Hideki Matsuyama made up a 5-shot deficit on the back nine and then won the Sony Open in a playoff with one of the best shots he never saw, a 3-wood into the sun to 3 feet for an eagle to beat Russell Henley on Sunday.
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Diamond Resorts®, a global leader in the hospitality, vacation ownership and entertainment industries, is pleased to announce a $50,000 donation to the Diamond Resorts International Foundation from PGA TOUR champion and Diamond Celebrity ambassador Brian Gay. The donation will help support military families. Gay’s donation was made as part of the RSM Birdies Fore Love program, which recognizes and awards the top three finishers in total birdies (or better) from fall PGA TOUR events. The top three finishers earn $300,000, $150,000 and $50,000, respectively, to donate to a charity of their choice. Since 2019, the player who records the most birdies (or better) in each fall event, excluding major championships, also earns $50,000 for a charity of their choice. As the top finisher in birdies (or better) at the 2020 Bermuda Championship in November 2020, Mr. Gay has chosen to donate his $50,000 RSM Birdies Fore Love earnings to the Diamond Resorts International Foundation. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity providing financial aid and support to numerous charitable causes, including children’s issues, military veterans, environmental initiatives and COVID‑19 relief. “Growing up, I found my passion for golf while playing on courses at the various military bases that my father was stationed at during his deployment. I have always held military causes close to my heart, and my wife Kimberly and I have instilled the value of giving back to our community in our family,” said Brian Gay. “I am honored to have made this donation to the Diamond Resorts International Foundation to benefit Our Military Kids, an organization providing opportunities for children of military parents to build skills and confidence, and to find a sport or activity they are passionate about.” Mr. Gay’s $50,000 donation to the Diamond Resorts International Foundation will benefit Our Military Kids, a 501(c)(3) organization that helps children of deployed National Guard and Reserve service members and severely injured Veterans take part in extracurricular activities to support their psychological health. “Our Military Kids is incredibly grateful for this generous donation that will fund extracurricular activities for deserving military kids like Grayson, who used his Our Military Kids grant for golf lessons during his father’s deployment with the Navy Reserve,” said Kara Dallman, Our Military Kids Executive Director and Navy Veteran. “Grayson and his father now love to play together and use the sport as a way to strengthen their bond after the deployment!” As a Diamond Celebrity ambassador, Mr. Gay has previously lent his name to the Brian Gay Invitational, a 2013 celebrity charity golf tournament hosted by Diamond Resorts in Orlando. Over the last eight years, the event has transformed into the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, an official LPGA Tour event that brings celebrity golfers and LPGA champions together to play side-by-side for separate purses, while also raising funds for charity. “From the very beginning, Brian has shared our mission of using golf as a vehicle for giving back and providing support to those in need,” said Mike Flaskey, CEO, Diamond Resorts. “His gracious donation through RSM Birdies Fore Love will go a long way in supporting Our Military Kids and the families of dedicated service members protecting our country.” To learn more about the Diamond Resorts International Foundation, visit DiamondResorts.com/charity.
We are just a couple of weeks shy of the return of Tiger Woods and it got me thinking … just how much immediate momentum does winning on the PGA TOUR bring? Woods defied the odds in modern times by winning seven-straights starts in 2006-07, including two majors and two World Golf Championship events. He won six in a row in 1999-2000 and added five consecutive wins in 2007-08. And he didn’t even really sniff the overall record held by the legendary Byron Nelson. Nelson won an unfathomable 11-straight starts on the PGA TOUR in 1945. The current depth of fields on TOUR is arguably some of the best ever, so while we don’t see many ultra-long streaks, there is no doubt players can get an immediate boost from a win. That might seem obvious. But the joy of winning brings an inevitable celebration. And the energy it takes to win brings a natural lull afterwards. It can be hard to focus in immediately again. Sometimes the benefits to the win come down the road, not right away. But immediate winning momentum is something FedExCup champion Justin Thomas believes in. As does Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth. And if last season is any indicator and the early goings of this one are anything to go by, Patton Kizzire should be feeling very good heading into The RSM Classic, where he’s a pretty good bet to finish inside the top 25. The winner of last week’s OHL Classic in Mayakoba is also a Sea Island local, so he’s really riding high. “There’s been some celebrating, but luckily I know these courses really well and I’ve spent a lot of time learning them,â€� he said. “It’s good to be back home and sleep in my own bed and see friends and family, a lot of hugs a lot of high fives. It’s a great week and I’m looking forward to teeing it up tomorrow and seeing if I can continue making birdies.â€� The winners of the 47 official PGA TOUR events last season certainly didn’t take the following start for granted. They combined for four wins, nine top-fives, 15 top-10s and 29 top 25s. Just 11 times did a winner follow up the trophy hoist with a missed cut in their next start. In other words, over 60 percent of the time a winner backed up his performance with another top-25 finish. Johnson was the benchmark. He backed up two of his wins with another win as he won three straight at the Genesis Open, the World Golf Championships – Mexico Championship and the World Golf Championships – Dell Match Play. We were robbed of the chance to see how he may have gone in the Masters after his freak stair accident, but when he did return, he finished runner-up at the Wells Fargo Championship. His win at THE NORTHERN TRUST in the FedExCup Playoffs was also backed up with a T18 finish. Thomas was also pretty decent off a win. He was T23 after his first win last season, backed up his second win with a third win, backed that up with a rare missed cut before backing up his fourth win with a T6 and his fifth win with a T47. Spieth was three-for-three at being inside the top 25 post win. He was T22 at the Genesis Open after his win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am and backed up his win at the Travelers Championship with victory at The Open Championship. His next start after winning the Claret Jug was a was a T13 at the World Golf Championship – Bridgestone Invitational. Strengthening the momentum argument is a quick dissection of those who missed the cut in their next start … there are some decent excuses. Kevin Chappell’s next start after his win at the Valero Texas Open was part of a team at the Zurich Classic… he can only be held half responsible. On the flip side Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith helped each other to win in Zurich but both missed cuts on their own at THE PLAYERS. Si Woo Kim’s back was playing up on him in his first start after his PLAYERS win and Jason Dufner’s next start after winning the Memorial was a tough and very long U.S. Open layout. Bryson DeChambeau only got his Open Championship start on the back of his John Deere Classic win and as such had to deal with the whirlwind change of plans. This season the trend is continuing and even doing better. Brendan Steele backed up his Safeway Open win with a T13, Pat Perez was T5 next start after winning the CIMB Classic and Ryan Armour was T20 after winning at Sanderson Farms. Thomas and Patrick Cantlay haven’t played since their recent wins. Neither technically has Justin Rose, in terms of the PGA TOUR, after his win in China. Those keen observers would know he actually won again right away on the European Tour. It all adds up to one thing. Draft Kizzire into your fantasy team while you still have time!
Coming off his best year as a professional golfer in 2018, in which he won the Open Championship and the Quicken Loans National and went 5-0 in the Ryder Cup, Molinari is now in the “300 Club.� He averaged 301 yards off the tee on the PGA Tour last season, up from 281.6 in 2015. Molinari averaged 64.3 percent of fairways hit and finished seventh in strokes gained/off the tee. When you don’t hit it very far on the PGA Tour, you’re essentially left with a choice: Focus on the tournaments on shorter and tighter courses, or try to get longer off the tee.
