Sergio Garcia is literally putting with his eyes closed at the Sanderson Farms Championship, and it's working

FORT WORTH, TEXAS – The historic PGA TOUR tournament held annually at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, has been renamed the Charles Schwab Challenge. On April 12 this year, Charles Schwab was announced as the title sponsor for the event, in a four-year agreement beginning in 2019. Traditionally hosted over Memorial Day weekend, the Charles Schwab Challenge has been held at the Colonial Country Club since 1946 making it the PGA TOUR’s longest-tenured tournament at a single venue. The dates for the 2019 Charles Schwab Challenge will be confirmed when the PGA TOUR announces the 2018-19 schedule.  “Greatness is achieved through challenge. Colonial has challenged the world’s greatest golfers for over three quarters of a century. The tournament title — Charles Schwab Challenge — certainly celebrates our long history of great competition,” said Rob Hood, Charles Schwab Challenge tournament chairman. “As a tournament that is known to be a shot-maker’s course and one that has challenged the best players in the game for over 70 years, we wanted to pay homage to the tradition of the event as a challenger’s competition,â€� said Jonathan Craig, senior executive vice president, Charles Schwab & Co, Inc. “We’re a company that has challenged the status quo for investors since day one so being a part of this inspiring tournament gives us great pride.â€� The Charles Schwab Challenge is among the PGA TOUR leaders in charitable giving, including generating a record $13 million awarded to charities in 2018. The tournament has generated $100 million for more than 150 charitable organizations over the past two decades. Many of the game’s biggest names, representing a wide range of styles of play, have won the tournament since its inaugural playing in 1946, from golf greats like Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson to modern-day stars such as Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose, who won the 2018 title by three strokes over Brooks Koepka.

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World No.1 Dustin Johnson defends his crown as the PGA TOUR returns to Austin for its annual bracketology week, as FedExCup titleholder Justin Thomas and two-time Match Play king Jason Day head the challenge from a wealth of marquee names. Day is among five former champions in the field, joined by Rory McIlroy (2015), Matt Kuchar (2013) and Ian Poulter (2010). Jon Rahm, who took Johnson to the 18th hole as a Match Play rookie, is also back for a second bite of the apple. FIELD NOTES: Masters titleholder Sergio Garcia is set for his first start since becoming a father. His opening match comes exactly one week after welcoming daughter Azalea Adele Garcia into the world. … In all, Austin CC greets 59 of the world’s top 64 who qualified in the first pass. … Brooks Koepka continues to rest a wrist injury, while three others among the world’s top 15 opted to join him on the sideline: Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson. Adam Scott is the other absentee. … Moving into the lineup are Kevin Na, Charles Howell III, Joost Luiten, Keegan Bradley and Luke List. … Adam Hadwin, who skipped last year’s event because it conflicted with his wedding, is one of 14 players set for their WGC Match Play debuts. For James Hahn and Australia’s Cameron Smith, it’s their first WGC start of any kind. … World rankings will determine the 16 top seeds, with blind draws to fill each group from pools of players seeded Nos. 17-32, Nos. 33-48 and the remainder. The draws will be televised Monday night. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 550 points. STORYLINES: Three entrants return to action seeking to win in back-to-back starts: Thomas (Honda Classic), Phil Mickelson (WGC-Mexico) and Paul Casey (Valspar Championship). … Day seeks his third WGC Match Play title in five editions, to go with 2016 in Austin and 2014 in Arizona. He owns a 21-7 record in matches played, but went only six holes last year before exiting to be alongside his mother as she underwent cancer treatment. … Johnson, who made the Match Play his third straight win last year, owns four top-10s since the calendar turned but just one victory. … Garcia and Poulter – both Ryder Cup virtuosos – can surpass Tiger Woods for most career matches if either makes the semifinals. Both have 37 matches on their ledger; Woods has played 43. … In a statistical anomaly, no matches went to extra holes last year. COURSE: Austin Country Club, 7,108 yards, par 71. Nestled next to Lake Austin, Pete Dye’s 1984 design has proven a worthy Match Play host in its two editions. The layout features two distinctly different nines – a front nine on higher ground and typical of the surrounding Texas hill country, followed by a “lowlands� nine alongside Lake Austin that offers a scenic backdrop as matches complete. Austin CC dates back to 1899, believed to be the oldest golf club in Texas, relocating twice before occupying its current site. Austin was the original venue for the Legends of Golf from 1978-94; the city later hosted another PGA TOUR Champions stop from 2003-09. LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: 9 & 8, Tiger Woods def. Stephen Ames (1st round, 2006 at La Costa Resort & Spa). LONGEST MATCH: 26 holes, Mike Weir def. Loren Roberts (1st round, 2003 at La Costa), Scott Verplank def. Lee Westwood (1st round, 2006 at La Costa). LAST YEAR: Johnson became the first man to capture all four World Golf Championships, defeating Rahm 1-up in the final to cap off back-to-back-to-back wins in a six-week stretch. Johnson never fell behind in any match, playing 112 holes on the week, though Rahm pushed him the distance in the final. Facing a 4-down deficit, the Spaniard drove the green at No.13 to start a run of three birdies in a four-hole burst. They matched pars at No.17, and Rahm watched his drive 356-yard 18th run through the green. His delicate chip down the slope checked up short of its target, resulting in par, while Johnson’s chip from just short of the green stopped 30 inches away to seal the victory. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Wednesday-Friday, 2-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (GC), 2-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (GC), 3-7 p.m. (NBC). (Golf Channel / NBC Sports LiveExtra simulcast stream) PGA TOUR LIVE: Wednesday-Friday, 10:15 a.m.-4 p.m. ET (featured groups), 4-8 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Wednesday-Friday, 2-8 p.m. ET. Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).  

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Answered prayers. That’s how Paul Tesori sees it, and anyone who knows him knows that’s meant in the most literal sense of the words. The highly-respected caddie was between jobs in the fall of 2010 after being let go — “Fired for the first time in my life,â€� Tesori said — by Sean O’Hair. He decided to take some time off to rest, regroup and weigh his options. “The one thing I wanted to do was I wanted to find a relationship that I thought could be long term,â€� Tesori recalled. “All of my relationships on TOUR, all my caddie jobs, had lasted about three years and it was a lot of stress, obviously, involved.â€� Soon afterwards, Dustin Johnson and Camillo Villegas came calling. Johnson, who is now the No. 1 player in the world, had already won four times while Villegas, a former Florida Gator like Tesori, had three victories. Both were great options for the veteran caddie. Literally hours before Tesori planned to accept one of those offers, though, Webb Simpson called him. Simpson was two years removed from a standout career at Wake Forest and still finding his way as a pro. He was ranked a distant 213th in the world, while Johnson and Villegas were both among the top 30. Still, Tesori was intrigued.  “After five minutes on the phone I knew this was the guy wanted to go work for,â€� he said.   Tesori liked the fire he heard in Simpson’s words as he talked about trying to get better. He liked that Simpson was a family man, too, about to become a father for the first time. And last but certainly not least, there was their shared religious conviction.  “I needed to take that leap of faith and go with a man that I respect,â€� said Tesori, who had been baptized in 2010. “Go with a man who loves the Lord. For me it was a faith-based decision, not a performance-based one.â€� On paper, he’d be the first to admit, it made no sense at all. But the new partnership paid immediate dividends in 2011 as Simpson won twice, finished second three times and was No. 2 to Luke Donald in the FedExCup. Long-term the team has continued to roll. Simpson has reached the TOUR Championship six of the last eight years and at No. 42 this season he’s got a good shot to get to the season finale at East Lake again. He’s won five times, including the 2012 U.S. Open, and banked nearly $30 million with Tesori on the bag. One of the reasons the partnership works, Tesori said, is because Simpson gives him the freedom to be himself and speak his mind.  A year ago, for example, after Simpson tied for fifth at the RBC Heritage, Tesori remembers being anxious to get together the next day so he could talk to his boss about what had gone wrong that week and what they needed to do better. Two weeks later, Simpson won THE PLAYERS Championship, a title he defends this week. “My perfectionism sometimes, maybe, you know, it could be a turnoff,â€� Tesori said. “But, see, Weber likes that part. He’ll call me out when I’m going too far.â€� Interestingly, the two are vastly different in the way they play the game – which is another plus. Simpson is a feel player while Tesori, who got his amateur status back in 2016 and has won five times in the Florida State Golf Association Winter Series this year, is much more mechanical.  “I think if you get two guys that are very mechanically inclined, very intellectual, that way they can actually hurt each other,â€� Tesori said. “I think about the game in an analytical way, very mechanical way. He’s the exact opposite. He’s a painter — almost a magician. “He sees everything outside the box and mentally, he doesn’t think much about mechanics. So, I think that part has been a good marriage as well.â€� The final component is their shared faith in God. Tesori, who is 14 years older than Simpson, said the two often have “tremendousâ€� conversations about their lives and how they can be better men, better fathers and better husbands.  They aren’t always so serious, of course. Tesori is a room-service kind of guy, ready to relax those aching muscles after a round, while Simpson prefers to have dinner with friends. But they often get together to watch a basketball game later – anything but talk golf. “I definitely count him as one of my two closest friends in the world and that’s pretty cool to say, especially when that’s your boss as well,â€� Tesori said. All in all, things have worked out better than he could have ever imagined.  “I tell everybody now he’s ruined me,â€� Tesori said. “I don’t think, I don’t think I could ever work for anybody else. I was pretty hardened and when I came to him, I could handle anything.  “But now I’m a big mush-pit. I’m all like sensitive now and stuff like that because he treats me so well, so I’m pretty much in trouble now if he ever decides to let me go. So, I guess I need to be on my best behavior.â€� 18 things on Webb Simpson Tesori shared 18 unique facts about Simpson and their unique relationship together ahead of THE PLAYERS Championship this week at TPC Sawgrass. 1. Webb is incredibly well-respected on TOUR. When Jordan Spieth was on David Feherty’s show, he asked him for his favorite pairing and he said Webb Simpson. After Justin Thomas shot 62 in the final round of the WGC-Mexico Championship, he said that he loved playing with Webb and Pauly. His peers just really think a lot of him. 2. Webb is a very, very humble man — even the caddies know that. Joe Skovron, Rickie Fowler’s caddie, calls him “Unicornâ€� because you hear people like him exist, but you’ve never seen it. If I give him a bad read, he just says, “Paul, keep your head up. Stay positive.â€� Caddies are used to hearing the opposite. 3. He lives for Starbucks. He goes there for quiet time, but he sometimes ends up talking with complete strangers. 4. In fact, he loves coffee. Period. He even has a coffee weight scale at home. He weighs his beans so he knows exactly what he’s putting in there and scales his water, so he’ll have the exact same cup of coffee that he wants each morning.   5. He zones out on the golf course sometimes. We can be having a bad day and he’ll tell me, “That’s great, buddy.’â€� 6. He’s a covenant member of his church and faithfully attends Bible studies as well as family activities there. Oh, and he majored in religion at Wake Forest. 7. He let me take my filter off at the 2011 PLAYERS. They had split tees that day and we teed off the back. He birdied the first three holes and made a triple bogey on No. 13. He was saying something to me, and I just looked at him like, ‘Buddy, I just wish one time you guys would let us caddies take our filter off.’ He was like, ‘Why, what would you say?’ ‘Well, I’m not going to say it because I have to have my filter on.’ He goes, ‘Okay, I’ll let you take the filter off the rest of the day.’ I made fun of him all day. I think he made like five birdies and an eagle and shot like 75 so he gave me a lot of free ammunition. I just tortured him and when the round was over, he’s like, ‘I’m never, ever, ever letting you take the filter off again.’ 8. He’s very wise. He’s got five children under the age of 8 so he has to manage his time very well. 9. He dresses really badly when he travels. One of my favorite stories is when we were going to Japan for the Dunlop Phoenix. When he landed, he was going to have to do a press conference and I don’t think he realized how quickly. The normal outfit for him will be like, a Lululemon navy tee shirt with really baggy black jogging pants. He’ll probably put some gray shoes on and then he has a San Francisco Giants baseball flat bill hat. He doesn’t care about the Giants but he likes the way it fits. 10. His guilty pleasure is Diet Mountain Dew. 11. My nickname for him is Buhdro. When I started working for him, everybody called each other buddy. And so, we were just thinking about Louisiana bayou and we came up with Buhdro. Ted Scott, Bubba Watson’s caddy, says it should be spelled differently – Boudreaux — but we spell it our own way. I always call him Buhdro, and his kids call me Buhdro, He’s in my phone as Buhdro. I got him a journal, a leather covered journal, and it has Buhdro on it. And he just bought me a cover for our Masters yardage book and it has Buhdro inside it, as well. So that’s kind of our little thing instead of saying buddy or pal or friend or man or whatever. 12. He’s an amazing husband. He sends flowers to his wife, Dowdl when he is gone and plans date nights weekly when they are together. 13. He’s very good at showing his kids how important they are. He makes time for each one individually, as well as a family. 14. He’s a great friend. He’s very intentional and he finds time to really connect. 15. He’s a goofball. Everything about him is silly. We laugh at almost everything. We’ll be walking down the middle of the fairway and he’s leading the golf tournament and there will be a turtle over there. And he’ll go like, ‘Pauly, if I hit that turtle with a golf ball right now what do you think you would say?’ We both dance at home a lot and we’re terrible dancers. We love to tell jokes, too, dumb, corny jokes like, ‘Why did the chicken cross the road?’ 16. He’s very generous – he gives 25 percent away and he pays his caddie well. 17. He is a mentor. He has four rookies on TOUR that he has dinner with at least once a month, every month. And they just go through what traveling on the road has been like, what either dating or marriage has been like, how family is doing, how golf is going, how’s your faith. That’s just something very, very intentional. He also has quite a few young men back home in Charlotte who are trying to play golf for living on the mini-tours and he brings him out to Quail Hollow to practice with him, an obviously spending time with his faith as well. 18. He loves making weird bets, like which one of us can hit a trash can with a golf ball. 

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