Quail Hollow connection grows deeper for Fowler, McIlroy

Tiger Woods won two of his three Open Championships at St. Andrews, finishing a combined 13 shots ahead of the field in 2000 and 2005. This week, he’s back at the Old Course for what may be his final opportunity to add another victory at the course that he says is his unrivaled favorite in the game. He’s pulling out all the stops to try and win one last time at St. Andrews. That includes four tweaks to his equipment setup before play gets underway Thursday. RELATED: Is it one last dance for Tiger Woods and St. Andrews? In Woods’ last tournament, the PGA Championship in May, he was using a 9-degree TaylorMade Stealth Plus driver equipped with a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60TX shaft. He’d been using that shaft since 2018, but he has a new one in his driver this week. On Tuesday, Woods was using a Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X shaft in his TaylorMade Stealth Plus driver. Woods also has a new shaft in his P770 3-iron, switching from True Temper’s new Dynamic Gold MID Tour Issue X100 shafts. The MID shaft was launched in 2022 and is designed for slightly higher spin and launch angles compared to the True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts he uses in his TaylorMade P-7TW irons (4-PW). On Tuesday, Woods had a TaylorMade M3 5-wood and a P770 3-iron in the bag, opting for the fairway wood over a 2-iron. The P770 3-iron, however, is now equipped with a True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shaft. According to a TaylorMade representative, Woods changed shafts in the driving iron because the MID version was “going too high.” Woods has also made adjustment to his short-game setup to deal with the unique characteristics of links golf. St. Andrews is playing firm and fast but the greens are slower than American players are accustomed to. In fact, the fairways may be running faster than St. Andrews’ large, sloping putting surfaces. If they get too fast, then there’s the threat of play being delayed because balls can’t remain still on the putting surface. Woods was using two TaylorMade Milled Grind 3 Raw wedges, a 56- and 60-degree. The MG3 Raws are newer models of the MG2 TW-Grind wedges he used at the Masters. This week, it appears Woods is playing a combination of the two wedge setups. Taking a closer look at photos taken by GolfWRX on Tuesday, it appears Woods is using an MG2 56-degree wedge (which has a raw face but a chrome finish on the rest of the head), and an MG3 Raw 60-degree wedge (which doesn’t have a finish at all). As for his putter, Woods has added lead tape to the back cavity of his Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS at The Open. This change is common for Woods when he plays in the Open Championship, as the extra weight helps induce a heavier strike on the typically slower greens overseas, and it can also help add face awareness and stability in the wind. See below for Woods’ expected equipment setup for this week at the Old Course: Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X 3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Titanium (15 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70T X 5-wood: TaylorMade M3 (19 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3-iron), TaylorMade P-7TW (4-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 (56 degrees), TaylorMade MG3 Raw (60 degrees) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS prototype Ball: 2022 Bridgestone Tour B XS Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

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The second round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide takes place today from Muirfield Village. Here’s everything you need to know to follow Friday’s action. Round 2 tee times Round 2 leaderboard HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12:30-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, noon-2:15 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7:15 a.m.-6 p.m. ET (featured groups). Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (featured groups), 2:30-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 11:15 to 22:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 12:30 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6:30 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). FEATURED GROUPS Tiger Woods/Justin Rose/Bryson DeChambeau Tee time: 1:16 p.m. ET, No. 1 Phil Mickelson/Rickie Fowler/Matt Kuchar Tee time: 8:26 p.m. ET, No. 10 Rory McIlroy/Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas Tee time: 1:05 p.m. ET, No. 1 Hideki Matsuyama/Jason Day/Adam Scott Tee time: 8:15 a.m. ET, No. 10 MUST READS Tiger shoots 2-under 70 despite being off rhythm Moore’s putting leads to first round 65 Spieth scrambles to opening round 66 Cauley returns to Memorial success after car crash Mickelson explains why he’s using two drivers this week How Nicklaus built a masterpiece at Muirfield Cut prediction CALL OF THE DAY

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