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Stacy Lewis leads the way as pro golfers donate to Hurricane Harvey relief

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There are plenty of pros with ties to Texas in general and Houston in particular, where flooding from Hurricane Harvey has decimated the region. So, this is by no means a definitive list of the charitable efforts of professional golfers.

Generally, pros like to play things close to the vest and aren’t looking for public recognition for their giving, so you can safely assume the amount the professional golf world is directing toward relief efforts extends well beyond the few notable examples below.

JJ Watt’s $18 million-plus fundraising effort has set the tone for athlete philanthropy in the wake of the natural disaster. But from an individual giving standpoint, what could be more inspirational or impressive than Houston resident Stacy Lewis pledging her earnings from the Cambia Portland Classic to Hurricane Harvey relief…and then going out and winning the tournament?

Lewis’ primary sponsor, KPMG, matched her donation ($195,000), and Marathon Oil added an impressive million-dollar donation.

Chris Stroud, also a Houston resident, pledged $10,000. In addition, Stroud has turned his home into a makeshift shelter for those displaced by flooding. Sergio Garcia (whose wife, Angela Akins is a Texan) pledged $2,000 for every birdie and $5,000 for every eagle during the playoffs. Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, and Kelly Kraft have all indicated they’ll be be donating as well.

Patrick Reed, who lives in the Houston area, is stepping up. In addition to the $50,000 he pledged to the St. Bernard Parish, which helps rebuild disaster-ravaged homes, he’s donating $4,000 per birdie and $8,000 per eagle.

K.J. Choi, who makes his home in Houston, is going into his pocket to the tune of $100,000. Jhonattan Vegas, similarly, is donating $25,000.

Commissioner Jay Monahan announced the The PGA Tour will donate $250,000 to relief efforts.

The Symetra Tour has stepped up as well.

Again, not an exhaustive list, and we’ll certainly see more goodwill going forward, but it’s always good to see players of a game that puts so much emphasis on charity stepping up.

You can donate to the Red Cross here.

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19th Hole

Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year

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While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.

“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”

The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.

Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.

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19th Hole

Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships

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While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.

“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.

“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.

“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’

“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.

“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”

Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.

Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:

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19th Hole

Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items

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According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man was charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National last month.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Since then, more details have emerged about the case.

According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.

The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.

Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”

The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.

Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.

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