Watch: Schauffele makes second ace of week at East Lake’s ninth

When Tom Hoge stood on the 72nd hole of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this season, about to claim his first career PGA TOUR title, there was, no doubt, a lot running through his mind. Not only had victory eluded the North Dakota native in 202 previous TOUR starts, but he was about to clench a two-stroke victory over former World No. 1 and 2017 tournament winner, Jordan Spieth. Not only did the dragon slayer take down one of the game’s grittiest competitors, but at the same time, he was helping build up the hope and resolve of some of Texas’ children in need. Enter the PGA TOUR Charity Challenge. To further its mission of growing and strengthening diversity, equity and inclusion work, the PGA TOUR developed the PGA TOUR Charity Challenge – a unique, season-long fantasy competition beginning this season to work toward the TOUR’s minimum commitment of $100 million for DE&I priorities over a 10-year span. For each TOUR event from the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January through the BMW Championship in August, Host Organizations across the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions and Korn Ferry Tour have the opportunity to generate charitable donations. Larger amounts are provided to the designated charities of the winner and top finishers at season’s end. Each participating charity receives $5,000 just for being selected. To date, 89 teams have selected a local charity and drafted its fantasy team of eight TOUR players. Each week, the number of FedExCup points that each tournament’s eight-player roster earns is totaled. The team with the highest total wins the week and earns a $5,000 contribution to its charitable beneficiary. In addition to a weekly winning team, points are cumulative throughout the season. The team with the most points after the BMW Championship nets the top prize of $100,000 for its charitable partner. So far this season, the PGA TOUR Charity Challenge has provided over $500,000 through the program to charities serving DE&I causes nationwide, with more than half of the selected charities being new community partnerships. That’s where the Charles Schwab Challenge comes in. The Charles Schwab Challenge selected HOPE Farm as its beneficiary for the 2022 PGA TOUR Charity Challenge. HOPE Farm is a long-term leadership program in Fort Worth for at-risk boys without fathers. “We decided with the PGA TOUR that the Charles Schwab Challenge was going to make HOPE Farm our charity to support,” said Charles Schwab Challenge Executive Director, Michael Tothe. “Just by signing them up, we were able to give them $5,000. I then texted Tom Hoge, who now lives in Fort Worth, just asking him how much he planned to play this season. He said he was going to play as much or more than anyone else on TOUR. So, we picked Tom as one of our fantasy players.” In addition to the enlisting gift of $5,000, because of Hoge’s 500-point FedExCup victory at Pebble Beach, the Charles Schwab Challenge won another $5,000, bringing the donation amount at a Tuesday presentation on site at Colonial Country Club to $10,000. “It’s all great because it benefits all the communities we play in,” said Tom Hoge. “Now that I live in Fort Worth, I have a personal vested interest in going out and playing well. It’s made it even more motivating to know that, just by me playing well in an event anywhere on the schedule, I can help make a direct and positive impact right here in Fort Worth.” “To have these kids from the underprivileged communities out here and experience what the tournament is about is a remarkable thing,” said Victor Neil, VP, Marketing and Development, HOPE Farm. “To be honored on the national level through the PGA TOUR just tells these kids how important their future is to us. We so very much appreciate this.” HOPE Farm brings in young men, beginning at the age of five, and tries to keep working with them through their high school graduation. “We are Christ-centered, and we have a big reading program to make sure literacy rates are up,” said Neil. “We also feed them every day. A lot of these kids don’t know that they’re going to get dinner at home, so we feed them at HOPE Farm. That way, when mom comes to get them at 7 p.m., all they’ve got to do is shower up and go to bed.” A multi-layered initiative, the PGA TOUR Charity Challenge is designed to strengthen TOUR and tournament-led partnerships, highlight year-round contributions and successes in markets and communities, and showcase the relationships between Host Organizations and DEI-focused charities in their markets. The Charles Schwab Challenge team currently ranks 18th out of 89 participating tournaments. “I can’t imagine that many – if any – of these kids have ever been out here to Colonial and probably don’t know anything about golf,” said Neil. “But, for them to see and meet a guy like Tom Hoge, who is contributing and actually knows who they are is huge. “It’s not only huge for the kids, but it’s huge for the game of golf, too.”

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THE OVERVIEW AUSTIN, Texas — In Arizona, Dustin Johnson was a pushover. In Austin, he’s practically unbeatable. No player in this week’s World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play field has benefitted more from a change of scenery than the world’s No. 1 player. When the event was held in Dove Mountain outside Tucson, Johnson’s match record was 2-6, and he was ousted in the first round in four of his five appearances. The event was then played at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco in 2015, which was also the first year of the format change. Johnson did not advance out of group play. The next year, Austin Country Club became the home course, and Johnson immediately took a liking to the Hill Country layout. He advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to Louis Oosthuizen in 2016, a precursor to last year’s dominating performance in which he not only won the championship with seven match wins but never trailed at any time. Johnson, who held off Jon Rahm in a tough championship match a year ago, didn’t hesitate Tuesday when asked why his performances improved. “It had a lot to do with the golf course,â€� he said. “I don’t want to talk bad about any golf course, but it wasn’t my favorite place to play. It didn’t suit me very well.â€� Of course, Johnson’s game also was elevated in recent years, as he won his first major while reaching the top of the world standings. Given Johnson’s elite status and current form, perhaps Dove Mountain might not provide as much frustration now as it did then. Paul Casey – another player in great form right now – was asked if the feeling of uncomfortableness at a golf course can be reduced by being in good form. “Certainly less of a factor,â€� said Casey, recent winner of the Valspar Championship. “Maybe a nemesis hole you’ve never been able to figure out, suddenly you see a way. Or it bothers you less.â€� While Johnson has shown his ability to thrive in a match play environment, he doesn’t get caught up in the differences between this week’s format and a regular stroke-play event. In other words, he’s not fixating on his opponent, just his own game. “If you play well, usually that takes care of your opponent,â€� he said. “Obviously there are certain situations where you’re kind of just playing him. But for the most part, you’re out there just trying to make as low a score as you can on every hole.â€� If nothing else, Johnson knows what it takes to win at Austin Country Club. He’s hoping to follow the same gameplan this week.   THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER Dustin Johnson Defending champ has won at least one World Golf Championships event every year since 2014. Jason Day Didn’t get a legitimate chance to defend his 2016 title after withdrawing due to his mother’s health. Consider him the co-defending champ. Rory McIlroy Anybody else get the feeling that McIlroy’s win at Bay Hill might be the start of a big run for the next few weeks?   Three matches to ponder Wednesday: Tony Finau vs. Thomas Pieters. If the last two years are any indication, then Austin Country Club favors the big hitters. Finau and Pieters, part of Group 13, are two of the longest on the world stage. Thursday: Justin Thomas vs. Patton Kizzire. This Group 2 match pits the top two players in the FedExCup standings, as each already has won twice this PGA TOUR season. Thomas, the defending FedExCup champ and current leader, could also move to world No. 1 if he wins on Sunday. Friday: Jordan Spieth vs. Patrick Reed. Spieth joked on Tuesday there “might be some sort of rigging that’s going onâ€� in order to have Reed drawn into his Group 4. (Ah, the Patrick Ewing lottery conspiracy theory!). Safe to assume that for U.S. golf fans, this is the most anticipated group match of the week.   The Flyover Jordan Spieth calls the par-4 stretch of hole Nos. 13, 14 and 15 “the most pivotal holesâ€� at Austin Country Club this week. “That’s where the difference in the match happens,â€� Spieth added. The 317-yard 13th can be drivable and has played under par in the first two years. The 465-yard 14th and 440-yard 15th both played over par last year; the 14th was the most difficult hole on the back nine last year. “When you’re playing those three holes and playing them accordingly should put you at an advantage if you were to play them at par or better over your opponent,â€� Spieth said. The Landing Zone The 498-yard eighth hole is the longest par 4 at Austin Country Club, and consequently the most difficult par 4 on the course. It played to a stroke average of 4.283 last year. Players will favor going down the left side of the fairway to take advantage of the slope running to the right, but a long iron will still remain into a small green guarded by several pot bunkers. Weather check From PGA TOUR meteorologist Stewart Williams: “Showers and isolated t-storms will be likely through daybreak Wednesday morning as a cold front sweeps through the region. Skies will quickly clear with breezy and cooler conditions expected for the afternoon. Cooler and drier air continues Thursday and Friday with highs in the 60s each day. Warmer temperatures return Saturday with highs in the mid 70s. The next cold front appears to be slowing down and will likely bring showers and t-storms Sunday afternoon into Sunday night.â€�   For the latest weather news from Austin, Texas, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I could shoot 2 over every single round and win a WGC this week. There’s a luck of the draw to it.The margin around here is very small. You’re always 3 feet away from a glorious shot or a disaster. Thank god it’s match play because I wouldn’t want to play straight play around here. BY THE NUMBERS 85.7 – The career winning percentage of Jon Rahm (6-1) in the event, the best of anyone in the field. 62 – The lowest seed to ever win the tournament (Kevin Sutherland 2002) 18 – Number of different countries represented in the tournament. 112 – Amount of holes played by Dustin Johnson last year in winning the title. It was a record high equal to Louis Oosthuizen from 2016. SCATTERSHOTS Of the 96 matches set for the three days of group play, 19 of them pit American versus fellow American. Just three others match up non-U.S. players from the same country – Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama vs. Yusaku Miyuazato and England’s Tommy Fleetwood vs. Ian Poulter on Wednesday, and England’s Paul Casey vs. Matthew Fitzpatrick on Friday. Jason Day is the only player in the field with multiple wins in this event, having won in 2014 and 2016. Tiger Woods won three times and Geoff Ogivly won twice. Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter have each won 23 matches in this event. That’s the most of any players in the field. Poulter’s amount is impressive since only one of his 12 appearances came in the current group-play format that guarantees at least three matches.

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Sony, one of the PGA TOUR’s longest-tenured title sponsors, will remain the title sponsor of the Sony Open in Hawaii through 2026 after signing a four-year extension. Sony has sponsored the Sony Open in Hawaii continuously since 1999 in support of Friends of Hawaii Charities. Nearly $22 million has been donated to over 350 charities to date, making the tournament the largest charity sports event in Hawaii. “Sony has had a tremendous impact in building the Sony Open in Hawaii into what it is today – a favorite among our players and fans – while making an indelible charitable impact throughout the Hawaiian Islands,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “We appreciate Sony’s friendship and thank them for their loyalty in extending their partnership an additional four years.” As the largest charity golf event in Hawaii, with charity proceeds totaling more than $1 million annually, the Sony Open impacts more than 100 non-profit organizations each year. And while this past year was especially challenging due to the pandemic, Sony made it possible for the the tournament to match the previous year’s charitable total at a time when community support was especially critical. Historic Waialae Country Club has hosted the Sony Open every year since 1965. It has been the setting for some of the PGA TOUR’s most memorable moments. Justin Thomas shot the lowest score in a 72-hole event in PGA TOUR history (253, including a first-round 59) to win the 2017 Sony Open. Isao Aoki became the first Japanese winner in PGA TOUR history after famously won the 1980 Sony Open after holing out from 130 yards for eagle on the 72nd hole. Past winners at Waialae include Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Ben Crenshaw, Hale Irwin, Lanny Wadkins, Mark O’Meara, Corey Pavin, Jim Furyk, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. The Sony Open debuted in 1965. In 1999, Friends of Hawaii Charities, Inc., became the host organization and Sony became title sponsor. “Almost 25 years ago, a partnership built on respect for culture, custom, commitment to community, innovation and excellence was formed between the Sony Group Corporation and the Friends of Hawaii Charities. This marked the birth of the Sony Open in Hawaii — a treasure to the people of Hawaii and beyond,” said Corbett Kalama, President of event charity host, Friends of Hawaii Charities. “The Sony Group made today a banner day by renewing its commitment to Hawaii by extending its sponsorship of the Sony Open in Hawaii on the PGA TOUR another four years!” Kalama continued. “Coupled with the loyal support of Waialae Country Club, Hawaii Tourism Authority, numerous business sponsors, and over 1500 volunteers, Sony has once again demonstrated visionary genius by aligning peerless technology, the best golf pros from Japan and the PGA TOUR, with the alluring beauty of Hawaii for the global television audience, all while honoring its commitment to help thousands of islanders in need. Mahalo Sony for being true friends of Hawaii charities!” The 2022 Sony Open at Hawaii will be held Jan. 13-16 at Waialae Country Club with Kevin Na expected to defend his 2021 title.

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