Thomas sets U.S. Open record

Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods and Patrick Cantlay are among those who picked up their maiden PGA TOUR victory in Las Vegas, home of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin. Will this week bring us the 12th first-time winner in the last 17 years, or will it signal a return to the upper echelon for Jordan Spieth, who will be making his first start here and his first fall TOUR start since October 2015? This marks the third domestic tournament and seventh overall of 43 Regular Season events, to be followed by the reformatted three-event FedExCup Playoffs next August. It’s the strongest field in Las Vegas in years, with Rickie Fowler returning after a two-year absence; Tony Finau; and Bryson DeChambeau still hot after his two FedExCup Playoffs victories last season. Golf Channel will provide live coverage for all four rounds, with the first three rounds starting at 4:30 p.m. ET on Thursday through Saturday. Coverage of the final round will begin at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM will air live starting at 2 p.m. ET for the first two rounds Thursday and Friday, 3 p.m. ET Saturday, and 2 p.m. ET Sunday.  MORE: Tee times Here’s a look at the Featured Groups for the first two rounds (FedExCup ranking in parentheses): Webb Simpson (–) – Led the TOUR last season in rounds of 63 or better (5); THE PLAYERS Championship was his fifth win. Making first start. Won here in 2014. Rickie Fowler (–) – First start after a season in which he didn’t win but had six top-10s, including a Masters runner-up, to finish 17th in FedExCup. Matt Kuchar (–) – First start this season after a down year in which he finished 76th in the FedExCup after just four top-10s in 24 starts. Tee times: Rd. 1 (2:05 p.m. ET); Rd. 2 (9:30 a.m. ET) Kevin Na (70) – T19 at CIMB Classic to start the season; along with playing partner Moore is a past champion (2011) and resident of Vegas. Ryan Moore (10) – Vegas resident and former Shriners champ (2012) sprinted into the new season with playoff runner-up at recent Safeway Open. Tony Finau (7) – One of the hottest players over the last six months, coming off playoff runner-up at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. Tee times: Rd. 1 (2:15 p.m. ET); Rd. 2 (9:40 a.m. ET) Cameron Champ (6) – Long-hitting rookie is coming off his first TOUR win at the Sanderson Farms last week, when he birdied five of the last six holes. Aaron Wise (–) – First start. Named Rookie of the Year on Tuesday after a season in which he won (AT&T Byron Nelson) and was only rookie to make TOUR Championship. Jordan Spieth (–) – First fall TOUR start in three years; hopes to bounce back from rare winless season in which he finished 31st in the FedExCup. Tee times: Rd. 1 (9:30 a.m. ET); Rd. 2 (2:05 p.m. ET) Kevin Tway (4) – Oklahoma State product looks to continue momentum after collecting first TOUR win at the Safeway Open to start this season. Bryson DeChambeau (–) – Biggest story in golf when he won the first two FedExCup Playoffs events last season, he ultimately finished third in the FedExCup. Patrick Cantlay (26) – Career nearly derailed with back problems but delivered on amateur promise with playoff victory in Vegas a year ago. Tee times: Rd. 1 (9:40 a.m. ET); Rd. 2 (2:15 p.m. ET)

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TPC Boston, site of this week's THE NORTHERN TRUST, also is where Adam Scott earned his first PGA TOUR victory. To mark the milestone before the start of the FedExCup Playoffs opener, we compared Scott's bag today to the one he used in 2003. It hasn't changed much since that win 17 years ago. He was just 23 years old when he beat Rocco Mediate by four strokes to collect the first of his 14 PGA TOUR victories. Scott, winner of the 2004 PLAYERS and 2013 Masters, has trusted Titleist equipment since day one, and although he has upgraded his setup with modern tech, the basic setup of his bag looks very similar to how it did in 2003. Few players on TOUR can say the same. Let’s start with the irons that he currently uses, the Titleist 680’s. These irons came out in 2003, but oddly enough, it wasn’t until years later (2014) that Scott put them in play consistently. These irons have more offset, a higher toe, and a bit longer blade length than other Titleist offerings. He did use them for a short time in 2003 but went through a number of Titleist offerings from 2003 to 2013 until finally settling on this set. His wedge setup past the pitching wedge also is similar to the one he used when he won his first TOUR title. Like most players, Scott now uses a 52-, 56- and 60-degree wedge configuration instead of his old 54- and 60-degree gapping. Scott has been a two-metal-wood player for most of his career, preferring some sort of a driving iron to replace a hybrid or a 5-wood. Lastly, and probably the most notable element, is his putter. In 2003, he was a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 player. Now, Scott opts for a broomstick-style, MOI-heavy, mallet putter. This switch was instrumental in the Adelaide native finally triumphing at Augusta National in 2013. Here is a look back at what Scott had in the bag for his first TOUR victory in 2003 and what he has in the bag today. Adam Scott WITB 2003 Driver: Titleist 983K (8.5 degrees) Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 (44 inches) 3-wood: Titleist PT (15 degrees) Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 (42.75 inches) Irons: Titleist 681 (2-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 Wedges: Titleist Vokey (254-10, 260-12) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 (Tri-Sole, 35 inches) Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord Adam Scott WITB as of PGA Championship 2020 Driver: Titleist TS4 (10.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting, 2-gram weight) Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage XTS 80 X 3-wood: Titleist TS2 (16.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Shaft: Fujikura Rombax P95 X Irons: Titleist 716 T-MB (3-iron), Titleist 680 (4-9) Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (48-08F, 52-08F, 56-10S), Vokey Design SM8 WedgeWorks (60-06K) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT Tour Issue X100 Putter: Scotty Cameron Xperimental Prototype Rev X11 (long) Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

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