Westwood ‘not comfortable’ travelling to America

While making his bed one day earlier this year, Brooks Koepka started crying in pain. Although he looks like the toughest guy in the room, the physical agony from his injured left wrist – which, after stem-cell treatment and platelet-rich plasma injections, had sidelined him for nearly four months – had reduced him to tears. Soon, he found a local chiropractor near his home in South Florida. The diagnosis? Koepka, with his soft cast removed, had dislocated his wrist while moving too quickly to pull up his bedsheets. “So he popped it back in,â€� Koepka said, “then we’re off and running.â€� And he never stopped. He returned to the PGA TOUR eight days later, spent the summer winning two majors, then finished inside the top 10 after the FedExCup Playoffs before slowing down long enough on Tuesday to claim the PGA TOUR Player of the Year award. “The lowest of lows and the highest of highs,â€� the 28-year-old Koepka said about the most unusual season. “It was pretty dramatic. Look, at the beginning of the season, I was just hoping to be back out playing again. To sit here after winning two majors and Player of the Year, I don’t think I even thought this was going to happen. “This is incredible. It’s an honor. It’s mind-boggling.â€� But it’s certainly no surprise. He has the game (one of the TOUR’s biggest bombers), he has the adaptability (his back-to-back U.S. Open wins were on different setups) and he has the mental mistake (hey, he’s chill) to emerge as one of the TOUR’s 20-something stars, right up there with JT, Jordan, Rory and the rest. “Calm. Collected. Confident,â€� was how Jack Nicklaus described Koepka. Perhaps the only thing he’s lacking is recognition — although being Player of the Year may finally eliminate that issue. Koepka once told Golf Digest that he’s “really good at blending inâ€� and by his own admission, he hangs out in the background as much as possible. “Most people don’t know the real me, my life off the golf course,â€� he said Tuesday. “I can go to plenty of restaurants and not have anybody come up and say anything, where a lot of guys can’t. Look at Dustin (Johnson) or Jordan or guys like that. They can’t do that. I’m still blending in.â€� Then with a laugh, he adds, “I mean, I get confused for Tony Finau most every week.â€� Koepka has turned this lack of attention into motivation. It allows him to play with a chip on his shoulder – much like Michael Jordan would take perceived slights and raise the level of his play against his NBA opponents. “I think you always have to play with a little chip on your shoulder if you want to get the best out of you,â€� Koepka said. “I love competition. I find a way, whatever it is, to try to play my best and get myself up for every event. “I think a lot of the chips that everyone’s been talking about is because I was left off notables as the defending champion of the U.S. Open, just things like that. To be at the PGA, I shoot a decent first-round score and the guy who never won a major shot two higher than I did, and he’s being interviewed. I’m like man, we’re in 10th, 12th place after the first day and I’m like, all right, I won a major this year, two-time major winner – you know what I mean? It seems kind of odd. But whatever…â€� On Tuesday, at least, there was no one slighting Koepka after his peers, his fellow competitors, voted him as Player of the Year. No golfer, from their perspective, had a better season. As a result, Koepka will receive the Jack Nicklaus Trophy. It’s not the first award in Koepka’s home that showcases an image of the Golden Bear. Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, and growing up in nearby Lake Worth, Koepka would occasionally see Nicklaus, a longtime resident of the area. Twice, Koepka won junior events at the Bear’s Club. The trophy was a plaque that included Nicklaus trading cards from the high points of his legendary career. “I still have those trophies,â€� Koepka said. “… It’s a very big plaque, as you can imagine, with all his major victories and everything. It’s pretty cool. “Mr. Nicklaus was always exactly what you’d expect he would be, very gracious and very kind. It’s nice to add something else of his to my trophy collection.â€� Provided that chip remains on Koepka’s shoulder, you get the feeling there will be more to come. In His Own Words A chronological list of quotes from Brooks Koepka that reflect the ebb and flow of his 2017-18 season: “Game feels good and excited to start the season.â€� (Oct. 26) “I have some wrist issues. I want to figure that out. I can’t grip anything strong with my left hand.â€� (Dec. 6, via AP) “It felt like someone was jabbing a knife in my hand. The problem is we don’t have any answers.â€� (Jan. 7, via Golf Channel) “I am frustrated that I will now not be able to play my intended schedule. But I am confident in my doctors and in the treatment they have prescribed, and I look forward to teeing it up at the Masters.â€� (Jan. 19 statement) “They said I would be about 80 percent but I can’t play 80 percent. I either have to go full bore or not at all.”(March 20 on decision to not play Masters, via USA Today) “It feels like I’ve been out for six months. … It was torn a lot worse than they originally thought.â€� (April 20, via AP) “There’s nobody more excited to be here than me, I can tell you that. To get back out, it felt like it took forever.â€� (May 13 at THE PLAYERS Championship) “I feel like my game is coming around. … I am finally finding a rhythm and feel like I’m getting really close.â€� (May 26) “I feel like it healed nicely. I like where my game’s trending right now.â€� (June 7) “To have my name on there twice is pretty incredible, and to go back-to-back is even more extraordinary. It feels so special.â€� (June 17 after winning second straight U.S. Open) “I’ll be honest. I’m dead right now.â€� (June 21 at Travelers) “Right now I’m focused on just winning. That’s the only thing I’ve got in my mind. Second place just isn’t good enough. I finished second a lot and just tired of it.â€� (July 17 on eve of Open Championship) “Didn’t play very good. Didn’t strike it good. Never really felt comfortable.â€� (July 22 after finishing T-39 at the Open) “Missing four months, the schedule got completely flipped around for me. I’m having to play a lot right now to play some events because I missed so much time.â€� (July 25 on eve of RBC Canadian Open) “It was as good as I’ve hit it in my pro career. I don’t think I’ve ever driven it as well as I did. .. I feel confident going into next week.â€� (Aug. 5 after WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) “When you take four months off, you really appreciate it and you’re eager to get back out there. Anytime you can tee it up, especially only doing three majors, it makes every one a little bit more important. I kind of fell back in love with the game a little bit.â€� (Aug. 7 on eve of PGA Championship) “When I look at what I’ve done in the past two months, it’s incredible. Looking where I was, sitting on my couch watch the Masters, and to think I would do this, I would have laughed at you and told you there was no way, no chance.â€� (Aug. 12 after winning PGA) “There’s a lot on my mind. I can get to world No. 1, win the FedExCup. It’s a big stretch, these next four weeks.â€� (Aug. 23) “I don’t see why it has to end. If I keep doing what I’m doing, I don’t see why it should stop.â€� (Sept. 27) Brooks By The Numbers Hitting the statistical highlights of Koepka’s season: 68.27 — Koepka’s final-round scoring average. Of the 140-plus primary statistical categories used by ShotLink, it’s the only category this season in which Koepka led the TOUR. It’s also the eighth best final-round average since 1980 when data was first collected. 9th — Koepka’s ranking in Scrambling this season, based on his 64.3 percent success rate. Before this season, Koepka had never ranked better than 108th in Scrambling. 33 — Number of times a player has won multiple majors in the same season. Koepka becomes the most recent player on that list. 411 — Length in yards of Koepka’s longest drive this season, on the 16th hole of the final round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. That tied for the 20th longest drive of the season. 62.5 — Percentage of Koepka’s tee shots that were over 300 yards. No player had a higher percentage this season (see chart below). A Mixed Bag Equipment Insider Jonathan Wall reviews the tools that fueled Koepka this season: Coming off his first major championship win during the 2016-17 PGA TOUR season, Brooks Koepka limited the equipment changes to the driver during the 2017-18 campaign. After opening the year with TaylorMade’s M4 driver, Koepka swapped the club for the company’s M3 at THE PLAYERS Championship, due to the flight it produced and how easy it was to turn the ball over on command. A former Nike Golf equipment staffer, Koepka continues to play a Vapor Fly Pro 3-iron. Mizuno’s JPX-900 Tour irons were originally created with Koepka in mind when he became an equipment free agent following Nike’s departure from the hard-goods industry in 2016. Koepka’s 35-inch Scotty Cameron T10 Select Newport 2 putter was refinished prior to his return to the course at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The “T10” represents the 10th anniversary of Scotty Cameron using Teryllium inserts in putters made for TOUR players. Over the years, Koepka has added weight to the putter head, going from a D6 swing weight to closer to D9 with the current version. Driver: TaylorMade M3 (Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70TX shaft), 9.5 degrees 3-wood: TaylorMade M2 Tour HL (Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80TX shaft), 16.5 degrees Irons: Nike Vapor Fly Pro (3-iron; Fujikura Pro 95 Tour Spec X shaft), Mizuno JPX-900 Tour (4-PW; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts) Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 (52-12F, 56-10S, 60-08M degrees; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts) Putter: Scotty Cameron T10 Select Newport 2 Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Click here to read the full article…

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – There are days when Jan Auger watches Kamaiu Johnson play golf and finds it difficult not to cry. Friday at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass during the inaugural Billy Horschel APGA Tour Invitational presented by Cisco was one of those mornings. Auger, general manager of two golf courses for the City of Tallahassee, frequently reflects to her chance meeting years ago with Johnson. As does he, and both are grateful the universe put them together. Johnson was a 12-year-old who already had dropped out of middle school in the small town of Madison. He did not have a father figure in his life, and had no direction. He was swinging a stick like a golf club, walking on the fringes near the fourth hole of Hilaman Golf Course, where Auger works, imitating the golfers he would see each day outside the two-bedroom unit he shared with his grandmother and six others. Auger could have told Johnson that he was trespassing. She easily could have sent him on his way. Who knows how his life would have turned out but for a random act of kindness? She made him an offer from the heart. She sent him to the clubhouse, fetched a 9-iron and gave him a bucket of balls to hit. From there, Johnson was hooked. The club let him play for $1 a day, and it changed his life. Completely. Today, Johnson, 28, is a professional golfer, a man who rises each day chasing a dream. He started his own foundation (My My Foundation) to help introduce inner-city minority youths to golf. Johnson opened with a 1-under 71 on Friday, two shots behind leader Willie Mack III. “He’s like my son,” Auger said as she watched Johnson play the back nine. Johnson lives in Orlando now, but the two talk or text most every day. “It’s emotional for me to watch him. I told him last week, we’re going to come and see you play, and I don’t care if you shoot wide receiver (high) numbers. I just love watching you play.” This week at TPC Sawgrass, Johnson is competing among a select field of minority golfers (17 professionals and 15-year-old amateur Awesome Burnett comprise the field) in a two-day shootout, playing an event organized by Horschel, his management team and his generous sponsors under the umbrella of the 11-year-old Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour. The APGA was formed to try to make golf more diversified, and to provide playing opportunities that would help to develop Black golfers and other minority players to reach higher levels. Ken Bentley, a retired Nestle USA executive who serves as the unsalaried director of the APGA, once said that when he looks into his crystal ball, he sees “America out on the golf course. That’s our goal.” Horschel, 34, is a successful PGA TOUR professional, a six-time winner with $28.2 million in career earnings who remembers his own humble lower-middle-class beginnings. He wasn’t always able to afford the junior tournaments he wanted to play. He acknowledges how financially challenging the game can be, and he is passionate about giving back. Know this: He doesn’t attach his name to any venture without diving in fully. Horschel said he wants to see more minorities playing on the PGA TOUR in five or 10 years, and for that to happen, young golfers will need role models in order to make golf their choice. All efforts with his new tournament are aimed to help create those role models. “These are the guys who are going to reach kids in the inner cities, to reach kids that have a different background than what mine is, of my skin color, and how I grew up,” Horschel said. “These players are how the game is going to be, and that’s how the game is going to grow.” Horschel has been hanging around with players at TPC Sawgrass the last few days. He played in the pro-am and sat with players at lunch on Friday, answering their questions. He plans to work with a few on the practice tee. He is making sure that players will leave one of America’s iconic courses with more than just the memories of birdies and bogeys and how they performed on TPC Sawgrass’ famed island 17th. There was a pro-am for players to network with business executives on Thursday, and a business roundtable that featured big corporate hitters such as CEOs Jeff Dailey (Farmers Insurance) and Chuck Robbins (Cisco). Players rotated to different tables during dinner. This week is all about connections. The golf is a great opportunity, too: Experience one of the best tests on the PGA TOUR each year, where all the great players have competed, and play for an $80,000 purse that includes a winner’s check of $25,000. “We’re fortunate to be able to play pro-ams (on the PGA TOUR),” Horschel said. “You connect with sponsors and other people in the corporate world, and if you’re able to create relationships and grow them organically, then these people are going to want to help you with your dream of chasing the PGA TOUR. “Maybe they’ll sponsor you. If that dream (to play) doesn’t come to fruition, those people who you have met, who you have created this relationship with, more than likely are going to be there to help you if you need to figure out that next path in life.” Willie Mack III, who made the cut in his two most recent summer PGA TOUR starts (Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic), shot 3-under 69 on Friday to take the tournament lead. Johnson, Troy Taylor II and APGA rookie Mahindra Lutchman, who recently graduated from Florida A&M University, will start Saturday’s final round two shots back. Kevin Hall is one of the APGA’s more seasoned players at age 38, and has been with the APGA since the start. When the tour began, there were three events on public courses and total purses of $40,000. Hall shot 73 on Friday. Ten days earlier, a closing 63 at TPC John Deere in Silvis, Ill., lifted him to his first APGA victory since 2018. Why still chase the dream? “Every morning I have fire in my belly,” he said. “What can I do today to get better? When I win, this game just pulls me back in.” Hall is a huge inspiration and terrific role model. He is deaf, and answers questions through his saintly mom, Jackie, who translates a writer’s questions into sign language. Hall is a great barometer to measure how golf is doing as the sport tries to better diversify its playing field. He marvels at the quality of venues on this season’s schedule, which include courses that play host to big-time events. The APGA is at the home of THE PLAYERS this week, and earlier competed at Valhalla, site of four PGA Championships a Ryder Cup. “To have a tournament at TPC Sawgrass … five, six, seven years ago, I never thought this would happen,” Hall said. “All 18 of us that are here are very blessed to have Billy and his sponsors do this.” Mack, 32, from Flint, Mich., has seen momentum in his game this summer growing with each new opportunity. After missing the cut in his first two PGA TOUR starts, he played solidly for three rounds at the Korn Ferry Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am, shooting 66 in the third round, and played on the weekend at the PGA TOUR’s Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic. How different can life be in the big leagues? At the Rocket Mortgage, Mack tied for 71st and collected $15,000. It’s nice to have some money in the bank. In order to keep his dream alive, Mack has slept in his car when finances were tight. “I was excited when I heard about this event, not only for me, but for everybody else,” Mack said. “To play for that kind of money, and to play in this environment, it’s really special.” For Mack, with each start at a big tournament, big venue, the lights do not seem to feel so bright, and the stage is not nearly as intimidating. His next step when the APGA season wraps up will be Korn Ferry Q-School, which can be a path to the PGA TOUR. It’s just golf,” Mack said, smiling. “I’ve talked to Billy a lot, and Rickie (Fowler), played with them a couple of times. I feel I have the game, I just have to get those opportunities. When I do, I just need to play well, and to have fun.” Fun wasn’t really on the radar on Friday for Awesome Burnett. He is a 15-year-old from Flower Mound, Texas, who doesn’t yet have his learner’s permit. On Friday, on an incredibly difficult test of golf, he struggled off the tee with the driver. For a player out of position, the Stadium Course can less forgiving than an IRS audit. Burnett is a nice story though, a player to watch, and he has a long runway ahead as he takes his own journey in golf. He and his parents, Brittany and Mark (Awesome’s caddie this week), are immersed in the game. (“Even our family dog plays with golf balls,” Brittany says, laughing.) Already their son has made most every sports fans’ All-Name team. Awesome Burnett? It’s, well, awesome. There is purpose in the name. Said Brittany, “I tell him all the time, you have a chance to wake up in the morning and be Awesome.” She and Mark also have a 13-year-old daughter named Amazing. Brittany smiles. “I tell her, ‘When you go to bed, you’re Amazing. And you’ll be Amazing when you wake up. You have no choice.’ So when Awesome is having some troubles on the course, I just tell him, ‘Go out and be Awesome. Be you.’” Awesome shot 89 on Friday, losing a couple sleeves of balls in Stadium Course penalty areas. He hung tough, holing a beautiful pitch for birdie at 14 and hitting it onto the green at No. 17. It’s golf, and he is very, very young. He dealt with a neck injury earlier this year, and a growth spurt has pushed Awesome to nearly 6 feet to carry his 122 pounds. He’ll add muscle. He is getting used to swinging with his new body. Before Wednesday, he’d only seen the Stadium Course when he played video games at home. And despite a tough day, he was a happy kid at the end of it. “I’ve been having a great time,” Awesome said. “It lets me see a lot of different things, meet people, and see what has to be improved in my game.” Playing alongside him was Johnson, who offered encouragement when he could. Johnson has had his share of tough days, too. Johnson knows Awesome Burnett and others like him represent the future of golf. Johnson could only imagine trying to take on such a difficult test of golf at age 15. “Fifteen,” Johnson said, pausing, thinking, looking back. “Kind of reminds me of how I was stepping out on the PGA TOUR this year.” With that, he smiled. Fortunately, with opportunities such as this one so graciously hosted by Billy Horschel, things will only get better. Johnson finds himself in a pretty good place these days. “He is such a good person,” Auger says as she stands in the shadows on a hot day and watches Johnson play. “Kamaiu could have gone down the wrong road, and he knows that. Golf saved him.”

Click here to read the full article…

The PGA TOUR and Autograph, the web3 brand co-founded by Tom Brady, today announce a long-term deal to create a comprehensive “digital collectibles” NFT platform, revolutionizing golf fandom by allowing fans to celebrate their love of the game by owning a token of its storied history. The PGA TOUR will work with Autograph to create a digital collectibles platform that pulls from TOUR competition video, data, imagery and other competition-related components. Golf fans will have the opportunity to own and collect NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) featuring the best PGA TOUR golfers in the world as well as some of their favorite moments from the archives and the current FedExCup Season. Additionally, collectors will have a chance to earn rewards with a wide range of utility, including access to exclusive digital, in-person and onsite experiences, along with other program benefits. “The PGA TOUR is excited to work with Autograph to offer digital collectibles that highlight the most talented golfers in the world and their role in the sport’s history,” said Len Brown, PGA TOUR Chief Legal Officer, and EVP, Licensing. “The TOUR is continuously looking for innovative ways to engage fans to bring them closer to the game and their favorite players, so we’re thrilled to start building the future of golf fandom with the Autograph team.” “We are thrilled to expand our roster of iconic partners with the addition of the PGA TOUR as our first professional league,” said Richard Rosenblatt, co-founder and co-chairman of the board at Autograph. “Over the last year, we have defined the future of fandom by leveraging NFT technology to bring fans closer to the icons they love across sports, music and entertainment and each other. We look forward to unlocking new potential and offering our community exclusive access to the PGA TOUR team through this partnership.” “I’m very excited to be a part of this next chapter with Autograph and the PGA TOUR,” said Tiger Woods, who sits on Autograph’s Board of Advisors. “Enhancing the golf world with NFTs will create a connection between us as players and the fans.” The TOUR’s exclusive NFT Digital Collectibles platform with Autograph will launch in early 2023. To learn more and sign up for news and updates, visit autograph.io/pgatour.

Click here to read the full article…