Olympic golf: A team feel turns back into individual quest

Ryan Palmer was very much looking forward to his spring schedule on the PGA TOUR. He always enjoys the Valspar Championship, the final event on the Florida Swing. Then returning to his native Texas, he takes his family to the Valero Texas Open; they stay on-site at the J.W. Marriott Resort at TPC San Antonio and the kids make good use of the water park. “I love San Antonio,â€� he says. “One of my favorite places and the people there are unbelievable in what they do.â€� Next up is the RBC Heritage; he’s an RBC ambassador and he “loves Hilton Head.â€� A week later, it’s the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He happens to be the defending champion in that team event with Jon Rahm. “A huge week,â€� Palmer says. “We were excited to defend.â€� Two weeks after that, it’s back home for the AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas, an easy drive from his house for Palmer, an easy event for friends and family to attend. Plus, “the Salesmanship Club guys are some of my dearest friends,â€� he says about the service organization that runs the tournament, which has raised more than $160 million for charity, a huge chunk of the $3 billion-plus combined donations from all PGA TOUR events. “That’s where my heart is, here in Dallas-Fort Worth. Of course, I want to help them as much as possible.â€� Five tournaments … now all canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Five tournaments … each one making a huge charitable impact in their respective communities. Five tournaments … so close to Palmer’s heart. “A lot of meaningful events that I’m missing, that a lot of guys are missing,â€� he says. He wanted to do something to help, something to give back to the tournaments that have positively impacted his career. And so Palmer is spearheading Pros For A Purpose, a charitable arm in which players, officials, fans and the whole golf community can donate money to the tournaments that have been canceled. The donations will be distributed to the charities for those tournaments, just as if the tournaments would’ve done had they been played. Palmer is the first to admit it’s not an original idea. In fact, the idea sprung from a March 25 tweet from Steve Stricker, who announced that his foundation would be donating money to events that Stricker was scheduled to play. Palmer then huddled with his manager Mike Chisum and worked out a way to take the next step and allow anybody to donate to any of the canceled events thanks to the website. ThriveHive, one of Palmer’s partners, helped develop the marketing plan. “It was a great way to get it out there and utilize Pros For A Purpose, which we had already established in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,â€� Palmer said. “The more I thought about it, I just felt like it needed to be done.â€� To get the ball rolling, Palmer and his wife Jennifer donated $20,000 to be distributed among the five events he would’ve played. “My foundation may come in later with a donation as well,â€� he says. “But I kind of wanted to separate it. This is a personal thing because it meant that much more to me. It’s a personal thing Jennifer and I did together.â€� As you might suspect, the tournament directors whose charities are benefitting from Palmer’s generosity are thrilled about the project. “In all the current chaos, for him to take the time to thank the host communities of the PGA TOUR with his own support is very meaningful,â€� Valspar Championship tournament director Tracy West says. “Not only do we host these tournaments to generate community economic impact and a better quality of life to the area through golf, but to also generate a positive charitable impact. Copperhead Charities and the Valspar Championship would like to thank Ryan — and Steve Stricker too — for their direct local charitable support of our community.â€� “It says a lot of about our players to see so many making efforts to help others in these tough times,â€� notes Zurich Classic of New Orleans tournament director Steve Worthy. “Beyond the Zurich Classic, our city has been very affected by COVID-19 and for players like Ryan Palmer, a defending champion, and Steve Stricker to help, speaks to their character. Their efforts are very much appreciated.â€� Palmer is hopeful that others will join in, including his fellow pros who are also missing events meaningful to their own careers. But he’s certainly not putting any pressure on them. Just as it was a personal decision for Palmer and his wife, he respects the personal decisions that each PGA TOUR pro makes. He simply wants to offer an easy-to-use avenue for pros – and really, anybody – to donate to the tournaments close to their hearts. “I don’t want players to feel like, well, Ryan’s making us do this. I don’t want anybody to feel guilty,â€� he says. “I want them to want to do it. If they do, great. If I’m the only one that does it, then I’m the only one that does it. That’s kind of the way I went about it. Just put it out there and hoping more will jump on it.â€� In the end, it’s simply about passion, one player grateful for the opportunities to make a career out of the game he loves and seizing an opportunity in this time of uncertainty and apprehension to give back to the tournaments that has enriched his family’s life. “They’ve taken care of me for so long,â€� he says. “Here’s a great way for me to return the favor and just say thank you.â€�

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Round 3 of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans gets underway Saturday. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Round 3 tee times Round 3 leaderboard HOW TO FOLLOW (ALL TIMES ET) TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday, 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured groups). Friday, 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday, 12:00 to 22:30 GMT. Friday, 13:00 to 22:30. Saturday-Sunday, 13:00 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.; Friday, 1-6:30 p.m.; Saturday: 3-8 p.m.; Sunday: 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). NOTABLE TEE TIMES Jon Rahm/Ryan Palmer and Peter Malnati/Billy Hurley III: 2:17 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee) Russell Knox/Brian Stuard and Brian Gay/Rory Sabbatini: 2:04 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee) Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown and Scott Stallings/Trey Mullinax: 1:51 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee) MUST READS Hurley, Malnati find solution to TPC Louisiana Stenson pairs with G-Mac at perfect time How International partners fared in Round 1 The secret ingredient to success in New Orleans Sabbatini, Gay find right formula CALL OF THE DAY

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Bridgestone’s new Tour B JGR line was designed with the mid- to high-handicapper in mind, but even the best players in the world can get behind more forgiveness and ball speed. Earlier this season, Tour staffers Brandt Snedeker and Matt Kuchar added the Tour B JGR driver to the bag after noticing an uptick in speed and distance during testing. Snedeker would go on to shoot 59 during the first round of the Wyndham Championship with the club in the bag. A 9-time TOUR winner, Snedeker admitted he was somewhat surprised by how seamless the transition was from the previous version to the new driver. “I didn’t expect to make the switch so easily,” Snedeker said, “but when I compared the data on trackman, I was seeing three mph more ball speed and an extra six yards.” The new Tour B JGR driver (9.5, 10.5 and 11.5 degrees; $399), fairway woods and hybrids all feature the company’s Boost Wave Crown technology, comprised of internal and external channels that assist the crown in flexing more effectively at impact for a higher initial launch and increased ball speeds. The rear portion of the crown has been thinned out as well to allow the entire structure to flex. While the Boost Wave Crown is found in all three woods (driver, fairway and hybrid), only the driver boasts a rib-like design in the sole that works in tandem with the Boost Wave Crown technology to stabilize the lower portion of the face, while allowing the crown to flex more at the same time. A redesigned power milled face offers double the depth of its predecessor to reduce slippage at impact and keep the ball on the face longer at impact, decreasing the amount of unwanted spin on off-center shots. For the high-handicapper, the driver offers a 25-gram internal weight in the heel for a built-in draw bias; an external 10-gram weight port can be found in the heel as well. With so much weight positioned in one area of the head, it’s clear Bridgestone is trying to help those players who fight a considerable slice. The Tour B JGR fairway woods (15 and 18 degrees; $229) and hybrids (19, 22 and 25 degrees; $219) come with a Boost Wave Crown and variable thickness face designed to help with ball speed protection, particularly on mishits that find the low portion at impact. Taking a page from the metalwoods, the Tour B JGR HF1 (1030 forged construction; $849) and HF2 (1025 forged construction; $899) irons were designed with a power slit face design, whereby the junction of the face and sole is noticeably thinner than the surrounding areas. The design is supposed to improve initial launch and ball speeds by acting as a hinge at impact. “Our JGR lines have built up a loyal following since the original launch in 2015. The new TOUR B JGR builds on that success by providing golfers with the combination of style and forgiveness,â€� said Zack Kupperbusch, Bridgestone, golf club marketing. The HF1 offers slightly stronger lofts, a larger profile and wider sole with a hollow cavity that “provides easy launching distance in an extremely low COG forged head.” The forged two-piece HF2 is geared more for the mid-handicapper with a slightly more compact profile and rubber polymer insert that was added to the cavity to enhance feel and sound while reducing unwanted vibrations at impact. Bridgestone’s Tour B JGR line will be available Oct. 12, with the following stock shaft offerings: UST Mamiya Recoil 460 ES (driver), UST Mamiya Recoil 460 ES FWY (fairway wood), UST Mamiya Recoil 780 ES (hybrid), UST Mamiya (HF1) and True Temper XP 95 (HF2). PGA TOUR SUPERSTORE: Buy equipment here

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