Tiger Woods may pick himself for Presidents Cup

On the eve of play teeing off at the PGA TOUR’s TOUR Championship and FedExCup Playoffs Finale, Junior Achievement (JA) students from across the United States competed in the finals of the FedEx Junior Business Challenge held at the tournament’s host site, East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The three JA student companies that participated in the finals secured their spots by winning each of their individual qualifying events, which were hosted at PGA TOUR tournaments throughout the summer. At the event, the JA student companies pitched original business ideas, with Our Story from JA of the Chisholm Trail being selected as the winner and recipient of a $75,000 donation from FedEx to their JA chapter. Our Story is a motivational journal company for teens that helps to reduce anxiety and stress. JA student companies participating in the finals presented to a judging panel consisting of Steve Smith (NBA Champion and All-Star), Tommy Fleetwood (PGA TOUR player and FedExCup Finals participant), Ian Finnis (Tommy Fleetwood’s Caddy) Ryan Lane (founder of Dream Beard and FedEx Small Business Grant recipient) and Laura Neal (Senior Vice President Media Content and Communications, PGA TOUR). The judging panel evaluated each company’s ability to deliver a compelling pitch, create a succinct visual presentation and connect their business concept to innovation, sustainability, job creation or the trade industry. “The student entrepreneurship I witnessed today at the FedEx Junior Business Challenge was incredible,� said Tommy Fleetwood. “It was so fun being a part of the event as a panel judge and learning about the students’ aspirations for the companies they developed. FedEx has created a really unique experience for JA students to take part in at the TOUR Championship.� Through its PGA TOUR sponsorship, FedEx hosted FedEx Junior Business Challenge qualifier events at three PGA TOUR tournaments this year: the Charles Schwab Challenge (Ft. Worth, Texas), the Travelers Championship (Cromwell, Conn.) and the 3M Open (Blaine, Minn.). At each event, JA student companies presented their business ideas to a judging panel consisting of a mix of PGA TOUR players, local celebrities, FedEx Small Business Grant winners and business leaders. Notable judging panel participants included: DeMarcus Ware (Super Bowl Champion, 9x Pro Bowler), Kyle Rudolph (2x Pro Bowler), Nick Bonino (2x Stanley Cup champion), Paul Casey (3x PGA TOUR tournament winner), Ryan Palmer (4x PGA TOUR tournament winner) and Kevin Streelman (2x PGA TOUR tournament winner). “Entrepreneurship has been a part of our DNA since FedEx was founded in 1973 and continues to be an integral part of our business as we deliver possibilities around the world every day,� said Patrick Fitzgerald, senior vice president, Integrated Marketing and Communications, FedEx. “We’re proud to work with the PGA TOUR and JA Worldwide to positively impact aspiring entrepreneurs through the FedEx Junior Business Challenge. We’re absolutely thrilled to see the innovation and forward-thinking presented by JA students at the finals today.� In the three seasons of the FedEx Junior Business Challenge the program has impacted hundreds of students across the United States and Canada, donating nearly a quarter of a million dollars to participating JA chapters to help positively impact the next generation of entrepreneurs. Since 1996, FedEx has donated nearly $16 million to JA Worldwide in support of small businesses and future entrepreneurs. The FedEx Junior Business Challenge program is part of the newly launched FedEx Cares 50 by 50, a journey to deliver hope, change and new possibilities for 50 million people by the company’s 50th anniversary in 2023. FedEx launched the new strategy after exceeding its goal to invest $200 million in 200 global communities by 2020 six months early. The JA Worldwide network reaches more than 10 million young people in more than 100 countries, making JA a natural fit for FedEx Cares 50 by 50. With FedEx as the official sponsor of the PGA TOUR since 2002, FedEx and the PGA TOUR have a long-standing relationship. In 2007, the PGA TOUR introduced the FedExCup as the first season-long competitive and promotional platform, transforming the competitive landscape of professional golf. The performance-based point structure culminates with the FedExCup Playoffs, a four-tournament playoff at the end of the season to determine the FedExCup Champion. See highlights from this season’s FedEx Junior Business Challenge on Facebook, Instagram via @FedEx and on Twitter via @FedEx, and join the conversation by using #FedExJuniorBiz on Twitter and Instagram. To learn more about the FedExCup, visit PGATOUR.com/FedExCup.

Click here to read the full article…

HONOLULU, Hawaii – Matt Kuchar doesn’t take anything for granted on Sunday’s. The eight-time PGA TOUR winner and former PLAYERS champion has seen enough carnage at golf tournaments to know his lead at the Sony Open in Hawaii is far from safe. Sure his Saturday 4-under 66 moved him to a very comfortable 18 under at Waialae Country Club, two clear of Andrew Putnam (67) and a handy four shots ahead of Keith Mitchell (63) and Chez Reavie (66). Nine players share fifth but they are a distant seven shots back of the leader. Even still Kuchar knows he can’t protect the lead. “I anticipate needing to shoot another good score tomorrow. I’m going to need to make birdies,â€� Kuchar said. “There are enough birdie holes out there and enough good players that I know that I can’t just coast. I need to continue playing well. “The goal is to increase the lead as much as you can.â€� Kuchar is right about birdie holes. Two years ago Justin Thomas shot 59 at Waialae. This week we’ve seen a 61 and a couple of 62s. The chance to get hot is out there. Marc Leishman was six shots back when he started Sunday at the 2012 Travelers Championship and shot an 8-under 62 to win. Last week at the Sentry Tournament of Champions he played with Xander Schauffele on Sunday and watched him reel in a six-shot deficit against Gary Woodland. At T5 Leishman is one of those players ready to play aggressively from seven back. “You got to go hard or go home,â€� Leishman said. “I need to shoot a really really low one … just got to be aggressive and get the putter hot. “There are a lot of points on offer tomorrow. I’m third in the FedExCup at the moment I’d like at some point have Matty (caddie) have the yellow caddy bib.â€� Kuchar almost invited those that far back to have at it. “We figure there is something to lose. It’s certainly nice to have that (nothing to lose) mentality, but nobody wants to go crazy and shoot 80,â€� he said of the chasers. “You’ve still got to play smart. You don’t want to ruin your chances on the third hole by being reckless and making a double.â€� The 40-year-old is however wary of Putnam, Mitchell and Reavie. “I know the guys are playing good enough. I played with Andrew today. He’s a very steady player. He’s a good fit around this golf course. I expect him to come out and play some more good golf tomorrow,â€� Kuchar said. Putnam, a 29-year-old who won the Barracuda Championship last season, is excited for the challenge. He leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting making over 388 feet of putts over three days. “Kuch is playing well, so I feel like I’ve got to get out there and make some birdies if it’s not too windy,â€� he said. “If it’s like today it’s going to be scorable; so I have to stay aggressive.â€� Reavie is also chasing a second TOUR win. He leads the field in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and has a history of going low on Sunday at Waialae. Two years ago he threatened to go sub 60 when he was 9-under with six to play on the par-70 course but settled for a 61. The 27-year-old Mitchell is chasing his first PGA TOUR win. He touted a more conservative approach. “We’re all trying to win out here and want to put ourselves in the best position to win but you don’t do anything stupid unless you’re on 17 or 18 and you’re one or two shots behind,â€� Mitchell said. “We’re going to play 16 holes tomorrow like we have the last three days, and then if we have a chance on 17, 18 to do something aggressive, then I will do it.â€� Kuchar waited 1,667 days and 116 starts between winning the 2014 RBC Heritage and the Mayakoba Golf Classic earlier this season. If he closes the deal Sunday it will be his second win in three starts. On the seven previous times he held the 54-hole lead he won three of them, including recently in Mexico. That fresh experience should come in handy. “Both courses are very tight, very demanding driving golf courses. That would probably be the biggest similarity,â€� he said of El Camaleón and Waialae. “It’s not often you get in a final group Sunday afternoon. I tell people a lot of nerves that happen in golf you start getting used to. “The nerves in golf are kind of like public speaking. The more often you do it the better you deal with it. They may always be there, but you get more comfortable with it. I certainly think having than experience recently will be helpful tomorrow.â€� CALL OF THE DAY

Click here to read the full article…

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A day after saying he needed to be patient about results, Jordan Spieth matched his career-best round with a 10-under 61 on Saturday for a share of the third-round lead with Xander Schauffele in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Winless since The Open Championship in 2017, Spieth is trying recapture the form that carried him to 11 PGA TOUR victories — three of them majors — in his first five seasons on TOUR. The 27-year-old Texan raised the volume considerably at TPC Scottsdale, drawing the biggest roar of the week from the limited crowd on the par-3 16th when he curled in a 36-footer for birdie and the outright lead. He followed with a fan-thrilling 30-footer for birdie on 17 after driving well right on the short par 4. Instead of the usual Saturday crowd that has topped 200,000, attendance is capped at 5,000 fans a day, the most for a TOUR event during the COVID-19 pandemic. Spieth gave them a show to remember. After making four birdies on the front nine for a share of the lead, he had an unexpected birdie on the par-4 10th when he chipped in from 68 feet after driving left and hitting his approach long and left. Spieth hit inside a foot from 170 yards for birdie on the par-4 11th, then just missed eagling the two back-nine par 5s. On the 13th, he couldn’t get a 5 1/2-foot eagle putt to fall after hitting a 208-yard second shot from the desert hardpan. On the water-guarded 15th, he left a 24-foot eagle putt 6 inches short. Spieth had a career-best 10 birdies and matched his TOUR best of 61 set in the third round of his 2015 victory in the John Deere Classic. Schauffele, coming off a second-place tie last week at Torrey Pines, shot a 65 to match Spieth at 18-under 196. He made a 7-foot birdie putt on 17 to tie Spieth, then missed an 11-footer on 18. Scottie Scheffler and Kyoung-Hoon Lee each shot 66 to get to 14 under. Justin Thomas, third the last two years in the event, had a 64 to join Louis Oosthuizen (63) at 14 under. Thomas squandered five strokes on two holes late Thursday and early Friday, making a triple bogey on 17 in the first round and opening the second round with a double on 10. Steve Stricker, the 53-year-old U.S. Ryder Cup captain trying to become the oldest winner in PGA TOUR history, had a 69 to drop into a tie for seventh at 13 under with Brooks Koepka (66) and James Hahn (66). Stricker began the day a stroke behind Schauffele after opening rounds of 65 and 66.

Click here to read the full article…