Thomas pulls away for win at WGC Bridgestone

AVONDALE, LOUISIANA – Zurich Insurance is renewing its sponsorship of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans through 2026.  The seven-year extension was announced today, the final day of the 2018 tournament, by Zurich North America CEO Kathleen Savio, PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan and CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation Steve Worthy. The Fore!Kids Foundation is the local host organization of the Zurich Classic. Zurich became title sponsor of the tournament in 2005 and last signed an extension through 2019. Last year, the Zurich Classic became the PGA TOUR’s only official team event. The innovative format continued for this year’s tournament as the city of New Orleans celebrates its 300-year anniversary. “New Orleans has a resilient past with a bright future, and we’re proud to extend our sponsorship of the Zurich Classic, continuing our teamwork with charitable organizations,â€� said Savio.  “The Zurich Classic is a wonderful opportunity to work side by side on and off the course to create opportunities, overcome challenges and win.â€� Zurich assumed sponsorship of the tournament just months before Hurricane Katrina devastated the region. Zurich and its employees became deeply rooted in New Orleans’ recovery, and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans became the first major sporting event to commit to returning to the city for 2006. Zurich executives and employees have been intimately involved with the community and the Fore!Kids Foundation’s charitable initiatives ever since. These include hands-on support of SBP, established after Katrina to rebuild homes in storm-ravaged areas of the city, and St. Michael Special School for children with significant learning disabilities. Funds from Zurich and the tournament helped to build a Vocational Training Center that bears Zurich’s name and a state-of-the-art playground at the school. “I can’t say enough about the dedicated support Zurich has provided to the Fore!Kids Foundation and the New Orleans area from the outset of sponsoring the Zurich Classic of New Orleans,â€� Monahan said. “It really has been an ideal association from the outset, when Zurich became so entrenched in the recovery process following Hurricane Katrina. That bond has continued to grow over the ensuing years and, I’m excited to say, will continue to do so for many more to come.â€�    Officials, in fact, have referred to New Orleans as Zurich’s adopted home. “Zurich has been an incredible partner and their support has allowed us to impact the lives of countless children in our region,â€� Worthy said. “We greatly appreciate their love of our community, and we look forward to our future, working together to make this event and its impact continue to grow.â€�   About PGA TOUR By showcasing golf’s greatest players, the PGA TOUR engages, inspires and positively impacts our fans, partners and communities worldwide. The PGA TOUR co-sanctions more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Series-China. Members on the PGA TOUR represent the world’s best players, hailing from 25 countries (84 members are from outside the United States). Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to more than 1 billion households in 226 countries and territories in 23 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations to maximize charitable giving. In 2017, tournaments across all Tours generated a record of more than $180 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to $2.65 billion. The PGA TOUR’s web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. About Zurich Insurance Group Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With about 53,000 employees, it provides a wide range of property and casualty, and life insurance products and services in more than 210 countries and territories. Zurich’s customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, as well as multinational corporations. The Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information about Zurich is available at www.zurich.com. In North America, Zurich is a leading commercial property-casualty insurance provider serving the global corporate, large corporate, middle market, specialties and programs sectors through the individual member companies of Zurich in North America, including Zurich American Insurance Company. Life insurance and disability coverage issued in the United States in all states except New York is issued by Zurich American Life Insurance Company, an Illinois domestic life insurance company. In New York, life insurance and disability coverage is issued by Zurich American Life Insurance Company of New York, a New York domestic life insurance company. For more information about the products and services it offers and people Zurich employs around the world go to www.zurichna.com. 2012 marked Zurich’s 100-year anniversary of insuring America and the success of its customers, shareholders and employees.

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Keith Mitchell doesn’t have a lot of winning experience to draw upon. His only victory since turning pro in 2014 was a mini-tour event in North Carolina. Although he was an All-American at the University of Georgia, he never won a collegiate event, struggling early on with the discipline needed to maximize his potential. Oh, he’s come close to winning a couple of times. He lost a three-man playoff in Brazil on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica in 2015. He had a few looks on the Web.com Tour, including a tie for third in the News Sentinel Open in his native Tennessee. And in his rookie season on TOUR a year ago, he was solo second – albeit by four shots – in the Dominican Republic. Mainly, he’s suffered heartbreak. In August of 2017, he had a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole in the final regular-season event of the Web.com Tour at Pumpkin Ridge outside Portland, Oregon. Making the putt would secure his PGA TOUR card. He missed it. “I think about it all the time,� Mitchell said about that putt. “I don’t have a number, but it’s in the thousands.� He was definitely thinking about it Sunday morning while driving to PGA National to play the final round of The Honda Classic. Tied for second to start the day, Mitchell had a life-changing opportunity in his grasp. He just needed to achieve something he’s rarely done the last few years. Some golfers might flinch at those negative feelings, of failing to get it done when the pressure and stakes were at their highest. Mitchell, though, used it as motivation, as determination. He’s felt what it’s like to come up short. Time for a different sensation. “I didn’t want to have those feelings today,� Mitchell said. “I wanted to overcome those. I wanted to see what it was like on the other side.� The other side was now 15-1/2 feet away on the 18th hole at PGA National late Sunday afternoon. A similar distance to Pumpkin Ridge, and no surprise that those memories were threatening to distract him from the task at hand. Hole the birdie putt, and he becomes a PGA TOUR winner. Miss it and he falls into a playoff with two of the TOUR’s biggest names, Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler, each a local resident with a huge following. But this was no Pumpkin Ridge. Keith Mitchell’s time had finally come – a one-stroke win, a two-year TOUR exemption and all the other accoutrements that come with being a TOUR winner. Sorry, Brooks. Sorry, Rickie. “If I make par here, I got a playoff with two of the best players in the world and potentially Hall-of-Famers of all time,� Mitchell said. “That’s a big thought for a guy that’s on his second year of TOUR that’s never won. So I was able to execute and that’s something I haven’t been able to do in the past.� Two days earlier, Mitchell had finished 36 holes as the co-leader with Sungjae Im. A headline in the local newspaper called them “no-names� and someone else in the media made the suggestion that neither one would be in contention on Sunday when the tournament was decided. A friend of Mitchell’s sent him a text with the headline and the slight, and added a simple “show those guys what’s up� message. On the first tee in Saturday’s third round, Mitchell read the text. He did the same on Sunday prior to teeing off. He wasn’t angry. He simply wanted that chip on his shoulder. He plays better when nothing is expected of him. “I don’t expect to have any great stuff to be written about me because I’ve only been out here for a year,� Mitchell said. “So I’m not saying that in a negative light. I just used that as a little kind of emotion that everyone gets their start somewhere, everyone gets their first win somewhere, and I wanted this to be mine.� It didn’t start that well, with Mitchell opening with consecutive bogeys. But that just moved the spotlight even further away. He bounced back with two birdies before making the turn, and then bounced back again after having to lay up with his second shot at the par-4 11th and suffering another bogey. An 11-foot birdie putt at the 12th was the start of three birdies in the next four holes. Once he reached 8 under after a brilliant tee shot to 4 feet at the par-3 15th, he was in a five-way tie for the lead. Koepka was about to finish at 8 under, but Fowler was in the group immediately ahead of Mitchell. He had to hear the roars at both the 17th and 18th holes when Fowler rolled in birdie putts to also reach 8 under. That might’ve been the breaking point for some, especially a non-winner on a hard course. And then Mitchell pulled his tee shot at the par-5 18th into the fairway bunker. His ball was too close to the lip, preventing him for reaching the green in two. Another potential negative for the big hitter, but a solid bunker shot set him up 129 yards away with his third shot. “I knew I had a chance to win the tournament and I wasn’t going to let my ball being in the bunker deter me,� Mitchell said. “I made birdie the old-fashioned way, I guess they call it – which is not the Keith Mitchell way at all.� Mitchell then rolled in the winning putt. Fowler, waiting in front of the scoring area to see if there would a playoff, decided to hang around to welcome Mitchell to the winner’s club. He doesn’t know Mitchell that well, but Fowler knows how hard a course PGA National plays. “I knew what Keith was going through on the last, having been there,� said Fowler, who won The Honda Classic two years ago. “It’s not easy winning out here, especially your first. So seeing him make that putt, it’s cool. “I know the feeling. All you can do is sit back, smile, congratulate him.� Congratulations, of course, generally are reserved for winners. Keith Mitchell might not have been on the receiving end the last few years, but there were plenty of people waiting to shake his hand Sunday.

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