Wesley Bryan back in happy place at RBC Heritage

Tournament officials announced today that the 15th playing of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, concluded August 29, 2021, at The Ohio State University Golf Club – Scarlet Course, raised a total of $3,186,456 for central Ohio charitable organizations, including $3,006,376 for pediatric cancer research and treatment at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The total marks the largest single-season charitable donation raised for the hospital in the 15-year history of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals event and the first time the $3 million mark has been exceeded. Since its inception in 2007 the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship has donated a total of over $19.2 million in support of the hospital’s pediatric cancer program. “The charitable mission of this event has always been a priority for us, and thanks to the incredible support of our sponsors and patrons, we’re pleased to celebrate another record-setting donation to Nationwide Children’s Hospital,” said John Carter, president and chief operating officer for Nationwide Financial and chairman of the Champions of the Community, the host organization for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. “With the five-year extension to host this tournament as a Korn Ferry Tour Finals event through 2026, we look forward to making an even greater impact on behalf of the countless kids and families whose lives are affected by pediatric cancer.” “Nationwide Children’s continues to be a national leader in pediatric cancer care thanks to the charitable spirit of this tournament through the backing of so many, including Nationwide, the Korn Ferry Tour, The Ohio State University Department of Athletics and all of the volunteers who contribute to this fantastic event,” said Tim Robinson, CEO, Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Another record-setting year of donations is an incredible achievement, and we are extremely grateful for the generosity of our philanthropic partners who support the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.” The 2022 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship will be held the week of August 22-28 at The Ohio State University Golf Club – Scarlet Course and will be the second of three stops in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. The field for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship will compete over 72 holes of stroke play, with a cut to the top-65 players and ties after 36 holes. Golf Channel will broadcast tournament coverage from Thursday’s opening round to the trophy presentation on Sunday. “On behalf of HNS Sports Group and our tournament staff, I would like to thank our partners, volunteers and The Ohio State University Golf Club,” said Tournament Director Kip McBride. “The level of support provided to this tournament is truly inspiring and we are incredibly thankful to all who graciously donated their time, effort and resources to help us raise funds for charitable organizations in central Ohio. We are excited to continue our mission to grow the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and its impact on our community. We have some of the best golf fans on Tour and the tournament’s status as a playoff event ensures that they will be treated to one of the top Korn Ferry Tour fields of the year next August.” For information concerning tickets, how to become a volunteer, and general tournament news, please visit www.ncc-golf.com or call (614) 764-GOLF.

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Phil Mickelson will defend his fifth title at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this week. His winning years so far have included 2019 (beating runner-up Paul Casey), 2012 (Charlie Wi), 2007 (Kevin Sutherland), 2005 (Mike Weir), and 1998 (Tom Pernice, Jr.). Ultimately, though, all roads go back to 1919, the year Mickelson’s paternal grandfather, Al Santos, started as a caddie at the newly opened Pebble Beach Golf Links. “My grandfather was one of the original caddies in the caddie yard,� Mickelson said Wednesday. “He had to quit school in fourth grade to help work and support the family. … He could carry around this silver dollar here that I have. He would reach in and touch it whenever he felt poor and it made him feel like he had money. Often times, he would go to bed hungry and not eat because he wouldn’t spend it. He just wanted to always feel like he had it. “Our family has come a long ways since we look back at him caddying for 35 cents a loop.� We are all a product of our ancestors, as we’re reminded weekly by the PBS show “Finding Your Roots.� And grandfathers, so influential in the lives of so many PGA TOUR pros, have been front and center lately. Cameron Champ won the Safeway Open last fall as his grandfather, Mack “Pops� Champ, watched while on hospice in Sacramento. J.T. Poston shot a final-round 62 to win the Wyndham Championship with his grandfather Charles “Doc� Cunningham on site. Related: Power Rankings | History-making high school team set for defense Mickelson’s grandfather, who died shortly before Phil won his first major title in 2004, is always with him, in a sense, as the 44-time TOUR winner plays along this scenic coastline. This week, as he always does at Pebble, Mickelson will carry the 1900 silver dollar Al kept in his pocket and rubbed for better fortune every time he felt poor. It’s Phil’s lucky Pebble ball mark. According to Michael Bamberger’s excellent feature on golf.com last June, Al Santos was a product of Steinbeck’s Monterey, “the son of a Portuguese Cannery Row fisherman and his Portuguese wife.� He helped the family as a caddie, often doing a double-loop, and later became a tuna fisherman, captaining his own boat with his brothers off the coast of San Diego. To commemorate Mickelson’s five wins at Pebble Beach, all amateur participants this week will receive a replica of the silver 1900 Morgan dollar that has the same specifications as Mickelson’s treasured heirloom. A local artist, Ashley Bennett-Stoddard, created the coin, which has a diameter of 38.1 millimeters and weighs 26.7 grams. Mickelson called the replica “pretty special� and said he’ll likely carry both coins this week. “I think they’re kind of cool and it reminds me that I’ve had some success here,� said Mickelson, whose pro debut came in the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Two generations later, Phil famously gave Al a signed pin flag from each of his growing stack of TOUR wins, and Al pinned each to the kitchen wall. Their bond comes into high relief at Pebble, and as it happens, Mickelson arrives at his get-well place this week in need of some special mojo. In his 16 starts after Pebble last season, Lefty missed the cut seven times, with a ho-hum T18 at the Masters his best result. He missed the TOUR Championship, again, and, for the first time, the Presidents Cup. Despite boasting a slimmer physique and proclaiming to feel renewed in his energy levels, Mickelson started this season with more of the same: missed cuts at the Safeway Open, The American Express and the Farmers Insurance Open. “I knew that I was playing well,� Mickelson said from last week’s Saudi International, where he finally saw a return to form with a T3 finish, “but it was more of a focus and visualization and some mental things that I needed to strengthen and get stronger.� He is 49, with little left to prove, but seems to be enjoying the battle against undefeated Father Time. He boasts of higher clubhead speed than ever, and his waistline has gone positively retro thanks to regular fasts and his elimination of carbs and sugars. Having won the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship two seasons ago, and at Pebble Beach last year, he need not strain his memory to recall better times. “I would not be surprised if it just came together,� Stuart Appleby said on Golf Channel after Mickelson shot a final-round 67 to finish three behind winner Graeme McDowell in Saudi Arabia. And if it came together? “He would know what to do,� Appleby said. In other words, when you’ve won 44 times on TOUR and find yourself in the hunt again despite missing your last two cuts on TOUR – well, you remember how to close. Especially at Pebble Beach, and especially when you carry that little piece of your roots in your pocket. Does the old silver dollar have a win or two left? As Mickelson might say, you never know.

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NOTE: If you play PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship begins on Thursday. It’s the second of five majors on the circuit and the first of three with a cut. See the possibilities at the bottom of the page to assist you in determining your pick. In a fantasy world not all that long ago, you’d have burned Zach Johnson at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational and Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic, collected your FedExCup points or earnings and coasted into the following week on a heater. But as all good things come to an end, so did that exacta. Turning the page can be difficult – just ask full-season gamers who drafted Tiger Woods in the last couple of years – but it’s necessary. In fact, it’s a prerequisite for success and it embodies the essence of why fantasy sports are so important to the general fan base. It doesn’t mean that we still can’t root for ZJ and Stricker (and Woods) as fans, but our objective of defeating our competition is the only goal in fantasy. Colonial Country Club has been very, very good to Johnson. He’s 11-for-11 with two wins, a total of five top 10s and sits atop the tournament’s all-time money list, but he’s not a recommendation for even two-man gamers this week. Save him for your No. 1 or 2 slot when the JDC rolls around in mid-July as he replaced Stricker as the main man in their native region. The love for Jason Dufner among my fellow little leaguers is obvious and warranted. He’ll do just fine in bridging you to next week, if not reigniting the feels that ZJ once sparked. Note that this is the last regular PGA TOUR event among Dufner’s suggested Future Possibilities, so it’s nice when decisions are that easy. Colonial member Ryan Palmer is at worst the tail of the tandem for two-man gamers. His level of comfort and course knowledge is second to none. In the entirety of the season, Colonial is the only track at which he’d contend to be the pick in a classic one-and-done game like what’s offered at PGATOUR.COM, but due to how deep we are into 2016-17, he’s even more attractive to plug this gap. Giants such as defending champion Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia present better elsewhere, although I’d be a fool to pretend to talk you out of Spieth if you’re in an earnings-based format. Now that he’s decided to go back to his old putter for the DEAN & DELUCA, it’s a splendid time to pounce as you know some of your opposition won’t be in the know and mesmerized by his 0-for-2 “rut.” As for me, I’ve had my eye on Kevin Kisner for a while. It’s time to pull the trigger. You may recall that I was sizing him up for THE PLAYERS, but veered toward Garcia instead. Other than a mini-slump upon arrival, Kisner checks all of the boxes in terms of course fit and success. What’s most exciting is how he’s proven that the past is the past and it doesn’t dictate the future, so his little skid worries me zero. In addition to Palmer, two-man gamers should give long looks at Bud Cauley, Kyle Reifers, Nick Taylor and Sung Kang. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2016-17. All are pending golfer commitment. Jason Bohn … Greenbrier Paul Casey … Travelers; WGC-Bridgestone; TOUR Championship Jason Dufner … DEAN & DELUCA; U.S. Open; TOUR Championship Harris English … DEAN & DELUCA Tony Finau … Memorial Sergio Garcia … Open Championship; TOUR Championship Bill Haas … Wyndham Charley Hoffman … DEAN & DELUCA; Travelers; Canadian Billy Horschel … St. Jude; TOUR Championship Zach Johnson … DEAN & DELUCA; John Deere; Open Championship; WGC-Bridgestone; TOUR Championship Chris Kirk … DEAN & DELUCA Kevin Kisner … DEAN & DELUCA; Wyndham Matt Kuchar … DEAN & DELUCA; Memorial; Canadian; WGC-Bridgestone Martin Laird … Barracuda Marc Leishman … DEAN & DELUCA; Memorial; Travelers; Open Championship Graeme McDowell … Open Championship; WGC-Bridgestone; Wyndham William McGirt … Memorial (defending); Wyndham Phil Mickelson … St. Jude; Open Championship; PGA Championship Bryce Molder … DEAN & DELUCA; Greenbrier Ryan Moore … Travelers; John Deere (defending); TOUR Championship Ryan Palmer … DEAN & DELUCA; St. Jude Scott Piercy … John Deere; BMW Webb Simpson … Greenbrier; Wyndham Brandt Snedeker … DEAN & DELUCA; U.S. Open; Travelers; Canadian; Wyndham Jordan Spieth … DEAN & DELUCA (defending); John Deere; WGC-Bridgestone; PGA Championship; TOUR Championship Kevin Streelman … Memorial Boo Weekley … St. Jude; Barbasol CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE POSSIBILITIES KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship Trump National Golf Club’s Championship Course in Virginia hosts for the first time. It’s a par 72 measuring 7,130 yards. The tournament’s purse of $2.8 million is tied for second-largest of the season. Only the U.S. Senior Open Championship at $3.75 million is greater. Golfers listed alphabetically. Rob’s serious considerations in bold. Stephen Ames … Chased his breakthrough win with top 20s in the last two. Hasn’t yet recorded a top 10 in a major. Tommy Armour III … The tour’s longest hitter has just one top 10 on the season (T2, Insperity). John Daly … Answered his breakthrough title at the Insperity Invitational with a T32 at the Regions Tradition, and that required a closing 65. Carlos Franco … Eighth in earnings but it’s a top-heavy season with a T2 at the Allianz Championship in February and a victory alongside Vijay Singh at the Bass Pro Shops Legends. Fred Funk … The tour’s most accurate driver has a T3, a T2 and a T4 in his last four starts, but he hasn’t recorded a top 10 in the Senior PGA since his debut in 2009. Jay Haas … Two-time winner (2006, 2008) has a total of five top-three finishes in this tournament in which he’s second on the all-time money list. Two top 10s in individual competition in 2017. Lee Janzen … Ranks 21st on the money list despite just one top 10 at the season opener at Hualalai. Miguel Angel Jiménez … A third-round 74 at the Regions Tradition (T20) thwarted a sixth consecutive top 10, but it’s his only score or par or worse all year. Bernhard Langer … Picked up his eighth career title in a major at last week’s Regions Tradition. The Senior PGA Championship is the only major on the PGA TOUR Champions that he hasn’t won. Tom Lehman … The 2010 champ is 11th on the 2017 money list with a win and no worse than a T16 in his last five starts. T6 at last week’s Regions Tradition. Ranks second in ball-striking. Scott McCarron … Fulfilled the expectation last week with a co-runner-up. Second in earnings this season with a win and another three top-six finishes. Rocco Mediate … The defending champion but on a different course. Only one top 20 in his last seven starts and sits 42nd in earnings. Colin Montgomerie … In three starts in this tournament, he has two wins and a runner-up. Arrives in uncharacteristically pedestrian form, however, and slots 44th on the money list. Kenny Perry … Only one finish outside a top 20 in his last eight starts. Currently sixth on the money list. Gene Sauers … Ranks third on the PGA TOUR Champions in ball-striking and leads in one-putt percentage. No top 10s in four starts in this tournament, but has four this season. T10 last week. Vijay Singh … Tournament debut. After winning the Ball Pro Shops Legends with Carlos Franco, settled for solo 64th at last week’s Region’s Tradition. Jeff Sluman … Hasn’t missed a major since turning 50 in 2007. Seven top 25s this season. Kevin Sutherland … While his top-10 streak ended at nine with last week’s T13, he’s now gone over 13 months without finishing outside a top 20. Fifth in earnings, highest among non-winners. David Toms … Quietly humming along at 18th on the money list. T6 at the Regions Tradition marked his major debut on the circuit. Kirk Triplett … Two top 10s and another pair of top 20s in four starts in this tournament. Strong major record overall. Four top 10s this season. Duffy Waldorf … Solid season features three top 10s and another three top 20s, but he’s converted on just two top 10s in majors since 2014.

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