J.R. Smith excited to trade jumpers for drives

TUCSON, Ariz. – The 2019 Cologuard Classic tournament announced today that more than $600,000 was raised from the PGA TOUR Champions event that will soon benefit Southern Arizona youth amateur athletics, and colorectal cancer research and advocacy. The tournament’s charitable efforts were heavily focused on raising awareness of colorectal cancer and the importance of early screening and detection. Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men and women combined in the United States.1 When caught early, 90% of colorectal cancers are treatable.1 As part of the initiatives onsite, the Cologuard Classic kicked off tournament week by hosting the Get Your Rear In Gear 5k run/walk in partnership with the Colon Cancer Coalition. This year’s event had more than 700 participants and the funds raised will support colorectal cancer education and screenings benefiting the local community. Also, the tournament hosted a Dress in Blue Day presented by the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. It was an enormous success as thousands of fans, volunteers and golfers created a sea of blue with their attire – from hats to shirts, and even shoelaces. Additionally, the Cologuard Classic Celebrity Challenge played during the tournament’s second round, generated further awareness for the cause. Former athletes Oscar De La Hoya and Chuck Cecil defeated actors Alfonso Ribeiro and Greg Kinnear in front of a lively and energetic crowd. Following the round, Exact Sciences, makers of Cologuard, made a $50,000 donation in the names of De La Hoya and Cecil to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. De La Hoya announced Golden Boy Promotions, his boxing and mixed martial arts promotions firm, would match the donation for a total of $100,000 to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. The 2019 Cologuard Classic had an estimated $25 million economic impact on the Southern Arizona economy. For the Cologuard Classic and surrounding events, this included the expenditures of visitors; media from outside Arizona who covered the event; the organizational spending by the Conquistadores; media and event production companies; diverse organizations and businesses involved in operations; event production and activation of sponsorships; and the weekend coverage to national and international audiences on Golf Channel. The 2020 tournament will mark the third year of the Cologuard Classic, named after Wisconsin-based Exact Sciences’ noninvasive at-home colon cancer screening test for average-risk individuals 50 years or older, and the sixth year the Conquistadores have partnered with the PGA TOUR Champions. Next year’s tournament activities will take place February 23 – March 1 at Omni Tucson National Resort and will feature a 78-player field competing for a $1.7 million purse with $255,000 and 255 Charles Schwab Cup points for the winner. For up-to-date information on next year’s Cologuard Classic follow cologuardclassic.com, at facebook.com/CologuardClassic, on Twitter @CologuardGolf and Instagram @Cologuard_Classic. The Tucson Conquistadores, Inc. review funding requests from organizations and determine contributions including scholarships on a monthly basis. The deadline for applications is the 24th of each month, with requests reviewed and applicants notified by mail around the 15th of the following month. More information on charitable funding can be found on the Tucson Conquistadores’ website, www.tucsonconquistadores.com/funding-info-application. 

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Chez Reavie ... He's like a long reliever who's just as comfortable taking the mound in a spot start on zero notice. With pitchers and catchers reporting across Major League Baseball this week, that analogy is an easy pull given that the logo of the Arizona Diamondbacks is visible on the side of his cap. His flexibility between occasional appearances in the Power Rankings and a default position as a Sleeper hinges on his recent play. Well, the pendulum is swinging back into the preferred direction after a T16 at Pebble Beach, his first top 25 in five months. You'd expect his skill set to fit Riviera as well, and it has at times. Although six of his 10 appearances resulted in a missed cut, and he placed outside the top 70 in two others, he's also finished seventh (2016) and T10 (2020). K.H. Lee ... This is the first time that he's centered among converging trends. Of course, there was the close call at TPC Scottsdale two weeks ago where he settled as a co-runner-up to Brooks Koepka's heroics on the penultimate hole, but Lee also is 2-for-2 at Riviera with a T25 in 2019 and a T13 last year with a scoring average of 69.63 in those eight rounds. He's not as much of an unknown to even core golf fans as he was, say, before the Waste Management Phoenix Open, but he's no stranger to winning abroad. The 29-year-old has a pair of victories on the Japan Golf Tour on his résumé. He also prevailed in consecutive Korea Opens before making his way to the PGA TOUR. J.T. Poston ... His career-long-tying 0-for-4 skid is a thing of the past after consecutive top 20s in recent weeks. En route to a T18 at Torrey Pines, he led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and ranked second in par-5 scoring. Those feels carried over to TPC Scottsdale where he finished second in putting: birdies-or-better and T4 in par-5 scoring to post a T11. Perfect in three tries at Riviera with a personal-best T17 as a rookie in his debut in 2017. Brian Stuard ... His success so often has been reliant on his ability to split fairways, it explains why he's had success on multiple occasions on tracks like Sea Island, Waialae, Harbour Town and Mayakoba. Those backdrops share two critical variables in common. Each is exposed to wind and none is of a length that he can't handle. As one of the shortest knockers on the PGA TOUR, the 38-year-old plays to his strengths out of necessity. Currently eighth in fairways hit and T18 in proximity to the hole on approach. He's fresh off a T16 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he ranked inside the top 15 in both driving accuracy and greens in regulation. He also led the field in par-3 scoring. He's 4-for-6 at Riviera with a personal-best T23 a year ago. Sung Kang ... There's only one data point that suggests that he's going to be a threat at Riviera. Given he's been mired in a drought without a top-25 finish (and only one top 35) since play resumed last summer, that there's at least one data point is a big deal, and it's a big one at that - his track record. In six appearances since 2012, he's survived every cut and has posted four top 25s, including a share of runner-up honors last year. His scoring average in his last 20 rounds on the course is a sporty 69.80. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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Steven Alker and Bob Estes share the lead after the first round of the Senior PGA Championship after both golfers shot 64 on Thursday.

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