Winner's Bag: Kevin Na, Sony Open in Hawaii

AVONDALE, La. – It was cold and windy for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans pro-am on Wednesday, but Cameron Champ and Tony Finau launched absurdly long tee shots down the middle of the fairway at the par-5 second hole at TPC Louisiana. Champ has a flatter, missile-like trajectory shot while Finau – who may be slightly longer but admits he can’t always control it – gets a bit more air under his drives. They are Team #SendIt, hitting drives that are the envy of others, even other PGA TOUR pros. But to get a better idea of what makes this team great, you have to get beyond that. “It’s what they represent – the diversity that’s out here and how they’ve been bold to stand up on what’s going on in the world,” said Earl Cooper, a Black golfer and PGA pro from Wilmington, Delaware, who played with them in the pro-am. “They’ve taken on the responsibility.” Cooper and Olajuwon Ajanaku, another Black pro in the pro-am who hopes to make it as a touring professional, run Eastside Golf, an apparel company that seeks “to build awareness to the youth and non-golfers how cool golf is.” Their logo: A man with blue jeans and a chain necklace swinging a club. “It’s just saying, you know, you can be yourself,” Cooper said. Last year they sent a hat to Champ through a mutual friend in Detroit. It was a bit of a longshot, but lo and behold they were scrolling through Instagram one day when they came across Champ – wearing his black Eastside Golf hat. Cooper and Ajanaku were ecstatic. Surprising? Not really. The connective tissue of Team #SendIt has less to do with big drives than their shared desire to make a difference. Whether they’re joining with SAP to donate tens of thousands of dollars to Black-owned business (Champ) or supporting underprivileged kids in Utah (Finau), the longest-hitting team in New Orleans subscribes to the ethos that a rising tide can and should lift all boats. “Obviously Tony is not African‑American but he is a man of color, and especially being in Utah,” says Champ, who shares an agent with his teammate. “We have very similar backgrounds of how we got brought up in the game and how we got … to the TOUR. “I have mad respect for Tony and his family and what they’ve done back home in Utah.” Says Finau, “Well, as far as Cameron, I admire his courage and his bravery to be outspoken about what he stands for. Not a lot of athletes are willing to take the forefront. But as one of the very few African‑Americans on the PGA TOUR, he’s taken that stance to what he feels like is right for equality and for what he stands for. I’m happy to be his friend and support him in that.” Champ’s father is Black, while Finau is the first TOUR pro of Tongan and Samoan descent. Both have been open about having experienced racism, and both took to social media last summer after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd’s neck, killing him. “Silence is not a position I will take,” Finau wrote. “It is time to add greater understanding to our perspectives. It is time for all of us to build a future together that treats everyone with the dignity, fairness, respect and equality that they deserve. I stand with you. #BlackLivesMatter” Champ pointedly wore one black shoe and one white one during the BMW Championship in the FedExCup Playoffs. And he still has “EQUALITY” stamped on the side of his hat. They are part of a wave of athletes – Colin Kaepernick, LeBron James, Naomi Osaka – whose athleticism fuels their activism. And it’s spreading. Michelle Wie West has spearheaded a project in which proceeds from the sale of limited-edition golf hoodies will fund the LPGA Renee Powell Fund and the Clearview Legacy Foundation. She has sent hoodies to several TOUR pros. During Black History Month in February, Champ and corporate partner SAP contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Black-owned businesses at various TOUR stops, be they eateries or a barber shop frequented by Champ himself in Houston. He even put their logs on his bag. At the end of last year, in partnership with Chevron, his foundation created two Mack Champ Scholarships for the men’s and women’s golf programs at HBCU Prairie View A&M University, an initiative toward which to TOUR contributed an additional $100,000. As a kid, Finau did not have access to golf – he smashed balls into an old mattress his father hung in the garage – so he’s working to change that for kids today. “My foundation is a big deal to me,” he says. “I love supporting my foundation and under-privileged kids and those that don’t have as much of an opportunity.” Asked to name his favorite athlete from other sports, Champ mentions James. “What he’s done back home with the high school he built – that’s the stuff that needs to happen,” he says. “Change is not cheap, especially in this modern day, either. We have to do as much as we can as far as fundraising and doing things like that to be able to help the next generation.” Finau cites Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz. “I see what he does in our community in Utah,” he says. “He’s not shy about being out in public and going to elementary schools and talking to kids. It’s great to see. He’s a very humble kid. He’s young, but obviously an amazing talent, and I love what he does in our community. “He’s a great person, and a great image for Utah and for kids to look up to.” For Finau, and for Champ, it takes one to know one.

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