PGA cancels Players and future events

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Tiger Woods may be playing the Wells Fargo Championship for the first time in six years, but he wasn’t the only member of his pro-am group who was in the spotlight Wednesday. Shahbaz Hashmi, a high-school senior from Alamo Heights, Texas, got to play with Woods after winning an essay contest conducted by Wells Fargo and The First Tee. Hashmi impressed with his game (he’s a +0.9 handicap) and his composure. Ashami hit a long tee shot down the 18th fairway, then almost made birdie after hitting his approach shot to 20 feet. He shared the podium with Woods in his post-round press conference and even fulfilled an autograph request after finishing his round. “Shahbaz, he did fantastically today,� Woods said. “Some of the shots he hit today, the flight of some of the drives he hit was penetrating and solid, especially after the wind came up. He piped the drive down 18.� Hashmi, a 12-year participant in The First Tee of San Antonio got to pick his playing partner Wednesday. It was an easy decision. “Tiger Woods is unequivocally my hero,� he said. “Watching him dominate in a way no other athlete has in their respective sport has served as such an inspiration for not only me but my entire generation.� Woods owns 79 PGA TOUR victories. Hashmi has an impressive resume of his own. He is the president of The First Tee of San Antonio’s junior advisory board and mentors younger participants in the program. He speaks three languages (French, Uru/Hindi and English) and wants to study international monetary policy and foreign relations in college. He has a 4.0 grade-point average. Hashmi carried his own bag in Wednesday’s pro-am and made sure to capture plenty of photos and videos of the round. He stood in the middle of the 16th fairway, about 10 yards behind Woods, as Woods hit his approach shot. The amateur tees were some 70 yards ahead of the back tees on the par-3 17th, but Hashmi made the trek bto watch Woods tee off. Like the rest of Woods’ gallery, Ashami held his phone aloft as Woods hit his shot. Ashami said Woods’ advice helped him hit that impressive tee shot on the last hole. “He said his father told him that, with driver in hand, he could swing as hard as he wanted as long as he could hit the center of the clubface and hold his finish until the ball landed,� Ashami said. “Coming in, I was just holding my finish to the best of my ability. On the back nine, I was striping it off the tee and with the irons.� He drew a “Nice shot there� from Woods after hitting his approach shot to 20 feet. He barely missed the birdie putt. It would’ve been the perfect ending to the perfect day. “I can’t say one thing I was impressed by because I was impressed by all of it,� Ashami said. This will be Woods’ seventh start at the Wells Fargo Championship. He finished no worse than 11th in his first four trips here, including a win in 2007, but missed the cut in his past two trips to Charlotte (2010, 12). Woods is scheduled to tee off at 12:50 p.m. Thursday with Brooks Koepka and newly-minted Masters champion Patrick Reed. Woods will see a new course after modifications were made for last year’s PGA Championship. Changes include combining the first two holes to make a long par-4 and a new par-3 fourth hole. “The golf course is much harder than it used to be, that’s for sure,� Woods said. “Some of these holes have become a lot more stout. The bunkers are certainly more in play than they used to be and the greens are new so they’re a little more springy.� This will be Woods’ first start since a disappointing 32nd-place finish at the Masters. Woods arrived at Augusta National after having opportunities to win his preceding two starts, but poor iron play kept him from contending at a course where he has won four times. A final-round 69 was his only under-par round of the week. Woods took 10 days off after Augusta National. He is scheduled to play this week and next week’s THE PLAYERS Championship. It will be just his second appearance at TPC Sawgrass since his win in 2013. He finished T69 at the 2015 PLAYERS. “Hopefully I can have everything peak for this week and next week� Woods said.

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CALENDON, Ont. – Gerry Dee ended his experience at the Osprey Valley Open in a much better way than he started – in fact, he did something Friday he had never done in his golfing career. Dee, a Canadian comedian and actor who has played golf most of his life (including teeing it up as a youngster against Mike Weir) played this week at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley on a sponsor exemption and made an eight on his first hole of the week. He ended, however, by making back-to-back birdies on No’s 8 and 9 Friday – his final two holes of the day. “I’ve never birdied my final two holes, ever. And I’ve played a lot of golf,� said Dee with a seemingly never-ending chuckle. It was all part of a week for Dee where he got to see up close how talented members of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada are. The 50-year-old Dee plays to a five handicap and is a member of The National Golf Club of Canada, long believed to be the country’s most difficult layout. He shot 84-79 to miss the cut this week, however, he said there were some great takeaways the last two days. “You learn a lot on a golf course, which is why I think I’m so fascinated by the game mentally. There’s an embarrassment factor for me. I never wanted to embarrass myself and let my friends and enemies take a dig at me. I didn’t light it up and there are so many better golfers than me that are not on this Tour, but for me as a comedian and a dad and 50 years old, I’m proud of how I bounced back and how I shot today,� said Dee. Dee played with fellow Canadians Russell Budd (68-69) and James Allenby (69-69) and said he learned a lot from the two of them. Allenby, who was in the final group on Sunday at the Canada Life Open earlier this year, said playing with a celebrity gave this week a bit of flavor. “I was impressed with his game. He hits it pretty solid with his irons. There were a couple things where if he had time to work on things he’d do even better, like the feel with his putting, but breaking 80 on the second day… I was pretty happy for him,� said Allenby. Dee said it was “a treat� to watch Allenby and Budd play up close the last two days. Dee admitted he didn’t want to get in their way while they played for their livelihood, but he did get a little help from the two pros and pick their brains about junior golf, since Dee (who is a father of three) has kids who are playing in their own golf tournaments these days. “They were easy-going guys, phenomenal players. Both of them are in position to win this. I’m going to watch it assuming I didn’t make the cut,� said Dee, tongue firmly in cheek. Dee, who has played with members of the PGA TOUR before, said it was obvious that members of the Mackenzie Tour are pretty close to that level, too. He alluded to Doc Redman – who is ninth on the Mackenzie Tour’s Order of Merit – finishing runner-up on the PGA TOUR three weeks ago in Detroit as an example of someone that was on the Mackenzie Tour but can still make noise at a higher level. “I was saying to Russell, ‘you’re all capable of having that weekend.’ That’s the level it’s at. For people who are watching and thinking ‘20-under, oh it must be an easy course because it’s Mackenzie Tour,’ they’re just as good,� said Dee. “As you’ve seen with (Mackenzie Tour) alumni who have gone and dominated on the PGA TOUR… they get it going and they get it together. “I saw shots – putts, flops, drives, and everything was just impressive. These guys are good, man.� Dee said it was more of a mental grind this week than a physical one, joking that he hopes he didn’t actually make the cut because he was so drained. “On the course I can’t check texts, I can’t check emails, I don’t know what time it is, I don’t know what the cut is… you’re just out there on an island, stressing. Every shot I was stressing. Every shot,� said Dee. “I’d be looking, at the fifth hole, and I was just counting how many holes I have left. It’s too draining. I was watching (Allenby and Budd) and at one point James was on the cutline, and I saw what a grind it is. I might have quit.� When the final birdie putt of the day fell, Dee doffed his cap to the assembled crowed around the final hole of the day, shook hands with his playing competitors, and that was that. For a career funnyman, he put on a serious performance this week. He couldn’t help but get in one last laugh, though. “It was a great time. I was so glad I did this. I wasn’t sure if I should, but I learned a lot about a lot of things. Now I’ll probably have a bath. That’s what you do at my age, have a bath,� said Dee. “How many guys out here are having baths?�

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