to do it. Today was certainly one of them.â€� One of many who had to revise his tactics on the green with the anchoring ban, Simpson took a tidy 25 putts Thursday after hitting nine of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens in regulation. He hasn’t missed a cut since the Wells Fargo Championship in May, and says he’s playing even better than he did during his near miss in Phoenix earlier this year. “I feel like I’ve been playing better for a longer period of time,â€� he said. “The game is more consistent.â€� He called his first nine holes, “the best start I’ve ever had to a tournament.â€� Another three days like this and he could be setting himself up to match his best year, too—at least in the FedExCup. He won twice and finished second in the season-long points race in 2011. “We’re obviously close to where I grew up,â€� Simpson said. (Raleigh is just over an hour from Greensboro, and Simpson attended nearby Wake Forest.) “I grew up playing courses similar to this that aren’t too long, hit different clubs off the tee, some doglegs. So, there’s a comfort here that I feel like I don’t have at a lot of places. I’ve always loved playing close to home.â€�

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