Cologuard ambassador Jerry Kelly (shoulder) forced to withdraw from Tucson event

The biggest ambassador of Cologuard, the title sponsor of Tucson’s annual PGA Tour Champions golf tournament, had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury.

Jerry Kelly withdrew from the Cologuard Classic on Saturday morning after suffering the injury during his opening round Friday.

Kelly shot a 2-over 73 and was tied for 57th after the first round.

Kelly is sponsored by Cologuard — an at-home colorectal cancer test created by Exact Sciences, a company based in Madison, Wisconsin, Kelly’s hometown. The sponsorship officially started in 2017.

Kelly has never won the Conquistador helmet, but he was a runner-up last year and in 2018, when the tournament was held at Omni Tucson National.

Kelly birdied No. 15 — where “Survivor Central” is located — in all three rounds last year.

“When you get to Survivor Central, and you see the sheer amount of people that this tournament has brought together ... it makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck,” Kelly said before the tournament. “I know exactly what hole I’m on. I know exactly what I want to do.

“The most passionate people on the golf course are right there. That meant an awful lot to me.”

Here comes the sun

The sun came out Saturday, and so did Tucson’s golf fans.

After a chilly, rainy, overcast opening day, Saturday was bathed in Southern Arizona sunshine. The “19th Hole” hospitality area had considerably more foot traffic. Some of the patrons even wore shorts. La Paloma guests could be seen swimming laps in the pool near the clubhouse.

There was still a slight breeze from the west; pullovers and hoodies were the garments of choice as temperatures inched toward the mid-60s.

The forecast for Sunday’s final round: 76 and sunny.

‘Screening Madness’

The clubhouse at La Paloma Country Club houses several sponsor booths during the Cologuard Classic.

One of them, The Blue Hat Foundation, figured out a way to merge its cause with the event that dominates the sporting landscape this month.

The backdrop for the foundation’s booth bears the slogan, “Screening Madness.” It features an image of a basketball going through a hoop in the upper-right corner.

The Blue Hat Foundation is a Chicago-based advocacy group for colorectal cancer awareness. This is the fourth year it has partnered with Madison, Wisconsin-based Exact Sciences at the Cologuard Classic.

Blue Hat Foundation representatives have the number 45 on the back of their long-sleeve T-shirts, the current recommended age for people to be screened.

Putt for dough

Another merger of sorts can be found just a few paces off the 18th green.

That’s where you can play a game that blends golf and Skee-Ball. Instead of rolling a wooden ball up an incline, contestants putt a golf ball up the ramp. If you score at least three points, you win a Cologuard Classic baseball cap.

For every point earned, Exact Sciences will donate a matching amount to colorectal cancer research initiatives. The tote board had exceeded $2,100 by noon Saturday.

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Meet Chloe

When the University of Arizona Cancer Center goes on the road for events like the Cologuard Classic, it brings a prop. And that prop has a name.

“Chloe the Giant Colon” is an arched orange inflatable. It’s about 8 feet tall and features bumps that extend from the interior walls and placards with educational material about colon health. Topics include colorectal cancer, polyps and Crohn’s Disease.

By the numbers

$13,500: Money raised on the opening day of the Cologuard Classic’s “Birdies For Survivors” program. For every birdie tallied on the 15th hole, the tournament is donating $1,500 for colorectal survivors to attend the 2026 Cologuard Classic. Nine birdies were recorded on the 15th hole on Friday. In total, the opening round had 295 birdies, with 43 of them on No. 3 and 42 on No. 11 — both par-5s.

35: Rounds below par on the opening day.

28: Rounds over par on the opening day.

5: Eagles on No. 16, a par-5, on Friday.

6: Birdies in the first nine holes for Alex Cejka, who had four straight birdies from No. 3 to No. 6 on Saturday.

Harrington Gilmore

Swinging a golf club like Happy Gilmore, a fictional movie character played by Adam Sandler, is an ill-advised shot unless you’re PGA Tour Champions golfer Padraig Harrington.

Harrington has been known to use the unorthodox, gather step-to-the-ball shot at events, including the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

With “Happy Gilmore 2” set to release on Netflix in July, Harrington was asked about the “Happy Gilmore shot” and said, “It’s second nature to me, (because) I grew up playing hurling so I’ve never had a second thought about doing a Happy Gilmore, running up, hitting it.” Harrington’s background hurling, “a great Irish sport,” makes it “second nature for us to swing at a ball with a stick, usually with somebody else trying to hit you at the same time,” he said.

“I don’t know if it just builds up a natural confidence with it,” he added.

Harrington has considered “using it in tournament play,” he said.

“I tried to tidy it up a bit,” Harrington said. “So if you look at my old Happy Gilmores, they are full-out 130-mile per hour golf swings. I did try and tidy it up to see if I could maybe use it on the golf course. I could swing faster, but just didn’t quite get the strike of a normal shot so it wasn’t really worth it. I haven’t done one for ages and I do it straight away.”

Harrington recommended younger golfers to work on the Happy Gilmore swing, “because it perfects the right movement in the golf swing, it perfects the right pivot.”

“Everything about it is good for your golf swing,” said Harrington, whose instructional YouTube account has over 180,000 subscribers. “So everybody should try it and do it and their golf swing should be a tidied up version of that.”

“Happy Gilmore 2” “should be a bit of fun,” Harrington said.

“Disappointed they didn’t ask the best person in the world doing a Happy Gilmore to be in it, but there you go,” said Harrington. “Maybe I would have shown ‘em up.”

They said it

“It’s an honor to be a part of it. Jerry Kelly hosting the event, what Cologuard does to support what they’re doing and the mission, it’s quite amazing. The players want to be here and support Cologuard and what they’re doing and be a part of it. It’s a really good vibe at the tournament and it’s a good field, as well; you have a lot of top names here.” — Steven Alker, on playing in the Cologuard Classic (via “Spears & Ali” on ESPN Tucson)

Photos: A chilly opening round of Cologuard Classic