Time at home allowing these TOUR pros to foster dogs

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Time will tell who winds up being the best man in Sean Powell’s wedding to Andrea Cota, which is unofficially set for the summer of 2019. Justin Thomas was best man for the proposal. “It all worked out great,â€� FedExCup leader Thomas said after one of the more unusual pro-am moments of his career. “And I’m really happy that I didn’t screw it up for him.â€� Thomas had just teed off at the par-4 opening hole at Quail Hollow Club, home of this week’s Wells Fargo Championship, when he walked to the gallery ropes and handed Powell a glove and Cota a golf ball. Powell, having choreographed everything beforehand with Thomas and officials from the PGA TOUR, knew what was up; Cota didn’t. She looked at the ball, on which Thomas had written, “Will you?â€� And she turned around to Powell, who was on one knee. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you,â€� he said. She accepted, and the highly anticipated moment, the planning for which began with Powell’s social media appeal to Thomas two months ago, had gone off without a hitch. “He sent me a direct message on Instagram and I just happened to be going through them one day and I read it,â€� Thomas said. “I said, ‘That sounds like a pretty cool thing, and it would be fun to be a part of.’â€� Thomas reached out to the TOUR to handle the details, and told Wells Fargo employee Powell to get in touch the week before the tournament. Meanwhile, Cota, a personal fitness coach, was talking to her sister, wondering aloud whether Powell might propose. She had an inkling it might be coming, but had no idea that the proposal would include Thomas. The first sign that something was up? “When he started walking over to Sean and was like, ‘Hey, how’s it going? It’s good to see you,’â€� she said. “I’m like, ‘Good to see you? How do you know him?’ I’m like, ‘What?’ And when he was like, ‘Is this Andrea?’ I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is happening.’â€� Powell and Cota knew one another through family and friends back in Sioux Falls, but Powell had moved to Minneapolis to begin his career. He moved back to South Dakota a year ago to be with family as his father battles Stage 4 lung cancer, and was scrolling through the dating app Bumble at the same time Cota was. As it turned out, they were more than compatible. “We went on three dates in two days,â€� Powell said. He knew he wanted to do something special for the proposal, and the wheels started turning when he attended the Waste Management Phoenix Open and saw Thomas earlier this season.   “He’s my favorite golfer,â€� Powell said, “and so I sent him a message, and five minutes later he sent a message back saying, ‘I want to help you out.’ I almost threw my phone.â€� He sent a message back saying, ‘I want to help you out.’ I almost threw my phone. Suddenly, this wacky pipe dream was real; only the specifics remained. Powell and Cota would be in Charlotte for Wells Fargo Championship week, staying with Powell’s brother. Thomas would be here, too, so Quail Hollow became the setting. But then what? A friend suggested Powell ask Thomas to toss the “proposalâ€� ball to them, but what if someone else caught it? Eventually, it was settled that Thomas would hand-deliver the glove and ball with the cameras rolling to capture everything. Bumble got wind of it and has pledged $5,000 to the honeymoon, and the happy couple toasted the happy news as they drank champagne outside the media center. Powell laughingly told Thomas he’ll gladly pay for the superstar’s plane ticket to attend the wedding. “He exemplifies what a golfer is and should be,â€� Powell said. “He’ll sign autographs. He engages with people. He engaged with me on social media; you know, he has like a half million people following him. “It’s like the lottery,â€� Powell added. “Winning the Powerball. You know what I mean?â€�

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The Regular Season wraps up at the Wyndham Championship with no shortage of drama set to unfold around the top 125 on the FedExCup Eligibility Points List as players jockey for their place in the FedExCup Playoffs. Kevin Kisner returns to defend after winning a six-man playoff a year ago. FIELD NOTES: Will Zalatoris will be the highest-ranked player in the field at Sedgefield Country Club… Past FedExCup champions Billy Horschel and Justin Rose are also in the field… Four of the six players from last year’s playoff are returning to action at the Wyndham Championship – Kisner, Adam Scott, Roger Sloan, and Si Woo Kim, who won the 2016 Wyndham… 2019 Wyndham winner J.T. Poston returns to action; Poston recently picked up his second career win at the John Deere Classic… Other notables include East Carolina alum Harold Varner III, U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Davis Love III (who won his third Wyndham Championship in 2015 at age 51), past PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Sungjae Im, and European major champs Danny Willett and Shane Lowry … William McGirt is playing in his final start of his Major Medical Extension… Sponsor exemptions include former college stars Chris Gotterup and Cole Hammer, along with former No.1-ranked amateur Trent Phillips of the University of Georgia. Gotterup, seventh in this year’s class of PGA TOUR U graduates, has made the cut in four of six PGA TOUR starts as a pro, highlighted by a T4 at the John Deere Classic. He’s already clinched his spot in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and now has his PGA TOUR card for 2023 in sight after making the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Hammer, best known for qualifying for the 2015 U.S. Open at the age of 15, was fifth in this year’s PGA TOUR U Ranking presented by Velocity Global. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Sedgefield Country Club (Ross), par 70, 7,131 yards. The TOUR tees it up at a Donald Ross venue for the second week in a row, with Detroit Golf Club also a Ross design. Opened in the 1920s, Sedgefield has Ross’ typical small and undulating greens, although prior to last season is had yielded five straight winning totals of 20 under or lower. Sedgefield was restored to the original Ross design in 2007 but lengthened to accommodate the PGA TOUR. It has hosted each Wyndham Championship since 2008. STORYLINES: The Wyndham Championship marks the FedExCup Regular Season finale before the three-event FedExCup Playoffs get underway… Former Wyndham Championship winner Webb Simpson is seeking his second win at Sedgefield after several close calls. He has finished no worse than seventh in the last five Wyndhams, including two runners-up and two third-place finishes… Could there be another Chesson Hadley moment this season? Hadley was on the outside-looking-in a year ago, but fired a final-round 62 and moved to No.125… Sungjae Im and Billy Horschel have a chance to move into the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 with a good finish… The Wyndham Championship will mark the final television broadcast of long-time analyst and nine-time TOUR winner Sir Nick Faldo…Players also will be looking to crack the top 200 in the FedExCup Eligibility Points List to qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. 72-HOLE RECORD: 258, Henrik Stenson (2017), JT Poston (2019) 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Brandt Snedeker (1st round, 2018). LAST TIME: Kevin Kisner emerged from a dramatic six-man playoff to capture his fourth PGA TOUR title after a birdie on the second extra hole. Kisner began the day four shots off the lead and shot a final-round 66, which included birdies on Nos. 16 and 17. Kisner had lost in five TOUR playoffs previously, including three in 2015. Kevin Na, Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim, Adam Scott, and Roger Sloan were the others in the playoff. Scott had the best chance to win in the first playoff hole, but his 4-foot birdie try slid by. It was the third six-man playoff on the PGA TOUR, and first since 2001. Fifty-four-hole leader Russell Henley was amongst the group who finished at T7, one shot out of the playoff. He reached 17 under after making the turn but bogeyed four of his final eight holes, including No. 18, to drop out of contention. Chesson Hadley fired a final-round 62 (the round of the day, which included the first hole-in-one of his life) and moved from No.132 to No.125 in the FedExCup standings, earning the final spot in the FedExCup Playoffs by a single FedExCup point. HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

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