- Matt Kuchar Wins Barclays Playoff
- Battle of the Belt Buckles on the 1st Tee
- Make it, Make a Million
- Swap Shirts, Help Lives
- Hanging out at the 15th
- The Caddie
- Fun at the Five and Dime
- Ryder Cup wildcard auditions
- Scenes from a Driving Range
- The Barclays Round One
- Interview with John Wesolowski
- Interview with Robert E Diamond Jr
- Tiger Woods
- The Barclays Pro-Am Story
- Interview with David Reasoner
- Birdies for the Brave
Birdies for the Brave
Paramus, N.J - Heroes. Battle. Attack. Defend. The words of war and conflict have all too easily been adopted by sports to glamorize nothing more than the playing of trivial games. But some people take on these words for real. All too easily, commentators and athletes talk about the next game or race or tournament being a "do or die scenario". Players talk flippantly about giving their right arm for a chance to win the Super Bowl or the Masters or to represent their country. Sergeant Jeff Combs of the US Marine Corps gave his right arm serving his country in Iraq. On Tuesday, he hit balls with Phil Mickelson off the former USS Intrepid into the Hudson River in New York City. Mickelson is a golfing hero. Sergeant Combs is the real thing.
The Barclays at Ridgewood Country Club, Paramus, NJ, kicks off the FedExCup Playoffs but it is also embracing Military Appreciation Week. Mickelson's charity Birdies for the Brave has raised $5.2 million since it was adopted by the PGA Tour in 2005. Mickelson and his wife, Amy, hatched the idea to help seriously injured servicemen and women and the families of those who have lost sons and daughters. Sergeant Combs said he played a couple of games of golf before his left arm was blown off but he likes golf more now because it's more of a challenge. "If someone tells me I can't do it, I'm gonna go and show them I can," he said. "I've seen a lot of guys with two arms who can't play this game," he said laughing.
Sports stars are often talked about as role models. Sergeant Combs' is an inspiration with his positive attitude in the face of a life-changing injury. "I'm just a regular guy went overseas in his twenties and got blown up," he said. "I'm not a hero." Mickelson, Sergeant Combs and Barclays president Robert E Diamond Jr hit balls off the deck of the Intrepid at a floating green 100 yards away in the Hudson. It didn't take long to spot which one was the sporting hero, which was the real hero, and which one has clearly been conducting too many meetings in the board room.
Diamond and Mickelson both hit the target and Barclays donated $50,000 to help more people like Sergeant Combs.
As part of Military Appreciation Week, Diamond announced: "All military and veterans will have free admission to The Barclays." There will also be a free Patriots' Outpost throughout the tournament for serving military and veterans and their families. On Wednesday, 54 military caddies will carry a tour pro's bag up the 18th during the pro-am. On Thursday and Friday, members of the military will announce the players onto the 1st and 10th tee, and there will be a Welcome Home ceremony on Sunday.
As part of the Birdies for the Brave charity, Mickelson is donating $100 for every birdie he makes this season and $500 for eagles. Some of the money raised goes towards Homes for Our Troops, which builds new homes and adapts existing homes for veterans returning from combat with serious injuries and disabilities. "We have these soldiers that are fighting for our lives," Mickelson said. "Some come back and have their quality of life altered through disabilities. Homes For Out Troops can help improve that quality of life for these soldiers and their families. The Barclays is the first event of the Playoffs but this is also a way to show how much the military means to us. They are putting their lives on the line to protect our freedom."
Master of ceremony on the Intrepid was CBS golf analyst David Feherty. He spoke about the importance of treating as normal those with disabilities. "They have lost arms or legs but they have not lost their minds," Feherty said. He invited Mickelson to attempt to hit one-handed like Sergeant Combs. Mickelson shanked it. So maybe Sergeant Combs is a sporting hero, too.
