Leaderboard: Arnold Palmer opening round

Jerry McGee thought he might be in line for some good luck that week. He had come to the Florida Panhandle in April of 1975 to play in the Pensacola Open. One night before the tournament began, he and his wife Jill had dinner in a local restaurant. "We ordered oysters and I found a pearl in one of mine," McGee told the Morning Journal of Lisbon, Ohio last year. "I guess that was a good omen." It was, indeed. After opening with a 69 that left him five strokes off Andy North's lead, McGee steadily climbed the leaderboard. He led by one stroke through 54 holes thanks to consecutive 66s and ended up beating Wally Armstrong by two strokes. The win was the first of four on the PGA TOUR for McGee, who died Wednesday at the age of 77 just weeks after moving to Florida to be closer to his family. His son Mike, who is married to LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam, posted on Facebook that McGee was admitted to the hospital on Saturday. "He went downhill quickly," Mike McGee wrote. "Lots of complications that had been brewing. We were blessed that my parents moved to Orlando and we could all say our goodbyes and be together. "He had struggled for a while and I really believe that after many years of us wanting them to move closer that he finally acquiesced because he knew this was coming. Once my Mom was settled here he was at peace." McGee, who was born July 21, 1943 in New Lexington, Ohio, was a fixture on the PGA TOUR in the 1970s and PGA TOUR Champions from 1993-2004. He started out playing baseball and football but became interested in golf after his parents divorced and his mother later married a club professional. "When I was 14, some friends of mine took me to Firestone to watch the tournament; it was the Rubber City Open at that time," McGee told the Tribune Chronicle of Warren, Ohio in 2014. "And from that day on, I wanted to play professional golf." McGee played at Ohio State, then turned pro in 1966 and joined the PGA TOUR the following year. He made 404 starts and won four times, including twice in 1979, and played on the victorious U.S. Team at the 1977 Ryder Cup at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. "Outside of my family, playing on that team was the greatest thrill of my life," McGee told the Morning Journal in 2020. "To be one of 12 golfers picked to represent your country, I still get chills thinking about it." The slender 5-foot-9, 160-pound McGee was known on TOUR for his short game. He played in 26 majors and posted a trio of top-10s, including a tie for fifth in his 1972 Masters debut. "It's ironic the Masters is next week," Mike McGee wrote on Facebook. "That was by far his favorite week of the year and during his radiation treatments for cancer years ago, he played Augusta National in his mind." McGee was plagued by nagging injuries during his career and eventually sidelined by hypoglycemia, also known as low blood sugar, in 1981. He took a job as director of golf at Oak Tree Country Club in West Middlesex, Pennsylvania, where he go on to work for 12 years. During the last year of his employment at Oak Tree, McGee had a sign on his desk that said: 1993. It was a reminder that he would be eligible for what is now known as PGA TOUR Champions that year. "Everybody asked, ‘What's that,'" McGee recalled in a 2005 interview with the Tampa Tribune. "I just kept it between me and well, me. That was the year I turned 50, when I could join this tour. I gave it a shot. I've done well." McGee made 318 starts on the Champions Tour and posted five top-three finishes. He earned more than $3.2 million in a dozen seasons, including the 1999 campaign that was interrupted by surgery to remove cancerous tumors on the left side of his neck and the base of his tongue. After the surgery, McGee had 6 ½ weeks of radiation. He returned to PGA TOUR Champions four months later and ended up playing in 130 more tournaments before retiring after the 2004 season. "I was so lucky," McGee told the Tribune Chronicle. "I've gone to places, met people, that I would never had the opportunity to without the game of golf." In addition to his wife Jill, Jerry is survived by his brother, Don Holden (Joel); his daughter, Roxane Love-McGee; his son, Michael McGee (Annika Sorenstam); and his daughter, Michelle McGee (Mark Riley); along with grandchildren, Dylan Love, Ava McGee, Will McGee, and Liam Riley. There will be a Celebration of Life at a later date. Memorial contributions can be made to the Youngstown State women's basketball team.

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Golf was very different in 2020. So as a new year starts at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, we look at how it will be very much the same and entirely different in the coming year.

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The top 70 in the FedExCup standings head to Olympia Fields Country Club for the penultimate event of the FedExCup Playoffs. As of Saturday, the field will feature 69 of the TOUR's top 70 players, including two-time FedExCup champions Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Those on the outside looking in will jockey for their spot in the BMW Championship this weekend in THE NORTHERN TRUST at TPC Boston. FIELD NOTES: Woods has committed to the BMW Championship as he looks to make another run at the FedExCup. He is a five-time winner of the BMW Championship, including twice in the FedExCup era. He went on to win the Cup both times that he won the BMW (2007, '09)... The PGA TOUR's latest member of the ‘59' club, Scottie Scheffler, will make his debut at the BMW Championship. Scheffler competed at Olympia Fields in the 2012 Junior Ryder Cup... Dustin Johnson - who nearly shot 59 the same day as Scheffler but ended with a 60 - is also a two-time winner at the BMW Championship. He's looking for more magic this week as he takes a run at his first FedExCup... Justin Thomas leads the FedExCup standings (as of Aug. 22) and not only will defend his BMW Championship title, but is gunning for his second FedExCup in four seasons... Other past BMW Championship winners who will be at Olympia Fields include Marc Leishman (2017), Jason Day (2015), Billy Horschel (2014), and McIlroy (2012)... Justin Rose finished T5 in the 2003 U.S. Open hosted at Olympia Fields, but save for a magical weekend at THE NORTHERN TRUST, he'll fall short of earning a spot to the BMW Championship. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 1,500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Olympia Fields Country Club (North Course), par-70, 7,366 yards. Located about 35 minutes from Chicago, this 36-hole facility has a long history. It hosted the Western Open five times, and is a storied major championship venue. Most recently on the men's side it hosted the 2003 U.S. Open (won by past FedExCup champion Jim Furyk) while the KPMG Women's PGA Championship came to the club in 2017 (Danielle Kang was the winner). Established in 1915, the North Course was designed by Willie Park Jr. It will play as a brute to the best golfers in the world with one par-3 longer than 250 yards and two par-5's (including the opening hole) playing longer than 600 yards. STORYLINES: The BMW Championship marks the final opportunity to earn a spot in the 30-man Playoffs finale at East Lake. This is the second year that the No. 1 seed in the FedExCup standings will start the TOUR Championship at 10 under par and with a two-shot lead before the tournament starts. That No. 1 seed will be determined at the conclusion of the BMW Championship ... Xinjun Zhang, who missed the cut at THE NORTHERN TRUST, will wait to see his fate. He came into the week on the bubble for the BMW Championship, ranked 70th in the FedExCup standings. 72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Marc Leishman (2017). *At Olympia Fields - 272, Jim Furyk (2003) 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Jim Furyk, (2nd round, 2013) *At Olympia Fields - 63, Vijay Singh (2nd round, 2003) LAST TIME: Justin Thomas captured his 10th PGA TOUR title at the 2019 BMW Championship, contested at Medinah Country Club. A six-shot lead early Sunday was reduced to just two as Thomas made the turn, but a birdie on the 72nd hole put a bow on a three-shot victory over Patrick Cantlay. Thomas came into Sunday after firing a tournament-low 61 in the third round and headed into the TOUR Championship as tops in the FedExCup standings. Hideki Matsuyama finished third at 20 under, but still five shots back of Thomas' 25-under winning total. Tony Finau, Jon Rahm, and past FedExCup champion Brandt Snedeker rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 10:10 a.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 8:15 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 9:15 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m.-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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