‘He’s a human launch monitor’ How Tiger Woods tests a golf ball

AVONDALE, LOUISIANA – Zurich Insurance is renewing its sponsorship of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans through 2026.  The seven-year extension was announced today, the final day of the 2018 tournament, by Zurich North America CEO Kathleen Savio, PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan and CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation Steve Worthy. The Fore!Kids Foundation is the local host organization of the Zurich Classic. Zurich became title sponsor of the tournament in 2005 and last signed an extension through 2019. Last year, the Zurich Classic became the PGA TOUR’s only official team event. The innovative format continued for this year’s tournament as the city of New Orleans celebrates its 300-year anniversary. “New Orleans has a resilient past with a bright future, and we’re proud to extend our sponsorship of the Zurich Classic, continuing our teamwork with charitable organizations,â€� said Savio.  “The Zurich Classic is a wonderful opportunity to work side by side on and off the course to create opportunities, overcome challenges and win.â€� Zurich assumed sponsorship of the tournament just months before Hurricane Katrina devastated the region. Zurich and its employees became deeply rooted in New Orleans’ recovery, and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans became the first major sporting event to commit to returning to the city for 2006. Zurich executives and employees have been intimately involved with the community and the Fore!Kids Foundation’s charitable initiatives ever since. These include hands-on support of SBP, established after Katrina to rebuild homes in storm-ravaged areas of the city, and St. Michael Special School for children with significant learning disabilities. Funds from Zurich and the tournament helped to build a Vocational Training Center that bears Zurich’s name and a state-of-the-art playground at the school. “I can’t say enough about the dedicated support Zurich has provided to the Fore!Kids Foundation and the New Orleans area from the outset of sponsoring the Zurich Classic of New Orleans,â€� Monahan said. “It really has been an ideal association from the outset, when Zurich became so entrenched in the recovery process following Hurricane Katrina. That bond has continued to grow over the ensuing years and, I’m excited to say, will continue to do so for many more to come.â€�    Officials, in fact, have referred to New Orleans as Zurich’s adopted home. “Zurich has been an incredible partner and their support has allowed us to impact the lives of countless children in our region,â€� Worthy said. “We greatly appreciate their love of our community, and we look forward to our future, working together to make this event and its impact continue to grow.â€�   About PGA TOUR By showcasing golf’s greatest players, the PGA TOUR engages, inspires and positively impacts our fans, partners and communities worldwide. The PGA TOUR co-sanctions more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Series-China. Members on the PGA TOUR represent the world’s best players, hailing from 25 countries (84 members are from outside the United States). Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to more than 1 billion households in 226 countries and territories in 23 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations to maximize charitable giving. In 2017, tournaments across all Tours generated a record of more than $180 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to $2.65 billion. The PGA TOUR’s web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. About Zurich Insurance Group Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With about 53,000 employees, it provides a wide range of property and casualty, and life insurance products and services in more than 210 countries and territories. Zurich’s customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, as well as multinational corporations. The Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information about Zurich is available at www.zurich.com. In North America, Zurich is a leading commercial property-casualty insurance provider serving the global corporate, large corporate, middle market, specialties and programs sectors through the individual member companies of Zurich in North America, including Zurich American Insurance Company. Life insurance and disability coverage issued in the United States in all states except New York is issued by Zurich American Life Insurance Company, an Illinois domestic life insurance company. In New York, life insurance and disability coverage is issued by Zurich American Life Insurance Company of New York, a New York domestic life insurance company. For more information about the products and services it offers and people Zurich employs around the world go to www.zurichna.com. 2012 marked Zurich’s 100-year anniversary of insuring America and the success of its customers, shareholders and employees.

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THE PLAYERS Championship winner Cameron Smith highlights a stout field at the 54th RBC Heritage that includes five of the top 10 players in the world. Stewart Cink returns to defend his 2021 triumph, which marked his second TOUR victory of the season. FIELD NOTES: Plenty of firepower will zip from Augusta to Hilton Head for the RBC Heritage, including Smith, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson and world No. 3 Collin Morikawa … Jordan Spieth heads to the RBC Heritage off a missed cut at Augusta National, his first career early exit from the Masters … Reigning U.S. Amateur winner James Piot will tee it up … A handful of pros with South Carolina ties are hoping for some home-state love including Aiken’s Kevin Kisner, North Augusta’s Matthew NeSmith, Columbia’s Wesley Bryan and Greenville’s Lucas Glover … Cink, who experienced a career resurgence last season as he moves closer to age 50, is back to defend his title. Including Cink, each of the last nine RBC Heritage winners is set to tee it up … There is no Monday qualifier … Other notables include International Presidents Cup hopefuls Joaquin Niemann, Abraham Ancer and Corey Conners – who finished T4 last year – in addition to Ryder Cuppers Daniel Berger, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Ian Poulter and Shane Lowry … Both 2023 Ryder Cup captains will be in the field, as Zach Johnson makes his 17th start at Harbour Town and Henrik Stenson makes his first since 2012. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Harbour Town Golf Links, par 71, 7,121 yards (yardage subject to change). The Pete Dye/Jack Nicklaus design has hosted the RBC Heritage since the 1960s and continues to challenge the best players in the world with its small and contoured putting surfaces, overhanging mossy oaks, tight fairways and strategically placed bunkers. STORYLINES: Morgan Hoffmann will return to the PGA TOUR for the first time since 2019. Hoffmann suffers from muscular dystrophy and has three starts left on a major medical extension … Webb Simpson will hope that his fine form at Harbour Town continues. Simpson, who won in 2020, has notched seven top-10 finishes in 12 appearances at the RBC Heritage, including his victory … Players who finish inside the top 10 at the Masters and are not otherwise eligible to join the field at Harbour Town will earn their way into the field … Cink’s four-shot win last year was the largest margin of victory at the RBC Heritage in a decade. He’s looking to become the first player to win back-to-back in Hilton Head since Boo Weekley in 2007-08 … Half of the players in the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 are set to tee it up at Harbour Town, as the race to the FedExCup kicks into high gear through springtime. 72-HOLE RECORD: 262, Webb Simpson (2020) 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, David Frost (Round 2, 1994), Troy Merritt (Round 2, 2015). LAST TIME: 47-year-old Stewart Cink won for the second time in 2020-21, cruising to a four-shot victory after starting the week with back-to-back rounds of 63. Cink, who had won the previous fall’s Fortinet Championship for his first TOUR title in 11 years, celebrated another TOUR victory with son Reagan on his bag (the duo continues to put feet on the fairway together and celebrated an ace at the Masters on Friday – on Reagan’s 24th birthday, no less). It was Cink’s third win at Harbour Town – the others coming in 2000 and 2004. Cink’s 1-under 70 Sunday was enough to hold off a hard-charging Harold Varner III, who shot a closing 5-under 66. Varner finished T2 along with Emiliano Grillo. Maverick McNealy and Matt Fitzpatrick. Corey Conners finished two shots further back at 13 under, rounding out the top five. Defending champion Webb Simpson shot Saturday’s low round of the day, 7-under 64, en route to a T9 finish. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.–6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

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DETROIT — Willie Mack III shot a second-round 73 to finish 3 under to make his first PGA TOUR cut. After bogeys on holes 7, 11 and 16, there was no margin for error. From short of the 18th green, he chipped to 4 1/2 feet and made the par putt. His friends and family, some wearing Willie Mack III T-shirts, exhaled and cheered. Wayne Birch, who caddies for Troy Merritt (68, 9 under) and had returned to the course after Merritt finished, held up his phone to capture the moment. “I probably was more nervous than he was,” said Birch, who played for Southern University before embarking on his career as a caddie. “In the Black community in golf, we all knew, all of us who played at a high level, that Willie is next up. This is so big.” Mack, 32, hasn’t gotten much sleep. Darkness halted play with three holes remaining in his first round, so he woke up early and played 21 holes Friday. His supporters were there for every shot. “Yeah, I heard some of my friends,” he said. “I wasn’t looking, but I know their voices, so I heard them. It’s exciting to just be able to play in your hometown amongst friends and family.” Friday marked a historic chapter in one of the game’s least likely origin stories. The son of a social worker, Mack grew up in nearby Flint, a town that became synonymous with the loss of manufacturing jobs in America. He scrounged for equipment, and when his high school team discontinued its golf team his sophomore year, his dad moved them to Grand Blanc. Mack’s new school won the 2004 state championship. He won the Flint City Amateur three times, and in 2011 was the first Black player to win the Michigan Amateur. He played for the only school to give him a full-ride scholarship, HBCU Bethune-Cookman, and won 11 times. Life as a pro, though, was no picnic. He lived in his car for a year and a half, slept in friends’ spare bedrooms. Insiders knew how good he was, but the full array of his talents remained mostly hidden. Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner noted that the first time Mack worked with well-known instructor Todd Anderson at TPC Sawgrass – part of the PGA TOUR’s commitment to the minority-focused APGA Tour – Anderson asked, “How are you not on TOUR yet?” A lack of funds didn’t help. When he qualified to play PGA TOUR Latinoamerica in 2018, Mack – the winner of more than 60 minitour titles – didn’t play the circuit because the cost was prohibitive. Last year, though, his career took a quantum leap when Farmers Insurance signed him and fellow APGA star Kamaiu Johnson to two-year deals as player ambassadors. Since then, Mack’s opportunities have kept rolling in. The 2019 Player of the Year on the APGA and the Florida Pro Golf Tour, he filled in for Johnson at the 11th hour at the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. Although he missed the cut (74-75) he beat a handful of TOUR winners. Mack also got into The Genesis Invitational in L.A. as the Charlie Sifford Exemption recipient. He again missed the cut (70-76) but finished ahead of Rory McIlroy, among others. He also had a leisurely lunch with tournament host Tiger Woods, his childhood idol. He estimates he has played Detroit Golf Club hundreds of times, although not always with such wet fairways and swirling winds. Although he got to 6 under and just three off the lead through six holes of his second round, he was 3 over from there, leading to some tense moments. “I’m just so happy for him,” Birch said. “It’s so inspiring. My dream was to play on the PGA TOUR, but that’s over with. With Willie – it’s almost like I’m living through him. It just goes to show that if you keep grinding, stay the course, and believe in yourself, anything can happen.” Birch and Mack were part of a group that would be going to watch the Detroit Tigers on Friday night, and they’ll have plenty to celebrate. Mack’s biggest career paycheck to date is $37,000, and now he’ll be playing for a lot more than that over the weekend on a course he knows well. Whatever happens, he’ll play in the John Deere Classic next week. It’s an exciting time. “I went to go get some food last night,” he said. “I think I got about three hours of sleep. I’m tired, but I think adrenaline kept me going and hopefully it can hold up for the next two days.”

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