Phil’s win make Masters a little more interesting

How the field qualified for the Farmers Insurance Open as of 1/17/2020: Check here for updates. Winner – PGA/U.S. Open Championship Jason Day Jordan Spieth Jimmy Walker Gary Woodland Winner – THE PLAYERS Championship Rickie Fowler Rory McIlroy Winner – The Masters Patrick Reed Tiger Woods Winner – The Open Championship Francesco Molinari Winner – TOUR Championship (2017 & 2018) Xander Schauffele Winner – World Golf Championships Event Hideki Matsuyama Phil Mickelson Justin Rose Bubba Watson Winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard & the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide (Last 3 Years) Jason Dufner Marc Leishman Tournament Winner in Past Two Seasons Keegan Bradley Cameron Champ Austin Cook Dylan Frittelli Brice Garnett Lanto Griffin Jim Herman J.B. Holmes Max Homa Billy Horschel Charles Howell III Sung Kang Patton Kizzire Russell Knox Satoshi Kodaira Troy Merritt Keith Mitchell Collin Morikawa Sebastián Muñoz Joaquin Niemann Ryan Palmer Cheng Tsung Pan Pat Perez Ted Potter, Jr. Jon Rahm Cameron Smith Brandt Snedeker Brendan Steele Martin Trainer Kevin Tway Matthew Wolff Career Money Exemption K.J. Choi Steve Stricker Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Harris English Hunter Mahan Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Stewart Cink Isaiah Salinda Justin Suh Brandon Wu PGA Club Professional Champion – 6 Events Alexander Beach PGA Section Champion\Player of the Year Michael Block Top 125 on Prior Season’s FedExCup Points List Tony Finau Jason Kokrak Sungjae Im Lucas Glover Rory Sabbatini Harold Varner III Byeong Hun An Joel Dahmen Wyndham Clark Emiliano Grillo Adam Schenk Danny Lee Kevin Streelman Jhonattan Vegas Charley Hoffman Chesson Hadley Matt Every Michael Thompson Matt Jones Luke List Roger Sloan Sam Burns Bud Cauley Nick Watney Mackenzie Hughes J.J. Spaun Talor Gooch Chris Stroud Kyle Stanley Patrick Rodgers Cameron Tringale Sam Ryder Kyoung-Hoon Lee Scott Stallings Denny McCarthy Scott Brown Carlos Ortiz Sepp Straka Aaron Baddeley Peter Malnati Martin Laird Top 125 (Prior Season Nonmember) Doc Redman Lucas Bjerregaard Major Medical Extension Bronson Burgoon Kevin Stadler Graham DeLaet Ben Martin Jamie Lovemark Grayson Murray John Huh Seung-Yul Noh Brandon Hagy Trey Mullinax Leading Points Winner from Korn Ferry Tour & KFT Finals Scottie Scheffler Top Finishers from Korn Ferry Tour Prior Season (reordered) Scott Harrington Tom Hoge Harry Higgs Xinjun Zhang Robby Shelton Zac Blair Richy Werenski Cameron Percy Fabián Gómez Henrik Norlander D.J. Trahan Hank Lebioda Robert Streb Maverick McNealy Beau Hossler Bo Hoag Matthew NeSmith Rob Oppenheim Kramer Hickok Joseph Bramlett Rafael Campos Chase Seiffert Mark Anderson Kristoffer Ventura Rhein Gibson Ben Taylor Tyler McCumber Chris Baker Michael Gligic Tim Wilkinson Sebastian Cappelen Doug Ghim Cameron Davis Ryan Brehm Michael Gellerman Nelson Ledesma Anirban Lahiri Vincent Whaley Vince Covello

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When it comes to his equipment, Tony Finau doesn’t like to change much. Yes, he changes his golf ball and switches up markings between holes when things start going poorly, but Finau prefers to stick with what he knows when it comes to his clubs. After wins in his last two PGA TOUR starts, there likely aren’t many changes coming to Finau’s bag, if any. He sits seventh in the FedExCup standings as the Regular Season comes to a close this week and is in line for a spot in the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10. Finau’s Nike Vapor Fly Pro model driving iron, which he’s been using since 2016, serves as an example of his loyalty. He has no plans of switching to a different model, though he did have to switch to a new head after the original finally caved in after six years of use. “I’m hoping to get about six to seven years out of this one,” Finau told GolfWRX earlier this year. “I only have one backup, but I’m hoping I’ll get six to seven years out of that one, too.” Finau did switch into a Ping putter for the first time prior to his victory in the opening event of last year’s FedExCup Playoffs. The custom PLD Anser 2 prototype head was built to his unique preferences and came equipped with a black Garsen Ultimate grip, which is flat on three sides to place golfers’ hands in a position where the palms face each other and the wrists are neutral. Company founder Bernerd Garsen, who spoke with GolfWRX on Monday, said Finau has been using the three-sided Garsen Ultimate grip for seven to eight years. He used a green version of the grip on a Piretti putter before Ping installed a black one on the custom Ping PLD Anser 2 that he started using last year. Finau hasn’t changed the grip since, even as it begins to show some wear and tear. Players are particular about their grips, especially when it comes to the putter, and Finau is yet another example of their desire to keep a consistent feel in their hands. He’s kept the same grip even though a replacement would be available in an instant. He isn’t the only player slow to change his putter grip. Remember Harris English at last year’s Ryder Cup? The first of Finau’s two consecutive victories, at the 3M Open, came on a banner day for the company, as Brooke Henderson also used the grip to win her second LPGA major, at the Amundi Evian Championship, that day. Finau’s backup Ping putter is equipped with a custom green-and-black Garsen Ultimate grip that also has the Tony Finau Foundation logo on it. Garsen developed the custom green version to replicate Finau’s black Ultimate grip, and a portion of the proceeds go to the Tony Finau Foundation. For now, at least until it finally falls off, Finau is happy using his black version in competition. “Tony is just a very simple guy,” Garsen said. “He doesn’t like changing that much. … He’s like, ‘Don’t touch it, don’t mess with it.’ I mean, the grip he has on now is so frayed it’s about to fall off. … It definitely has a lot of character.” After back-to-back wins at the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic, can you really blame Finau for sticking with it?

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