International Team on track for Presidents Cup turnaround

AVONDALE, La. – It was cold and windy for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans pro-am on Wednesday, but Cameron Champ and Tony Finau launched absurdly long tee shots down the middle of the fairway at the par-5 second hole at TPC Louisiana. Champ has a flatter, missile-like trajectory shot while Finau – who may be slightly longer but admits he can’t always control it – gets a bit more air under his drives. They are Team #SendIt, hitting drives that are the envy of others, even other PGA TOUR pros. But to get a better idea of what makes this team great, you have to get beyond that. “It’s what they represent – the diversity that’s out here and how they’ve been bold to stand up on what’s going on in the world,” said Earl Cooper, a Black golfer and PGA pro from Wilmington, Delaware, who played with them in the pro-am. “They’ve taken on the responsibility.” Cooper and Olajuwon Ajanaku, another Black pro in the pro-am who hopes to make it as a touring professional, run Eastside Golf, an apparel company that seeks “to build awareness to the youth and non-golfers how cool golf is.” Their logo: A man with blue jeans and a chain necklace swinging a club. “It’s just saying, you know, you can be yourself,” Cooper said. Last year they sent a hat to Champ through a mutual friend in Detroit. It was a bit of a longshot, but lo and behold they were scrolling through Instagram one day when they came across Champ – wearing his black Eastside Golf hat. Cooper and Ajanaku were ecstatic. Surprising? Not really. The connective tissue of Team #SendIt has less to do with big drives than their shared desire to make a difference. Whether they’re joining with SAP to donate tens of thousands of dollars to Black-owned business (Champ) or supporting underprivileged kids in Utah (Finau), the longest-hitting team in New Orleans subscribes to the ethos that a rising tide can and should lift all boats. “Obviously Tony is not African‑American but he is a man of color, and especially being in Utah,” says Champ, who shares an agent with his teammate. “We have very similar backgrounds of how we got brought up in the game and how we got … to the TOUR. “I have mad respect for Tony and his family and what they’ve done back home in Utah.” Says Finau, “Well, as far as Cameron, I admire his courage and his bravery to be outspoken about what he stands for. Not a lot of athletes are willing to take the forefront. But as one of the very few African‑Americans on the PGA TOUR, he’s taken that stance to what he feels like is right for equality and for what he stands for. I’m happy to be his friend and support him in that.” Champ’s father is Black, while Finau is the first TOUR pro of Tongan and Samoan descent. Both have been open about having experienced racism, and both took to social media last summer after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd’s neck, killing him. “Silence is not a position I will take,” Finau wrote. “It is time to add greater understanding to our perspectives. It is time for all of us to build a future together that treats everyone with the dignity, fairness, respect and equality that they deserve. I stand with you. #BlackLivesMatter” Champ pointedly wore one black shoe and one white one during the BMW Championship in the FedExCup Playoffs. And he still has “EQUALITY” stamped on the side of his hat. They are part of a wave of athletes – Colin Kaepernick, LeBron James, Naomi Osaka – whose athleticism fuels their activism. And it’s spreading. Michelle Wie West has spearheaded a project in which proceeds from the sale of limited-edition golf hoodies will fund the LPGA Renee Powell Fund and the Clearview Legacy Foundation. She has sent hoodies to several TOUR pros. During Black History Month in February, Champ and corporate partner SAP contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Black-owned businesses at various TOUR stops, be they eateries or a barber shop frequented by Champ himself in Houston. He even put their logs on his bag. At the end of last year, in partnership with Chevron, his foundation created two Mack Champ Scholarships for the men’s and women’s golf programs at HBCU Prairie View A&M University, an initiative toward which to TOUR contributed an additional $100,000. As a kid, Finau did not have access to golf – he smashed balls into an old mattress his father hung in the garage – so he’s working to change that for kids today. “My foundation is a big deal to me,” he says. “I love supporting my foundation and under-privileged kids and those that don’t have as much of an opportunity.” Asked to name his favorite athlete from other sports, Champ mentions James. “What he’s done back home with the high school he built – that’s the stuff that needs to happen,” he says. “Change is not cheap, especially in this modern day, either. We have to do as much as we can as far as fundraising and doing things like that to be able to help the next generation.” Finau cites Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz. “I see what he does in our community in Utah,” he says. “He’s not shy about being out in public and going to elementary schools and talking to kids. It’s great to see. He’s a very humble kid. He’s young, but obviously an amazing talent, and I love what he does in our community. “He’s a great person, and a great image for Utah and for kids to look up to.” For Finau, and for Champ, it takes one to know one.

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BROOKLINE, Mass. – The oldest player in the field played one final practice round Wednesday for the 122nd U.S. Open at The Country Club. Fans lined the gallery ropes three deep. Fran Quinn, 57, had built a buzz as the oldest player to survive U.S. Open Final Qualifying since the USGA began keeping such records in the early 1980s. And he did so as a native son, hailing from Holden, Massachusetts just 40 minutes west. On his final approach shot before teeing it up Thursday in the first group off No. 10, he holed a mid-iron from 186 yards. “Bet the mortgage on Fran!” yelled a fan from outside the ropes. Quinn nodded and smiled. Welcome to what at least one news outlet has called the story of this U.S. Open so far. Quinn, who grew up as one of seven siblings in Holden, Massachusetts, cultivated a gritty mentality that family and friends describe as “never-say-die.” He first earned a PGA TOUR card at 26. He earned his second TOUR card at 44. His son Owen, 23, also a professional golfer, calls him a “journeyman from Massachusetts.” And now, Fran Quinn, a high school quarterback before turning his full attention to golf, will tee it up against the best in the world in his home state. It’s a victory lap, to be sure, but it’s more than that, for his competitive fire remains very much intact. “It’s innate,” his wife Lori said of her husband’s drive. “He was born with that. Coming from a family of golfers, and he was just an athlete. Played hockey, football, really good quarterback. Playing with these young guys, it keeps him young. He hits it long, he walks with them. Fifty-seven is purely a number, and he’s not 57.” Quinn reinvented his game in his late 30s and early 40s, said Kevin Johnson, a fellow Massachusetts native and longtime travel companion on the Korn Ferry Tour. (They combined for 737 starts and 10 wins on that circuit.) He never stopped looking for that extra edge, even after fracturing a bone in his shoulder in summer 2019. The payoff: Quinn will hit the tournament’s opening tee shot off No. 10 on Thursday, a peak moment for a player who attended the 1988 U.S. Open at The Country Club as a fan after falling one stroke short at Final Qualifying. He also advanced to the final match of the 1987 Massachusetts State Amateur at The Country Club, falling to Johnson. While attending the 1988 U.S. Open, Quinn’s dad, Fran Sr., said Quinn would play for his national championship someday. Fran Sr. was correct, five times over – Quinn has also competed in the 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2014 U.S. Opens. At the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, Quinn was tied for second after the opening round and made the cut, leading to a memorable Father’s Day walk with Owen on the bag. This one, though, packs an extra punch because it’s so close to home. Lori caddied in Monday’s practice round before handing the bag to Owen for the remainder of the week. Fran was showered with adoration at every turn across Tuesday and Wednesday practice rounds, punctuated by his hole-out. How is this happening? It goes back to the kids, and the fact that Quinn plays against him every chance he gets. He competes against players his own age on PGA TOUR Champions – he finished T21 at last week’s American Family Insurance Championship – but tees it up against Owen, nephew Matthew Quinn and various high school- and college-aged family friends when he’s home. It keeps him young. Matthew, a rising high school senior who completed an Algebra II final exam last Monday before tracking Fran’s hole-by-hole scores during afternoon play at Final Qualifying, said Quinn is a “guaranteed 4 under par” per round in their 2-on-2 best-ball games at Worcester CC. Others, too, have been impressed by his game. “He’s still got the distance, and I think that’s from playing with the young guys,” said Johnson, now a tournament referee on PGA TOUR Champions. “Competing with Owen and his buddies has kept Franny swinging hard. If he played with guys who dink it out there 250 all the time, you’re going to think you’re hitting it long when you’re hitting it 270. “He has not lost any distance,” Johnson continued. “It’s amazing. Even after his shoulder injury, he still hits it hard, and I think that’s why he’s been so competitive.” The injury was a fluke accident. In the midst of the 2019 PGA TOUR Champions season, Quinn tripped in a pothole in a crosswalk in New York City while visiting his son Sean. Fifty percent of his glenoid (right shoulder socket) was shattered. For a year, he couldn’t raise his arm above his belly button. He underwent a first and then a second surgery, the latter operation performed by New England Patriots head physician Mark Price. Thus began an 18-month recovery in which Quinn’s fire never waned. “I remember him being in his kitchen, when he was in his sling,” said family friend Joe Murphy. “He’d be like, ‘Murph, I’ve got my wedge going. I’ve got my wedge yards up. I can still beat you.’” Quinn hadn’t attempted U.S. Open qualification since 2015, but this year’s proximity to home piqued his interest – and when he learned his son and nephew would play Local Qualifying, those competitive instincts kicked in. “I was with Owen in Florida,” said Matthew. “I put myself in for Local Qualifying, and Owen put himself in. His dad was like, ‘Why don’t you put me in as well?’” Quinn was 3-over through nine holes at his Local Qualifying site, Taconic GC in Williamstown, Massachusetts. But he battled back to post 1-over, one stroke clear of a playoff. Owen carded the same 1-over total to advance, as well. From there, Quinn stayed the course at his Final Qualifying site in Purchase, New York – the same location where he missed qualifying for the 1988 U.S. Open at Brookline by a shot. This time, with Lori on the bag, he made amends. He was 2 under for 36 holes, then made birdie on the second hole of an 8-for-3 playoff to earn his spot in the field. “I was like, ‘Come on, you’re the most seasoned player here. You have the most experience in playoffs. Let’s get in,’” Lori said. “He’s like, ‘OK.’ And he did. He listens to me. What a good husband!” Quinn’s story has captured the hearts and minds in his native Massachusetts and beyond. “It’s to show his family, his son … it just shows that good things can happen if you just keep working hard,” said Johnson. “He was at the end of his rope after the shoulder injury, didn’t know if he was ever going to come back. But he just grinded it out. It just shows that hard work … he loves the game, and now to get this opportunity, it’s like the icing on the cake. “I know him,” Johnson added. “He’s not just going to go through it. He’s going to work his butt off. He can play well there. He’s trying to do really well. It’s not just a ceremonial, happy that he got there. I think he’s definitely going to do well.” “I’m just so proud of him,” added Lori. “He’s kind of the bionic man.” “Fran,” said family friend John Pagano, “is the man.”

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Patrick Reed opens the FedExCup Playoffs with his second victory at THE NORTHERN TRUST. Here’s a look at Reed’s equipment: Driver: Ping G400 (9 degrees) Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 70TX Fairway Wood: TaylorMade M6 Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 80TX Driving Iron: Titleist U-500 (3 iron) Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 AMT  Irons: Callaway X Forged 2013 (4 iron), Callaway Razr MB (5-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 Tour Issue Wedges: Artisan Golf (51 degrees), Titleist Vokey SM7 (56 and 60 degrees) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 Tour Issue Putter: Odyssey White Hot Pro 3 Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Grips: Golf Pride MCC

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