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Bald eagle makes appearance ahead of PGA Tour event Charles Schwab Challenge

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•05/24/23
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(Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)

A bald eagle made an appearance ahead of this week’s PGA Tour event–the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. The tournament is being played at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth. Steve Hein is one of the top falconry experts across the country. He works for Georgia Southern University and is the Executive Director of their Center for Wildlife Education. Hein brought the Eagles’ mascot, Freedom, to the course on Wednesday to hang out with some of the players, including Garrick Higgo and Michael Block.

Freedom was entertaining PGA Tour players

Check out the cool video as the bald eagle flies around a little bit for the players. The eagle also poses right behind Michael Block for a picture.

There was also another video of Block with the bald eagle, posted below by Noah Bullard of NBC5. According to Bullard, “Freedom” was getting pictures with the players to honor U.S. Military veterans.

Check out the other video below.

Freedom is a male Southern bald Eagle that was found knocked out of the nest in Maitland, Florida. The eagle eventually made a recovery, but it had an injury to its beak that prevented its release into the wild. Georgia Southern University acquired Freedom in 2004, with the permission of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

On Wednesday, Freedom was helping to spread some joy to Block and many members of the PGA Tour.

Block is still riding high after his incredible Top 15 finish in this year’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill (Rochester, New York). Not only that, even more impressive than his Top 15 finish, was the miraculous hole-in-one he hit on the fly. Simply put, draining a hole-in-one directly in the hole like that is a one in trillion type of event. Since he finished in the Top 15 of the 2023 PGA Championship, Block punched his ticket to next year’s PGA Championship.

Last year, Sam Burns won the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge. He overcame a seven-stroke deficit to win. He tied Nick Price (1994) for the largest comeback in a final round. Burns defeated Scottie Scheffler in a playoff. Both players finished at 9-under par for the tournament.

Last week at the PGA Championship, LIV Golf Tour member Brooks Koepka put on a masterful display, finishing 9-under par to bring home his fifth major. He helped to re-ignite the debate of whether or not LIV Golf Tour members should be allowed to play in the Ryder Cup.