Manning to headline Phoenix Open lunch

Peyton Manning, who led the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos to Super Bowl championships, will be the headline speaker at the Waste Management Phoenix Open Tee-Off Luncheon Dec. 13 at The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale.

Derrick Hall, president and CEO of the Diamondbacks, will serve as emcee for this annual event that is hosted by the Thunderbirds.

Manning was named MVP of the NFL five times. He holds league records for career passing yards (71,940), passing yards in a single season (5,477), career passing touchdowns (539) and passing touchdowns in a single season (55). Additionally, Manning was named to 14 Pro Bowls. He is the only starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two different teams.

The 2018 Phoenix Open will be at TPC Scottsdale Jan. 29–Feb. 4.

Tickets for the luncheon are $150 or $1,500 for a table of 10. Information: www.phoenixchamber.com/wmpo.

Presidents Cup down under

The PGA Tour announced that the dates for the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne will be Dec. 12-15, two days later than the conclusion of the matches the first time it went to Australia in 1998.

Still to be determined is the cutoff for qualifying for the team, and when to announce the captains’ picks.

This will be the fourth time the Presidents Cup goes to the Southern Hemisphere, but the first since the PGA Tour went to a wraparound season.

This year, the 10 automatic spots were determined on Sept. 4 after the second FedEx Cup playoff event — three weeks ahead of the matches. If the cutoff is the Tour Championship in 2019 — that presumably will be Labor Day — then the U.S. team would be set three months before the opening tee shot.

When the PGA Tour first took the Presidents Cup to Australia, the cutoff for qualifying was the Tour Championship. But that was on Nov. 1, just five weeks ahead of the Presidents Cup.

What to expect in 2019? Tour officials have not begun discussions. It wouldn’t make any sense to decide a team three months before the Presidents Cup. Then again, it could lead players to add fall events to the schedule to avoid being left off.

LPGA mantra

The slogan for the LPGA Tour is “See Why It’s Different.” But there’s another one at LPGA Tour headquarters, mainly used internally, that might be even more meaningful.

Heather Daly-Donofrio, the chief communications and operations officer, signs off her emails with “Act Like a Founder.”

“It’s part of our internal culture,” he said. “We’re here because of our 13 founders, and our job is to carry that forward

with the same grit and determination. Everyone has really latched onto it.” It’s more than just a motto.

For the last four years, the staff nominates an employee for the “Act Like a Founder” award, and the management team chooses the winner. The staff member is honored at the holiday party, gets a plaque signed by the living founders and wins a trip to the Founders Cup, where they go to the dinner honoring pioneers.

“For the people who have won it,” Daly-Donofrio said, “it’s emotional when they get it.”

Chip shots

» Michelle Wie is sufficiently healed from her appendectomy and plans to play the final six LPGA Tour events. Five of them are in Asia, starting next week in South Korea, wrapped up by the CME Group Tour Championship in Florida.

» Dustin Johnson finished at No. 3 on the PGA Tour money list last season. But he led the tour in average earnings per start at $436,610 in his 20 tournaments.

» Americans won 33 of the 48 events on the PGA Tour this year, up from 24 out of 47 the previous year.