Power Rankings: Rocket Mortgage Classic

GERMANTOWN, Tenn. – As if he could ever forget his gold-medal-winning performance at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Xander Schauffele will soon have a new reminder of that 24-karat accomplishment. On his feet. In celebration of the one-year anniversary of Schauffele’s golden moment, Adidas has created a limited-edition gold inspired TOUR360 22 model golf shoe. It is not for commercial sale but will be featured in a global giveaway for adiClub members. The shoe features a golden outsole and a white upper with gold detailing. The global giveaway will run Aug. 10-31, only on the adidas app. “It doesn’t feel like it’s been roughly a year since it occurred,” Schauffele said upon trying on the shoes at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs. “It’s a reminder I welcome with open arms. I’ve known about the shoes for a little bit; Adidas talked to my team and said they wanted to do something cool in memory of it. “I’m not really a super-flashy kind of guy,” he added. “I think putting a gold trim on a shoe is just right for me.” Fans who are adiClub members can sign up for a chance to win the limited-edition shoes at https://www.adidas.com/us/adiclub. Five winners per region will win. Schauffele won’t be the only one with a new pair of TOUR360s. He gave a matching pair to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital patient Riley, 5, who was diagnosed at 19 months with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Riley, who underwent two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy at St. Jude Children’s, loves dinosaurs and chasing frogs. Riley’s grandmother, Kim, has been with FedEx for 33 years and is currently a transportation dispatcher. “He’s been inside for too much of his life,” Schauffele said of Riley. “I’d hope every 5-year-old that’s fortunate enough can spend all their time outside. I’m happy that he seems to be open to being outside, chasing frogs. “It’s nice to give back and make a kid happy,” he added. “It’s the least I could do.” Schauffele is coming to the end of another solid season. He captured the Travelers Championship in June, making birdie on the 72nd hole to win by two. It was his first individual PGA TOUR victory since the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions. In his next start, at the Genesis Scottish Open, co-sanctioned for the first time by the PGA TOUR and the DP World Tour, Schauffele won again, making him one of three players to win in back-to-back starts this season. Along with his team victory with Patrick Cantlay at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans – ending a run of eight runner-up finishes without a victory since the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions – Schauffele has three wins in 2022. He also finished a shot out of the Scheffler/Cantlay playoff at the WM Phoenix Open, was in the top 15 in three of the four majors, and is a near lock to make the U.S. Presidents Cup Team that will take on the Internationals at Quail Hollow Club in September.

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Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry were given 50 shots apiece to make a hole-in-one on a 149-yard par 3. The frustration builds with each close call.

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Davis Thompson is making just his third start as a pro this week, and he’s making the most of it. Thompson, who is competing on a sponsor exemption, was 7 under par on his first 12 holes to share the early lead. Here’s 5 Things you need to know about the new pro. RELATED: Leaderboard 1. TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER: If Thompson’s name sounds familiar, you may remember him from as the amateur who took the early lead in last year’s U.S. Open. He played his first 12 holes at Winged Foot in 4 under par to sit alone atop the leaderboard. He signed for an impressive 69 in the first round but missed the cut by one after shooting 78 the next day. 2. ALL-AMERICAN: Thompson was a first-team All-American in 2020 and 2021 at the University of Georgia and turned pro last month as the second-ranked player in the inaugural PGA TOUR University ranking, behind only John Pak. Thompson also was a member of this year’s victorious U.S. Walker Cup team. Thompson is the quiet type who lets his clubs do the talking. “He’s not flashy, not very talkative. I just love the work ethic,” said Georgia head coach Chris Haack. I’ve had a lot of really good players, and he works as hard or harder than anybody I’ve ever had.” 3. CASHING CHECKS: Thompson made his pro debut three weeks ago at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree. He made the cut despite being 5 over on his first eight holes of the tournament. He closed his first round with four straight birdies to shoot 71, then shot 69 to make the cut. Weekend rounds of 71 and 70 left him in a tie for 35th place, which earned him $33,336.67. He also played in last week’s Travelers Championship, missing the cut after rounds of 73 and 68. Non-members can accept up to seven sponsor exemptions per season. This is Thompson’s third. 4. PRO PEDIGREE: Thompson is used to playing along side PGA TOUR pros. Fellow Georgia alums Harris English and Brendon Todd are among the guys he plays with at home in Sea Island, Georgia. World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III is another. Thompson’s father, Todd, is the tournament director of The RSM Classic at Sea Island (and is a former captain of the Georgia golf team himself). Davis twice played in The RSM Classic as an amateur, including a T23 finish in 2019. Nepotism didn’t lead to his spot in the field, however. He earned it. 5. JONESING FOR A VICTORY: Thompson earned his spots in The RSM with his success in the Jones Cup, a prestigious amateur event held at nearby Ocean Forest. Past winners include Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Corey Conners and Kyle Stanley. The winner receives an exemption into the RSM. Thompson lost a playoff to Akshay Bhatia in 2019 but earned the invitation after Bhatia turned pro. The next year, Thompson torched the Jones Cup field. He shot a tournament-record, 13-under 203 to win by nine shots.

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