Thomas starts drive back to top

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Patrick Rodgers ran off four straight birdies late in his round Saturday and finished with a par save for a 6-under 64, giving him a share of the lead with Ben Martin in The RSM Classic and another chance at his first PGA TOUR title. Martin was poised to match that score until he came up short on the 18th green, chipped to just inside 5 feet and missed the par putt. He had a 65. They were at 14-under 198 in the final PGA TOUR event of the year, and it was far from a two-man race. Ten players were within two shots of the lead, a group that included Sahith Theegala (68), Brian Harman (64) and even Harry Higgs, who was atop the leaderboard at the start of the day and had a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 70. Cole Hammer, who graduated from Texas in May and is playing on a sponsor exemption, was tied for the lead going into the weekend. He was 4 over through five holes and managed a 72. Even so, he was only four shots behind. Rodgers hit the reset button after last season ended in August, setting up a plan with swing coach Jeff Smith that entails making incremental improvements. It appears to be working. He tied for third in Bermuda three weeks ago and has been a steady presence during the fall events. Rodgers was the top-ranked amateur in the world his final year at Stanford. He is making his 226th start on the PGA TOUR and still searching for his first win. It didn’t take long to get in the mix. He holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole, stuffed his approach to 6 feet on the tough 14th, made an 8-foot birdie on the par-5 15th and capped off his run with a 30-foot birdie putt on the 16th. “I feel like I put together a tiny offseason with my coach, Jeff Smith. We really put a good plan together,” Rodgers said. “I’ve been feeling more comfortable. It’s a hard game, and it’s always nice to see hard work pay off.” Eight of the top players on the leaderboard have yet to win on the PGA TOUR. Theegala certainly had his chances during his rookie year that saw him reach the TOUR Championship. Taylor Pendrith (65) got plenty of experience playing his first Presidents Cup in September. Taylor Montgomery has had a strong start to his rookie season with five finishes in the top 15. He already is up to No. 65 in the world. Martin’s lone PGA TOUR victory was eight years ago in Las Vegas. Adam Svensson of Canada made the biggest move with a 62, including an eagle on the par-5 15th hole, putting him one shot behind along with Theegala and Andrew Putnam, who also shared the 36-hole lead. He saved par from a bunker on the last hole for a 69.

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At first, Addison Seban made the candles for fun. Or maybe, as a present to give to a friend. When she wanted to be fitted for a new set of golf clubs, though, she turned her hobby into a business. “It was real expensive and my mom was like, no, you’re going to have to earn your money to buy the golf clubs – they’re just not going to give them to you,” Addison recalls. “And so, we thought of ideas that would make the money and that I know I enjoyed doing.” So far, she’s made enough selling candles – the pumpkin spice, peppermint and cedar-scented ones do especially well with the holidays approaching – to pay for a set of irons. She’s now saving up for her woods and hybrids. Each candle, which sells for $5 or $10, depending on the size, has a card attached explaining that Addison, who is a member of First Tee-Golden Isles, is trying to make money to further her golf career. The high school freshman has sold more than 100 candles so far. “I would hope people would like them because I try hard on them,” Addison says. So far, the candles have been sold by word-of-mouth, many to her mother’s friends. But Addison plans to sell them at a crafts fair this month in Brunswick, Georgia, and a web page is also in the works. “But right now, it’s mainly just by, I was asking local people around here or us just being sitting at a restaurant and having the candles with us,” she says. “Someone will be asking how much they are and most of the time they’ll buy.” Each candle sold is an investment in a once-shy youngster who has turned into a confident teenager, one with enough poise to be selected to help tell the story of the RSM Birdies Fore Love program during the Golf Channel broadcast of this week’s RSM Classic. Addison will also be on-site at Sea Island on Wednesday where she’ll get a behind-the-scenes tour of the event that is hosted by Davis Love III. She’ll also spend time with PGA TOUR pro Kyle Westmoreland, who is an RSM Ambassador. Tammy Palmer, who is the executive director of First Tee-Golden Isles, has seen Addison’s transformation first-hand. It’s not just the golfer she’s become, it’s how the teen has matured and been empowered by the organization’s core values. “I guess the one word, if I were to have one word for Addison, it’s joy,” she says. “Like, every time I see Addison and I talk to Addison, she’s always got a very bright smile on her face, and she’s just a beautiful young girl, and she’s got a bright future ahead of her. … “She has developed so much confidence over the last few years and she has really developed into a wonderful young woman. And she has started being a part of a couple of organizations at her school where she’s on the leadership board. … And the amazing thing about that is, is it’s a new school for her. … And so, she’s jumped right in with both feet and. And she’s just going to do amazing.” Addison has been a member of First Tee-Golden Isle, which is a beneficiary of the RSM Birdies Fore Love program since her grandfather Rich Seban signed her up for a summer camp at the age of 7. He lives in a golf course community, and she liked tagging along with him. “It was just a way for me to get out there and hang out with him,” Addison says. She played soccer, volleyball and basketball, too, but by the time she was 10, Addison began taking golf more seriously. She and her grandfather play together weekly, but while she’s come close, she has not beaten him yet, “sadly,” she says. A ninth grader at Frederica Academy on Saint Simon’s Island, Addison is drawn to the challenge of the game, as well as the friendships she’s made. She’ll be playing golf for the Knights this year, and she was pleased to find out there is another girl on the team who plays “serious” golf. “I think my favorite part about golf is just being out there and playing it and just enjoying seeing how well I’m doing for the day or how bad and how I can improve with it,” Addison says. Now that she’s older and a veteran, of sorts, at First Tee-Golden Isle, Addison volunteers three or four times a week. She started out working with the youngest kids and now focuses on the 7-9 age group, teaching them the core values and the game, as well as respecting the golf course. Palmer says the donation from the RSM Birdies Fore Love program has allowed First Tee-Golden Isle to expand into three additional counties and provide life and leadership opportunities to more kids like Addison. “We’ve been able to add a lot more specialty programs like PGA Junior League and LPGA Girls Golf and our school program, where we have our curriculum and our equipment inside 25 middle and elementary high schools,” she says. “And so, we’ve been able to expand that and create a much further reach than we did before.” The First Tee lessons Addison teaches to the youngsters are ones she knows well. The core values – particularly honesty and perseverance — are an integral part of her daily life. “It’s taught me a lot about leadership,” Addison says of the First Tee tenets. “I’m a part of my school’s leadership teams that they have, and I think it’s helped a lot with that and just also building confidence with that to being able to say I’m going do this and actually doing it and just not saying it and not doing it.” Addison’s ultimate goal is to earn a college scholarship to play golf. While she has already played in some tournaments, particularly on the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour, she hopes to be a more regular participant in 2023, competing in at least one a month. Looks like it’s time to sell some more candles.

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