PGA of America CEO Waugh exiting after 6 years

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The 20th of 24 contributing events for PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO is this week’s Shaw Charity Classic. It begins on Friday. Scroll for tournament notes, 16 notables and four wild cards from the field of 78 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Bryson DeChambeau is everything but a scrappy middle infielder just happy to be on the roster, but when he goes two months without doing any damage, sending him to the plate at THE NORTHERN TRUST and asking him to clear the wall was everything we want when we target swinging for the fences. However, his victory – by four strokes at that – also isn’t what we can expect. DeChambeau slotted 25th overall with an ownership percentage of just 0.90 at Ridgewood, so the apathy was evident. Gotta love golf and you gotta love the timing of the crack of the bat. With 2,000 FedExCup points rewarded to each of the four winners in the Playoffs, it’s so, so, sweet when one goes yard. A relatively unfamiliar track like Ridgewood figures to yield that outcome more than, say, TPC Boston. As stated in my Power Rankings on Monday, since the inaugural edition of the Dell Technologies Championship won by Adam Scott in 2003, only Phil Mickelson (2007) has prevailed in a first appearance. Despite your best arguments, that fact rules out the likes of percolating Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Alex Noren, Beau Hossler, Peter Uihlein and 13 others; that is, if all you’re chasing is the trophy. If that goal sounds obvious, then you’re new here. My objective in every tournament is a top 10. Top fives are bonuses and victories are worthy of celebration. Even some contenders late in the season don’t need a win events for league championships. Webb Simpson, McIlroy (twice), Henrik Stenson and Justin Thomas all have emerged victorious at TPC Boston since Mickelson. All are short-listers who will have your attention this week, but only McIlroy and Thomas deserve it. Simpson has been on fire but only in the context of this season. Since 2015 at the DTC, he’s gone T44-MC-T75. That positions him similarly to the previously scuffling DeChambeau, but I’d rather ride Simpson on courses like Aronimink and East Lake where his tee-to-green proficiency enhances his chances. Stenson is still nursing a sore left elbow. He’s an easy pass. Same goes for Wyndham champ Brandt Snedeker, who sat out last week with back spasms. And it was warm at Ridgewood. McIlroy is healthy but he’s getting in his own way, so to speak. As a two-time winner and all-time earnings leader of this tournament, we have to expect a renewal of comfort as he reconnects with conviction and confidence. As stated in this space last week, he’s perfect for chasers. Front-runners can empty the chamber. Course history is your ally. Thomas defends with Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau, Adam Scott and Patrick Reed also standing by waiting for the call. Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm and Paul Casey are secondary selections for various reasons and all have delivered at TPC Boston at least once before. Do not hesitate regardless of recent form, good or indifferent. When Justin Rose misses a cut at a joint like Ridgewood, you know the course is fair, but his leash is one of the longest. The only issue is that he’s warranted restraint at TPC Boston throughout his career. He’ll regain our attention (and devotion) in earnest at Aronimink where he’s won before. Two-man gamers should focus on surging Billy Horschel and Cameron Smith, the pair at T3 at Ridgewood. A little deeper, the likes of Charley Hoffman and Keegan Bradley should contribute. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2017-18. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Paul Casey … Dell Technologies (2); TOUR Championship (3) Kevin Chappell … Dell Technologies (3) Jason Day … Dell Technologies (5) Jason Dufner … TOUR Championship (7) Billy Horschel … TOUR Championship (4) Dustin Johnson … Dell Technologies (11); TOUR Championship (6) Zach Johnson … TOUR Championship (8) Russell Knox … Dell Technologies (7) Rory McIlroy … Dell Technologies (5); TOUR Championship (3) Ryan Moore … TOUR Championship (6) Louis Oosthuizen … Dell Technologies (3) Patrick Reed … Dell Technologies (2) Justin Rose … TOUR Championship (2) Adam Scott … Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (6) Jordan Spieth … TOUR Championship (4) Henrik Stenson … Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (2) Justin Thomas … Dell Technologies (6; defending); TOUR Championship (3) Jimmy Walker … Dell Technologies (7) Bubba Watson … TOUR Championship (4) CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE Shaw Charity Classic Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club in Calgary, Alberta, hosts the sixth edition of the tournament. It’s a par 70 with five par 3s and three par 5s. Scott McCarron is back to defend a one-stroke victory over Miguel Angel Jiménez. McCarron converted three eagles and 15 birdies against five bogeys en route to 16-under 194. The $2.35-million purse is the largest of the last five tournaments. The winner will pocket $352,500. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Stephen Ames … Shaw (7) Fred Couples … Usable everywhere. Joe Durant … Shaw (11); PURE (3); SAS (13) David Frost … Shaw (8); PURE (1) Doug Garwood … SAS (1) Miguel Angel Jiménez … Shaw (7); SAS (12) Jerry Kelly … Shaw (5); PURE (2); SAS (4) Bernhard Langer … Usable everywhere. Defending five titles. Jeff Maggert … Shaw (5) Billy Mayfair … PURE (1) Scott McCarron … Shaw (5; defending); PURE (8) Colin Montgomerie … Shaw (4); PURE (7); SAS (3; defending) Tom Pernice, Jr. … Shaw (3); SAS (5) Vijay Singh … Shaw (5); SAS (1) Kirk Triplett … Shaw (4) Duffy Waldorf … Shaw (5) WILD CARDS (short list of golfers not included above but on the rise or still building portfolios after recently turning 50): Steve Flesch; Scott Parel; Tim Petrovic; Wes Short, Jr.

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Scotland’s Russell Knox, now residing in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, is a two-time PGA TOUR winner. He turned professional in 2007 and made his mark on the Web.com Tour, shooting a rare 59 at the 2013 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco. On the PGA TOUR, Knox became the first Scottish golfer to claim a World Golf Championships title, defeating Kevin Kisner by two strokes at the 2015 WGC-HSBC Champions. His second PGA TOUR victory came at the 2016 Travelers Championship, where he celebrated with an epic hat toss after holing the winning putt. Knox was named Scottish Player of the Year in front of 650 guests at an awards ceremony in Edinburgh in March 2016, an honor accepted by his radio DJ sister, Diane, who co-hosted the event. Although Knox’s childhood nickname was “Roo,” he recently spent a day with horses when he and wife, Andrea, took their first trip to the Kentucky Derby. We caught up with him at THE PLAYERS Championship two days after the race where he shared some thoughts on the experience. Question: Was this the first time at the Kentucky Derby for you? Russell Knox: “It was the first time. My wife has been at me for a few years now to go. I always wanted to go. I always thought it would be cool to experience it but I wasn’t really in a rush. I’m very fortunate to be associated with Vineyard Vines clothing company and they’re heavily involved with the Kentucky Derby, so we asked them for tickets and we went. It was a blast. We really did have a good time.â€� Q: Was the timing not convenient to attend in the past? Russell Knox: “I’d played the Wells Fargo Championship the last few years which coincides with the Derby and it’s tough to schedule an event like going to the Derby when you know you might be playing golf, but this year I knew I was taking that week off and everything just worked out so it was perfect timing for us.â€� Q: Are you a horse-racing fan? Russell Knox: “Not really. I mean, I started watching the Derby when I was playing on the mini-tours and we used to play a tournament just north of Augusta at a place called Savannah Lakes in South Carolina and the people I stayed with that week were from Louisville. It just so happened it was the week of the Derby. Of course, they had it on television so that was my first introduction to it. Since then, I’ve always tuned in to it on television. I’m not a super-big horse-racing fan but the whole experience was amazing, What a place.â€� Q: Did you place a bet? Who did you back? Russell Knox: “I did. I bet Bolt d’Oro and he was 8-1 and he did not win me any money. The whole experience of the races leading up to the Derby was pretty cool. It’s a giant party with 14 races in the day. It was probably just like I expected it to be. It was awesome.â€� Q: Was there something that stood out? Sights, sounds, smells? Russell Knox: “Unfortunately, it rained all day for us, so that was kind of a bummer. Our experience would have differed slightly if it was sunny. There were concerts and activities happening and we probably would have tripped around a little bit more and experienced some of that, but because it was raining we would have gotten soaked if we’d ventured out from our covered seats. That part of it was a little bit of a downer, but it was busy – a lot of people, a lot of cool outfits. I was dressed brightly and a lot of ladies were ‘dressed to the nines’ as they say.â€� Q: The race occurred on Cinco de Mayo this year. Are you a tequila guy or a bourbon guy? Russell Knox: “I don’t really dabble into that much, but I’ll admit I did have a mint julep or two. I expected it to be a fruity drink, but it wasn’t. You definitely get a good taste of bourbon when you have a mint julep. I had a few, but mostly just to cheer on the horses.â€� Q: Did you run into any celebrities or other PGA TOUR professionals? Russell Knox: “I didn’t run into anyone but a did speak with Justin Thomas a few weeks before the race. He told me we were going to have an amazing time because, being from Kentucky, he’d been to the race in previous years. So, I knew we were going to have a good time before we went.â€� Q: How would you compare the atmosphere of the Kentucky Derby to other major sporting events? Russell Knox: “I saw it similar to two events. I’ve been to Wimbledon once. The Masters at Augusta National is the other. I thought it was kind of on that same level because every year it’s the same location. You know it’s going to be there. They can prepare accordingly, everything’s ready, the hype, and there’s so much history. I mean, it was the 144th running of the race. I think I played in the 144th Open Championship as well, so that was a pretty cool connection for me. The history involved in going back to the same place, the traditions like seeing the owners and all the connections walk down the track with the horses, that was pretty cool. You could sense that aura when you’re there.â€� Q: Last question. Would you rather wear the silks of the winning jockey and claim the Kentucky Derby or lift the FedExCup on the PGA TOUR? Russell Knox: “I’ll take that FedExCup trophy. And the bonus that comes with it. All day.â€�  

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