What does the The Match start today? How to watch Phil Mickelson, Tom Brady vs. Bryson DeChambeau, Aaron Rodgers

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Tiger Woods has announced Cameron Champ as the recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption for the 2018 Genesis Open. Since 2009, the exemption has represented the advancement of diversity in the game of golf. Champ will join the field of 144 players at The Riviera Country Club February 12-18. Champ, 22, is a Sacramento-area native who turned pro months after appearing in and placing T-32nd in the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin. Champ attended and played golf at Texas A&M University, where he was a finalist for the prestigious Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award and rose to become the No. 1 ranked amateur golfer for the 2017 season. In September, Champ represented the United States in the 46th Walker Cup, helping the U.S. earn a decisive victory over the Great Britain & Ireland Team in Los Angeles. “I am excited to have Cameron in the field for the Genesis Open,â€� Woods said. “On the course, Cameron has all the tools to compete at Riviera, and off the course his commitment to grow the game is inspiring. I know Charlie would be proud to have Cameron play in the Genesis Open in his honor.â€� Throughout his amateur and professional career, Champ has given back to his community through his involvement with The First Tee of Sacramento. Champ got his start with The First Tee as a teenager in 2003. Through after-school and in-school programs, the organization strives to help shape the lives of young people from all walks of life by reinforcing values like integrity, respect and perseverance through the game of golf. Champ’s father Jeff was a talented athlete in his own right who had his professional baseball career cut short by injury. After being introduced to golf by his grandfather, Mack, at the age of two, Champ went on to attend Heritage Peak Charter School in Sacramento, becoming a two-time Rolex All-American (2012-13) and a member of the 2012 Junior PGA Ryder Cup and 2013 Toyota Junior World Cup teams. “I am incredibly grateful and humbled to receive the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption for the 2018 Genesis Open,â€� Champ said. “This means a lot to me, as well as my entire family. Mr. Sifford’s legacy has had a huge influence not only on why I play the game of golf, but also how I seek to use the game as a vehicle for positive change, the celebration of diversity and to make a difference in our communities – all examples that were unquestionably set by Charlie Sifford. It gives me great pride to play in his name at Riviera this year.â€� Named in 2017 to honor the memory of Charlie Sifford, the first African-American player to compete on the PGA TOUR, the exemption has been given to a golfer representing a minority background to play in the annual PGA TOUR event at Riviera for nearly a decade. Previous exemption recipients include Vincent Johnson (2009), Joshua Wooding (2010), Joseph Bramlett (2011), Andy Walker (2012), Jeremiah Wooding (2013), Harold Varner III (2014), Carlos Sainz, Jr. (2015), J.J. Spaun (2016) and Kevin M. Hall (2017). Tickets for the 2018 Genesis Open are now on sale. Starting at just $20, all ticket options are available at GenesisOpen.com/tickets. About the Genesis Open The Genesis Open, L.A.’s PGA TOUR event, is bringing the next chapter in championship golf to The Riviera Country Club February 12 – 18, 2018. One of the most historic and longest-running events on the PGA TOUR, the tournament celebrated its 91st playing in 2017 as Dustin Johnson won the event and, in doing so, claimed the No. 1 world ranking. With TGR Live serving as the event management company for the Genesis Open, the Tiger Woods Foundation is the primary benefiting charity, with proceeds from the event supporting the foundation’s college-access programs in Southern California. The tournament’s title sponsor is Genesis, a global luxury car brand that delivers the highest standards of performance, design and innovation in its vehicles. For more information, visit GenesisOpen.com and follow the tournament on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. About TGR Live For 20 years, TGR Live has exclusively organized and managed fundraising events supporting the Tiger Woods Foundation. It focuses solely on creating amazing experiences for the foundation’s clients at world-class events. TGR Live provides a variety of services including hospitality management, public relations and marketing, tournament operations, and sponsor sales at three PGA TOUR events and two signature events which benefit the foundation. While many TGR Live events are televised, TGR Live does not provide TV or video production. For more information, visit TGRLive.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. About the Tiger Woods Foundation For over 20 years, the Tiger Woods Foundation has been an unwavering advocate for the transformative power of education. We have humble beginnings and a universal vision: give students in need the right resources to ensure lifelong success in school, their communities and the working world. Through our award-winning STEM curricula, college-access programs and teacher professional development, we offer underserved students the tools and support needed to thrive in school and beyond. The TGR Learning Lab unleashes the full capacity of students, preparing them for today’s jobs and the ones that don’t exist yet. Serving students in grades 5-12 in Anaheim, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Stuart, FL, our unique culture fosters the development of the whole person while providing critical STEM skills and college prep. With one of the highest graduation rates among scholar programs in the US, the Earl Woods Scholar Program currently has 196 students attending universities nationwide. And we recently embarked on an ambitious expansion plan, bringing our unique philosophy and educational curriculum to millions of teachers and students around the world. Find more information at tigerwoodsfoundation.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. About Genesis Motor America Genesis Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., distributes, markets and services Genesis vehicles in the United States. Genesis is a global luxury automotive brand that delivers the highest standards of performance, design and innovation. A total of six new Genesis models will launch by 2021 and will compete with the world’s most renowned luxury car brands. All Genesis vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by an industry-leading warranty with enhanced roadside assistance and concierge services.

Click here to read the full article…

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Morgan Hoffmann is playing for more than trophies. Hoffmann hopes to find a cure for muscular dystrophy after being diagnosed with the disease in November 2016. The 28-year-old has started a charity to fund muscular dystrophy research while still chasing the PGA TOUR dreams he’s had since childhood. “I could become a recluse and feel bad for myself, but what’s that going to do?� Hoffmann said Thursday, after shooting a first-round 67 at The Honda Classic. “I love being out here and I love playing on the PGA TOUR and that’s my dream, and to help people ultimately is my goal. I think I can do really special things with this platform.� Contending at the PGA TOUR stop in his adopted hometown will help him spread the word on his mission to end muscular dystrophy. He is back on the leaderboard one year after finishing runner-up here to former Oklahoma State teammate Rickie Fowler. He trails another Oklahoma State alum, Alex Noren, and Webb Simpson by one stroke after the first round of this year’s Honda Classic. Hoffmann announced his diagnosis in a December article on The Players’ Tribune. He has a charity event planned for Aug. 20 in his native New Jersey. “It was tough to hear,� he said about the diagnosis, “but I think we’re going to do a lot of really good things with the charity that I’m starting, hopefully find a cure.� Thursday’s good round came after a difficult stretch. He missed the cut or withdrew in his previous six starts, but he made just one bogey Thursday. The disease has led to a loss of swing speed, but Hoffmann didn’t blame it for his recent struggles. “I’ve lost a lot of speed in my swing but my swing is still there,� he said. “I’m on plane. It’s not like it’s really killing my golf game.� In 2014, when Hoffmann qualified for the TOUR Championship, he ranked 78th in clubhead speed and 48th in driving distance. He’s 184th and 101st in those statistics this season. He’s lost more than 5 mph of clubhead speed in that span, dropping from 114 mph to 108.8. That hasn’t stopped him from trying to win his first PGA TOUR title. He just has other sources of inspiration now. SHOT OF THE DAY  NOTABLES Alex Noren, who’s known for an unceasing work ethic, wasn’t done after his first-round 66 that gave him the lead after morning wave. “I’m going to go and maybe play some holes on another course and try to figure out how to play all these different iron shots because this golf course is an iron paradise,� said Noren, who made five birdies and just one bogey Thursday. He ranks ninth in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green this season, but he wasn’t happy with Thursday’s ball-striking. “I hit a lot of wayward shots,� he said. Noren is playing his first season as a PGA TOUR member. He’s 33rd in the FedExCup, including a playoff loss to Jason Day at the Farmers Insurance Open. Justin Thomas attended the final round of last year’s Honda Classic only to congratulate Rickie Fowler on his win. Thomas had missed the cut, one year after finishing third. He’s back in contention at PGA National once again after shooting 67 in the first round. He’s coming off a T9 finish at the Genesis Open, his best finish since winning THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in October. Daniel Berger, who grew up in south Florida, shot a bogey-free 67 while playing alongside Thomas and Sergio Garcia (72). Berger lost a playoff to Padraig Harrington at the 2015 Honda Classic during his Rookie of the Year season. “I’m a different golfer now than I was then,� said Berger, a two-time PGA TOUR winner. He missed just three fairways and five greens Thursday. He hit his tee shot at the par-4 sixth hole into the water but was able to save par after hitting his ball out of the water and getting up-and-down. Tiger Woods played the best round of his young comeback, shooting an even-par 70 in Thursday morning’s breezy conditions. He hit 7 of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens, but mostly avoided the big misses that have plagued him. For more on his round, click here. CALL OF THE DAY  QUOTABLES It can make you look bad in a heartbeat.You can see the Tiger effect when you come out here. There’s thousands of people.

Click here to read the full article…

It was wild enough that a pair of impossible haymakers from improbable contenders Sunday at the Island Green 17th – Eddie Pepperell’s 50-foot birdie roll followed in the next group by Jhonattan Vegas’ 70-footer – put a bit of a shock into what was seen as the long-awaited coronation of Rory McIlroy as THE PLAYERS Champion. But when this blast from the past came riding in on a cool spring breeze, a classy veteran so grizzled that he joked that “my first name has become ‘48-year-old’ and my middle name is ‘Jim,’ � well, Jim Furyk nearly left everyone speechless. Let the record show that the dynamic McIlroy birdied the 15th and 16th holes Sunday, then played 17 and 18 brilliantly to nail down his 15th PGA TOUR victory, but this was an occasion when a runner-up performance deserved significant attention and heaps of praise. “I don’t feel any less pride for the way I played because I didn’t win,� said Furyk, who wasn’t even qualified for his 23rd PLAYERS Championship untill he placed inside the top 10 at the Honda Classic a few weeks ago. “I have a lot of respect for (McIlroy) as a person. But it still stings (to finish second). I mean, I’m a competitor, and I want to win, and it pisses me off I didn’t.� Such an afterthought entering the tournament and even after opening with a 71 to sit six off the lead, Furyk ignited a little bit of attention with a second-round 64, then added more intrigue when he shot 71 Saturday to enter the fourth round in a tie for sixth, five off the lead. Against a heavyweight leaderboard of McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Jason Day, Furyk probably did not generate much support from those picking a winner, but he had that fire in his belly that had been missing for a long time. “I played a great event at Honda (T-9) and was just excited. I knew how well I was playing . . . but it was nice to get in contention to get under the heat, to have to hit shots under a lot of pressure. It will be a confidence boost going forward.� Biggest gut-check? The stretch of holes between Nos. 5 and 8, “where I lost my tempo and lost my confidence and hit horrific shots,� he said. Somehow, he survived – a chip-in birdie at the fifth, then clutch par-saves at six, seven and eight. When a solid par at nine sent him to the 10th tee, “I told Fluff (caddie Mike Cowan) that I’ve got to build my confidence,� and Furyk suggested “3-under on the back in these conditions (cool and blustery)� would get him into the thick of things. When you’re in your 26th PGA TOUR season and have played nearly 600 tournaments, you’ve got “credentials,� as they say, and Furyk showed he knew what he was talking about. He birdied the par-4 10th and par-5 11th, was one of four players tied for the lead at 14-under mid-way through his back, and when he shook off a sloppy bogey at the par-4 15th with birdies at 16 and 18, “48-year-old Jim Furyk� was your clubhouse leader at 15-under. Daughter Caleigh had returned from a volleyball tournament in Orlando in time to watch her dad play 17 and 18, then she joined her mother, Tabitha, and brother, Tanner, to huddle with Jim after he signed for 67 – 273. They laughed near the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse, then he disappeared into the sprawling building where he watched his lead melt away in McIlroy’s finishing kick. It might not have been easy viewing for Furyk, but this had been a four-day stretch that showcased the enormous amount of guts which defines him. He is not only nearing another birthday (he will be officially called “49-year-old Jim Furyk� May 12) and playing against kids half his age who hit it twice as far as he does, but Furyk admittedly has never felt comfortable at this brilliant Pete Dye design. No matter that he has lived just minutes away for more than 20 years, “there are hard edges, hard lines here and (for years) I couldn’t figure it out,� said Furyk. In 22 previous starts, he had finished Top 10 just four times, but more telling is that arguably the most consistent player of his generation not called Tiger Woods, Furyk had missed the cut five times and finished outside the top 30 on six occasions. But this week, riding new-found confidence in the aftermath of the Honda and a determination to be more aggressive at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course, Furyk shined. Maybe not as brightly as McIlroy, but surely in a way that he hasn’t in years, not with his world ranking having fallen to 167th and his health a big challenge. But thrilled to be healthy for the first time since 2015, Furyk came into the year determined “to see how competitive I could be.� Finishing just one behind a dynamo named McIlroy in the PGA TOUR flagship tournament that features the best field in golf answered that in a very positive fashion.

Click here to read the full article…