Phil Mickelson uses longer arm-lock putter at Fortinet Championship

Professional golfer Justin Rose and his wife, Kate Rose, have announced a $1 million donation to the Blessings in a Backpack Orlando chapter to help feed elementary school children who might otherwise go hungry on the weekend. This donation from the Kate & Justin Rose Foundation will go on to immediately feed 1,000 children, and help enhance the food bags they are given. The newly announced donation will also help start a match program for the Orlando nonprofit, founded in May 2020, to get volunteers on board to start new programs for the organization. The gift has been set up to have maximum immediate impact on feeding children, while also creating sustainability for the organization. This $1 million donation is in addition to their original gift of $1.15 million to found the Kate & Justin Rose Foundation Chapter of Blessings in a Backpack, Orlando, affectionately known as ‘Rose Blessings Orlando'. WHAT: Kate & Justin Rose Foundation $1 Million Donation to Orlando Nonprofit WHO: Interview with Kate Rose (by appointment), board members and/or volunteers who have seen the impact firsthand. WHEN: Interested media members should contact Joe Culotta to set up an interview. WHERE: Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, interviews will only be available through Zoom. More about the Kate & Justin Rose Foundation's Connection with Blessings in a Backpack … Feeding hungry tummies and curious minds is what the Kate and Justin Rose Foundation is all about. Its focus is on a three prong approach to improving children's lives by providing nutritional support, funding education and providing ‘first exposure' positive life experiences for children. Through nutrition, the Foundation teamed up with Blessings in a Backpack beginning in 2009 to provide weekend nutrition to children who would otherwise go hungry. Their support has grown over the years, ultimately providing more than 500,000 hunger-free weekends to more than 15,000 children over the course of 11 years. Seeing what a huge impact they have had on feeding food-insecure children in Orlando, they put more resources behind their ongoing efforts. A gift of $1.15 million was made in 2019 to found an official chapter of Blessings in a Backpack in Orlando, the Kate & Justin Rose Foundation Chapter of Blessings in a Backpack, affectionately known as ‘Rose Blessings Orlando', to ensure sustainability and to reach their goal of feeding 16,000 children by 2030. Because of the increased need due to COVID-19 and the success the Orlando Chapter has had in reaching children, the Kate & Justin Rose Foundation has agreed to invest an additional $1 million to feed 1,000 more Orlando-area children immediately, to create a matching gift pool for grassroots/volunteer-led programs, and to accelerate their goal of feeding 16,000 children. About Blessings in a Backpack Blessings in a Backpack mobilizes communities, individuals, and resources to provide food on the weekends for elementary school children across America who might otherwise go hungry. As closures caused by COVID-19 lead to a rise in unemployment and poverty, it is projected that 18 MILLION CHILDREN* are experiencing food insecurity. That's one in four American children who may be struggling with access to food. The consequences of hunger are much more than a growling stomach. Poor nutrition can result in a weaker immune system, increased hospitalization, lower IQ, shorter attention spans, and lower academic achievement. Children are fed during the school week by federal government programs. We want to make sure they're getting nutritional meals over the weekend, too, so that they can show up for school on Monday nourished and ready to learn. For more information, please visit Orlando.blessingsinabackpack.org.

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SAN DIEGO – Jon Rahm is the world’s second-ranked player, winner of the most recent PGA TOUR event and the defending champion of this week’s Farmers Insurance Open. Under normal circumstances, Rahm would be the center of attention at Torrey Pines. This, of course, is not a normal week. Tiger Woods is playing his first PGA TOUR event in a year, and this return is buoyed by his optimism about a successful back fusion surgery. Rahm is content to let Woods steal the spotlight. “The more attention you guys have on Tiger, the better for me, quite frankly,â€� Rahm said Tuesday. “Hopefully I keep playing good and give you guys something to talk about, but it’s not bad that the attention’s on Tiger. It’s good for golf, it’s good for all of us.â€� While Woods was playing a practice round with Jason Day and Bryson DeChambeau on the South Course’s back nine, Rahm was on the back nine of the North Course. Rahm, who’s ranked second in both the FedExCup and Official World Golf Ranking, is the highest-ranked player in the field according to both metrics. He can move to No. 1 on both lists with a win this week, as well. Seve Ballesteros is the only Spaniard to reach No. 1 in the world. Rahm’s win at last year’s Farmers Insurance Open, which was made possible by a back-nine 30 punctuated by a 60-foot eagle putt, was the first of his PGA TOUR career. His second came Sunday at the CareerBuilder Challenge, in a dramatic four-hole playoff with Andrew Landry. “It’s a lot of things to process in very little time,â€� said Rahm, who has two wins and a runner-up in his previous three worldwide starts. The only player to whom he’s lost in that stretch is the same player he’s trying to supplant atop the world ranking, Dustin Johnson. Rahm’s winning putt from last year’s tournament at Torrey Pines followed has been shown countless times. It has appeared in PGA TOUR commercials, and photos of his emotional reaction afterward are on banners promoting the tournament. For Rahm, it’s just the second-best shot of his remarkable 2017, during which he won three times worldwide and finished fifth in the FedExCup. “The No. 1 shot or moment of last season was the second shot out of the bunker on 13,â€� Rahm said. “If I don’t put that ball on the green, which is actually a lot harder than making that putt, the back-nine charge would have never happened and this year might have never happened, so that shot is the one that made everything possible.â€� He hit 4-iron to 18 feet from the fairway bunker on the par-5 13th for the first of two eagles in the final six holes. He finished three shots ahead of C.T. Pan and Charles Howell III. “I certainly know I can win here because I’ve done it, I think that’s the difference,â€� Rahm said Tuesday. “I think I have the confidence that I can win here, whereas last year I knew I could but I still had to do it. I hope I don’t have to shoot 30 on the back nine to win again.â€� And, he can’t help but think about a potential Sunday showdown with Woods. Last year’s Farmers Insurance Open was just the second time Rahm and Woods have played in the same field (2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open). “Tiger getting in contention, it would be absolutely amazing,â€� Rahm said. “And to be honest, I think a lot of us dreamt about having the opportunity to maybe walk the back nine with Tiger in contention and have a battle hand-in-hand. It would be something amazing for any of us. I hope it happens for somebody. I hope I’m the one, and quite truly I hope I come out on top if it happens.â€�

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