By Dave Shedloski
Justin Thomas said Wednesday at the Memorial Tournament that he was “a little irritated” that a video got out on social media showing him giving mini-tour player Michael Visacki a check after Visacki missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge last week in Fort Worth, Texas.

Thomas, No. 2 in the world, just wanted to do something nice without notice or fanfare for a player struggling to make a living as a touring professional. But a video went far and wide, and Thomas was only too happy to explain that like thousands of other people, he was touched by Visacki’s emotional phone call to his father after he Monday qualified in April for the Valspar Championship, which also was caught on video and went viral. ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and NBC’s “The Today Show” also aired video of a weeping Visacki calling his dad.

pic.twitter.com/X3YvnedUCE

— Rick Gehman (@RickRunGood) May 31, 2021

The Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla., marked Visacki’s first PGA Tour start. He then received a sponsor exemption into the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. The 27-year-old from Sarasota, Fla., birdied his first hole at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort, but eventually missed the cut there as well with rounds of 74-71.

“I saw the video of Mike talking to his dad after he Mondayed in Valspar,” Thomas said at Muirfield Village Golf Club, “and in a day and age where it seems like only anything in the media is negative and not good these days, I just felt it was so refreshing and great to see and how genuine his excitement and emotions were. I mean, I don’t know Mike. I didn’t know him. I met him at Valspar. I just went up and said, ‘Congrats on getting in.’

“I just thought it was awesome because he’s been playing the mini tours and been successful on the mini tours for a long time, and people now knew who he was because of his story. I don’t know, it just, for some reason it hit home to me and it just was like, man, you know, this is a dude who’s been grinding for a long time and there’s a lot of people, not just him, that are doing that, but I just wanted to help in a little way.”

Thomas, 28, said the amount of money he gave to Visacki, “wasn’t anything crazy,” but he hoped it would help defer some of the costs that a struggling pro can incur along the way. “I know Q-School’s expensive. I know playing in these events are expensive, and like any little way I can help out, I want to,” he said, adding that he wanted to support Visacki in other ways.

“I want him … if you ever want advice, if you ever want to pick my brain, you ever just want to talk, like, I’m here for you,” Thomas said. “I’m happy to help. I was very fortunate to have some great mentors and people willing to help me growing up and if it’s a difference of him playing on mini tours or getting his Korn Ferry card the next year, then, like that’s, that means more to me than any amount of money I could ever give him or anybody.”

"I felt joy out of seeing his joy."@JustinThomas34 met @VisackiGolfer and felt inspired to give back. pic.twitter.com/vjG2em67Tz

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 2, 2021

The post Justin Thomas is ‘here for’ Monday qualifier Michael Visacki with more than just money appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Last week, it was Visacki’s emotional call to tell his dad he had Monday qualified for his first PGA Tour event went viral. This time, Visacki received a call from Charles Schwab. Yep, that Charles Schwab.

Turns out the journeyman golfer won’t have to wait another seven years to play in his next PGA Tour event after getting a sponsor exemption into the Charles Schwab Challenge later this month. Watch and listen as the man whose name is on the trophy given out at Colonial Country Club told him the big news:

Valspar Monday Qualifier @VisackiGolfer has received a sponsor exemption into the @CSChallengeFW.

He learned the news from the man himself, Charles Schwab. ? pic.twitter.com/nx0xVgrYY8

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 4, 2021

Pretty cool.

Visacki, a 27-year-old mini-tour legend, is on quite the run after playing in the Valspar Championship last week. And although he missed the cut at Innisbrook, he had quite the time teeing it up with the best players in the world for the first time.

“Oh, truly amazing,” Visacki said of his experience after Friday’s second round. “Never felt like this and hopefully I can continue to feel like this in the near future.”

Little did he know just how near that future would be.

The post Watch and listen as Michael Visacki gets a Charles Schwab sponsor exemption—from Charles Schwab appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.