Phil minus Bones, Love III in contention

Stewart Cink, the 48-year-old who this week is defending his title at the RBC Heritage, is ranked 50th in driving distance this season, averaging 304.1 yards per tee shot. That’s a significant increase from just two years ago, when he ranked 113th and averaged 295.7 yards off the tee. So how did Cink increase his driving distance even as he nears PGA TOUR Champions eligibility? “I set out to achieve (increased distance) two years ago,” Cink told GolfWRX this week. “That’s something we’ve been focusing on, gaining a little distance. I felt like I was leaving something in the tank. I just wasn’t properly using everything I had at my disposal. Me and my coaches went out and tried to solve that, and two years later, (it worked).” According to Cink, his secret to the distance increase was two-fold. First, he improved his technique as it relates to distance. Then, he optimized his equipment to better suit his improved mechanics. “It’s not like I found a hot driver and could hit it farther, it was definitely technique and form and biomechanics first, and then I got my equipment to be efficient to match that,” Cink told GolfWRX. “Fitting is one thing, but especially if you have optimized mechanics and form.” In a PGATOUR.COM article published earlier this year, Sean Martin went inside Cink’s new-and-improved, distance-focused golf swing. As highlighted, Cink learned that hitting drives with an upward angle of attack was more efficient than hitting drives with a downward angle. Cink moved the golf ball forward in his stance to help make this change. And it worked. “My attack angle went from, say, minus-2 to about plus-2, which is a kind of a big deal in driving these days,” Cink told PGATOUR.COM. “The best drivers and the guys who hit it the farthest … are the ones that attack up. … I wasn’t trying to change my attack angle, but the setup change and the way I was using the bigger muscles in my body on my back swing, I kind of accessed more of the power from stronger areas of my body, and those two changes just resulted in a lot more ball speed and a lot better attack angle.” Then came the equipment adjustments. Prior to his swing changes, Cink was using a Ping G425 Max 10-degree driver that was set to the highest-lofted hosel setting. It’s called “Big Plus,” which relates to the symbol used on the hosel; it equates to an added 1.5 degrees of loft compared to standard on the driver head. Back in 2019, before Cink changed his angle of attack, he was launching the ball only 8.6 degrees, which put him 169th on TOUR in launch angle. That meant Cink needed a bit of extra loft on his driver to keep him from flying the ball even lower. When he changed his swing to hit up on the ball, though, the higher-lofted driver was no longer optimal. He was spinning the ball too much and it was costing him distance. That’s when Ping Tour rep Kenton Oates worked with Cink to help him dial in the driver. Using the same Ping G425 Max 10-degree head model, Oates dialed the hosel into the “Small Minus” setting, which is 1 degree less than standard, and they eventually moved into the “Big Minus” setting (pictured above), which is 1.5 degrees less than standard. Despite the significantly lower lofted setting, Cink’s launch angle went up to 11.5 degrees in 2021 due to his swing changes, putting him T48 in launch angle. From 2020 to 2021, Cink also increased his ball speed from 171.7 mph to 175.1 mph (generally speaking, lower lofts can help increase ball speed; for a more extreme example, imagine the difference between hitting a ball with a 3-iron and a sand wedge). As a result, Cink went from averaging 295.7 yards in the 2020 season, to 306.6 yards last season. Although Harbour Town Golf Links isn’t known for its demanding length, it’s never a bad thing to have a little more distance in the tank when it’s needed. For the millions of aging golfers who are looking to increase their distance and hit the longest drives of their lives, follow the Cink model. First, figure out a technique and setup that can help you launch the ball higher. Then, find a driver to match those new delivery patterns. It worked for Cink, and it can work for you, too.

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The last stop in California will take place in Pacific Pallisades for The Genesis Invitational played at the Riviera Country Club. The course will play as a par 71, measuring 7,322 yards and will again be putt on poa annua greens. The field welcomes back top-ranked players like Dustin Johnson (+550, $11,300), Jon Rahm (+1200, $10,400), Bryson DeChambeau (+1700, $10,100) and Collin Morikawa (+3300, $9,500). One notable not in the field is Tiger Woods, who's hosting and will be in attendance but won't be playing as he is still recovering from his back surgery. This week will also have a smaller field at 121 golfers. Similar to Torrey Pines a couple of weeks ago, the chances of getting entire lineups through the cut is higher with fewer players in the field. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Flop Shot [$300K to 1st] STRATEGY Even with no water hazards on the course, Genesis has played difficult, ranking inside the top 10 in scoring relative to par over the past few seasons. The fairways are tough to hit, recording close to a 7% less hit rate than the TOUR average. These are also tough to hit greens registering about an 8% fewer green hit in regulation rate than the TOUR average due to the smaller than average, undulating greens, which have many runoff areas. Because of this, Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (ARG) becomes more important than usual. We've seen winners here gain an average of 2.41 strokes ARG over the past six years. The par-3 sixth hole is famous for its bunker in the middle of the green, and the par-4 10th hole is arguably the best driveable par 4 on TOUR, but the novelty wears off with how difficult this course has played in years past, especially on the closing eight holes. The closing nine could contribute to why we've only seen eight golfers since 2000 go on to win after leading in the third round. Like Torrey Pines, Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green with a lean toward golfers who have distance off-the-tee are golfers we should be considering. Even though it's not a long course, past winners include Johnson, Bubba Watson (+5000, $8,900) and J.B. Holmes (+27500, $6,500), who all finished inside the top 20 in driving distance at the end of the year they won. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Xander Schauffele (+1600 to Win, $9,900 on DraftKings) The fact Xander hasn't won since the Sentry Tournament of Champions in 2019 is remarkable given he's finished second seven times from then to now. More recently, he's got four runner-ups in his last eight tournaments, so it's only a matter of time until he wins again. Schauffele routinely plays well in California and putts great on poa annua, ranking top 20 over his previous 50 rounds. Xander's roster percentage could get out of hand this week, per usual, and if it does, we should be going with Patrick Cantlay (+1800, $9,600) as a potential contrarian play. Cantlay has a stellar record in California and has a solid history at similar courses like Augusta National and Muirfield Village. He's also played well at Riviera CC and just finished third last week and second the previous week. The excitement of having the top players in the same field could allow Cantlay to fly under the radar. Cantlay has gained a total of 18.2 strokes tee-to-green in his previous two starts and could be a "steal" if his roster percentage is single-digits at tee-off. Marc Leishman (+7000 to Win, $8,600 on DraftKings) Leishman looks to be back in form with a great start to the season, finishing fourth at the Sony Open and 18th at the Farmers Insurance Open. With two top 5s here since 2016, Leishman will want to follow in in his fellow countryman Adam Scott's footsteps and has the game to do it. Riviera CC is a classical American course that rewards a great tee-to-green game, and Leishman is gaining an average of 1.8 strokes tee-to-green and 2.3 strokes with his approach over his previous five tournaments. Leishman is another player who's historically done well in California and could keep it going this week at a course that should suit him well. Another Australian, Cameron Smith (+10000, $8,400), makes the list this week, and rightfully so. Smith is one of the TOUR's best poa putters, ranking 10th in Strokes Gained: Putting over the previous 50 rounds. A near win at Augusta National proved Smith is ready to take a big step forward this season. Even though he's lost strokes with his irons in three-straight events, they've gotten better losing less each event. A top 10 here in 2019 should help him navigate Riviera CC, but he hasn't played since the Farmers Insurance Open, and we've seen past winners here play at TPC Scottsdale or Pebble Beach, which is something to keep in mind. Talor Gooch (+17500 to Win, $7,200 on DraftKings) Gooch has been a little shaky to start the year but sets up nicely with how well he plays in California with top finishes over his career during the West Coast swing. Like Leishman, Gooch is another player who has done well on the correlated courses. Riviera CC will demand efficiency on long par 4s measuring between 450 to 500 yards, and Gooch has done well over his previous 24 rounds, ranking 37th in the field. Dylan Frittelli (+20000, $7,000) is another player in this range who could do well this week. He missed the cut here last season but finished in 28th place the prior year, gaining 2.7 strokes with his irons and 2.6 on these fast poa annua greens. Frittelli seems to have a knack for these courses with a top 25 at Muirfield Village and Quail Hollow, along with a top 5 last Augusta National back in November. Michael Thompson (+25000 to Win, $6,700 on DraftKings) We shouldn't spend too much time in this range with all the firepower up top, but if you decide to venture into this range, Thompson is someone to consider with how he plays courses similar to Riviera CC. He also finished T7 here back in 2019 and ranks 36th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green over his previous 12 rounds. Thompson played well at Pebble Beach last week, gaining 2.3 strokes off-the-tee and 4.45 with his irons, but lost nearly three strokes around-the-green en route to his T34 finish. His short-game troubles may hurt him here if he's not accurate with his ball-striking, so tread lightly, especially in this range. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Flop Shot [$300K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. 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