Tiger missing that 4-footer isn’t really a bad thing if you think about it

Want to take a friend for a round of golf with Justin Thomas at Medalist Golf Club right after getting a lesson from his father Mike? How about taking on Lake Nona with Ian Poulter? Or Pinehurst with Webb Simpson? California more your scene? How does the ultimate Pebble Beach experience, hosted by Jim Nantz, sound? All of these and more incredible and unique golf experiences are available via the “Chipping Inâ€� COVID-19 Relief Charity Golf Auction and Sweepstakes but time is running out. April 30 is the final day to get involved. Click here for the auction, and here for the sweepstakes before 9 p.m. ET on April 30. The Acushnet Company stable of brands – Titleist, FootJoy, Scotty Cameron, Vokey Design, Links & Kings and KJUS along with their brand ambassadors have combined to offer these awesome prizes. One hundred percent of the proceeds are set to benefit the CDP COVID-19 Response Fund, the Golf Emergency Relief Fund, and the United Way chapters of Greater New Bedford and San Diego County where the majority of Titleist and FootJoy associates work. It continues the efforts from Acushnet to help out during the pandemic which has included donating more than 100,000 masks and other PPE supplies to hospitals and those in need and retrofitting processes in their Massachusetts manufacturing facilities to produce PPE items and components, including protective face shields. The company is also donating 15% of all purchases made Titleist.com, FootJoy.com, ScottyCameron.com, Vokey.com and Kjus.com, from April 8-30, to the CDP COVID-19 Response Fund. Auction experiences include: Ultimate Pebble Beach Experience – You and three friends head to Pebble Beach for a personalized adventure from local resident Jim Nantz. Includes breakfast at The Gallery, a pre-round putting contest, personalized live and recorded introductions from Nantz on the first hole of 18 at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Concludes with visit to Nantz’s home to hit balls on his now famous par-3 hole – a replica of Pebble Beach’s seventh, a special “Our Tribute” bottle from Jim’s wine brand The Calling, and numerous opportunities to add a plaque in your name to “The Rock of Fame” – where only the 16 who have aced the hole are permanently enshrined. The winner of the ‘closest to the hole’ competition will also receive a custom set of Titleist clubs. Ian Poulter Experience – Lunch and golf for you and two friends with Poulter at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club. Mike & Justin Thomas Experience – You and a friend enjoy a lesson from PGA Master Professional Mike to prepare you for 18 holes at Medalist Golf Club with him and his son, Justin. Brad Faxon Experience – You and three friends get private putting lessons from eight-time PGA TOUR champion and FOX golf analyst Brad Faxon at Old Marsh Golf Club. Michael Breed Experience – You and a friend get lunch, world-class instruction and golf with this renowned teacher at the Michael Breed Golf Academy at Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point. Butch Harmon Experience – You and two friends get two hours of lesson time, lunch and nine holes with Harmon at the Butch Harmon School of Golf at Rio Secco in Las Vegas. Peter Kostis Experience – You and two friends get personal Kostis swing analysis at the Peter Kostis Golf Academy at Grayhawk GC that also includes Peter’s son, John, a Golf Digest “Best Young Teacher Under 40.â€� Includes a round at Whisper Rock. Cameron McCormick Experience – You and two friends can learn from McCormick at Trinity Forest GC in Dallas, where he will provide lessons, join you for lunch and round out your foursome for 18 holes. James Sieckmann Experience – You and two friends will join the No. 1-rated short game coach in the country for three hours of private instruction before 18 holes at either Shadow Ridge in Nebraska or at a Phoenix golf course arranged by James. Scotty Cameron Experience – Enjoy the TOUR treatment and get fit at the Scotty Cameron Golf Gallery in Encinitas, Calif. Includes a Scotty Cameron meet and greet, a personally selected Cameron gift bag, a two-hour world-class fitting, a one-of-a-kind prototype Scotty Cameron carry bag and your own custom-fit Scotty Cameron MOTO putter. Bob Vokey Experience – You and two friends work with their own fitter at the world-class Titleist Performance Institute in Oceanside, Calif., as Vokey, shares his expertise about bounce fitting, yardage gapping and wedge selection. Includes three hand ground, hand stamped, custom made Vokey Design wedges and 18 holes with Vokey rep Aaron Dill at LaCosta Resort & Spa. If the auction items prove out of your reach you can join the sweepstakes that give you a chance to play with major champion Webb Simpson at the legendary Pinehurst No. 2. The winner and two friends join Simpson for the round plus lunch and the experience includes a one night stay for each at the Carolina Hotel; a round at The Cradle, Pinehurst’s 9-hole short course; and a gift certificate for dinner at the Pinehurst Brewing Company. There will be four additional winners, who will receive valuable gift packages from each of the participating brands, including: a Titleist Dream Bag Set-Up; a complete Head-to-Toe FootJoy offering; the newest rain suit technology, Gemini from Kjus; and a luxurious Links & Kings gift package.

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AVONDALE, La. — Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy won the Zurich Classic Sunday, closing with a bogey-free 5-under 67 in alternate-shot play. Horschel became a two-time winner at TPC Louisiana. He captured his maiden PGA TOUR triumph at the 2013 Zurich Classic when it was a traditional every-man-for-himself event. Horschel and Piercy surged into the lead with birdies on the 10th and 11th holes. They followed that with seven pars to hold off Jason Dufner and Pat Perez by a stroke. Dufner had a 14-foot putt for the tie on 18 but came up short. This was the second year of the Zurich’s switch to a two-player team format. The victory was Horschel’s fifth and Piercy’s fourth. They each earned $1.04 million and 400 FedExCup points. The result did not count toward the world ranking. A year ago, the Zurich format called for best-ball play in the second and final rounds, with alternate-shot on the first and third. But organizers decided this year to switch that around so that the final round would have the alternate-shot format, with one player hitting the tee shots on even-numbered holes and the other on odd numbers. That set the stage for substantial moves up or down the leaderboard; players had no choice but the play the lies their teammates left them on the previous shot. Horschel and Piercy began the day three shots back, but immediately surged into contention with birdies on the first two holes. Piercy’s 146-yard approach set up Horschel’s 5-foot birdie putt on the opening hole. On the par-5 second hole, Piercy chipped to 4 feet to set up another birdie putt for Horschel. Horschel returned the favor on the par-5 seventh with a chip to 3 feet and did even better on the 10th, dropping a 148-yard approach shot a foot from the hole. Horschel’s 88-foot wedge out of a green-side bunker stopped less than 2 feet from the hole on the par-5 11th to set up his team’s final birdie — and that was just enough. Heading into the final round, Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown, the 2017 runners-up in a playoff, topped a crowded leaderboard that featured 13 teams within four shots of the lead. By the time the top five teams had all reached the back nine, they were all within two shots of one another. This time, Kisner and Brown faded on the back nine, with three bogeys and one double-bogey on 16 after going into the water. Their final-round 77 dropped them all the way back to a tie for 15th at 15 under. The team of Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel finished third at 20 under. Tied for fourth at 19 under were the teams of Tommy Fleetwood and Chris Paisley, and Brice Garnett and Chesson Hadley. Garnett and Hadley began the day two shots off the lead and vaulted to the top of the leader board with four birdies on the front nine, but they bogeyed the par-4 13th when they struggled with a massive fairway bunker on the Pete Dye-designed course, and also bogeys the par-3 14th and par-3 17th.

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NAPA, Calif. - Officials from the PGA TOUR and Safeway Open will continue to monitor air quality after smoke and ash from nearby wildfires descended on the Silverado Resort ahead of the 2020-21 season opener. Several wildfires are burning across the state of California and while the immediate area around Napa is currently not in danger the course was blanketed in an eerie darkness and thick smoke during Wednesday practice. Visibility may yet affect the tournament as players were left to practice under lights on the putting greens and the range in the middle of the day. Safety of all concerned is the top priority. "Our thoughts are with those impacted by the ongoing wildfires in California. As we do every week, the PGA TOUR is in constant communication with local authorities to monitor current health and safety conditions," the PGA TOUR said via statement. "This week in Napa, we are also consulting with the Air Quality Management District, and at this time, there are no restrictions on outdoor activities for the area immediately surrounding the Safeway Open. The Air Quality Index is currently in the moderate range; visibility, however, may become an issue that impacts or temporarily disrupts the event. We will continue to monitor and coordinate with local officials, keeping the well-being of our players and constituents as a top priority." TOUR meteorologist Joe Halvorson said possible wind changes might help clear the smoke haze. "There may be some improvement in the visibility and air quality later this afternoon behind south-southwesterly winds, but additional fires in Monterey County will allow for additional smoke/haze to filter northward into the Bay Area," Halvorson's daily forecast said. The resort is no stranger to wildfires. Significant sections of the course, including grandstands, were destroyed just hours after the 2017 tournament. Brendan Steele won that year but was awaiting a flight for his next tournament when the fires ripped through. On Wednesday, he said things were very strange indeed and in fact he had slept in longer than expected because the darkness tricked his mind into thinking it was earlier than was actually the case. "I haven’t seen anything like this from a golf standpoint," Steele said. "Unfortunately, growing up in California I’ve been around a lot of fires. My parents have been evacuated a number of times from their house up in the mountains above Palm Springs, so we’ve had to deal with it quite a bit. It’s very scary, it’s always very uncomfortable how quickly it moves and not knowing where it is and what’s going on. My thoughts are with those in a similar situation right now. "As far as us here, if it stays like this, we might have a hard time playing at 7 o'clock in the morning. It’s just very eerie... and it’s amazing how the fire creates its own climate conditions. It looks very strange and somewhat apocalyptic." Australian Cameron Davis tried playing early Wednesday. He is scheduled for a 7 a.m. start on Thursday and has experience in the conditions having played the Australian Open last December in thick haze caused by bushfires near Sydney. He said the conditions had not reached that level of concern, which at the time saw tournament officials increase medical personnel onsite for spectators and all involved. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, spectators are currently not permitted on site for the Safeway Open. "I have grown up with fires being a sad reality of summers and my thoughts are with all affected," Davis said. "Last year's Aussie Open was probably worse than this. I am basing how bad it is on how much my eyes are stinging. It's amazing how dark it is though. We couldn't see the ball for the first six holes this morning and I started my round later than my scheduled Thursday tee time." Davis wore a mask while practicing Wednesday, something he wishes he had done in Australia. He may yet wear it in competition, or source a neck gaiter or buff to add to his outfit. "It's just one more thing you can do to help yourself," Davis said. "It will be interesting to see if it continues and if we need to allow for the conditions. Do you allow a bit for the ash on the green to slow the ball down for example? At the end of the day, the most important thing is the safety of those involved directly. I hope all fires can be under control soon."

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