Rozner wins maiden European Tour title in Dubai

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Harris English … If we’re keeping it real, the seven-year TOUR member should be beyond Sleeper status by now. It was only 20 months ago when he eked inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. Alas, prior to last week’s T11 at the CareerBuilder Challenge, he had sunk to 287th. Now slotted 252nd, he’s positioned to marry four strong rounds in the Coachella Valley with a perfect record in five trips to the Farmers Insurance Open. His record here includes a playoff loss in 2015 and a T14 last year, which was his second-best finish in all of 2017. Ollie Schniederjans … Speaking of talents who don’t project to cheat as Sleepers for long, the Georgia Tech product is looking to build off both a T9 at last year’s Farmers and a T7 at the Sony Open in Hawaii two weeks ago. He led the field at Waialae in fewest putts per GIR and co-led in par breakers. Piggybacking course success and solid current form is a potentially intriguing sub-narrative of where he’s deciding to compete. The 24-year-old has four top 25s this season and he’s already withdrawn early from two commitments, both at sites where he struggled previously in his brief career (Mayakoba, CareerBuilder). Each may have been for different reasons, but possessing the intelligence and patience to pick and choose layouts that best suit his game is as invaluable as the rest those decisions yield. Michael Thompson … The 32-year-old is competing with the safety net of conditional status if he doesn’t collect a little over 37 FedExCup points in his next three starts via a medical extension (in the Web.com Tour graduate reshuffle category), but those starts are still precious, so choosing where to burn the next one is critical in terms of leveraging playing time for the remainder of the season. Considering he needs no worse than a two-way T23 to get the job done, he’s made a great decision in showing at Torrey Pines where he’s 5-for-6 with top-15 finishes in 2015 and 2017. Corey Conners … He hasn’t missed yet – cuts, that is. The rookie has finished no better than T30 at the season-opening Safeway Open in northern California, but he’s 7-for-7 upon arrival for his latest tournament debut, so the former standout from Canada is figuring out how to survive. Torrey Pines will give him all he can handle, but he’s equipped with the proper skill set to make noise. Currently T34 on TOUR in total driving, T48 in greens hit and 29th in strokes gained: off-the-tee. Julian Suri … If you’re not familiar with him, that will change. A year ago at this time, he sat 1,125th in the Official World Golf Ranking. Today, he’s 62nd. That’s what happens following a pair of European Tour victories, a trio of T8s and a co-runner-up finish in his last start in Hong Kong two months ago. He finished sixth in scoring average on the European Tour in 2017, ahead of the likes of Jon Rahm (seventh), Peter Uihlein (eighth), Henrik Stenson (ninth) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (11th). Now 26 years of age, the Duke product will barnstorm the next three stops on the West Coast Swing.

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(PEBBLE BEACH, Calif.) — Youth on Course the non-profit organization dedicated to opening doors, supporting dreams and transforming the lives of young people through opportunities on and off the golf course – has named PGA TOUR player Harold Varner III as its first national ambassador. To date, Varner III has contributed to YOC Carolinas through the HV3 Foundation and will be expanding support by substantially funding the Carolinas region’s programming in 2021. In his new role, Varner III serves as an official spokesperson for Youth on Course (YOC) and will advocate for the organization’s mission of providing affordable access to golf and bringing life-changing opportunities to young golfers across the country and in turn, help create a more inclusive and diverse future for the game. “Harold has been a vocal champion of our organization for years, not to mention his significant financial contributions which made a huge difference for young golfers in the Carolinas,” says Adam Heieck, CEO of Youth on Course. “With his community support through the HV3 Foundation and shared goal to grow the game, Harold is the perfect role model to represent Youth on Course on a national scale. We are so proud to have him join our team in an official role.” Varner III created the HV3 Foundation in 2019 to help bring awareness to the rising cost of entry and access in sports and provide kids with affordable opportunities to help negate those challenges. Through personal funding, fundraising, donations and sponsorships, the Foundation has been able to provide financial assistance for equipment, after-school programs, instruction and camps to cultivate young people’s passions. The HV3 Foundation also hosts an annual HV3 Invitational for junior golfers and is the tournament title sponsor for an American Junior Golf Association Junior All-Star event. “Youth on Course is a life-changing program for the golf industry. Allowing kids of all backgrounds to play the game without placing financial burdens on families is a game changer,” says Varner III. “I’m so appreciative of the support I had as a junior golfer and have been fortunate to be able to give back to the next generation of young golfers. I’ve always been passionate about making the game more open and accessible and YOC has shown they share my goals. I’m so excited to be a part of the team and help make a difference for these kids.” Committed to making the game more appealing, inclusive and accessible to nurture the next generation of lifelong players and lovers of the game, Youth on Course provides more than 100,000 members with affordable access to play rounds of golf for $5 or less at more than 1,400 courses across the country and in parts of Canada. Members also benefit from career opportunities through Youth on Course’s caddie and internship programs and can utilize support for continuing education through their college scholarships. To date, more than $2 million has been awarded through the scholarship program. In 2020, Youth on Course saw a significant rise in play with membership increasing by 56% and eclipsing one million rounds of golf played. Fueling the golf industry, 400,000 rounds of golf were subsidized, an increase of 100% from the previous year, and generated a total of $2.8 million back to golf courses from unused tee times. Juniors nationwide ages 6-18 may sign up for a Youth on Course membership at www.youthoncourse.org/join.

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