Harris English, Matt Kuchar take five-shot lead at QBE Shootout

Howell, Schniederjans tied atop John Deere

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IRVING, Texas –  Alan Edmondson first began collecting the autographs of every Masters winner on his golf cap 25 years ago. He wasn’t sure this year if he had the energy to chase after another one. Much easier, he thought to himself, to have a previous champion win again. But when pressed prior to this year’s Masters for the name he most wanted to add to his cap, Edmondson had one response. Sergio Garcia. “Honest truth,” Edmondson said. Last month, Sergio did his part by winning at Augusta National. And on Tuesday at the AT&T Byron Nelson, Edmondson – a Dallas resident since 1980 – collected his signature, as Garcia added his name to a unique piece of memorabilia steeped in golf history. Garcia became the latest to sign Edmondson’s cap, putting his name right next to his mentor and idol, fellow Spaniard Seve Ballesteros. “It’s an honor to be on that hat,” Garcia said. Garcia became the 43rd Masters winner to sign the cap. There have been 51 different winners. When Edmondson began his quest in 1992, six had already died – Horton Smith, Henry Picard, Ralph Guldahl, Jimmy Demaret, Craig Wood and Claude Harmon. Two others, Ben Hogan and Cary Middlecoff, were too ill to sign. “Hogan was my biggest regret because he lived closed by in Fort Worth,” Edmondson said. Since then, 10 of the Masters champs that signed the cap have died, the latest being Arnold Palmer. That what makes the cap so unique. No fan can hope to duplicate what Edmondson has already acquired. It actually began by a chance meeting and an unexpected inquiry. At the 1992 Masters, one of Edmondson’s friends was in attendance and bought the cap. He gave it to Edmondson as a souvenir. That next month, Edmondson went to the Tuesday practice round for the AT&T Byron Nelson, proudly wearing his Masters cap. He was headed for his car late in the day when he saw Fred Couples walking toward him, heading for the range. Couples had won the Masters that year. Edmondson asked if he wouldn’t mind signing the cap. Couples obliged. Another fan, having witnessed the exchange, caught up with Edmondson and said, “I’ll give you $100 for the cap.” “That’s when the lightbulb went off,” Edmondson said. He turned down the offer. When he got home, he told his wife Betsy and their 4-year-old daughter Callie about his interesting afternoon and his idea to get more signatures. “That sounds great,” Betsy said that night. “I just have two questions: Where’s the $100 and why do you still have that stupid cap?” Since there was no internet back then, Edmondson visited a nearby library and found the list of all Masters winners. He now had the names. All that was left was getting the signatures. He made it a fun father-daughter project, and Callie has been by his side for most of the signatures. Thanks to the two annual PGA TOUR stops in the North Texas area – at TPC Four Seasons and at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth — Edmondson could start making inroads. He often met the players when they showed up at the course to sign in. The Dallas-area also used to play host to a PGA TOUR Champions event, allowing Edmondson to get some of the older winners such as George Archer and Doug Ford. After a few years, he had just a handful of signatures and felt the need to step up the pace. So he told one of his church friends about it – a friend who just happened to be a former three-time winner on the PGA TOUR, Texas native Rik Massengale. Massengale quickly offered his help on the project. “He thought it was a fun idea and really helped me get a purpose for it,” Edmondson said. Massengale was instrumental in getting Phil Mickelson’s signature on the cap. In fact, Mickelson invited Alan and his daughter to join him on the range. That same day, they also got Mike Weir’s signature. Massengale also introduced Edmondson with introductions to Billy Casper, who at the time was playing with Rik’s brother Don on PGA TOUR Champions. Casper lived in California and didn’t have any events scheduled for Texas. But on one trip to Florida, Casper had a layover at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Edmondson met him at the gate – this was before current security measures that now prevent non-fliers from getting close to the gate – and got the autograph between flights. On at least one occasion, one Masters champ encouraged another to sign the cap. It happened with Mark O’Meara, the 1998 champ. O’Meara had already signed the cap. He was at TPC Four Seasons waiting to play a practice round with his good friend Tiger Woods, and he told Alan and Callie to wait with him. When Tiger walked out, they got his signature. All the signatures have been acquired in person. Most have come in either at the local TOUR stops; obviously they didn’t have trouble getting local favorite Jordan Spieth’s signature after his win two years ago. But Edmondson has also flown to Ohio to get the signature of Herman Keiser (1946 winner) and to Florida for Angel Cabrera (2009 winner). “It was just a labor of love meeting those guys,” Edmondson said. Only one time has Edmondson given the cap to someone else to get a signature. It was at TPC Four Seasons, the year before the successful attempt to get Tiger’s autograph. Edmondson gave the cap to Tiger’s former agent Hughes Norton – and for five minutes was a nervous wreck. He even asked Norton for his business card in case something happened to the cap. When the agent returned and said he couldn’t find Tiger, Edmondson was disappointed but relieved to have the cap back in his possession. Edmondson used to keep the cap in a plexiglass case on a shelf in his closet. But then his home was burglarized. The thieves took Callie’s collection of 500 Beanie babies. They also took several of Edmondson’s caps — including one he had bought at the Hard Rock Café in Cabo San Lucas that was right next to the Masters cap. But for some reason, they didn’t take the cap with all the signatures. When Edmondson got home and realized how lucky he was that the cap was still in his closet, he took quick action. “Within 10 minutes, it was in a safe-deposit box at our bank,” he said. Given its age, the cap is in very good condition. The material hasn’t faded and neither have the signatures. Because it was sold in the days when style was less a consideration, it has an old-timey look, certainly not a sleek one. That’s a blessing in disguise. “There’s still lots of room to sign on it,” Edmondson said. “And it stands up nicely,” added Callie. How long will they keep the project going? Certainly no reason to stop now. Edmondson will soon turn 68. Callie is 29 and just started her family a year ago. “We’ll keep going as long as we can,” Edmondson said. But if Spieth or Garcia were to win a second Masters next year, Edmondson won’t mind taking the next year off.

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Now that the freshest crop of Web.com Tour graduates has broken the seal on the 2018-19 season, it’s time for the most successful of returning PGA TOUR members to begin capitalizing on opportunities procured. Beginning with this week’s CIMB Classic in Malaysia and extending into next week’s second annual THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in South Korea, the top 60 available in the FedExCup standings from last season are exempt. While sponsor exemptions and members of the Asian Tour and KPGA will populate fields of 78 for each event, the FedExCuppers will serve as the majority of both. Scroll beneath the ranking for details on the comprehensive renovation that TPC Kuala Lumpur underwent since last year’s CIMB Classic, what it’s taken to contend on the course in its five-year history as host and more. Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include defending champion Pat Perez, Louis Oosthuizen, Kevin Na, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Thomas Pieters among other notables. Because the first two events of the three-week Asian Swing are limited-field invitationals, Web.com Tour grads have known that they’d have this time off before the Sanderson Farms Championship on Oct. 25-28. For the busiest of the grads, this is their first break of this length since early April. For those qualified and committed to either of the next three tournaments (including the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China the same week as the Sanderson Farms Championship), the transpacific trip guarantees FedExCup points and earnings as there are no cuts. TPC Kuala Lumpur presents the first test. It’s a stock par 72 tipping at just 7,005 yards. Although last year’s scoring average of 70.663 registered a three-year high, it’s been one of the most gettable tracks of the season. However, how it scores this week remains to be seen. All paspalum grass has been replaced with bermudagrass. The combination of Celebration tees and fairways with TifEagle greens replicates the agronomy at TPC Sawgrass, for example. Hot and humid conditions with the omnipresent threat of rain and storms will cap Stimpmeter readings at 12 feet, while TOUR-average targets may repel approaches until mature. Still, with rough no longer than two-and-a-half inches and perennially soft conditions, low scores are projected in these climes. Pat Perez aims to become the third consecutive two-time defending champion of the CIMB Classic. Ryan Moore (2013-14) and Justin Thomas (2015-16) preceded. Perez co-led his field in greens in regulation en route to 23-under 265, but he ranked outside the top 10 in both putts per GIR and birdies-or-better with the putter. With new putting surfaces, the premium of creating scoring opportunities rises. ShotLink technology will not be utilized in any of the three events in Asia. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done, Twitter live fantasy show THURSDAY: Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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