Ryder Cup match previews: Friday morning Foursomes

When Adrian Stills, 63, first played Osceola Golf Course in Pensacola, Florida, in the mid-60s, he says, “They had just integrated it like eight years before I started playing golf there.â€� And that was good. When he reached the PGA TOUR in 1986, he was among a small cadre of African Americans that included 1985 PLAYERS Championship winner Calvin Peete, Jim Dent, Jim Thorpe, Tom Woodard and Charles Owens and Lee Elder on PGA TOUR Champions, and others. That, too, was good. Today, there are four African-American players on TOUR: Harold Varner III, Joseph Bramlett, Cameron Champ and, of course, Tiger Woods. For a few hours last Saturday, Varner and Bramlett led tournaments on the PGA TOUR and the Korn Ferry Tour, in Texas and Florida, respectively. RELATED: Monahan: ‘We should communicate and learn’ | WATCH: Varner III, Monahan talk social injustices, solutions Varner finished T19, Bramlett T2, but that was almost beside the point. In a game where diversity has come in fits and starts, leaders are looking inward and having hard conversations while the wider world does the same, everyone wrestling with terms like white privilege, unconscious bias and structural racism, not to mention the death of George Floyd and others. “From my perspective there has been some progress,â€� says Stills, who is now is the General Manager and teaching pro at Osceola. “The unfortunate part of it all is it’s just been so slow.â€� The Charles R. Drew Charter School in Southeast Atlanta last year became the first all-black high school team and first public school in the city to win the Georgia (public-school) state boys’ golf championship. It was a gratifying moment for the school, but also the TOUR and the TOUR Championship, which have played a big role in the revitalization of the East Lake Community. Support from the TOUR Championship reached $3.5 million last year – a tournament record – which went to the East Lake Foundation, Grove Park Foundation, Purpose Built Schools Atlanta and the First Tee of Metro Atlanta. The First Tee is well established nationally, and other programs to introduce minorities to the game have sprung up in New York, Orlando and beyond. Still, there’s much more work to do. “We need to grow out of this,â€� said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan, who sat for a videotaped conversation with Varner in the wake of the Floyd tragedy. “We need to diversify those that have access to our sport and make sure we’re making a difference there.â€� Says Stills’ friend Ken Bentley, CEO of the Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour (APGA), which aims to promote diversity in golf and which the PGA TOUR has supported since 2012, “When Adrian was on TOUR there were like 11 African Americans out there.â€� To begin to tackle that problem, he and Stills co-founded the APGA in 2010. Stills is Director of Player Development, Bentley the CEO. The APGA made history by playing at Torrey Pines North while the Farmers Insurance Open used the South in January, but went on hiatus due to the pandemic. The circuit will start up again at TPC Sugarloaf in Atlanta next Monday. With help from the TOUR, which provides access to TPC courses and the PGA TOUR Performance Center at TPC Sawgrass, the APGA will increase its number of tournaments to 10 by 2022. It is expected to reach 2,000 young people a year, and develop a database of qualified minority candidates upon which golf organizations and manufactures will be able to draw. Alumni like Varner, Bramlett and Tony Finau are a beacon of hope. And last week Farmers Insurance announced it is sponsoring two APGA members, Willie Mack III from Flint, Michigan, and Kamaiu Johnson of Tallahassee, Florida. (Both now live in Orlando.) Tweeted Rickie Fowler, “Welcome to the @WeAreFarmers team, boys!!â€� [Desk: Please link to https://twitter.com/RickieFowler/status/1271853092724604928?s=20] A few years ago Mack, a former winner of the Michigan Amateur, got through the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica qualifying school, but soon lost momentum for reasons unrelated to golf. “He didn’t have the money to go and play in the tournaments,â€� Bentley says. “Farmers has really stepped up, and the sponsorship will help with that. In tennis, if you show promise, they send you to a USTA training center. They take cost out of the equation. Golf has to use that model. “I really believe in the next five years you’re going to see a completely different golf landscape,â€� he adds. “I think the unrest we see now will help speed that up.â€� Some things are clearly working. The TOUR Championship’s connection to the East Lake Foundation and Drew Charter is a great example of how golf and the TOUR can help. Nearly all of the students in Drew’s first three senior classes graduated and were accepted to college. Test scores have surged while violent crime has declined 99% since 1995. In the vision of Tom Cousins and boosted by the TOUR Championship’s presence and charitable commitment, East Lake has become a community where every child and family has a chance to succeed. Stills hopes we’re moving beyond the era when he was mysteriously denied entry into an elite junior tournament that still exists. Later, his almost entirely black golf team at South Carolina State was denied entry at certain hotels. Still, the struggle continues. “I’ve stopped using the word change,â€� Stills says, “but I’m emphasizing the word grow. People have to learn to grow. You may not change, but you should never stop growing. You should be able to process and come to different conclusions. And even if you don’t, you should at least have some opportunity to interact with people you don’t know. Golf is a good catalyst for that. “Not everybody has malice in their hearts,â€� he adds. Varner and Bramlett continue to share their thoughts on current events. “I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me,â€� says Bramlett, who adds that he is still trying to figure out how to best use his platform to make change. He will play in the Korn Ferry Tour’s King & Bear Classic this week, while Varner is competing in the RBC Heritage. “Golf has to change, but I’m optimistic,â€� Bentley says. “You see Cameron Champ doing a clinic in Compton during the Genesis Invitational, with no media, on a par-3 course there. Joseph came and talked to our (APGA) guys in San Diego at the Farmers Insurance Open.â€� Interviewed at the Charles Schwab last week, Brooks Koepka said, “There needs to be change, and I want to be part of the solution.â€� Other stars like Jon Rahm have also stepped up, denouncing racism in all forms, as has Monahan. The TOUR reserved the 8:46 tee times to honor the memory of Floyd last week, and is developing a long-term, focused commitment to address racial justice issues, the details of which will be shared in the weeks to come. “There’s a generation of guys coming up who really want to change things,â€� Bentley says. “It’s not just a black problem, it’s an American problem, and Americans are finding creative ways to solve it.â€�

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U.S. wins back Walker Cup from Britain, Ireland

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This week, the PGA TOUR makes its way to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the 104th PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club. The course will play as a par 70, measuring 7,556 yards and the greens will be Pure Distinction bentgrass. The top 70 and ties will make the cut, five more spots than the usual top 65 and ties that make it in a regular TOUR event. The 2007 PGA Championship also took place at this course, with Tiger Woods ($8,200) winning the 13th major of his career. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $3M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Semifinal Entry] Unlike the Masters, the PGA Championship is transient. One year we could be on a modern links course, another on a coastal Carolina or Northern California track. This year, the venue is no stranger to hosting major golf tournaments. Southern Hills CC has hosted seven major championships, which include three U.S. Opens (1958, 1977, 2001) and four PGA Championships (1970, 1982, 1994, 2007). The second major of the season can provide us with exciting finishes where anything can happen. Since 2019, the PGA Championship has taken place in May, instead of its former spot as the fourth and final major played in August. One unique characteristic of the PGA Championship is the inclusion of 20 club professionals getting a chance to play in a major on the PGA TOUR. STRATEGY In 2019, the famous architect Gil Hanse redesigned this course by looking at old drawings, pictures and anything he could get his hands on to restore it to the original design. He removed trees, renovated the bunkers and shaved runoff areas around the green. Hanse also moved fairway bunkers to landing areas that fit today’s game and players’ distance off the tee. The fairways are more forgiving than in 2007, but it’ll be challenging to get a flat lie. The natural contours of the land can make lies in the fairways uneven, which will prove to be a difficult test trying to hit into these smaller greens. Three water hazards come into play on 15 of the 18 holes, with some coming into play on the drive and approach shots. These green complexes may be the most challenging feat to conquer this week. Smaller than the TOUR average (~5,000 sq. ft), these raised putting surfaces feature shaved-off edges that will cause shots to roll off into collection areas and bunkers that’ll be difficult to get up and down from this week. The scorecard features both par 5s over 600 yards, and seven par 4s are between 450 and 500 yards. There’s also a par 3 measuring 250 yards, so golfers will need to have distance in spades this week. Other than Oak Hill (2013), every winner since 2010 has averaged 295-plus yards off the tee, with nine of the previous 10 averaging over 300 yards. While this should be manageable by most TOUR professionals, golfers like Kevin Kisner ($6,800) may have an uphill battle. Last season, none of the top six in DraftKings scoring were above $10,000 and only one golfer was double-digits in roster percentage at Kiawah Island, Louis Oosthuizen ($8,000) at 10.4%. Last month, the top six in DraftKings scoring at the Masters were all priced above $8,800, and five of the top six at The Open Championship were priced above $9,200 last season. Picking the right set of golfers in a major can prove difficult, so don’t be married to one type of roster construction. Roster percentage should play a factor this week, with a major attracting more casual players; be sure to check on their “sentiment curve” throughout the week. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Cameron Smith ($9,700) His accuracy issues off-the-tee shouldn’t be as much of a liability this week, and his magic around the greens will definitely help here, ranking 29th in scrambling over the previous 12 rounds. A win at THE PLAYERS and a third-place finish in the Masters this season is evidence enough the 28-year-old is set up for success at Southern Hills CC. Smith’s only lost strokes with his irons once all season and averages just south of 297 yards off the tee. His long-iron proximity will make up for what he potentially loses in distance, ranking top 10 in both proximities from 150 to 175 yards and 175-200 yards. He’s already conquered weather-dominated tournaments this season, and he should be composed if or when the weather gets hot and windy. With two wins already this season, Smith knows what it’ll take to win, especially when the course gets difficult. Patrick Cantlay ($9,100) also has to be considered in this range. Even though his only win was in the team event with Xander Schauffele ($9,300), he has two runner-up finishes after losing in playoffs at the WM Phoenix Open and RBC Heritage. A third-place finish (2019) when the PGA Championship was at Bethpage Black, another par 70 over 7,400 yards, is a good sign he can tackle the setup at Southern Hills. No one was better at Harbour Town with their irons than Cantlay, gaining 8.7 just a few weeks ago. Cameron Young ($7,600) Winning a major as your first win on the PGA TOUR may be a stretch, but there’s an outside chance he can get it done with how well he’s hitting it, ranking first in tee-to-green over his last dozen rounds. Young is top 25 in greens in regulation gained over the previous 12 rounds, and no one is better than him in gaining strokes around the greens, ranking first over the same timeframe. His runner-up finish at Wells Fargo came from elite ball-striking, ranking in the top five in approach and first in tee to green. He should fare well if he can make half of the putts inside six feet that he missed at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. Other golfers who could be in contention from this range are Shane Lowry ($8,700) and Matthew Fitzpatrick ($7,900). Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $3M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Semifinal Entry] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. Place your golf bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app. All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests. The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. 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