PGA TOUR statement on THE PLAYERS Championship and Coronavirus

Dave Blakelock, founder of 100 Days 100 Courses powered by TeeOff by PGA TOUR, is playing 100 different golf courses in 100 days in hopes of raising $100,000 for Alzheimer’s research. On Sunday, that journey brought Blakelock to the home of THE PLAYERS Championship, The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Alzheimer’s impacts six million Americans and one-in-three seniors. Recent hardships in Blakelock’s own family inspired him to act. “My mother-in-law died of Alzheimer’s back in July, and my mother has early stage Alzheimer’s, so it has impacted both sides of my family,� he said. “I came up with this idea to play golf for 100 days to get people’s attention, and to try to create some awareness all over the country.� Starting in Palm Springs, California, back on March 14th, Blakelock is traveling over 9,000 miles to play golf every day at a different course. His final stop will be Plymouth, Massachusetts, on June 21st – the Summer Solstice, where people across the world participate in fundraising for Alzheimer’s on The Longest Day of the Year. To unify the narrative and pay a special tribute to those affected by Alzheimer’s, Blakelock is teeing up a purple ball on the third hole of every golf course he plays throughout his journey. Blakelock is playing at some of the best courses in the country. In addition to Sunday’s stop at TPC Sawgrass, he is also playing PGA West, Quintero and Crystal Springs Resort, among a host of others. TeeOff by PGA TOUR generously donated a foursome at each of the 100 courses during the trip, and three spots in every foursome are available to the public, with proceeds supporting the cause. To learn more about 100 Days 100 Courses, and to book a tee time in an upcoming foursome, please visit 100days100courses.com.

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One of the more dominant teams in QBE Shootout history will defend its title when the PGA TOUR’s longest-running Challenge Event returns December 6-10 to Tiburón Golf Club at The Ritz-Carlton Resort, in Naples, Fla. In addition, Lexi Thompson, the highest-ranked American player on the LPGA Tour, is scheduled to make her second-consecutive appearance, becoming the first female player in tournament history to play multiple times in the QBE Shootout. “We are looking forward to watching Harris [English] and Matt [Kuchar] as they seek to become the first duo to win the QBE Shootout three times. Both have been great champions and supporters of the event�, said Tournament Host Greg Norman. “I am equally thrilled that Lexi Thompson, one of the games bright stars, will be returning to the QBE Shootout once again. Lexi brings another element of youthful energy to the week for our pro-am participants, fans, players, corporate partners and worldwide TV audience.� “In addition to The Shootout bringing together some of the world’s best and most prominent names in golf, the tournament provides financial support for very worthwhile charities,� said Russ Johnston, Chief Executive Officer of QBE North America. “Giving back to our communities is in our DNA, which is why the opportunity to sponsor the Shootout was very attractive to us. There’s a very close alignment between the goals of the QBE Charitable Foundation and the philanthropic mission of Greg Norman’s event.� Since winning the QBE Shootout, Kuchar had another consistent season on the PGA TOUR. He accumulated nine top-ten finishes in 26 starts that included a runner-up finish at The Open Championship and a T4 at the Masters. Kuchar finished the season as a member of the victorious U.S. Presidents Cup team, contributing with a 2-1 individual record. English advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs for the sixth consecutive year on the strength of four top-25 finishes that included a pair of top-10s. English and Kuchar won the QBE Shootout last year by one stroke over Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly. It was English who sank a 12-foot putt for eagle on the 17th hole to secure the duo’s second title in three years. Thompson, 22, enjoyed another stellar season on the LPGA Tour. She picked up two more victories giving her nine career wins on the LPGA and a total of 12 professional titles. She is ranked No.3 in the world—the only American in the top-ten. The remainder of the 24-player field, competing for a $3.3 million purse, will be announced October 30. The pairings for the teams will be finalized by early November. The criteria for players qualifying for the 24-person field was adjusted this year to accurately reflect today’s PGA TOUR standards. The Shootout’s field will be comprised of its defending champions playing as a team, the top 12 committed professionals from the final 2017 FedExCup standings and 10 special exemptions; a minimum of four which will come from the top 40 on the PGA TOUR Career money list. The QBE Shootout, featuring 12 two-person teams will once again feature a scramble format during the first round, a modified alternate shot format on Saturday and a final-round better ball on Sunday. CureSearch for Children’s Cancer is the tournament’s primary charitable beneficiary. Additionally, to support the relief efforts of Hurricane Irma the QBE Shootout has recently launched a hurricane relief fund to support the local recovery efforts. Since 1989, the Shootout has raised more than $13 million for charitable causes.  

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Jason Kokrak … Let’s try this again, shall we? Not long after this space published for last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he withdrew from the tournament. Looking ahead, he makes even more sense at the Genesis Open where the vagaries that influence performance are minimal by comparison. He hasn’t missed an edition since first qualifying in 2012 and he’s missed only one cut in those seven trips. His last three resulted in top 25s, including a co-runner-up in 2016, and his scoring average over those 12 rounds is 69.08. Arrives in solid form with 12 consecutive cuts made, the last three of which were top 20s. Certainly long enough when he needs to find another gear, but the 33-year-old arguably is most confident with his irons. Martin Laird … He’s been performing pretty much as expected in recent weeks, and that includes an early pop at the Waste Management Phoenix Open before fading to T26. So, the mildly sneaky horse for a course deserves attention across the landscape at Riviera where he’s gone T11-T8-T9 with a scoring average of 68.92 since 2016. It’s sensible given his experience – this week’s edition marks his 10th appearance – and balanced attack throughout his bag. Jhonattan Vegas … When in his groove, he’s one of the PGA TOUR’s strongest talents tee to green, so he rarely worries about giving himself enough chances to make noise. The issue, as it has been since crashing on in 2011, is the putter. That explains not only his hit-and-miss record over time, but the same at Riviera. In six starts, he’s connected for just two top 35s among four cuts made, but both were top 15s. True to the formula, en route to a T15 here in 2017, he ranked 18th in strokes gained: putting. In his most recent start, he slotted fourth in strokes gained: tee-to-green and finished T10 at TPC Scottsdale, another track that rewards that skill set. Sung Kang … He’s the product of converging trends, but it matters more that he’s 4-for-4 at Riviera with a T8 in 2016, a T22 in 2017 and a T16 last year. His scoring average for those 12 rounds is 69.33. Yet, it still doesn’t hurt that he’s recorded three top 20s since returning from the holiday hiatus, including a T14 at Pebble Beach. He’s ridden spurts in between long droughts before, but his elevated tee-to-green game at the moment suggests that this latest burst will extend at least one more week. Bud Cauley … At 28 years of age, he’s the youngest on this page, but he’s in his seventh season with a PGA TOUR card and this will be his fifth start at the Genesis Open where his personal-best of three cuts made was a T20 last year. He’s made us forget all about the time missed as a result of the automobile crash last summer by opening this season 5-for-7 with a pair of top 15s. Presents evenly analytically, which projects well once again at Riviera. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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