6C z THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2019 z USA TODAY SPORTS
WEATHER ONLINE
WEATHER USATODAY.COMTODAY’S FORECAST TODAY’S HIGH TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION FORECASTBelow 10 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110+T-storms Rain Snow Ice/mixU.S. CITIESTOP TRAVEL CITIESWORLD CITIESATLANTA CHARLOTTE DENVER HOUSTONMIAMI NEW YORK PHOENIX SAN FRANCISCOBALTIMORE CHICAGO DETROIT LAS VEGASMPLS-ST. PAUL ORLANDO SALT LAKE CITY SEATTLEBOSTON DALLAS/FT. WORTH HONOLULU LOS ANGELESNEW ORLEANS PHILADELPHIA SAN DIEGO WASHINGTONAQI AQI AQI AQI AQI AQI AQI AQI AQI AQI AQI AQIAir quality index (AQI)c Cloudy f Fog i Ice r Rain sf Snowflurries sn Snow w Windy dr Drizzle h Haze pc Partly cloudy s Sunny sh Showers t ThunderstormsWashington
77Cheyenne
44Casper
32Jackson
Hole
34Milwaukee
38
Madison
35Charleston
72Seattle
Olympia 52 52 Spokane
41Richmond
80Burlington(^66) Montpelier
63
Salt Lake City
43
St. George
58
Dallas/Ft. Worth
52
Brownsville
57
Lubbock
55
Midland-
Odessa
56
El Paso
59 Austin 56
San Antonio
58 Houston
55
Nashville
52
Memphis
45
Knoxville
69
Rapid City
(^47) Pierre
46
Sioux Falls
43
Charleston
84
Columbia
85
Harrisburg
74
Philadelphia
74
Pittsburgh
66
Burns
51
Bend
58
Portland
Salem 53
54
OklahomaCity
49
Tulsa
48
Cincinnati
58
Cleveland
64
Columbus
63
Fargo
42
Bismarck
43
Raleigh
Charlotte^80
81
Buffalo
62 Albany
70
New York
71
Albuquerque
50
Santa Fe
48
Reno
57 Elko 51
Carson City
58
Las Vegas
61
Omaha
43
North Platte
48
Billings
39
Miles City
41
Helena
36
Kansas City
41
Jefferson City
39
St. Louis
38
Jackson
51
Mpls-St. Paul
40
Duluth
38
Detroit
51
Marquette
35
Lansing
43
Grand
Rapids
40
Boston
69
Annapolis
73
Bangor
63
Augusta
63
Baton Rouge
54
Shreveport
51
New
Orleans
62
Louisville
55
Topeka
44
Wichita
Dodge City 51 48
Des Moines
41
Indianapolis
45
Chicago
36
34
Boise
44
Idaho Falls
34
Atlanta
72
Savannah
87
Tallahassee
83
Jacksonville
89
Tampa
88
Miami
89
Hartford
69
Denver
Aspen 41 44
San Francisco
72
Palm Springs
76
Los Angeles
79
Sacramento
73
Fresno
70
Eureka
59
San Diego
77
Little Rock
Phoenix 76 49
Flagstaff
50
Birmingham
67
Montgomery
73
Mobile
Honolulu^71
87
San Juan
86
Anchorage
43
Juneau
45
Fairbanks
29
Puerto Rico
Hawaii
Alaska
A strong storm system will
strengthen further as it moves
through the Great Lakes to-
day. Drenching rain will extend
from the Southeast into the
eastern Great Lakes into the
Northeast.
A swath of torrential
rain and some thunder-
storms will sweep across the
Appalachians and upstate
New York into New England.
Accumulating snow will fall
through the western Great
Lakes.
Very strong winds will
also sweep across the Great
Lakes and Ohio Valley into
the Northeast and Mid-Atlan-
tic
threat will begin to subside in
Gusty winds and the fire
Southern California.
Akron, Ohio 66/31r 46/29w
Albany, N.Y. 70/48r 52/32w
Albuquerque 50/25s 59/28s
Allentown, Pa. 72/44r 54/30w
Amarillo, Texas 55/30s 54/24s
Anaheim, Calif. 82/47w 82/49s
Anchorage, Alaska 43/40sh 47/43sh
Aspen, Colo. 41/14s 39/9s
Atlantic City, N.J. 71/51sh 58/42w
Augusta, Ga. 85/42c 66/36s
Austin, Texas 56/29s 64/38s
70/38s 72/41s
Baton Rouge, La. 54/34t 59/39s
Billings, Mont. 39/25c 39/25s
Birmingham, Ala. 67/33r 55/34s
Bismarck, N.D. 43/29s 38/24c
Boise, Idaho 44/22pc 48/24s
Buffalo, N.Y. 62/37r 43/33w
Burlington, Vt. 66/49r 49/32r
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 36/19c 40/25c
Charleston, S.C. 84/52c 66/46pc
Charleston, W.Va. 72/31r 48/29s
Cheyenne, Wyo. 44/23s 32/15s
Beijing 73/41h 64/47c
Buenos Aires 71/60s 74/65c
Cancun, Mexico 86/76t 87/76t
Dubai, UAE 97/79s 92/77s
Frankfurt 48/32s 50/48sh
Hong Kong 83/73c 83/74s
Istanbul 67/57c 61/52r
Jerusalem 71/59s 69/58pc
Johannesburg 80/57t 77/56c
London 53/49c 61/49sh
Mexico City 67/50t 71/55pc
Montreal 60/43r 45/27r
Moscow 28/24c 33/29sn
Mumbai, India 93/81h 91/78h
Paris 55/49c 61/55r
Rio de Janeiro 92/78s 84/74pc
Rome 71/56t 70/56pc
Seoul 70/42s 63/43s
Singapore 88/77t 87/78t
Sydney 82/64h 79/66s
Toronto 53/37sh 44/33w
Tokyo 69/59pc 70/57s
Cincinnati 58/27r 47/30s
Cleveland 64/35r 46/30w
Colorado Springs 45/26s 37/14s
Columbia, S.C. 85/44c 65/37s
Columbus, Ohio 63/28r 46/29pc
Corpus Christi, Texas 59/39pc 66/49s
Dayton, Ohio 57/26r 46/28s
Daytona Beach, Fla. 90/68pc 76/70pc
Des Moines, Iowa 41/26pc 45/28c
Duluth, Minn. 38/26s 40/26sn
Durham, N.C. 78/43c 58/37s
El Paso, Texas 59/35s 69/39s
Fairbanks, Alaska 29/19c 31/22sf
Flagstaff, Ariz. 50/13s 59/20s
Fargo, N.D. 42/29s 40/25c
Fort Myers, Fla. 90/73pc 89/71pc
Fort Smith, Ark. 48/28s 58/33s
Fort Wayne, Ind. 48/23r 44/27pc
Fresno, Calif. 70/41s 73/42s
Grand Rapids, Mich. 40/29r 43/32c
Green Bay, Wis. 38/23sn 41/29c
Greensboro, N.C. 76/39t 58/35s
Greenville, S.C. 75/36t 60/37s
Harrisburg, Pa. 74/44r 55/33w
Hartford, Conn. 69/52r 59/31w
Indianapolis 45/25r 45/28s
Islip, N.Y. 69/49r 57/36w
Jackson, Miss. 51/31t 55/34s
Jacksonville, Fla. 89/57pc 66/55c
Jefferson City, Mo. 39/27w 54/31s
Kansas City 41/26pc 48/30c
Key West, Fla. 87/80pc 86/80pc
Knoxville, Tenn. 69/31t 53/31s
Laredo, Texas 63/43pc 71/49s
Lexington, Ky. 63/29t 49/30s
Lincoln, Neb. 43/25pc 47/27c
Little Rock, Ark. 49/29pc 55/34s
Long Beach, Calif. 82/49s 82/50s
Louisville, Ky. 55/29r 50/31s
Lubbock, Texas 55/28s 64/25s
Madison, Wis. 35/19sn 39/28c
Manchester, N.H. 68/58r 59/32r
Memphis, Tenn. 45/30r 53/34s
Milwaukee 38/23sn 40/33c
Mobile, Ala. 71/35t 60/38s
Modesto, Calif. 71/35s 73/36s
Montgomery, Ala. 73/33t 61/35s
Myrtle Beach, S.C. 80/53pc 63/47pc
Nags Head, N.C. 74/58c 60/53c
Nashville, Tenn. 52/30sh 51/31s
Newark, N.J. 72/48r 58/38w
New Haven, Conn. 70/52r 60/34w
Norfolk, Va. 83/52c 60/50pc
Oakland, Calif. 73/42s 71/42s
Oklahoma City 49/27s 59/27s
Omaha, Neb. 43/29pc 44/28c
Palm Springs, Calif. 76/46s 81/52s
Pensacola, Fla. 77/39t 62/43s
Pierre, S.D. 46/29s 43/23w
Pittsburgh 66/35r 45/26w
Portland, Maine 63/57r 58/33r
Portland, Ore. 53/33pc 58/35s
Providence, R.I. 69/55r 59/34r
Raleigh, N.C. 80/45c 60/37s
Rapid City, S.D. 47/25s 38/19w
Reno, Nev. 57/24s 61/28s
Richmond, Va. 80/46c 58/37s
Rochester, N.Y. 66/39r 47/35sh
Sacramento, Calif. 73/35s 73/36s
San Antonio 58/33s 63/39s
San Jose, Calif. 75/43s 75/46s
Santa Fe, N.M. 48/18s 55/21s
Sarasota, Fla. 89/73pc 87/70t
Savannah, Ga. 87/51pc 66/47s
Scottsdale, Ariz. 75/45s 79/49s
Shreveport, La. 51/30pc 58/35s
Sioux Falls, S.D. 43/28s 43/26c
South Bend, Ind. 42/25r 43/31pc
Spokane, Wash. 41/22s 43/25s
41/24pc 55/31s
34/21sf 48/30pc
St. Louis 38/26sf 52/32s
St. Petersburg, Fla. 89/72pc 82/71t
Syracuse, N.Y. 68/40r 47/33sh
Tallahassee, Fla. 83/45pc 66/45pc
Tampa, Fla. 88/71pc 82/69t
Toledo, Ohio 54/30r 47/30w
Topeka, Kan. 44/25pc 51/29pc
Tucson, Ariz. 75/46s 80/50s
Tupelo, Miss. 49/30c 53/32s
Tulsa, Okla. 48/29s 58/30s
Virginia Beach, Va. 78/54pc 59/48pc
Wichita, Kan. 48/27pc 54/29s
Wilmington, Del. 74/45r 56/34s
Winston-Salem, N.C. 75/38t 57/34s
Worcester, Mass. 66/51r 51/32w
TODAY FRI TODAY FRI TODAY FRI TODAY FRI
TODAY FRI
AQI
THU T-storms 7 2/
FRI Sunny, cooler
58/
SAT Some sun
60/
Good AQI
THU T-storms 8 1/
FRI Cooler 6 0/
SAT Mostly sunny
64/
Good AQI
THU Sunny, chilly
44/
FRI Mostly sunny
35/
SAT Sunny, chilly
44/
Good AQI
THU Turning sunny
55/
FRI Plenty of sun
61/
SAT Partly sunny
65/
Good
THU Shower 8 9/
FRI Shower, t-storm
89/
SAT Shower, t-storm
88/
Good
THU Warm with rain
71/
FRI Cooler 5 7/
SAT Mostly sunny
54/
Good
THU Sunny, cool
76/
FRI Sunny, nice
79/
SAT Plenty of sun
85/
Moderate
THU Sunny 7 2/
FRI Sunny 6 9/
SAT Sunny 7 2/
Moderate
AQI
THU Rain ending
76/
FRI Cooler 5 7/
SAT Mostly sunny
57/
Good AQI
THU Snow, 1 -3”
36/
FRI Partly sunny
41/
SAT Mostly cloudy
39/
Good AQI
THU Cool with rain
51/
FRI Windy 4 6/
SAT Rain, snow
44/
Good AQI
THU Sunny, cool
61/
FRI Sunny 6 9/
SAT Sunny, nice
70/
Moderate
THU Mostly sunny
40/
FRI Cloudy 4 2/
SAT Mostly cloudy
41/
Good
THU Partly sunny
92/
FRI T-storm 8 2/
SAT Showers 8 7/
Good
THU Sunny 4 3/
FRI Sunny, chilly
46/
SAT Sunny, chilly
49/
Good
THU Partly sunny
52/
FRI Sunny 5 4/
SAT Partly sunny
55/
Moderate
AQI
THU Rain, breezy
69/
FRI Morning rain
59/
SAT Mostly sunny
52/
Good AQI
THU Brisk, cold
52/
FRI Mostly sunny
61/
SAT Mostly sunny
58/
Good AQI
THU A P.M. shower
87/
FRI Partly sunny
86/
SAT Sunny, nice
88/
Good AQI
THU Sunny 7 9/
FRI Sunny, nice
80/
SAT Plenty of sun
82/
Unhealthy s/g
THU T-storms 6 2/
FRI Sunny, cool
58/
SAT Partly sunny
62/
Good
THU Rain, breezy
74/
FRI Cooler 5 6/
SAT Mostly sunny
56/
Good
THU Sunny, windy
77/
FRI Sunny 7 6/
SAT Sunny 7 6/
Good
THU Rain ending
77/
FRI Cooler 5 7/
SAT Mostly sunny
57/
Good
TODAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
TODAY FRI
EXTREMES
Note: For contiguous
48 states through
3 p.m. ET yesterday
HOTTEST:
9 2°
Fort Myers, Fla.
COLDEST:
-27°
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather Inc. ©2019 Jeffrey City, Wyo.
Focus on what matters to you.
Download our free app and try My Topics.
Joseph Bramlett had a plastic club in
his crib and a poster of Tiger Woods
winning the 1997 Masters pinned to his
bedroom wall. He dreamed of playing
the PGA Tour, and by 22 he did just that.
But just like Woods, Bramlett suf-
fered from crippling back pain that
robbed him of several years of his career
and had him considering quitting the
game. Bramlett is a determined man
and he persevered, pushing those
thoughts to the back recesses of his
mind.
“If you let go of your dream,” Bramlett
said, “that’s pretty serious.”
Bramlett now is 31, one of four Afri-
can Americans on the PGA Tour. He is
three tournaments into his sophomore
season after earning one of 25 Tour
cards for the 2019-20 season awarded
through a three-event playoff in August.
On the eve of the kickoff event, A Mil-
itary Tribute at The Greenbrier, Bram-
lett looked out the window of the land-
mark white-columned spring house
that serves as the main resort in White
Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and
said to his swing instructor, “I can’t be-
lieve the PGA Tour is right outside and I
get to play in it tomorrow.”
For Bramlett, every week feels like
Christmas morning with a new present
under the tree. He is making his fourth
start of the season this week at the inau-
gural Bermuda Championship at Port
Royal Golf Club. During the past decade,
he’s gone from expectations of being the
next Tiger Woods to a forgotten man and
back to the place where he feels he al-
ways belonged.
Joseph Bramlett, who played a prac-
tice round in the 2010 U.S. Open with
Woods, dealt with back trouble, too.
In 2002, Bramlett became the young-
est player at the time to qualify for the
U.S. Amateur. He was an All-American
at Stanford while leading the school to
the 2007 national championship, and in
late 2010, he became the first African
American to advance through PGA Tour
Qualifying School since Adrian Stills in
- The similarities to Tiger Woods –
right down to the Nike endorsement
contract – drew favorable comparisons.
But Bramlett finished No. 196 on the 2011
money list and was demoted to the Korn
Ferry Tour. He dropped out of the top 25
in the last event and failed to earn a pro-
motion.
“I thought I was going right back to
the PGA Tour,” he said. “It was a pretty
big letdown when I didn’t get it done.”
On July 1, 2013, his back went out and
that’s where the real journey began for
Bramlett. He remembers hitting a few
soft lob wedges on a range in Utah when
he felt a searing pain in his lower back.
“My whole body felt like it was on
fire,” he said.
Bramlett spent six weeks on the floor
at home, crawling to the kitchen to get
food. He was diagnosed with an annular
tear to his L-4/L-5 disk, the two lowest
vertebrae of the lumbar spine.
“I just wanted a doctor to open me up
and fix me,” Bramlett said. “That would
have been amazing.”
He consulted 15 spine specialists,
who all agreed that his best option was
to insert a steel rod. There was only one
problem: that would eliminate his abil-
ity to rotate and effectively end his golf
career.
“I could at least get around, but I
wanted to play golf. This is what I do,” he
said.
So he endured an 18-month healing
process only to end up back on the floor
every time he began playing golf again.
He made only three starts during a
41 ⁄ 2 -year span from July 2013 through
January 2018.
“My back was a ticking time bomb,”Bramlett said.
In 2016, Bramlett began working with
John Scott Rattan, a teaching profes-
sional at Congressional Country Club in
Bethesda, Maryland, and they rebuilt
his swing.
“His power source, his engine, if you
will, wasn’t in the right place,” Rattan
said, noting Bramlett created a reverse
spine angle that put excessive pressure
on his lower back. “In the past, he
worked on the symptom that his back
hurt, but so often when you’re looking at
back pain, the back is the victim, not the
culprit.”
“We hit a lot of balls bare foot,” Bram-
lett said. “Applying the proper pressure
to the ground and adjusting how I use
my hips and turn my pelvis has made all
the difference. Once I mastered those
two things, the back pain was gone.”
In 2018, Bramlett was on the verge of
regaining his PGA Tour card until the
last Korn Ferry Tour event of the regular
season when he dropped out of the top
25 again. Initially, Bramlett suffered the
disappointment of being so close to his
goal and yet still so far away. But in re-
flection, he realized he’d played a full
season, including the last 13 weeks in a
row, without any pain.
“I proved I could do it,” he said.
And now he’s living his dream again
on the PGA Tour and with thoughts of
victory swimming in his head.
Said Bramlett: “I grew up dreaming of
being the best player in the world and
winning major championships and
that’s still how I feel.”Healthy Bramlett back in groove
Adam Schupak
Golfweek | USA TODAY Network
Joseph
Bramlett
tied for
14th in A
Military
Tribute at
The
Greenbrier
in the
2019-
PGA Tour
season
opener.
ROB CARR/
GETTY
IMAGESPGA Tour
Bermuda Championship
Site:Southampton, Bermuda.
Course:Port Royal GC
Yardage:6,828. Par:71.
Television (ET):Thursday-Sat-
urday, 12:30-4:30 p.m. (Golf ); Sun-
day, 12:30-3:30 p.m. (Golf ).
Purse:$3 million
Winner’s share:$540,
Notes:Lanto Griffin is playing
for the first time since his victory in
the Houston Open three weeks ago.
He remains atop the FedExCup
standings. ... Three former major
champions – Davis Love III (
PGA Championship), Mike Weir
(2003 Masters) and Trevor Immel-
man (2008 Masters) – are playing.
... Love is playing his first regular
PGA Tour event since the Zurich
Classic in New Orleans in April. He
plans to play the next two events,
concluding with the RSM Classic
that he hosts at Sea Island. ... This
is the second straight tournament
to make its debut on the PGA Tour
schedule, following the Tour’s first
official event in Japan at the Zozo
Championship. ... Bermuda is
among six countries on the PGA
Tour’s fall schedule, joining the
United States, South Korea, Japan,
China and Mexico.PGA Tour Champions
Invesco QQQ Championship
Site:Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Course:Sherwood CC
Yardage:7,059. Par:72.
TV (ET): Friday-Saturday,
4:30-8 p.m. (Golf ); Sunday, 3:30-
p.m. (Golf ).
Purse:$2 million
Winner’s share:$305,
Charles Schwab Cup leader:
Scott McCarron.
Notes:McCarron leads 52 play-
ers who have advanced to the sec-
ond of three stages in the Charles
Schwab Cup playoffs. ... Jerry Kelly
is the only player with a chance to
catch McCarron for the Schwab
Cup, trailing by $252,500 with
points worth double in the postsea-
son.- The Associated Press
TOUR EVENTS