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PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Paul Casey drove into Innisbrook and saw his picture on posters and programs, just what he needed to forget the cut he missed last week. He played Friday as though he wants those photos to stay here. Casey holed a 30-foot eagle putt on the 599-yard fifth hole and made short birdie putts on the other three par 5s on his way to a 5-under 66, giving him a share of the lead with Austin Cook among the early starters Friday in the Valspar Championship. No one has ever won back-to-back at the Valspar Championship since it became a PGA TOUR event in 2000. “I’ve never defended a professional event. I would love to do that,” Casey said. “Mentally last year I was hoping I would win, wanting to win. This year, knowing that I have won around here, I have a slightly different approach to it, and I played today quite aggressively and tried to take advantage of the golf course that I knew was going to get very, very tough this afternoon.” Casey and Cook, who shot a 67, were at 6-under 136. Scott Stallings (68) and Sungjae Im (67) were one shot behind, while Dustin Johnson overcame a rough patch early in his round with five birdies on the front nine to salvage a 69. Johnson was two shots behind on a Copperhead course he hasn’t seen in nine years. Joel Dahmen and Sepp Straka, who shared the 18-hole lead at 5 under, were among those playing in the afternoon. Casey last year ended eight years without winning on the PGA TOUR when he closed with a 65 and had to wait to see if Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed could catch him. It was the centerpiece of a resurgence for Casey, a 41-year-old from England who is back among the top 16 in the FedExCup standings.  He opened in the morning calm with a 10-foot birdie putt and did the rest of his damage on the par 5s. The eagle putt followed a blind shot over a hill on the longest hole at Innisbrook. He went bunker-to-bunker on his final hole at No. 9 and made bogey to slip into a tie with Cook. “Everybody is going to make bogeys. If you can just minimize those, it puts you in a good position,” Casey said. He spent the opening two rounds with Johnson, who had to maximize his birdies after his start. Johnson thought he might have had too much club on the par-3 13th and was stunned to learn that it had come up short enough to catch the slope and roll down toward the water, leading to double bogey. On the next hole, a par 5 where he had to lay up from the rough, Johnson had a 104-yard wedge for his third shot that traveled only about 50 yards. There was a reason for that. “As soon as he hit it, he said, `Just don’t go in a divot,'” said Austin Johnson, his brother and caddie. It found a divot. “It was big,” Johnson said, holding his hands about a foot part, which might have been a slight exaggeration. “I mean, it was long. It was deep. It wasn’t … I don’t think it was from a professional.” He managed to get that up-and-down by making a 5-footer to avoid losing another shot. Johnson started the front nine with four birdies in five holes, including one birdie putt from 35 feet on No. 3, and is back in the game. Gary Woodland also played with them and three-putted from 7 feet for double bogey on his last hole for a 71 that was almost certain to miss the cut. Woodland had the longest active cut streak on the PGA TOUR at 22, last going home on the weekend at THE PLAYERS Championship last May. On the other side of the course was 17-year-old Akshay Bhatia in his PGA TOUR debut. Playing on a sponsor exemption, he was at 3 under for the day and even par for the tournament through eight holes until a muffed chip and a missed putt led to double bogey at No. 9 that killed his momentum. Bhatia bogeyed his last two holes for a 72 and finished at 4-over 146 to miss the cut. He plans to turn pro later this year after the Walker Cup if he makes the team. The cheers he heard in some corners of Innisbrook were inspiring, especially behind the 12th green, where the rowdy fans chanted his first name to make it sound like the “Ole” cheer at the Ryder Cup. “It was sick. That was dope,” Bhatia said, adding that he hopes he can hear that at the Ryder Cup “in five, six years down the road.”

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – PGA TOUR player Gary Woodland surprised Amy Bockerstette from Special Olympics Arizona last January with the opportunity to play the 16th hole together as part of his Waste Management Phoenix Open practice round. With a smile on her face and her can-do, “I got this� self-talk, Amy – the first collegiate golfer to compete with an intellectual disability such as Down syndrome – became an overnight sensation. Her remarkable, par-saving putt has been viewed nearly 44 million times across TOUR platforms and has been featured on the NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, the TODAY Show and countless other platforms beyond golf. One year later, the PGA TOUR celebrated the anniversary of that memorable event by announcing that the TOUR and its tournaments have surpassed $3 billion in all-time charitable giving. The charitable total, which includes a record $204.3 million in 2019 to bring the all-time total to $3.05 billion, includes donations made by tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Series-China. “It’s truly a pleasure to thank our fans, sponsors, tournaments, players and volunteers for helping us generate over $3 billion for charity and positively impact millions of lives,� said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “As remarkable as this milestone is, what really matters are the countless stories like Amy’s that every tournament has. Together, we look forward to continuing to reach – and celebrate – millions more.� Woodland and Amy are two of those millions, and it’s been a whirlwind for both since the two first met at TPC Scottsdale. Woodland and his wife, Gabby, have welcomed twins; he celebrated the biggest win of his career at the U.S. Open, telling Amy he “used (her) positive energy� to do so; and Amy has become an ambassador for those with Down syndrome, launching her I GOT THIS FOUNDATION to promote golf instruction and playing opportunities for people with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities. The two will reunite on Wednesday, January 29, at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the site of their now-famous interaction. The PGA TOUR and its more than 100 tournaments across all Tours achieved the $3 billion mark just six years after surpassing $2 billion in 2014. The TOUR achieved the $1 billion mark in 2005. In addition, the record $204.3 million in 2019 bests the previous record of $190 million in 2018. The TOUR’s first charitable donation of $10,000 was at the 1938 Palm Beach Invitational. These dollars positively impact more than 3,000 nonprofits each year, such as the First Tee, which has introduced more than 15 million young people to its character-building programs through the game of golf. Each PGA TOUR tournament provides individuals an opportunity to give back to the community in one of three ways – attending an event, volunteering, or donating money. Not-for-profit tournaments under the PGA TOUR umbrella donate their net proceeds to support local organizations, totaling more than $3 billion in donations to date. The impact these tournaments make throughout the year is possible thanks to the more than 100,000 volunteers who commit their time to ensure each event is a success. To learn more about the PGA TOUR and the positive impact of its tournaments, volunteers, players, sponsors and fans, please visit PGATOUR.COM/IMPACT. Additional impactful storylines from the 2018-19 season: Alex Trevino has Ewing sarcoma. In addition to having his Make-A-Wish of meeting Jordan Spieth – his favorite player – granted at the Valero Texas Open, Alex’s VIP experience included signing a one-day contract with Titleist, complete with a lesson with Spieth to test out his new clubs. Spieth, who promised Alex he’d see him again when he was feeling better, was reunited with Alex with a surprise visit in November. Matthew McClish underwent what would be his final of multiple brain surgeries, but when he woke up from the procedure, doctors told him that he had a stroke during surgery, causing paralysis on the left side of his body and impaired vision. Matthew, an accomplished player, relearned how to play golf – one-handed. At the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, Matthew was surprised by Jack Nicklaus and his favorite TOUR player – Bryson DeChambeau, the defending champion – with a private lesson from DeChambeau on the driving range. Anthony Trudel is from Parkland, Florida. During Anthony’s recovery from surgery to remove a brain tumor, all he did was watch golf, and he was an avid player prior to his decline in health. At the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Anthony’s Make-A-Wish of meeting Rickie Fowler – his favorite player – was granted with a chipping lesson, new set of Cobra PUMA clubs, and the opportunity to walk inside-the-ropes with Fowler as an Honorary Observer during the second round. Bailey Jessop, who had bone cancer in his leg, designed FootJoy shoes for Justin Thomas to wear the week of the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. The shoes were delivered to Justin by RoxoTM the FedEx SameDay Bot on Tuesday of tournament week, where Justin surprised Bailey with a pair of his own.. Sarahi Ortiz is a graduate of the Western Golf Association’s Caddie Academy Program. She was born and raised in West Los Angeles, and through school, she learned of a unique work opportunity through the Caddie Academy to go to Chicago and caddie every day for seven weeks each summer. She knew nothing about golf and didn’t want to go. However, Sarahi pushed herself out of her comfort zone because she knew a bigger goal was waiting – the chance to earn a full college scholarship. Seven years later, she became president of the University of Oregon Evans Scholars chapter and vice president of the Evans Scholars National Committee. As part of the Wednesday Pro-Am at the BMW Championship, Sarahi had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to caddie for Tiger Woods. Nikki Moore was seven months pregnant when her husband, Matt, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. At age 32, he passed away, leaving Nikki to raise their son, Cullen, while forming the “Live Moore� brand to carry on his legacy and raise awareness for early screening. At the PGA TOUR Champions’ Cologuard Classic, Nikki and Cullen were given an inside-the-ropes experience to walk alongside Cologuard ambassador Jerry Kelly and colon cancer survivor Tom Lehman during the opening round. As Cullen is now 3, he understands that “daddy is in the stars� and is the inspiration behind Nikki’s efforts to spread awareness and knowledge so that other families can avoid the loss they endured. Four weeks after his birth, Ben Golden Peterson was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart becomes enlarged and cannot pump blood effectively. Stefani Swindle was born 15 weeks premature with subglottic stenosis, a narrowing of the airway below the vocal cords and above the trachea which required her to live with a tracheostomy tube until age 4. At the PGA TOUR Champions’ Regions Tradition, Ben and Stefani spent the day with Alabama quarterbacks Jay Barker and John Parker Wilson, Auburn quarterbacks Stan White and Brandon Cox, and three-time PGA TOUR winner Chris DiMarco during the tournament’s Wednesday Pro-Am, which draws athletes and celebrities from the Southeastern Conference, as well as inspirational kids from Children’s of Alabama. Jared Stancil and his father, Chad, took first place in unified golf at the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games. Jared, who was born with Down syndrome and endured 13 surgeries at an early age, was invited to hit the opening tee shot at the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic. While warming up for the shot on a chilly Thursday morning, Stancil was introduced to a number of players, including Harry Higgs and Justin Lower, who joined him on the first tee for the tournament’s inaugural shot. In Kansas City, Missouri, Brookside Charter School is a tuition-free charter school with an emphasis on honoring diversity and preparing kids and families for success. At the Korn Ferry Tour’s KC Golf Classic, Brookside Charter student Hannah James was invited inside the ropes to join Lanto Griffin during Wednesday’s Pro-Am. For James, it marked her first time on a golf course and allowed for Griffin to share his own story of how the game impacted his life at a young age. When Brandon Matthews missed a putt that would have extended a playoff at the VISA Argentina Open presented by Macro on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, he was frustrated because a fan had yelled during his backstroke. Matthews’ anger subsided when he learned the outburst came from a fan who had Down syndrome and that he wasn’t trying to intentionally make Matthews miss the putt. “I want to meet him,� Matthews said, immediately going to greet the man, Juan, to ensure that Juan was OK and wasn’t blaming himself for what had happened. “Once I learned his situation, it totally changed my perspective.� The two chatted, and Matthews autographed some items for Juan as the two posed for pictures.

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DUBLIN, Ohio – Hideki Matsuyama was disqualified from the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday for using a non-conforming club, violating Equipment Standards Rule 4.c(3). Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed, the other members of the group, were left to play as a twosome. The modification in question was a Liquid Paper-like substance on the face of Matsuyama’s 3-wood. One of his equipment people had applied it as an alignment aid, but it made the club non-conforming in that it could have changed the spin and other flight characteristics of the ball. “Don’t paint the face of your clubs,” said Chief Referee Steve Rintoul. “You can have a Sharpie marking for alignment, but that much substance is above what the Rules allow.” An online picture of the club came to the attention of Rules officials shortly after Matsuyama teed off at 1 p.m. Matsuyama could have avoided disqualification if he’d merely been carrying the club, but when an official caught up to him at the second tee, he said he’d used it on the first. “He was very honest and forthright about it,” Rintoul said. But the damage was done – if the club was in fact non-conforming. Rintoul met with Matsuyama on the fifth hole, took pictures of the 3-wood, and told the Japanese star to keep playing as the committee met and even consulted with USGA Equipment Standards staffers. In the end, there was simply too much substance on the club. Matsuyama, who captured the first of his eight PGA TOUR titles at the 2014 Memorial, had shot a 3-over 39 on the front nine when he was notified of the disqualification on the 10th tee. “I think after we talked about in the 5th fairway,” Rintoul said, “I’m not going to say he was expecting it, but it wasn’t as much a surprise as it would have been if it had been unknown.” Matsuyama is fifth in the FedExCup after victories at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and Sony Open in Hawaii. Last season he became the first player from Japan to win a men’s major as he captured the Masters Tournament. But his Memorial week ended early. “My worst fear – I was hoping he hasn’t used it the first tee, hasn’t used it the second tee,” said Rintoul. “We were going to get to him before the third tee, which I’m thinking he might use it on the third tee. But the damage was done on the first hole, unfortunately. “Just unfortunate set of circumstances for Hideki for sure.”

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