Golfer with Down Syndrome to make history

Former Presidents Cup International team member Graham DeLaet will undergo another procedure on his ailing back, keeping the Canadian Olympian away from the PGA TOUR for an undetermined amount of time. DeLaet, 39, announced on Twitter he would be undergoing a Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) procedure on his lower back. The goal of the procedure is to alleviate the chronic pain he has been dealing with for the past few years. "I am very hopeful that this will give me the day-to-day relief to enjoy more quality time with my family and friends," he said. "I am also hopeful it will enable me to put in the time needed to practice again and get back to the PGA TOUR. "It's definitely been a frustrating few years." The native of Weyburn, Saskatchewan (a town of about 10,000 people about an hour north of the U.S. border) has suffered a myriad of injuries over the last few seasons but was in the midst of returning to the TOUR via a Major Medical Exemption. DeLaet was a bright light for the International Team at the 2013 Presidents Cup - where he went 3-1-1 and delivered some final-hole dramatics alongside Jason Day and against Jordan Spieth - finished 8th in the FedExCup that same year, his career-high. He first earned his PGA TOUR card in 2010. DeLaet played five tournaments in 2019-20, making two cuts. He's since played five tournaments in 2021 but missed four cuts and withdrew from the Vivant Houston Open, citing his back as the culprit. "I've been through this now so many times over the past 10 years and all the warning signs were there for me to shut it down and take care of my body," said DeLaet at the time. DeLaet flashed some brilliance at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in 2020, shooting a second-round 64 - his lowest TOUR round since a matching 64 at the Travelers Championship in 2017. In that season he notched six top-10 finishes - but has been away from the TOUR for the better part of two years. He withdrew from THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in late October of 2018 and did not play the whole of 2019. DeLaet failed to get relief from a steam-cell treatment in December 2017 claiming at the time it "has not helped regenerate my L4-L5 disc and in fact has gotten worse since the procedure." The hirsute star ended up having an L4-L5 microdiscectomy surgery in 2018, his second such procedure after an earlier one in 2011. DeLaet was non-committal about a timeline to return to the TOUR. While he's been recovering DeLaet appeared on the Canadian broadcast of the Masters in November as an analyst and has become prolific with his barbecue on social media while placing focus on being an attentive father to his now 5-year-old twins Roscoe and Lyla.

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GUYANCOURT, France — Europe won six of the final seven matches in Sunday’s Singles to reclaim the Ryder Cup, beating the U.S. 17.5 to 10.5 in a dominating performance at Le Golf National. It’s the sixth consecutive Ryder Cup on home soil that Europe has won; the last time the U.S. has won in Europe is 1993. Francesco Molinari completed the best week ever by a European player, remaining undefeated as he beat Phil Mickelson 4 and 2. BEST MATCH Both Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy expected that their opening match in Singles would be a key one, setting the tone for the rest of the day. Certainly it was a tight one, with neither player going more than 2-up. And it was riveting, as the match reached the 18th hole. But as it turned it, it did not impact the outcome, as Thomas’ 1-up win was one of just four on the day for the Americans. Still, it had plenty of interesting moments, particularly at the final hole. With the match all square, Thomas found the fairway off the tee while McIlroy found a half-buried lie near the lip of the fairway bunker. He tried to punch out sideways to the fairway, but his ball dribbled back into the bunker. Then on his third shot, his ball came out low, clipped the lip, and ran into the water on the other side. Once Thomas safely found the green with his approach, McIlroy conceded the hole and the match. Don’t expect it to be the last time these two players face each other in a Ryder Cup match. BEST AMERICANS The U.S. had four winners on Sunday – Thomas, Webb Simpson, Tony Finau and Patrick Reed. Thomas had to knock off McIlroy and Simpson beat Justin Rose, the recent world No. 1. But the most impressive American performance was from Finau. The Ryder Cup rookie put together six birdies and won nine holes in a bogey-free round to throttle previously unbeaten Tommy Fleetwood 5 and 4 in the fifth match of the day. “I played incredible golf today. I was controlling the ball nicely and made some putts. It was a really hard time for Tommy to get in the match,â€� Finau said. BEST EUROPEANS The Europeans had seven winners on Sunday. Jon Rahm had the thrill of a lifetime, knocking off Tiger Woods 2 and 1. Ian Poulter remained undefeated in Ryder Cup singles, beating world No. 1 Dustin Johnson 2 up by winning four of the last six holes. But the most impressive performance was by Ryder Cup rookie Thorbjorn Olesen. He sat out both sessions on Saturday but had a key victory over Jordan Spieth in the seventh match, winning 5 and 4 in a match that was vital to slow the early U.S. momentum. Olesen made five birdies and never trailed for the last 11 holes to beat Spieth, who had won three points in the team session. “I played great on the front nine,â€� Olesen said. “Holed some really, really good putts and the crowd were mental. It’s been so much fun.â€� BEST STAT Sergio Garcia became the most successful Ryder Cup player in history with 25.5 points ahead of previous record holder Sir Nick Faldo (25). Jordan Spieth is now 0-3 in Ryder Cup singles and 0-3 in Presidents Cup singles. ROOKIE REVIEW USA Bryson DeChambeau (0-3-0) – Despite fighting all the way to the final hole well after the Ryder Cup had been decided and throwing a dart on 18 DeChambeau was left without a point after Alex Noren drained a huge putt for a 1-up win. Justin Thomas (4-1-0) – The MVP of the American team. Thomas was a rookie in name only as he showed he could be the man to build a team around for the next decade and some. Took down Rory McIlroy 1-up in the opening singles match. Tony Finau (2-1-0) – Justified his selection as a captain’s pick with two earned points … the only two earned from all four of team USA’s picks. Finau gave Tommy Fleetwood a 6 and 4 thrashing in singles which was pretty incredible after the first two days of dominance for the Englishman.  EUROPE Tommy Fleetwood (4-1-0) – A stud on debut in the Ryder Cup despite being hammered 6 and 4 by Tony Finau in singles. Prior to that he teamed with Francesco Molinari to become just the second pairing ever to go 4-0 in a single Ryder Cup and the first ever Europeans to do so. Takes the record for most points earned by a European rookie in Ryder Cup history. Alex Noren (2-1-0) – Put some impressive icing on the cake but making a long-range birdie putt on the 18th in the anchor match to win 1-up over Bryson DeChambeau. His accuracy was huge throughout the week. Tyrrell Hatton (1-2-0) – Was unable to keep Patrick Reed from securing a point – going down 3 and 2 in singles.  Thorbjorn Olesen (1-1-0) – After being benched all day Saturday Olesen showed he certainly wasn’t sulking as he made short work of Jordan Spieth in Sunday’s singles. Took care of Spieth 5 and 4 to ensure he added his first Ryder Cup point to his personal tally. Jon Rahm (1-2-0) – Provided one of the biggest highlights of his short career with a singles win over Tiger Woods. Rahm ensured every single European player contributed at least a point with a famous 2 and 1 win. 

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FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay birdied the final four holes Friday for a 4-under 67 and took a two-stroke lead over Robert Streb halfway through the RBC Heritage.

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