Rebound rounds for Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - The PGA TOUR announced today that Women of Color Golf & Girls on the Green Tee, a Tampa-based non-profit beneficiary of the Valspar Championship, has been named the 2020 PGA TOUR Charity of the Year. With a mission of promoting and facilitating the inclusion of minority women and girls in the game of golf, Women of Color Golf (WOCG) seeks to create interest and boost participation with organized clinics, recreational events, business networking and mentoring opportunities. Girls on the Green Tee (GOTGT) is a golf and mentoring program designed by WOCG for 9- to 17-year-old girls. Over a five-week training period, girls are introduced to the game, develop friendships with their peers and are mentored by a caring and professional group of female leaders in the community, providing the girls opportunities they may not otherwise have. "Copperhead Charities and the Valspar Championship were honored to nominate Women of Color Golf and the Girls on the Green Tee initiative to be the 2020 PGA TOUR Charity of the Year," said Tracy West, President, Copperhead Charities and Tournament Director, Valspar Championship. "Their vision of bringing the game of golf to girls in underserved communities will make a positive impact for years to come. Golf not only reinforces great values such as sportsmanship, perseverance and integrity, it is a game that can be played for life. We are humbled that the TOUR chose to support Women of Color Golf and our Tampa Bay community, and we look forward to hosting the girls as our guests at our Valspar Championship next April." The award comes with a $30,000 grant from the PGA TOUR to assist WOCG & GOTGT in expanding their footprint. Over the last four years, the GOTGT program has operated at The Center 4 Girls in Tampa, Florida, and will now make plans for expansion in two elementary schools in the Hillsborough County Public Schools system - Clemmie Ross James Elementary and Doris Ross Reddick Elementary. The schools, which provide limited options for girls' sports programs, are in under-served communities and with predominantly low-income students. The students at James Elementary are primarily African American (77.36 percent), while the students at Reddick are primarily Hispanic (78.95 percent). "On behalf of the Women of Color Golf and Girls on the Green Tee, we are grateful to the PGA TOUR for the Charity of the Year Award," said Clemmie C. Perry, Founder & Executive Director, Women of Color Golf (WOCG) & Girls on the Green Tee (GOTGT). "Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to the future success of the golf industry. We are proud that the PGA TOUR is dedicated to make golf more accessible to under-represented communities, equally and inclusively." Backed by its network of volunteers, the PGA TOUR and its tournaments generated a record $204.3 million for local and national charitable organizations in 2019, bringing the all-time total to more than $3 billion. The 2020 Valspar Championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a new date and headlined by two-time defending champion Paul Casey, the 2021 Valspar Championship will be held April 26-May 2 at Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead).

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AUSTIN, Texas – The PGA TOUR’s biggest hitter faces a first-timer who’s almost eligible for PGA TOUR Champions. The FedExCup leader squares off with a match-play master. Some potential Presidents Cup previews and a rematch that dates back to amateur golf also are on the docket for Day 1 at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. There are 32 matches scheduled for Wednesday, but here’s five that we’re especially keen on (seedings in parentheses). GROUP 5: Scottie Scheffler, USA, (5) vs. Ian Poulter, ENG, (59), 1:38 p.m. ET. Scottie Scheffler was still a Texas guy with promise, but no PGA TOUR wins, when he went on a run at Austin Country Club a year ago. The former Longhorn made a push all the way to the final match before losing to Billy Horschel. En route to the championship match, Scheffler scored a big win against Ian Poulter, a man with a reputation as a match play ninja, in the Round of 16. Scheffler wasn’t intimidated by facing a player who’s fearsome in this format. Poulter may have eight top-10s at this event, including a win in 2010, and is known for his work in Ryder Cup Singles but Scheffler won easily, including a clutch chip-in. Scheffler was 3 up through 10 holes, but Poulter looked set for one of his trademark comebacks when he drained a 41-foot birdie putt on the 11th green. Scheffler responded by chipping in from off the green for a birdie of his own and marched on to a 5-and-4 win. Scheffler then beat Jon Rahm that afternoon, who he’d go on to beat again later that year at the Ryder Cup. Oh, and Scheffler has earned his first two PGA TOUR titles in his last four starts and sits atop the FedExCup standings. You don’t think Poulter would love a little revenge? GROUP 9: Bryson DeChambeau, USA, (9) vs. Richard Bland, England, (54), 2:44 p.m. ET Because of a persistent wrist injury, we haven’t seen Bryson DeChambeau since he missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open back in January. He had to sit out his title defense at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS, but is set to return at Austin Country Club. The questions surrounding DeChambeau are plenty. Just how fit is he? Can he rein in his distance on the tricky, tight front nine? And can he overcome a poor record (2-3-1) at Austin Country Club in this event, where he has fallen to the likes of Antoine Rozner and Kiradech Aphibarnrat in the past. His next opponent is Bland, who made a great run at the U.S. Open last year at Torrey Pines. He finds his place in the field mainly through last year’s British Masters victory, which was his first DP World Tour win in his 478th start, but his run didn’t stop there. The Englishman has five other top-five finishes on that tour since, including a runner-up at the Dubai Desert Classic, and will fancy himself against a rusty DeChambeau despite being closer to PGA TOUR Champions eligibility than he will be to some of the American’s drives. GROUP 6: Kevin Kisner, USA, (29) vs. Marc Leishman, Australia, (37), 10:53 a.m. ET Here is a matchup you might think to overlook but, you’d be missing out if you did. Kisner, the 2018 runner-up and 2019 champion of this event is still smarting after missing out on the 2019 Presidents Cup and 2021 Ryder Cup squads despite showing his skills in this format. Now he gets to present his prowess against a player who will undoubtedly be part of Trevor Immelman’s International Team for the 2022 Presidents Cup set for Quail Hollow latter this year. Kisner did represent the U.S. in the 2017 Presidents Cup, and Leishman will remember that appearance. Leishman, with countryman Jason Day, faced off against Kisner and Phil Mickelson over the opening two days. After a halve in Thursday’s Foursomes, their Four-ball match came down to the 18th hole. Mickelson made a midrange birdie before producing a “Three Amigos” celebration dance with Kisner. What is not lost on six-time TOUR winner Leishman is that this came before he had a chance to tie the match with a putt of his own. When he failed to convert his putt, it left a sour taste that no doubt remains today. GROUP 7: Xander Schauffele, USA, (7) vs. Takumi Kanaya, Japan, (56), 12:10 p.m. ET The Olympic gold medalist from the Tokyo Games faces the next star from Japan. Kanaya represents Japan’s best hope now that Hideki Matsuyama is sitting out this week because of a balky back before his Masters defense. This match could help Kanaya in his Presidents Cup candidacy, as well. Kanaya, 23, already is a three-time winner on the Japan Tour and once was the world’s top-ranked amateur. Schauffele has had the chance to burst out of the group stage three times at Austin Country Club but fallen short at the final hurdle each time. Last year, he lost in a sudden-death playoff for the opportunity to advance to the Round of 16. He’s burning to atone. GROUP 2: Collin Morikawa, USA, (2) vs. Robert MacIntyre, Scotland, (61), 12:54 p.m. ET One of the surprises a year ago was Robert MacIntyre getting through to the Round of 16 after collecting just one win in Group 1. The plucky young Scot, now 25, found his way out of the same group as then-world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Kevin Na and Adam Long despite only beating Long. Ties against Johnson and Na ended up being enough after upset results in other matches. MacIntyre was bounced by Victor Perez in the knockout stage. Now he gets the chance to face Morikawa, the world’s second-ranked player, in a group that also has Sergio Garcia and Jason Kokrak. Morikawa failed to win a match in his tournament debut last season, settling for a halve with J.T. Poston but losing to Max Homa and Billy Horschel in group play. Morikawa has seen MacIntyre before. While they didn’t go head-to-head, both were part of the 2017 Walker Cup where Morikawa’s U.S. team won handsomely over MacIntyre’s Great Britain and Ireland squad. That 2017 U.S. team also featured Scheffler, Cameron Champ, Will Zalatoris, Maverick McNealy, Doc Redman and Doug Ghim. The U.S. rolled, 19-7, at Los Angeles Country Club, site of next year’s U.S. Open. Before a missed cut at THE PLAYERS and T68 last week at Valspar, Morikawa was showing some improved putting to roll to five straight top-10s, including two runers-up. Can Morikawa match up his stellar approach game with his short game as the Masters looms? If so, he could be dangerous here. MacIntyre could prove to be a tougher opponent than paper would indicate, however.

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