PGA TOUR announces innovative new Augmented Reality app

Tiger Woods’ even-par 71 has him five shots off the lead at the Open in Carnoustie, Scotland.

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The grand prize was $1 million for a reason. The game is really, really, really hard. No one in the Perfect Lineup Challenge guessed all four of the top scorers at THE NORTHERN TRUST – Bryson DeChambeau (611 points), Tony Finau (462), Billy Horschel (417) and Cameron Smith (414) – so the grand prize will not be rewarded. No one connected on even three. Fifty-six gamers hit on two. The contest doesn’t end, though. Runner-up prizes are still there for the taking. The gamer who scores the most fantasy points throughout the four events of the FedExCup Playoffs will win a driver. He or she with the second-most points will win a putter. All six of your picks contribute to your total. This week’s Dell Technologies Championship is the last tournament of 2017-18 with a cut, so every gamer in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO is poised to score in all four rounds in the last two. Other than the usual objective to get four to the weekend, the most challenging component in Segment 4 has been rationing starts. This goes for front-runners, too, because quadrupled FedExCup bonuses can make such a big difference in the Playoffs. It’s a race to the finish line regardless of your ranking. Cycle through the chalk freely. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the Dell Technologies Championship (in alphabetical order): Jason Day Tony Finau Brooks Koepka Jordan Spieth Adam Scott Justin Thomas You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Bryson DeChambeau; Tommy Fleetwood; Dustin Johnson; Marc Leishman; Phil Mickelson; Ryan Palmer; Jon Rahm; Justin Rose; Cameron Smith; Tiger Woods Driving: Keegan Bradley; Rafa Cabrera Bello; Patrick Cantlay; Paul Casey; Bryson DeChambeau; Tommy Fleetwood; Billy Horschel; Justin Rose; Gary Woodland Approach: Keegan Bradley; Rafa Cabrera Bello; Paul Casey; Joel Dahmen; Bryson DeChambeau; Dustin Johnson; Russell Knox; Kevin Na; Tiger Woods Short: Bryson DeChambeau; Branden Grace; Billy Horschel; Dustin Johnson; Phil Mickelson; Kevin Na; Justin Rose; Webb Simpson; Cameron Smith Power Rankings Wild Card Marc Leishman … Finds himself in a curious position. Since he started his season with a playoff loss at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, the Aussie pretty much has known that he’ll be able to defend his title at next week’s BMW Championship. Currently 24th in points, it will be a reality, but he’s been a lot more miss than hit of late. Top 15s at the Quicken Loans National and the WGC-Bridgestone are his only top 30s of the last three months. Last year’s solo third at TPC Boston ended a three-year drought without a top 45 on the course. Bottom line, we know who he is, so invest in the baseline contribution. Lining him up as a complement in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO is advised. Draws Tiger Woods … Gamers who are paying attention might sound like a redundancy in terms, but there is no longer shock among the loyal contingent when he doesn’t appear in the Power Rankings. He’ll never be just another golfer in the mainstream, but our results-based enterprise requires more for us to think differently. This explains why he continues to epitomize the greatest chasm between reality and fantasy. He has a phenomenal record at TPC Boston what with a win (in 2006), two T2s and a solo third, but this is his first look at the track in five years. Those who aren’t invested likely will think that it’s foolish to label him as a contrarian choice, but that’s exactly how he sets up this week. Webb Simpson … He’s been a machine so he defaults into this grouping, and while he’s a former winner at TPC Boston (2011), this actually is a good week to turn him off and save him for the last two events. At ninth in FedExCup points, he’ll be at Aronimink and East Lake. Charley Hoffman … Some seasons don’t make sense. He’s 18-for-24 with eight top 20s, three of which in majors and one at the WGC-Mexico Championship. He’s also fresh off a T20 at THE NORTHERN TRUST, yet he’s fighting for his Playoffs life at 75th in points thanks in part to the absence of a top 10. He didn’t appear in Sleepers because he’s all but a slam-dunk to advance. Winner at TPC Boston in 2010 with a solo third in 2015 are supportive, but this endorsement attaches entirely to his long-range form. Cameron Smith … Ah, the value of grinding out cuts made. After a dreadful three months, the Aussie connected four paydays over five weeks. Then, in his first start as a 25-year-old, he scaled to register a T3 at THE NORTHERN TRUST where he was firing on all cylinders. He’s proven to be streaky in his young career, so have no fear in doubling down at TPC Boston. Louis Oosthuizen … Responded favorably from his 11th-hour withdrawal at the PGA Championship (due to a sore back) with a faded T28 at Ridgewood. With a series of strong results both before it and in all four showings at TPC Boston, he’s built for gamers who need a swing for the fence. Keegan Bradley (all) Rafa Cabrera Bello (all) Tyrrell Hatton (DFS) Zach Johnson (DFS) Ryan Palmer (all) Ian Poulter (DFS) Fades Bubba Watson … Within the construct that he’s played well at multiple sites where he has in the past – three victories on the season ain’t too shabby – there is the lament that he also has failed to deliver when similarly expected. Just two paydays in his last five starts upon arrival, neither of which going for a top 30, and only one top 25 at TPC Boston (T16, 2011) during the FedExCup era. Jimmy Walker … Still scuffling, but that implies the acceptable higher expectation given he started 2018 with residual concern over his illness. At 68th in points, a top 25 ought to be enough to advance, but he’s gone three months without one. Alex Noren … Uncharacteristically struggling as Ryder Cup qualifying also comes to a conclusion, there’s simply no reason to reach right now. Daniel Berger Brian Gay Brian Harman Charles Howell III Kevin Kisner Matt Kuchar Returning to Competition Brandt Snedeker … The annual conversation regarding the beat-up and beleaguered spiked in recent weeks. Therein lies the irony surrounding the winner of the Wyndham Championship who sat out last week’s opener at Ridgewood due to back spasms after missing the Playoffs entirely last year due to the strange injury in his sternum joint. He earned more breathing room this year as he’s 35th in the FedExCup standings, but even if he acknowledges that he’s 100 percent upon arrival at TPC Boston, it’s been six years since he recorded a top 40 on the course. Henrik Stenson … The 42-year-old Swede suffered the injury to his left elbow at a tough time. He always just creeps over the threshold of 15 starts to retain voting and membership privileges, but he needs the Dell Technologies Championship to check that box this season. The T20 in his title defense at Sedgefield was impressive both in result and commitment amid the malady. Then there’s the impact on us at TPC Boston where he prevailed in 2013 and finished second in 2015. He’s finished outside the top 25 in his other three starts, so he’s hardly an automatic, but caution is required as he pushes the elbow. At this point, a Ryder Cup berth would be a bonus. Currently 55th in FedExCup points. Notable WDs Francesco Molinari … After missing the cut at Ridgewood, he slipped five spots to 13th in points. With the surety to advance to the TOUR Championship and with the Ryder Cup immediately thereafter, this is a well-timed break. Rickie Fowler … As suggested in this space last week, the oblique injury is serious. It’s forcing him to take another week off. At 22nd in points, he’s likely safe to qualify for the TOUR Championship, but he’s not a lock. His lead over Luke List at 31st is 191.277 FedExCup points. Eighteenth place at TPC Boston is worth 196 points. A year ago, Henrik Stenson ranked 22nd entering the Dell Technologies Championship and didn’t play. His lead over Billy Horschel (31st) was 206.857 points, and Stenson dropped to only 26th. Power Rankings Recap – THE NORTHERN TRUST Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Dustin Johnson  T11 2  Justin Thomas  T8 3  Brooks Koepka  T8 4  Webb Simpson  T28 5  Justin Rose  MC 6  Francesco Molinari  MC 7  Tiger Woods  T40 8  Jason Day  T20 9  Jon Rahm  MC 10  Jordan Spieth  T25 11  Patrick Reed  T25 12  Brandt Snedeker  DNP 13  Rafa Cabrera Bello  T60 14  Patrick Cantlay  T8 15  Zach Johnson  T40 16  Adam Scott  T5 17  Tony Finau  2nd 18  Tommy Fleetwood  T20 19  Hideki Matsuyama  T15 20  Paul Casey  T60 Wild Card  Gary Woodland  T48 Sleepers Recap – THE NORTHERN TRUST Golfer  Result Tyler Duncan  MC Martin Laird  T73 Danny Lee  T34 Sam Ryder  T28 Harold Varner III  T40 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR August 28 … none August 29 … Carl Pettersson (41); Peter Uihlein (29) August 30 … none August 31 … Padraig Harrington (47); Charl Schwartzel (34) September 1 … none September 2 … none September 3 … none

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Anthony Ford had made history in high school but was unsure about the specifics of college golf. Kharynton Beggs was coming off a back injury and wondered if her dream had already died. Maeve Cummins stood out in Northern Ireland but was apprehensive about coming to America. All three are playing collegiately thanks in no small part to the Congaree Global Golf Initiative (CGGI), an immersive golf and life skills program at an 18th-century estate in the middle of South Carolina. CGGI transforms lives via equal parts education and game-improvement, with the aim of getting kids college golf scholarships. There’s instruction, club-fitting, and yoga, but also SAT prep, time-management, and college placement. The program fits nicely into the philanthropic mission of Congaree, a world-class golf club set amid 2,000 acres of Lowcountry longleaf pines and lakes. “My mom didn’t believe it was real,” says Cummins, who was among the first wave of CGGI campers in 2017 and now plays for Div. II Carson-Newman University in Tennessee. “She was like, ‘This has to be a scam.’ I was all in, straightaway.” Cummins, who as a freshman would win Women’s Golfer of the Year for the South Atlantic Conference, had received a gem of a letter. It read, in part: You have been recommended by a member of Congaree’s global network of ambassadors based on your interest in golf and for your dedication and desire to pursue higher education and a collegiate golf career. She would get coaching from PGA professionals, on a Tom Fazio-designed course, with input from education and testing experts – including a seasoned college-placement professional. She and her mother, who had just picked her up from school to go play golf, were flabbergasted. “I shot under par that day,” Cummins says. “I was on cloud nine. It was pretty cool.” This week’s Palmetto Championship at Congaree will change the life of the player who wins it, but just as impactful will be CGGI, an all-expenses-paid golf immersive that prepares promising high schoolers to tee it up in college. The fifth season of the program will start when 15 new campers roll into Congaree on the Monday after the tournament. “What I like about it is we’re helping kids make a decision to commit to education,” says CGGI Executive Program Director Bruce Davidson. “Education is the key. Going to university to play a sport gets you in the door, and if you can manage an athletic timetable as well as studies, it teaches you so much about time management, discipline, and all that goes along with that.” Cummins flew from Belfast to Heathrow – where she met up with other campers and two Congaree ambassadors – and then flew the rest of the way to South Carolina. She reports an almost mystical quality about being driven through the gates – like rolling up Augusta National’s Magnolia Lane. (Not bad for a first visit to America.) She showed up with a set of hand-me-down men’s clubs with extra-stiff shafts and was promptly fitted for a new set of PINGs – a fantasy-camp-like experience that is very real at CGGI. Kayleigh Franklin of the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) gives each camper an assessment and personalized exercises. Davidson, who worked under Dick Harmon at Houston’s River Oaks Country Club, and John McNeely, who learned from Claude Harmon at Winged Foot, handle instruction along with fellow world-class teachers Katherine Doyle and Jason Baile. Matt Cuccaro, Director of Performance at Georgia’s Sea Island Resort, offers guidance on the mental aspect. Kids work on test-taking and college-admissions essays, and consult with Lorne Kelly, a Walker Cup player for Great Britain & Ireland who ran a business that helped place European kids in American universities. “He has like 2,200 college coaches on speed dial,” Davidson says. “It made me decide that going to America to play golf was something I’d like to do, if it was possible,” Cummins says. “We went through SATs and stuff, what it takes to get into college in America, which was good because our exams back home aren’t multiple choice. Lorne told me that a DII size school might be the best fit and put us in touch. From the first call I knew.” Ford, who led Atlanta’s Drew Charter to its historic state title in 2019 and now plays for North Carolina A&T, a historically Black college and university, describes the week as unlike any golf camp he’d ever seen. His full fitting, driver to wedges, was a first for him, and the course and accommodations were spectacular. The atmosphere gave him a taste of what playing college golf would be like. “They didn’t treat us like kids,” he says. “They treated like we were already student-athletes. They gave us that responsibility. Workouts and yoga every morning. They expected us to be on time, be punctual, give it our all when we practiced or played.” Some but not all of the Congaree kids come from the First Tee. That goes for Ford, who played with partner Billy Andrade in the 2019 PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach. Beggs, who is an alumnus of First Tee chapters in Baltimore, Maryland, and Charleston, South Carolina, once considered quitting golf. Her father, Chris, died in a motorcycle accident in Baltimore five years ago. Kharynton, who had been living with her mother, Teia, in South Carolina, and had just gotten home from a First Tee leadership academy in Minnesota, was shattered. “I was doing really well before the accident,” she says. “I was at that leadership academy, which I was so excited about. I had just finished freshman year of high school. After the accident I went into a state of denial, kept doing everything I was doing before, went right back into it. “In hindsight it wasn’t the best idea. When school started, I was like, I don’t know if I’m OK.” She didn’t play high school golf that year. “I thought, maybe this is a good time to take some time off,” she says. “Then I really removed myself from the game.” Her coach at the First Tee of Charleston kept checking in on her. “He kept calling to ask, ‘Hey, am I going to see you later today?’” she says. “And I would say no, and he would keep calling. He didn’t make me feel weird for missing it, but he also didn’t give up. That’s what got me back into it. Eventually one day I just said OK.” Beggs played No. 1 for all-girls Ashley Hall in Charleston but suffered another setback when she hurt her back hitting a shot during her junior year. College coaches stopped writing. She was, however, nominated to go to Congaree, which was when things began to turn around. She got stronger, worked on her game, wrote a five-year plan. She recently happened upon it, marveling at how many of her intentions had become a reality. Soon after leaving Congaree, she played the 2018 PURE Insurance at Pebble Beach with partner Jay Haas – a fellow Palmetto State resident. Teia, who’d gotten Kharynton into golf, formed a friendship with Haas’ wife, Jan. Today, Kharynton plays for Division III Oglethorpe University, where she will be a junior in the fall. Without the helping hand of CGGI, she says, it’s unclear where she would have ended up. “Going to Congaree helped,” she says. “Getting that instruction, seeing how much I loved the sport, I knew how much I wanted to play college golf and make that a reality.” Davidson says there are plans to take CGGI on the road, although thus far that’s only happened virtually, owing to the pandemic. The U.K. version of CGGI was limited to distance-learning last summer and will be again this year. Still, it accomplished its goal of connecting kids to colleges. “We’ve had discussions with a golf course in Brazil,” Davidson says. “We’re looking at the Middle East. We want to have as many Congaree kids as we can get into college.” And after that? “The cool thing about Congaree,” he adds, “is our ambassadors are standing by and ready to help them get employment after graduation. If they play the PGA TOUR or LPGA, that’s terrific, but we all know that less than one percent of NCAA graduates go on to play any professional tour.” Cummins, whose father works in the window manufacturing industry and mother works part time resolving disputes in the workplace, never had much money to travel throughout Europe for tournaments. But by getting involved with CGGI, and now being a member of the Carson-Newman Eagles women’s team, she has put those issues behind her. She plans to graduate a semester early this December with a major in sports management and a minor in accounting, and then begin work on her MBA. She is doing an internship at The Preserve Resort in Tennessee this summer to get a taste of normal life in the States. It was arranged, as so many things have been, through Congaree. “It’s one of those things in life, I don’t know where I would be in life if I didn’t get that letter in the mail,” she says. “I’ve made so many good friends in America; I’m definitely very grateful.”

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