RBC Heritage, Round 3: Leaderboard, tee times, TV times

SHANGHAI — Kiradech Aphibarnrat dressed in black and played with purpose Thursday at the World Golf Championship-HSBC Champions. Back home in Thailand, black-clad citizens solemnly ended a year of mourning for King Bhumibol Adulyadej with a series of traditional funeral ceremonies lasting five days. Kiradech wanted to do his part in a World Golf Championship in Shanghai. He not only dressed the part, the burly Thai ran off 10 birdies to offset a sloppy start and wound up with a 7-under 65, leaving him one shot behind U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka after the opening round at Sheshan International. Kiradech choked back tears talking about his beloved late king. “It’s not an easy situation, because it’s hard to explain how deeply our king was loved and how sadly he is missed,” Kiradech said. “When he passed away last year, it caused a lot of upset to all the Thai people. He will always hold a special place in my heart. But he loved sport, and he would have been the first to say the show must go on.” Bhumibol loved sport so much that he donated the trophy for an event called the Royal Trophy, matches between golfers from Asia and Europe that took place from 2006 through 2013. Europe won the final edition by one point, through Kiradech went 3-0 that week, beating Paul Lawrie in the leadoff singles match. That was the year Kiradech began to rise to prominence among Asian golfers by cracking the top 100 in the world for the first time, along with winning the Malaysian Open and tying for third in the CIMB Classic on the PGA TOUR. Winless in two years, Kiradech showed plenty of determination in the final World Golf Championship of the year. After his second bogey in five holes dropped him back to even par, he ran off seven consecutive birdies around the turn. “It’s good momentum,” said Kiradech, who was runner-up at the Italian Open two weeks ago. “To be honest, 7 under in the opening round in the World Golf Championships, there’s a lot of top players in the field. It’s just a fantastic start. “The way I’m confident with my swing, and the way I’m striking the ball and rolling the putts on the green, I think it might be a good week.” He certainly isn’t lacking in motivation. Kiradech said he wanted to wear all black on Thursday as his own tribute. “It would be a great honor if I could win and take this trophy back to Thailand and dedicate it to our late king,” he said.

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With as much as a PGA TOUR player faces week in and out – from practices and performances, to travel arrangements and lodging – any load they can lighten is a good thing. When that load has ties to charity, that becomes a great thing. At last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson, rather than family and friends hitting players up for tickets, they were directed to an online friends and family portal. There, donations of any amount for each ticket benefitted the Birdies for Mental Health Initiative and the Momentous Institute of Dallas. Well over $20,000 was raised for the tournament charity. AT&T Byron Nelson tournament partner Chisum Sports presented the idea, “Pros For A Purpose,” following conversations with Dallas-based players who regularly field a large number of ticket requests during a home tournament week. Many of the requests of players for tickets come at the last minute. They were often requests that players’ wives or managers would coordinate through the tournament office. A QR code was given to players linking to a self-service site. This allowed tickets to be ordered by player name, which was followed by a donation request. “The idea of offering an online ticket request page started out as a convenience for players, friends, family and the tournament staff,” said Julie Chisum with Chisum Sports, “but then players and player wives really got behind the donations to support the tournament charity.” “The tournament office noticed early in the week that we weren’t fielding the numerous calls, texts and email requests we normally get from players and wives trying to get tickets for their family,” said Jon Drago, AT&T Byron Nelson Tournament Director. “I love this,” said Kourtney Schenk, PGA TOUR Wives Association Board Member and wife of TOUR member, Adam Schenk. “During tournaments, the wives often have group texts to figure out who has extra tickets. It’s a lot to coordinate, especially during a home week when you have so many people who want to come watch. This ticket program makes it easy and allows the local charity to benefit because even small donations for each ticket add up.” “Pros For A Purpose,” a 501(c)(3), has donated more than $500,000 to various tournament charities and player foundations through player and celebrity-hosted events. “The impact of the golf community coming together is what makes this game and the PGA TOUR so special.” said Chisum. “When the AT&T Byron Nelson announced the Mental Health Initiative with May being Mental Health Month, the players and TOUR community really got behind the effort. Besides making lots of birdies, the ticket program was another way for players to do so.” “I think this is a great idea for other tournaments,” said TOUR member and Texas native Ryan Palmer. “I hear the Charles Schwab Challenge is already looking at doing something similar, and I hope they do. This week, my wife, Jen, and I were able to know our people had access to tickets and we didn’t have to be in the middle of all the requests.” Palmer heard right. When Charles Schwab Challenge Tournament Director Michael Tothe learned of the initiative and its success, he implemented the program to be utilized next week at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.

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