Rose leads, Tiger trails after 3 rounds at BMW

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., and TOKYO, Japan – The PGA TOUR and Kowa Company, Ltd., today announced a new multi-year partnership that designates Kowa’s Vantelin as the Official Pain Relief Gel, Cream, Patch, Tape and Support Sleeve of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions. Kowa, a global enterprise actively engaged in various business fields from research to manufacturing and sales including medicines and medical equipment, is the TOUR’s first Official Marketing Partner in Japan. Vantelin products include unprescribed topical analgesic muscle and joint pain relief gels, creams, tape or patches, and muscle and joint support sleeves intended for pre-injury protective purposes. “The PGA TOUR’s global reach coupled with Kowa’s world-wide enterprise creates a great partnership for our first-ever OMP in Japan,” said PGA TOUR Executive Vice President of Corporate Partnerships Brian Oliver. “The PGA TOUR has a strong history of partnerships with Japanese brands, and we are thrilled to welcome Kowa to the PGA TOUR family.” Tiger Woods has been a Kowa Ambassador since 2011 and Collin Morikawa has worked alongside the brand since 2021. “We have supported golf for many years, and we are truly honored to further expand our presence in golf with the PGA TOUR by becoming the first regional Official Marketing Partner in Japan,” said Kowa Group Managing Executive Officer Takahiro Hayakawa. “We are very excited about this partnership and the opportunity it will provide us to continue to build international brand awareness.” Kowa will activate this new relationship by aligning with PGA TOUR players along with utilizing the PGA TOUR marks in marketing materials which will be seen throughout the Japanese market including broadcast on national TV. “Kowa is a top pharmaceutical brand in Japan with a rich history and strong reputation,” said PGA TOUR Asia Pacific General Manager Chris Lee. “Kowa has also been an avid supporter of golf through its title sponsorship of the Vantelin Tokai Classic on the Japan Golf Tour and the KKTcup Vantelin Ladies Open on the Japan LPGA. We are honored to enter into this multiyear partnership with Kowa and very excited about our journey together.”

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• COURSE: TPC River Highlands, 6,841 yards, par 70. Golf has been played across this bluff overlooking the Connecticut River dating back to 1928, with River Highlands serving as the third layout over the property. Pete Dye embarked upon a complete overhaul of the property in 1982, and Bobby Weed added an upgrade seven years later in consultation with former PGA TOUR pros Howard Twitty and Roger Maltbie. Nos. 15-17 play around a four-acre lake, helping create a finish considered among the most thrilling on TOUR. Last year, it became the site of the TOUR’s historic first 58, when Jim Furyk reeled off 10 birdies and holed out for eagle at the par-4 No.3. • FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. • CHARITY: New England Charities, which has designated the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp as its primary beneficiary. Founded by actor Paul Newman in 1988, the camp hosts more than 25,000 seriously ill children and family members annually for a week of outdoor activities. Since the tournament’s start in 1952, it has generated more than $36 million for more than 160 charities. • FIELD WATCH: World No.2 Rory McIlroy and No.3 Jason Day, both of whom took early U.S. Open exits, join Furyk and defending champion Russell Knox at the top of the River Highlands lineup. … Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Paul Casey give the tournament five of the top 15 players in the latest world rankings. Casey lost a playoff to Bubba Watson in 2015. … Padraig Harrington, who withdrew from the FedEx St. Jude Classic after getting clipped on the elbow by an amateur he was coaching at a clinic, is set for a return to action. … Wyndham Clark, part of Oregon’s NCAA runner-up squad last month after transferring in from Oklahoma State, makes his professional debut on a sponsor exemption. • 72-HOLE RECORD: 258, Kenny Perry (2009). • 18-HOLE RECORD: 58, Jim Furyk (4th round, 2016). • LAST YEAR: Russell Knox held off hometown favorite Jerry Kelly’s late charge to post his second PGA TOUR victory, though that finish wound up as second billing behind Furyk’s history-making 58 hours earlier. Furyk used six birdies and an eagle to fire a front-nine 27, then started his back nine with three more birdies before cooling off just slightly. One more birdie at the par-3 16th put him in line for history, and two more pars completed the task. Knox began his day three shots off Daniel Berger’s lead, moving in front when Berger began his back nine with four straight bogeys. Kelly used an eagle at No.13 to pull within a shot, with a chance at a playoff as Knox faced a 12-foot par save at No.18. The Scotsman made the putt, though, flinging his cap when it hit bottom. • STORYLINES: McIlroy and Day seek to bounce back after a rough two days at Erin Hills, where neither recovered after opening rounds of 78 and 79. McIlroy makes just his eighth start of 2017, having sat out two stretches with rib problems. … River Highlands is set to feature 47 players who teed it up at Erin Hills for this week’s U.S. Open. … Six of the past 11 Travelers winners have made it their first on TOUR, including four in a row from Watson’s 2010 triumph to Ken Duke in 2013. … Just four New Englanders have won in Hartford, though two came back-to-back in 2005 (Brad Faxon) and 2006 (J.J. Henry). The others are Paul Azinger (1987, ’89) and Bob Toski (1953). • SHORT CHIPS: With the Travelers back in its usual post-U.S. Open slot following last year’s Olympic shuffle, three of the six winners before Knox did not play the Open a week earlier. … In the event’s 64-year history, only Phil Mickelson (2001-02) has managed to win it back-to-back. … “Today� show host Matt Lauer, ESPN’s Chris Berman and UConn basketball coaches past (Jim Calhoun) and present (Geno Aureimma) top the marquee for the Wednesday celebrity pro-am. The lineup also includes former Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and comedian Kevin Nealon. • TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). • PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (featured groups), 3:30-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured holes). • RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). For more on all the courses in the TPC network, visit TPC.com.  Play where the pros play. To book your tee time at TPC River Highlands, visit TeeOff.com.

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VIDANTA VALLARTA, Mexico – Competition lies at the heart of the Ortiz family dynamic. Whether it’s sports, board games, video games or anything else, Carlos and Alvaro Ortiz – or their brother Alejandro and parents Chela and Carlos Sr. – want the edge. The Carlos-Alvaro rivalry entails a particular zest. “I’ve had many Nintendo controllers thrown at my head by him,” Carlos remarked of Alvaro. “Nintendo, FIFA, even the Tiger Woods game, the Formula 1 game right now … he used to break a controller per week, like, explode.” “What can I say,” Alvaro admitted. “I’m fiery.” The determination of Carlos and Alvaro has also propelled their golf careers. This week, they’re set to compete in the same PGA TOUR field at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, the event’s first playing as an official PGA TOUR event in its history dating back to 1944. No number of broken controllers, though, could fracture the brothers’ bond. Alvaro, five years Carlos’ junior, holds Korn Ferry Tour status for the first time this season by virtue of a fourth-place finish on the 2021 PGA TOUR Latinoamerica Order of Merit, which included a victory at the Mexico Open, contested at Estella del Mar. He’s following the example of Carlos, now an accomplished TOUR pro and winner of the 2020 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open. Carlos earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time in 2014 and thrived, winning three times to earn his first PGA TOUR card. The now-father of three returned to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2017, but he earned back his TOUR card in 2018 and has maintained a steady progression since. The brothers learned the game at an early age – “I don’t have any memories without golf,” Carlos said – and were quickly enthralled. “They’re similar in that they are both very competitive,” reflected mom Chela. “They knew from a very young age what they wanted to do. I remember, in elementary school, Carlos was like, ‘I’m going to be a professional golfer.’ “The problem with Carlos was that we didn’t know the path to college golf.” During Carlos’ adolescence in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the progression of Mexican junior golfers to United States Division I golf was uncommon. The Ortiz family wasn’t as connected in the traditional circles of high-level junior golf; tips and tricks have been acquired and now shared with families of aspiring pro golfers across the country. At the time, they weren’t clued in regarding the best tournaments to draw exposure to a promising young player. Early on, Division I options were limited, but Carlos drew the attention of University of North Texas coach Brad Stracke – then in his first few months on the job – late in the recruiting process. Stracke had caught wind of scores in the low- to mid 60s at a junior event in Mexico and correctly deemed that Carlos had the potential to play as a freshman. “He didn’t have a lot of options, when it came his time to go to the States,” Chela remembered. “He had not played a lot in the United States, so there were not a lot of offers for him. So we went with the offer that we had, North Texas. It turned out pretty good. “He was not the first Mexican to go to college golf, but he was the first of this era that started breaking the paradigm of becoming a professional golfer and going to Division I college golf.” Once it became apparent that Alvaro was determined to follow in Carlos’ footsteps, the family had a roadmap. Alvaro played a robust schedule of high-level junior events across the United States – the family would take two-week trips at a time, integrating golf and sightseeing. He competed alongside the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland at junior events, and he received a variety of Division I offers, eventually selecting the University of Arkansas. As Alvaro completed his high school career and headed to Arkansas as a freshman, Carlos was thriving as a Korn Ferry Tour rookie. With the family unsure of the expenses needed to travel and compete on the Korn Ferry Tour, Carlos Sr. and Chela sold an investment condo, gaining a financial safety net in case the road was rocky. Carlos quickly rewarded his family’s belief. He finished third in his first Korn Ferry Tour start as a member, the 2014 Astara Golf Championship, and he won three events later at The Panama Championship. He added victories at the El Bosque Mexico Championship and Regular Season-ending WinCo Foods Portland Open, and he was off to the PGA TOUR. “It was a crazy season,” Alvaro remembers. “I was just signed for Arkansas and was getting ready for college … it was crazy how he played that season. I felt like every week, he had a chance to win. That really pushed me, going to college and trying to get better, trying to go out there as quick as I could. “And I remember he won the third one, the first week I got to Arkansas. It was pretty special, getting there and him getting his promotion to the PGA TOUR.” The brothers’ journeys have taken different timelines, but the bond endures, and they relish the occasions where paths cross. After Alvaro gained 2019 Masters entry via his victory at the Latin America Amateur Championship, Carlos caddied in the Par 3 Contest. (Alvaro proceeded to make the cut and finish T36.) Their playful dynamic is readily apparent. They traded barbs at a Tuesday press conference ahead of this week’s Mexico Open, and when asked to pose for photos on the first tee box Wednesday, they quickly leapt onto an adjacent bleacher and put their arms around each other. “We compete in anything, and I think that’s pushed us to be great,” Carlos said. “It’s always great when you have somebody to practice and share everything with. You work hard, and then when it’s your brother, it’s even better. “Yesterday, we finished playing and we went to a gym together and took a 10-minute ice, and we were both shaking and giving each other (crap) in the ice. Those kinds of experiences, it’s great to share them with your brother. I think that’s one of the reasons we have success and always kept improving, because we push each other.” They’ve helped push forward a country of aspiring young pros who aim to follow their path, as well.

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