OnScene: Curry prepares for Web.com Tour event

Players on the PGA TOUR have enjoyed playing the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, South Carolina, for a variety of reasons. The challenging, but fun golf course designed by Pete Dye and consultant Jack Nicklaus. The laid-back atmosphere, which is particularly inviting for those making the two-and-a-half-hour drive from Augusta after playing in the Masters the previous week during a normal TOUR season. Seafood, swimming and all those family-friendly activities, too. TOUR rookie Matt NeSmith had another reason for wanting to play in the RBC Heritage this season. Just over two years ago, in the shadow of the iconic red-and-white lighthouse at Harbour Town Golf Links, he proposed to Abigail Pait on the 18th green. She said, yes, of course, and the two were married on Nov. 1, 2019, during a break from his fourth and fifth tournaments as a card-carrying PGA TOUR member. Competing at the RBC Heritage this year – or any year, for that matter – would have been “awesome,â€� NeSmith says. “We’d be reminiscing about the whole day.â€� NeSmith was playing his best golf of the season when the coronavirus pandemic called an abrupt halt to play on the PGA TOUR, with this week’s previously scheduled RBC Heritage among the canceled tournaments. He’d made the cut in eight of his previous nine starts, posting top-15 finishes in three of those tournaments, and was ranked No. 64 in the FedExCup standings. It’s disappointing that he and his wife aren’t at Hilton Head this week, but the memories of that day and the start of their lives together offer warm feelings. He and Pait had met while both were students at the University of South Carolina. He played golf while she was on the equestrian team. Turns out, the two had a mutual friend in Will Starke, who was NeSmith’s roommate and teammate. Pait used to come over to the dorm and have breakfast with Starke each Friday. “I was sitting on the couch and she came over and said hello and we kind of talked a little bit,â€� NeSmith recalls. “I was very shy, always shy with pretty girls.â€� The two ran into each other later that day. Well, not exactly. Pait was behind the wheel of her car, and she spotted NeSmith walking on campus. “She’s very outgoing and I was a little bit shy and awkward to say at least, probably,â€� he recalls. “And she honked at me with all her friends in the car. She’s like, oh, there’s this nice guy that I just met in Will Starke’s dorm. … “I was like, oh, good Lord, and just kind of kept walking. So, she’s like, oh, I guess he’s just shy.â€� The romance blossomed, though, and endured after NeSmith graduated and turned pro. He played two seasons on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada before heading to the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2018-19 season. A win at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco earned him a TOUR card. NeSmith and Pait fell in love with Hilton Head while he was still an amateur. During his college days, he was regularly on the leaderboard at the Players Amateur played at Berkeley Hall in nearby Bluffton. He won the event in 2015, firing a final-round 65 that enabled him to overtake Chase Koepka, who had started the final round with a five-stroke lead. NeSmith – and later, Pait – became close to his host family, the Andreolettis. “This family has three kids — the youngest one’s now eight .. and I’ve known the youngest one since she was a baby,â€� NeSmith says. “… We’d go down there three or four times a year and spend some time with them.â€� One of those times was the weekend of March 11, 2018. NeSmith had decided to propose. He had bought the engagement ring several months earlier and although he says he’s not the most creative guy in the world, he concocted a plan. “She had voiced that she wanted to go down for her birthday and just kind of hang out and be down there and have a good time,â€� he says. “So it just made sense.â€� First, NeSmith got a tee time at Harbour Town and invited Pait along. She enjoys riding in the cart with him when he goes out to play, which enables NeSmith to get some work in and “we can have some good quality time together,â€� he says. A friend was hiding in the bushes about 100 yards from the 18th green to take photographs when the couple arrived. He didn’t have a telescopic lens to capture the moment when NeSmith got down on one knee but that didn’t put a damper on the proposal. The champagne flowed at Bluffton when the couple returned to the Andreoletti home that afternoon, and they had another celebration after returning home to Aiken, South Carolina. The two were married 18 months later at an Augusta church where three other generations of his family have also said their vows, the first wedding held back in 1899. But Harbour Town and that scenic par 4 closing hole that meanders down the shore of the Cailbogue Sound always will hold a spot in their hearts, even if they need to wait another year. “I thought it’d be special for the both of us,â€� he says with a smile. “It was just a right time, right place kind of thing.â€�

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HONOLULU, Hawaii – Australian PGA TOUR players Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith have kickstarted a campaign to help with the extensive bushfire crisis that has overrun their home country and have called upon their fellow TOUR pros from all nations to join the cause. Leishman and Smith have vowed to donate funds for every birdie and eagle they make at this week’s Sony Open in Hawaii and have already received significant support from fellow Australian players in the field in Matt Jones, Cameron Davis, Cameron Percy and Rhein Gibson. In a huge boost to the cause, the Presidents Cup – which was recently held in Melbourne Australia – and the PGA TOUR have committed to match any figures raised by any player in the Sony Open field up to $125,000. Smith and Leishman were both members of the International team in the competition. “It is heartwarming and comes as no surprise to see our players lend their support for the current crisis here in Australia,â€� said Presidents Cup Executive Director Matt Kamienski. “Having worked and lived in Australia for the past two editions of the Presidents Cup in 2011 and 2019, it is difficult to witness what this community has endured over the last several weeks. Our thoughts are with those who have experienced a loss during this time and we thank those who continually raise their hand to fight these bushfires. “The Presidents Cup and the PGA TOUR have been welcomed with open arms in all of our visits to Australia and we hope our involvement will positively impact the community that gave so much to the event.â€� To date, more than 7.3 million hectares (17.9 million acres or over 28,000 square miles) have been burned across Australia’s six states – an area larger than the American state of West Virginia. The burn area is also larger than the countries of Belgium and Denmark combined. For comparison, the 2019 Amazon rainforest fires burned more than 7 million hectares while California’s wildfires combined to burn just over 100,000 hectares in 2019 and 404,000 hectares in 2018. Multiple fires are still raging. There have been 24 lives lost and destruction of homes is in the thousands. The wildlife of the country has also taken a cataclysmic hit also with estimates of half a billion animals being affected. “The devastation caused in this unprecedented national crisis in Australia is just terrible,â€� Leishman said. “There have been lives lost and around 2,000 families have lost homes, not to mention the catastrophic damage to the unique wildlife in the country. The communities across the nation have shown tremendous spirit in the face of such adversity and it is the least we can do to try to help out.â€� Leishman has vowed to donate $500 a birdie and $1,000 an eagle this week. Supporters of his have added to this taking it up over $800 a birdie and $2,000 an eagle. Leishman’s Begin Again Foundation has also vowed to match general donations up to $5,000. “I am calling on my fellow TOUR pros to join the cause and create enough support so we can maximize the donations from the Presidents Cup and TOUR itself as well,â€� Leishman said. “This is a global crisis and a cause close to my heart.â€� Smith was quick to jump on board, rallying to his nations cause. He will also pledge $500 a birdie and $1,000 an eagle this week. “People all over Australia are doing it tough at the moment and if we can help in some small way hopefully that keeps some of the morale a little higher,â€� Smith said. “Aussies are resilient people and the scenes of how everyone has come together in awful circumstances shows why I am so proud to be Australian. But this goes beyond a nation’s borders. This is a crisis that could use widespread global support. I am sure our PGA TOUR community will rally around this.â€� Jones, the recent Australian Open champion, who claimed his title in Sydney amongst dense smoke from the fires has pledged $250 a birdie and $500 an eagle while Davis, Gibson and Percy will also provide meaningful figures in the coming days. There are several ways people can support the cause including through Leishman’s Foundation at http://beginagainfoundation.com/donate/. Other ways include: The NSW Rural Fire Service https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/about-us/fundraising The Victorian Country Fire Authority https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/about/supporting-cfa#donate-cfa The Queensland Fire and Rescue team http://www.givit.org.au/disasters South Australian Country Fire Service https://cfsfoundation.org.au/donate Western Australia https://www.bushfire.org.au/product/support-the-association-supporting-volunteers/ Wildlife donations can be directed here https://www.wires.org.au/donate/emergency-fund

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