Column: American golf sees a resurgence of youth

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A few generations before Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas were even born, Ford Motor Co. put together a group of golfers known as the "Young Thunderbirds" to promote the rising stars on the PGA Tour.

"We played a lot of practice rounds together," said Johnny Miller, part of that group that included Lanny Wadkins, Jerry Heard, Jim Simon and Grier Jones. "You just push each other, and we separated ourselves from all the other young players."

What caused Miller to think back to the early 1970s was what he saw at East Lake for the Tour Championship, and what he will see this week at Liberty National for the Presidents Cup. The only difference was a car company promotion — and the size of the group.