The Gold Rush: Betting on the US Open

Tiger is coming off a big year. Now what? We track every movement of his 2018-19 season.

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IRVING, Texas –  Alan Edmondson first began collecting the autographs of every Masters winner on his golf cap 25 years ago. He wasn’t sure this year if he had the energy to chase after another one. Much easier, he thought to himself, to have a previous champion win again. But when pressed prior to this year’s Masters for the name he most wanted to add to his cap, Edmondson had one response. Sergio Garcia. “Honest truth,” Edmondson said. Last month, Sergio did his part by winning at Augusta National. And on Tuesday at the AT&T Byron Nelson, Edmondson – a Dallas resident since 1980 – collected his signature, as Garcia added his name to a unique piece of memorabilia steeped in golf history. Garcia became the latest to sign Edmondson’s cap, putting his name right next to his mentor and idol, fellow Spaniard Seve Ballesteros. “It’s an honor to be on that hat,” Garcia said. Garcia became the 43rd Masters winner to sign the cap. There have been 51 different winners. When Edmondson began his quest in 1992, six had already died – Horton Smith, Henry Picard, Ralph Guldahl, Jimmy Demaret, Craig Wood and Claude Harmon. Two others, Ben Hogan and Cary Middlecoff, were too ill to sign. “Hogan was my biggest regret because he lived closed by in Fort Worth,” Edmondson said. Since then, 10 of the Masters champs that signed the cap have died, the latest being Arnold Palmer. That what makes the cap so unique. No fan can hope to duplicate what Edmondson has already acquired. It actually began by a chance meeting and an unexpected inquiry. At the 1992 Masters, one of Edmondson’s friends was in attendance and bought the cap. He gave it to Edmondson as a souvenir. That next month, Edmondson went to the Tuesday practice round for the AT&T Byron Nelson, proudly wearing his Masters cap. He was headed for his car late in the day when he saw Fred Couples walking toward him, heading for the range. Couples had won the Masters that year. Edmondson asked if he wouldn’t mind signing the cap. Couples obliged. Another fan, having witnessed the exchange, caught up with Edmondson and said, “I’ll give you $100 for the cap.” “That’s when the lightbulb went off,” Edmondson said. He turned down the offer. When he got home, he told his wife Betsy and their 4-year-old daughter Callie about his interesting afternoon and his idea to get more signatures. “That sounds great,” Betsy said that night. “I just have two questions: Where’s the $100 and why do you still have that stupid cap?” Since there was no internet back then, Edmondson visited a nearby library and found the list of all Masters winners. He now had the names. All that was left was getting the signatures. He made it a fun father-daughter project, and Callie has been by his side for most of the signatures. Thanks to the two annual PGA TOUR stops in the North Texas area – at TPC Four Seasons and at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth — Edmondson could start making inroads. He often met the players when they showed up at the course to sign in. The Dallas-area also used to play host to a PGA TOUR Champions event, allowing Edmondson to get some of the older winners such as George Archer and Doug Ford. After a few years, he had just a handful of signatures and felt the need to step up the pace. So he told one of his church friends about it – a friend who just happened to be a former three-time winner on the PGA TOUR, Texas native Rik Massengale. Massengale quickly offered his help on the project. “He thought it was a fun idea and really helped me get a purpose for it,” Edmondson said. Massengale was instrumental in getting Phil Mickelson’s signature on the cap. In fact, Mickelson invited Alan and his daughter to join him on the range. That same day, they also got Mike Weir’s signature. Massengale also introduced Edmondson with introductions to Billy Casper, who at the time was playing with Rik’s brother Don on PGA TOUR Champions. Casper lived in California and didn’t have any events scheduled for Texas. But on one trip to Florida, Casper had a layover at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Edmondson met him at the gate – this was before current security measures that now prevent non-fliers from getting close to the gate – and got the autograph between flights. On at least one occasion, one Masters champ encouraged another to sign the cap. It happened with Mark O’Meara, the 1998 champ. O’Meara had already signed the cap. He was at TPC Four Seasons waiting to play a practice round with his good friend Tiger Woods, and he told Alan and Callie to wait with him. When Tiger walked out, they got his signature. All the signatures have been acquired in person. Most have come in either at the local TOUR stops; obviously they didn’t have trouble getting local favorite Jordan Spieth’s signature after his win two years ago. But Edmondson has also flown to Ohio to get the signature of Herman Keiser (1946 winner) and to Florida for Angel Cabrera (2009 winner). “It was just a labor of love meeting those guys,” Edmondson said. Only one time has Edmondson given the cap to someone else to get a signature. It was at TPC Four Seasons, the year before the successful attempt to get Tiger’s autograph. Edmondson gave the cap to Tiger’s former agent Hughes Norton – and for five minutes was a nervous wreck. He even asked Norton for his business card in case something happened to the cap. When the agent returned and said he couldn’t find Tiger, Edmondson was disappointed but relieved to have the cap back in his possession. Edmondson used to keep the cap in a plexiglass case on a shelf in his closet. But then his home was burglarized. The thieves took Callie’s collection of 500 Beanie babies. They also took several of Edmondson’s caps — including one he had bought at the Hard Rock Café in Cabo San Lucas that was right next to the Masters cap. But for some reason, they didn’t take the cap with all the signatures. When Edmondson got home and realized how lucky he was that the cap was still in his closet, he took quick action. “Within 10 minutes, it was in a safe-deposit box at our bank,” he said. Given its age, the cap is in very good condition. The material hasn’t faded and neither have the signatures. Because it was sold in the days when style was less a consideration, it has an old-timey look, certainly not a sleek one. That’s a blessing in disguise. “There’s still lots of room to sign on it,” Edmondson said. “And it stands up nicely,” added Callie. How long will they keep the project going? Certainly no reason to stop now. Edmondson will soon turn 68. Callie is 29 and just started her family a year ago. “We’ll keep going as long as we can,” Edmondson said. But if Spieth or Garcia were to win a second Masters next year, Edmondson won’t mind taking the next year off.

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AUSTIN, Texas — Americans Matt Kuchar and Kevin Kisner have advanced to Sunday afternoon’s Championship match of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. Kuchar beat Lucas Bjerregaard while Kisner knocked off Francesco Molinari in the Semifinals at Austin Country Club. Kuchar, who attended Georgia Tech, is a 2013 Match Play champ. Kisner, who attended Georgia, is making his second straight Championship match appearance. Their match is scheduled to start at 3:25 p.m. ET. “I hate them ‘Dawgs,” Kuchar joked about Kisner. “He’s a fantastic player. We’ve got a bunch of great players on Tour. He’s certainly one of them. Doing great around this place. Back-to-back championship matches for him is awfully impressive. “I don’t expect to see any bogeys. I expect to see a lot of putts made. It’s going to be a tough match.” Bjerregaard and Molinari will meet in the Consolation match at 3:05 p.m. ET. Check below for recaps of the Semifinal matches. MATCH PLAY: Scores  | Bracket Expert Picks PGATOUR.COM staff writers Ben Everill and Mike McAllister are on-site in Austin and will predict the winner of every match each day. Semifinals MATT KUCHAR (23) def. LUCAS BJERREGAARD (50), 1 up Kuchar is back in the Championship match for the first time since winning this event in 2013, as he held off the upstart from Denmark. The win was the 28th in Kuchar’s Match Play career, the third most behind Tiger Woods and Ian Poulter in tournament history. Kuchar will be seeking his third win of the PGA TOUR season against Kevin Kisner in the Championship match. Bjerregaard, who defeated Tiger Woods in Saturday’s quarterfinals, missed a birdie putt from 34 feet on the final hole that would’ve extended the match. Kuchar opened with a birdie from 9 feet to grab the lead, but after both players bogeyed the second, Kuchar suffered another bogey at the fourth when he missed a par putt from 5 feet. Kuchar regained the lead at the par-5 sixth when Bjerregaard found the rough with his second shot. But Kuchar again gave back the lead with a bogey at the seventh. Bjerregard followed his bogey at the ninth with a birdie from 8 feet at the 10th to tie the match again. A two-putt birdie at the par-5 12th put Kuchar 1-up, but Bjerregaard answered with a birdie putt from 23-1/2 feet at the 15th. Kuchar regained the lead with another two-putt birdie at the 16th and rolled in a birdie putt at the 17th from 12 feet to force Bjerregaard to answer – which he did from 10 feet to extend the match to 18. Said Kuchar: “”I feel that this was NCAA Tournament survive and advance. It was not great golf. Certainly the last couple of holes for me to hit the shot in 16, birdie 17 finally felt like I needed to make a move, I’ve got to do something.” Said Bjerregaard: “I didn’t get to put the pressure on him today like I did in my two matches yesterday. I didn’t make the putts I had to. I didn’t hit the shots when I had the chance. So, yeah, disappointed now.” Match stats: Holes won – Kuchar 5, Bjerregaard 4. Holes led – Kuchar 11, Bjerregaard 0. KEVIN KISNER (48) def. FRANCESCO MOLINARI (7), 1 up Kisner reached the Championship final for the second consecutive year, winning the final hole with par after Molinari three-putted from 27 feet. Not since Hunter Mahan in 2013 has a player advanced to the final in two straight years. Kisner lost to Bubba Watson in last year’s final after beating Alex Noren in 19 holes in the semifinals. The match was tied going to the par-4 18th. Molinari’s tee shot left him in the fairway bunker while Kisner found the fairway. Both players were on the green in two, but Molinari’s downhill putt ran 7 feet, 8 inches past the hole. Kisner’s birdie putt from 14 feet left him with a tap-in par, and Molinari’s par save just missed on the left side. The loss was Molinari’s first of the week. Kisner has won his last five matches after opening with a loss to Ian Poulter in the group stage. The lead changed six times in the first seven holes, with each player producing three birdies in that stretch. Kisner won the opening hole with a birdie but gave it right back when his approach at the second from 133 yards found the native area. Molinari won the third with a birdie from 14-1/2 feet but gave it right back when he failed to get up-and-down from the greenside bunker at the fourth. A Kisner birdie putt from 27-1/2 feet at the fifth gave him the lead. Both players birdied the sixth, then Molinari won the par-3 seventh after his tee shot finished inside 3 feet. Kisner took the lead at the par-5 12th as Molinari found the water with his third shot from off the green. That led to a stretch of three bogeys in four holes for Molinari, but he bounced bback with consecutive birdies, while Kisner found trouble at the par-5 16th. Molinari’s tee shot at the par-3 17th finished inside 5 feet, as he tied the match entering the last hole. Said Kisner: “The front nine I was freezing, and we actually made more birdies on the front nine than we did the back. It’s an interesting game and match play brings out interesting things. I never dreamed he would three-putt the last hole to let me win the match. Hats off to him. He’s a great player. He’s been playing great all year.” Said Molinari: “Just didn’t quite play my best. We played quite well on the front nine and then just dropped too many easy shots on the back nine, unfortunately. It is what it is. Still a positive week. … I bogeyed 12, 14, 18 from decent spots in the middle of the fairway. So it’s not something really you’re allowed to do.” Match stats: Holes won – Kisner 6, Molinari 5. Holes led – Kisner 9, Molionari 1.

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