—Mike Whan, CEO, USGA

“I know I’ve had many discussions over the years with my friend Sidney Wolf about the desire, and just a burning desire to have this championship. So we knew when we came here it was going to be successful.”

—Fred Ridley, Chairman, Augusta National

• • •

Reversing a common story of the Puerto Rican diaspora, Sidney Wolf’s family moved from New York to Puerto Rico in the early 1960s, when he was just two years old. His father was in manufacturing, and his mother stayed at home, but that would change for both in time. Sensing an opportunity, his father pivoted to real estate, and when he passed away in 1971, his wife inherited the business (and is still alive today, at age 98). Wolf never played golf growing up, which wasn’t a surprise. Although sophisticated courses were beginning to pop up on the island, they weren’t far out of the era when most golf was centred around US military bases, with sand greens due to the absence of heat-resistant grass strains and, for some reason, extra-large holes. He played the national sport, baseball, instead, and even played a semester at the University of Maryland before deciding that he’d rather own a team than play on one, at which point he focused on his studies.

That ambition won’t surprise those who know Wolf, an entrepreneur now in his mid-sixties who credits his “passion” as the engine of everything that was to come — his involvement with Puerto Rican golf over the decades that led to his current role as president of the Puerto Rico Golf Association, a position he’s held almost without pause since 1995. (He tried to stop twice, but both times they called him back within six months.)

The arrival of this week’s Latin America Amateur Championship to Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, a half-hour’s drive from PRGA headquarters in the nation’s capital of San Juan, represents a kind of culmination for Wolf’s career, to the point that he starts to feel sad at times, wondering if this is the end.

“There’s nothing more to do,” he said.

You get the sense, though, that for a personality as singular as Wolf, something will come up. Thus far in his career, it always has, and it may even be in the genes. As part of his real estate business, Wolf’s father worked in recreational development. According to Wolf, he built the first putt-putt course, bowling alley and amusement park on the island. It’s perhaps only natural, then, that Wolf took this work further. Upon returning from college, a few friends encouraged him to play golf, and he started to learn on the course attached to the San Juan army base. After six months he gathered the courage to try a “real” course, and before long he was starting to become immersed in the island’s fledgling golf community. He played in a tournament called the Wheeler Dealer, a charity event involving prominent members of the Puerto Rican and mainland US financial communities, and when he complained about how it was run, he managed to talk himself into an organisational role.

He knew little about marketing, and not much about golf, but when it came to raising money, he was a natural talent. By the 1980s, he was asked to be on the marketing committee for the Mazda Champions event, which brought together LPGA and Senior PGA Tour players for an event at TPC Dorado Beach. He was running the Wheeler Dealer in the meantime, along with the family business, and he even started to dabble in golf equipment distribution through a deal with the now-defunct company Belding Sports — a side hustle that became his company Sports Group, which now runs distribution across the Caribbean for the top equipment and apparel lines in golf, including Acushnet and Ping.

Wolf started running more and more tournaments, many of them through Hyatt, the corporate host of this week’s LAAC, and became a member of Lake Nona in Florida. There, he watched the World Cup of Golf in 1993, which was set to come to Puerto Rico the following year. He joined the PRGA board in 1994, became the manager of the national team, worked on the World Cup in 1994 and the senior match play event, and was elected president of the PRGA for the first time in 1995.

Sidney Wolf (center) is joined by Rafael Rovira and Carlos Suarez after Grand Reserve Golf Club was named site of the 2023 Latin America Amateur Championship. Enrique Berardi/LAAC

When Judy Bell rose to become USGA president, she became a “saviour” for Puerto Rican golf, outfitting the PRGA with the technology and equipment needed to take its national programme to the next level. That allowed him to start running professional events, like a Tour de Las Americas event, and after trying and failing for several years in his capacity as the president of the Caribbean Golf Association, he landed the World Amateur Team Championship for Puerto Rico in 2004. He also started the Americas Golf Association, a tour that ran from Puerto Rico to Canada, and then decided to become even more ambitious by seeking a Nationwide Tour event (the Korn Ferry Tour, today).

The PGA Tour told him he needed funding, so he went to the government, the bank, and everywhere else he could, and in what had become a common theme for Wolf, he got the job done.

“I look you in the eye, and you can’t say no,” he told me, only half-joking.

The PGA Tour came back and told him to forget the Nationwide Tour—they wanted him to run a PGA Tour event. Thus, in 2008, the Puerto Rico Open came to Rio Grande after a wholesale property upgrade to prepare for the event.

“Any event that comes to Puerto Rico is because of what I’ve been able to do,” Wolf said, and while that sentiment isn’t dripping with modesty, and he corrected himself to say that there were a few that didn’t quite meet that criteria, he’s not far off from the truth. And everything he’s done for golf, he’s done as a volunteer, including as president of the PRGA.

The number of members of the Puerto Rico Golf Association has increased 300 percent since Sidney Wolf took over as president in 1995, thanks in part to initiatives like Golf Para Todos (“golf for all”).

As his involvement grew with the USGA and R&A, he became intricately involved in the inception of the Latin America Amateur in 2015. He doesn’t take credit for the idea, but he did retell the story of meeting with Ron Cross, who was with Augusta National then and now works with LIV Golf, and suggesting that the success of the Asia-Pacific Amateur could translate well to Latin America. Wolf put together a document for Cross with facts and figures about golf in his part of the world and was integral in the LAAC’s formation. The idea of Puerto Rico hosting the event was a fait accompli, and Wolf thinks it would have happened in 2018 if not for the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria.

That disaster, strangely, strengthened his relationship with the USGA. The PRGA building was destroyed, and financial relief from the USGA was key in rebuilding his organisation — and, in turn, restoring golf across Puerto Rico. By 2021, the PRGA had become the 59th Allied Golf Association of the USGA, and the first outside the 50 United States.

Now, Wolf has brought the LAAC to his home shores, and he’s eager to talk about all nine Puerto Rican golfers in the field — the largest contingent of any country or territory in this year’s tournament. It’s a signifier of the game’s growth in Puerto Rico, where 19 courses host the roughly 12,000 golfers on the island, including 5,400 members of the PRGA — a number that has increased by about 300 per cent since Wolf took over, thanks in part to initiatives like Golf Para Todos (“golf for all”) started in 1998.

And if his love for his island and its golf shines through, the players in this year’s LAAC reflect that affection right back. Gustavo Rangel, a 19-year-old from Guaynabo, mentioned the work Wolf has done in building driving ranges and working to create academies on the island. He said that Wolf’s support in finding spots in big tournaments helped him become a more confident player, which resulted in a scholarship at Loyola University in Maryland.

Ian Aldarondo Hernandez, a San Juan native who is completing his college career this season at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach echoed Rangel’s gratitude.

“Sidney Wolf is just a key part of our organisation,” Hernandez said. “Yeah, he’s the president, but his influences, his connections, his knowledge of the game and his love for the golf in Puerto Rico is just outstanding and his support me and to every junior growing up and now playing as amateurs around the world, he’s very helpful and the PRGA without him wouldn’t be the same, and we probably wouldn’t have this event here because of him and how much he loves this game and how much he supports golf in Puerto Rico.”

The post For Sidney Wolf, a driving force for golf in Puerto Rico, hosting the Latin America Amateur is another major milestone appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
Branden Grace arrived at the 17th tee of Grande Reserve Country Club in Puerto Rico on Sunday trailing clubhouse leader Jhonattan Vegas by a stroke and not sure what to do on the reachable par 4. His father, Peter, who gave him his first golf club when he was a young boy growing up in South Africa, instilled in him that he shouldn’t be the type of player to lay up. So he didn’t.

Then he delivered the shot of the week at the Puerto Rico Open.

MORE: The future of the PGA Tour is in good hands with Collin Morikawa

After driving into a greenside bunker, Grace deftly pitched just onto the putting surface, then watched as his ball rolled into the hole for an eagle and a one-shot lead. After he retrieved his ball from the cup, the 32-year-old South African looked to the sky and his eyes began to well up.

Five weeks ago, Peter Grace passed away after a month-long battle with COVID-19.

“I looked up and I said, Just give me the strength for one more hole, just a couple more good swings,” he said. “And it was all him.”

CLUTCH! ?@BrandenGrace holes out for eagle on 17 to take the lead @PuertoRicoOpen.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/b6wPYSBrbJ

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 28, 2021

One hole later, Grace got up and down from the sand for birdie on the par-5 18th to cap a round of 66 to finish at 19-under 269, one stroke better than Vegas. The victory was Grace’s second on the PGA Tour, the other coming in 2016 at the RBC Heritage.

“It’s been a very tough couple of years, and a tough couple of months,” Grace said. “It’s just nice to—obviously with all the support back home with my wife and my son and my family and everybody back home, and all that we have been through, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.”

It’s been a long road to get there.

Five years ago, Grace was a top-10 player in the world, winner of seven titles on the European Tour and another on the PGA Tour. He also performed impressively in a fistful of major championships, stringing together five top-10s in 10 majors between 2015 and 2017. Among them were the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, where he held a share of the lead through 54 holes and was tied for the lead on the 16th hole until he blocked his drive out of bounds. At the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, where he became the first player to shoot 62 in a major on his way to a tie for sixth. He also played in three Presidents Cups and went 5-0 for the week in the 2015 matches in South Korea.

Branden Grace celebrates his eagle from the bunker on the 17th hole during the final round of the Puerto Rico Open. Andy Lyons

Soon, though, his career started going the other direction.

From 2019 through the end of 2020, Grace missed the cut in 23 of his 52 worldwide starts. Other priorities took over and he was also adjusting to life as a new dad after his wife, Nieke, gave birth to the couple’s first child, Roger, in April 2018.

“Not that you lose interest, things just get tough,” Grace said. “You get down on yourself. And we have had some big life changes the last couple of years, and maybe it just takes a while to get used to that and for it to sink in and really gather yourself around it.”

Then last August, Grace was forced to withdraw halfway through the Barracuda Championship after testing positive for coronavirus. He was tied for second at the time and also missed the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park the following week as a result of the required 10-day quarantine.

Grace returned to playing the week after the PGA, but things took a worse turn when his father Peter contracted coronavirus late last year.

More than a third of all cases in Africa have been in South Africa and at the time the country had yet to begin a vaccination program. One of the mutations of the virus also originated in the country and there have been almost 50,000 deaths there since the start of the pandemic. On Jan. 21, Grace shared the news on Twitter that his father had passed away, saying, in part, “Words cannot describe the loss and heartache we feel. He was a rock in my life and career and I am going to miss him dearly.”

Sunday, his late father couldn’t escape his thoughts again.

“My wife also told me this morning, he’s with me every shot of the way,” Grace said. “Every step of the way and every swing of the way, he is going to be looking at me.”

And what a show it was.

With a bunched leader board that saw a handful of players jockeying near the top on the back nine on Sunday, including hometown favorite Rafael Campos and three-time tour winner Vegas, Grace delivered a memorable performance, hitting 13 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens on a windswept afternoon.

The victory gets Grace into next month’s Players, the PGA Championship in May and secures his card for the next two years. It’s also one his late father would have enjoyed.

“He gave me my first golf club,” Grace said. “He has been there through thick and thin. He’s the one that pushed me to get a dream and to be a part of the dream and actually for me to give me the chance to make something of my dream.”

The post Branden Grace honours the memory of his father with a fantastic finish in Puerto Rico appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
Welcome to another edition of The Grind where we’re pretty sure we’ve seen this movie before. An American dressed in all black just imposing his will South of the Border. Yep, we’ve definitely seen this movie before:

Of course, this had a slightly different ending with Patrick Reed taking home a trophy instead of getting his eyes gouged out like Johnny Depp. But overall, the good guys won. And if there’s anything we can all agree on these days, it’s that Patrick Reed is one of the good guys. Wait. No? OK, well, we’ve got a lot to discuss then.

WE’RE BUYING

Patrick Reed on Sundays: To be clear, I’m not giving Reed credit for being resilient and overcoming adversity at Club de Golf Chapultepec. This mess of him morphing from Captain America into Captain Controversy is his own making. But I am giving him credit for not succumbing to final-round pressure and being able to close out (big) golf tournaments better than just about anyone else these days. In addition to a green jacket and being a Ryder Cup hero, Reed now has two World Golf Championships, two FedEx Cup playoff events, and eight PGA Tour titles. Before turning 30. That is quite a résumé. And yes, he won just days after Brooks Koepka and Peter Kostis called him out for breaking the rules.

Apparently it’s easier to shush the haters at altitude. Although, Team Reed went on a Twitter blocking rampage following the victory, targeting everyone from fans to members of the media to fellow tour pros:

Oops! pic.twitter.com/uenL4bW0a8

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) February 25, 2020

Jeez. Not even Bryson DeChambeau has Eddie blocked! Anyway, congrats to Patrick Reed on the win and congrats to me on not getting blocked. Yet.

Viktor Hovland: Now here was an overwhelmingly popular victory. Hovland picked up his first win as a pro and the first for the country of Norway on the PGA Tour. Not surprisingly, Norwegian announcers absolutely lost their minds when he drained a 30-foot birdie putt to win on the final hole:

Viktor Hovland's win, as heard in Norway. ??? pic.twitter.com/mEcDvGXePI

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 24, 2020

What a talent, what a personality. This 22-year-old has superstar written all over him. We just hope he can overcome the Curse of Coco Beach.

Erik Van Rooyen: First of all, the South African more than held his own at the WGC-Mexico Championship with a T-3 finish. But just as impressively, the dude shreds on the guitar:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B55dsyclvcS/?utm_source=ig_embed

Great song, great playing. It’s almost enough to look past those joggers he wears on the course. Almost.

This bathroom: A bathroom is usually the least exciting room in a house, but that’s not the case for this man:

My Masters bathroom? pic.twitter.com/syMRVUfkmD

— Gregg Thompson/The Pond (@golf69ski88) February 19, 2020

Couple more for you: pic.twitter.com/GovniQcEYM

— Gregg Thompson/The Pond (@golf69ski88) February 19, 2020

Absolutely beautiful. And how about that toilet tucked away? That’s an Amen Corner everyone can appreciate. If this were a match, MASTERS bathroom is Tiger Woods and your typical master bathroom is Stephen Ames.

WE’RE SELLING

The Premier Golf League: The CEO of the potential new league, Andrew Gardiner, stepped out of the shadows and presented some interesting ideas like shotgun starts and four-man teams, but it might have been too little too late after Rory McIlroy said he’s “Out” and that he wants “to be on the right side of history.” With no Rory and Tiger/Phil barely on the right side of 50, it doesn’t seem like the PGL stands much of a chance. Even with Twitter gems like this:

https://twitter.com/premgolfleague/status/1230949491970379776

“Thank you Tiger”: Speaking of Tiger—well, not really—this was trending on Twitter on Friday and had golf fans freaking out that Tiger Woods was hanging it up:

https://twitter.com/xxJAHOOxx/status/1230127379760189440

Instead, it had to do with a Japanese wrestling referee Tiger Hattori retiring. PHEW!

This shot: My Golf Digest pal Christopher Powers loves (over)using the headline, “This is it, this is the best/worst (insert something) ever. But this is one case in which it applies. So without further ado . . . This is it, this is the most embarrassing golf shot ever hit:

My brother's friends first shot at St Andrews is unforgettable pic.twitter.com/DsKHW3TizB

— Tom (@culley999) February 21, 2020

There are shanks and then there’s this. Just brutal. And it occurred on the opening hole of the world’s most storied course and in front of a gallery. Talk about a nightmare.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour begins its Florida Swing with the Honda Classic, AKA that event with the Bear Trap. Unfortunately, because of the new(er) schedule, it can’t corral many of the PGA Tour’s stars, even the many who live in Jupiter and could walk to the course.

Random tournament fact: Keith Mitchell won last year and got quite the headline in the local Palm Beach Post:

Wow. Very unkind headline today. @pbpost pic.twitter.com/MtuZRXjvmj

— Peter Robbins (@gatortakes) March 4, 2019

Ouch.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—A PGA Tour pro will get attacked by an actual bear: 10,000-to-1 odds

—My wife will ever go for a bathroom like that: 1-MILLION -to-1 odds

—Patrick Reed doesn’t care what this no-name golf writer thinks of him: LOCK

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

Brooks Koepka going all GQ. Literally.

It’s fashion, bro.
Had a good time talking with @gq
Check it out here: https://t.co/o0WfyRqBC0 pic.twitter.com/ZAUzcnJwEb

— Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) February 25, 2020

Nicely done, Brooks. As someone who also did a shoot with GQ, I know there’s no better way to pad your wardrobe without spending a dime.

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK (INVOLVING PUTTING GREENS)

Introducing Bryson DeChambeau’s “towel guy”:

Speechless. #TowelGuy @NoLayingUp pic.twitter.com/8D666VrpOc

— mdw (@mdw3344) February 20, 2020

Turns out, he was creating shade so Bryson could see the laser attached to his putter. True story. Still, quite a look. And how about Colin Montgomerie practising his putting at a PGA Tour Superstore?

When it rains in Phoenix where else to practice but @PGATSS pic.twitter.com/grpOdp0kFV

— Colin Montgomerie (@montgomeriefdn) February 22, 2020

No laser for Monty. Old school.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Check out 84-year-old Mary Ann Wakefield draining a 94-foot, full-court putt at an Ole Miss basketball game to win a new car:

LEGEND! 84-year-old Mary Ann Wakefield sunk this 94-foot putt to win a new car ?

(via @OleMissMBB) pic.twitter.com/Rkq2GDD8yk

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 23, 2020

Good for her. Rory McIlroy might want to take some notes.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I just suck at chipping.” —Viktor Hovland’s brutal assessment of his short game following his win in Puerto Rico was nearly as entertaining as that winning putt:

Viktor was asked about a bad chip he hit earlier in the round and this was his response… pic.twitter.com/lhVO1iBMRi

— Skratch (@Skratch) February 23, 2020

Although, with ball-striking stats like this, he could chip like my boss and still win on tour:

Highest Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee per round since the U.S. Open:

Viktor Hovland, +1.03
Rory McIlroy, +1.01
Cameron Champ, +0.82

Highest Strokes Gained: Approach per round since the U.S. Open:

Justin Thomas, +1.04
Collin Morikawa, +0.98
Viktor Hovland, +0.95

(min. 30 rounds)

— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) February 24, 2020

OK, maybe not my boss, but you get the point.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS

The political mudslinging has gotten particularly nasty as we approach November’s Presidential election. First, Donald Trump knocked Mike Bloomberg swing’s speed:

Mini Mike is a short ball (very) hitter. Tiny club head speed. KEEP AMERICA GREAT! https://t.co/5DUj16jtZf

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 11, 2020

Then this past week, Bloomberg hit back with this billboard:

https://twitter.com/Mike2020/status/1230924914468773890

What a country.

THIS WEEK IN PGA TOUR PRO-WAGS PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

Jimmy Walker and Erin Walker shared their first cooking video together:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

@tourwifetravels and I grilling up steaks and making homemade pasta. Our first IGTV – kids screaming, dogs barking – #realife @central_market @heb @kowsteaks @fiestaspices

A post shared by Jimmy Walker (@jimmywalkerpga) on Feb 21, 2020 at 12:46pm PST

First of all, it’s tough to beat steak and pasta. Secondly, Netflix might be calling about filming a new cooking series.

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

Golf’s ultimate showman took in a show during a trip to NYC:

Last night we went to the play ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and Ed Harris was beyond incredible as was the entire cast.
That is all I have to say about that.

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) February 21, 2020

Thanks for the rec, Phil, but I wish you’d stopped by the office.

THIS AND THAT

Charles Howell III has now passed $1 million in earnings for 20 consecutive seasons and the 40-year-old is closing in on crossing the $40 million mark for his career. . . . Nineteen-year-old Stephanie Kyriacou, the 90th-ranked amateur golfer in the world, won the Australian Ladies Classic Bonville by eight shots. Something tells me there aren’t actually 89 amateur golfers better than her right now. . . . And apparently, there are some degenerates out there betting on which golfer gets to the tee box first:

All time bad beat for first golfer to the tee box (via: @NVanWyhe1) pic.twitter.com/ZnXQMptCte

— Barstool Sportsbook (@BSSportsbook) February 23, 2020

This makes me feel a lot better about myself.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

What’s the dumbest golf bet I’ve ever made?

What’s the most embarrassing golf shot I’ve ever hit?

Has Patrick Reed blocked me on Twitter yet?

The post Patrick Reed’s Twitter blocking rampage, a Tiger Woods scare, and the most embarrassing golf shot ever appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.