Steve Stricker fights back pain to shoot 65 in Fort Worth

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda – Nearly an hour after completing his second-round of 67 to get within the top 20 in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, Graeme McDowell was still on the premises of Port Royal Golf Course. It had nothing to do with his golf. It had everything to do with his humanness. “This is pretty special,” said McDowell, solemnly. He was standing just off the ninth green, watching as the final pairing of the morning wave played its 18th hole. Now if there are only several hundred spectators a day being allowed into Port Royal GC because of COVID-19 regulations, every one of them appeared to be at the ninth green for the same reason McDowell was. Brian Morris’ story had inspired them. His strength had gripped them emotionally. Morris, 54, the head professional at Ocean View Golf Course in Bermuda, had a malignant brain tumor removed from the back of his skull two years ago. Doctors immediately determined that the Stage IV cancer had spread to Morris’ stomach, his esophagus, and into his neck. It is terminal. Yet, when the tournament sponsor to this week’s event offered Morris an exemption, he jumped at the opportunity, knowing very well there would be more tears shed than birdies made. “You know what, I’ll always have one PGA TOUR start to my name,” said Morris, whose scores of 89-92 were comprised of so many magical moments during an emotional 36 holes. “To see my family, my friends. I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again, you know? So, it means a lot. It’s huge,” he said. When the pairings came out, Morris discovered he’d play alongside his cousin, Michael Sims, the Bermuda native who starred at the University of Rhode Island, fashioned a brilliant amateur career, and played professionally for 12 years before leaving the game. But Sims, 42, loves his native land, took on the challenge of a local qualifier, got in, and enjoyed every footstep of his two-day walk alongside his cousin. “So special that I got to share it,” said Sims. “Brian’s such a fighter and you can’t help but smile or laugh when you’re with him.” For two days, the gallery following Morris’ every move was passionate and involved. They wore T-shirts emblazoned with “TEAM MORRIS” on the back and BKM on the front. The face of Bob Marley was prominent on the T-shirt and so was the title of arguably his grandest song, “One Love.” And while the song was not playing in the background as Morris and Sims stood on the final green, if you really let the moment embrace you, the power of Marley’s words echoed in your ears. “Let’s get together and feel all right.” As Morris stood over a 10-footer to try and save par, Sims stepped to the side, took out his phone and videoed it. Morris’ wife, Laurie, squeezed closer to the ropes, his family and friends stood anxiously and watched, and McDowell whispered, “This is so amazing.” Even the third member of the pairing, the vibrantly talented Sahith Theegala, appeared frozen, no matter that he had just made his third straight birdie to make the cut. He is 23 and arguably on the cusp of a brilliant and rich career, but he was consumed by this moment. “I got the chills. I was close to tears,” said Sahith. “It is a moment I will never forget. Such an eye-opener, that the game of golf is such a small part of life.” The putt went wide. Morris tapped in for bogey. The cheers roared. The applause started in unison, got louder, and kept going for several minutes. McDowell, who had only briefly met Morris in the locker room a few days earlier, was among those who continued to applaud, even as Sims organized a photo opportunity that seemingly attracted all of Bermuda. “It looks like Bermuda today,” McDowell had remarked, peering out at the priceless turquoise water that is a trademark here. But truth is, it felt like Bermuda. Island love and island warmth flowed forth and helped celebrate this moment with Brian Morris. “He’s a guy that everyone wants to be around,” said Sims. “That’s what Bermuda is.” Given a chance to exhale, Morris was asked what was next? He smiled. “Just back at it. Back to the hospital on Monday, get my chemo. Just try to live as long as I can.”

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In 2018, Ping launched its line of Sigma 2 putters that offer a way to change length with the turn of a dial. The feature allows for golfers to adjust length between 32 and 36 inches, helping golfers find the right length for their individual needs. The system is USGA legal, and according to Ping’s VP of Engineering Paul Wood, it helps solve a problem that plagues the majority of golfers. The extensive line of Sigma 2 putters, which includes 10 different head models, also have two-layered face inserts for a soft yet responsive feel, and they have TR (True Roll) face technology designed for a better roll. Click here for the full technology story of Ping’s Sigma 2 putters.  Recently, we asked Dr. Paul Wood, Ping’s VP of Engineering, a number of questions about how the length-adjustability feature works, how golfers can benefit from it, how to find a putter head that’s right for a particular stroke, and how the TR Face insert helps the ball roll better. Enjoy the full Q&A below! PGATOUR.COM: How many golfers are currently using the wrong length putter for their stroke and body makeup? Dr. Paul Wood: We estimate that it could be as high as 80% from our testing. We know that the vast majority of people are not currently getting a putter fitting and in our testing, no more than one single length of putter was best for more than 20% of people. What it’s hard to know is how many people are buying shorter or longer putters off-the-shelf and finding the best length for them in that fashion.  Was the length-adjustability feature on the Sigma2 putters a difficult mechanism to develop? How long did the process take before reaching a system that works? This feature was years in the making. This is our second adjustable length device. The first took around 2 years to research, test, design and bring to market and then we started work on making improvements for this second-generation feature; that took more like 3 years to get through research, testing, design and development. It’s a significant challenge because it hits all of our major engineering groups. We used our knowledge of high-strength plastics to design the plastic pieces to be light but also withstand the forces needed in the device. We used a lot of mechanical engineering time to research and design the mechanism because we needed it to be precise but also work with a range of grips and be as unobtrusive to the golfer as possible. We also had significant research and development to figure out the optimal way to build the putters. We build all of these shafts here in Phoenix and made some major investments in our assembly equipment to do so, including laser markings on the shaft. Is Ping the first company to ever put this system into the market? I believe so, although I can’t discount the possibility of a smaller golf brand having done something. Our system is unique as far as we know. How does length-adjustability benefit golfers?  The two main benefits will be seen in improved distance control and perhaps altering (hopefully fixing) a miss tendency. How does a golfer know what putter length to use? Is there a way golfers can self-fit, or is it a comfort thing?  We have touted the benefits of a golfer simply adjusting the putter to a comfortable length. This is the simplest way to use the feature and is very effective. In our testing, golfers experienced between 10 and 20% distance control improvements simply by adjusting to a length they were comfortable with. We are also aware that it gives golfers a chance to experiment – simply add an inch of length and see how the results change (or vice versa). We have some philosophies on helping a golfer adjust to a good length (such as getting the eyes somewhere in the region between over the ball to just inside the ball) that we work with our fitting accounts to promote. Does changing the length effect swing weight or feel of the club head, and if so, what adjustments should golfers make?  Yes, keeping all things equal, adding length will increase swing weight and shortening will reduce it. This is actually how most putter builds are already in the market. The same head weight is often used for different lengths. Over a relatively small range of length adjustments the effects will be somewhat minor. Over the full range of our adjustability the effects will add up to a big change. If a golfer wants to change the head weight, we have that ability through our Vault 2.0 putters, or through special custom orders. What happens if a golfer needs to regrip the putter?  They can go ahead and do that. The feature is compatible with most grips on the market. The Sigma 2 line features a wide array of head models, including the Fetch that helps to retrieve the golf ball from the hole. How can a golfer determine which head is right for them without testing each model?  This is a very under-served area in the industry right now. Most putter fittings have tended to focus on loft and lie angle without paying much attention to the most important part which is the head model itself. We have two main philosophies. The first is our fit for stroke, whereby all the models are categorized as either face balanced (suiting a straight back straight through stroke or someone fighting a push miss), mid-hang (suiting a slight arc stroke, a good middle ground for many players) or toe down (suiting a strong arc stroke or someone fighting a pull miss). Each putter is marked according to stroke type and we have some of each in the line. The second is we encourage golfers to think about their primary aiming mechanism. Most players haven’t really thought about it. We see 4 main groups of golfers: those who use a very traditional clean top rail and maybe a small line or dot, those who use ball-width alignment lines to frame the ball, those who like to see long and plentiful alignment features, or those who look for an alignment aid (or line) that goes right up to the ball. Once most people think about that for a minute or two, it helps narrow down the choices considerably. How does the TR Face insert design work, and what does it do?  This is one of our marquee performance technologies. Typically companies focus on increasing the Moment of Inertia of the putter. Our company was founded on this principle. The reason to do this is to minimize twisting, and therefore energy loss on off-center hits. However, there is always some energy loss on off-center hits, which is felt by a drop in ball speed, as well as some angular changes. The TR technology employs a patented variable depth groove that serves to minimize the differences in ball speed from heel, across the center of the face, to the toe. In our testing, heel, center and toe hits roll very close to the same distance. This leaves you the golfer to focus on making the roll you want, knowing that the club is doing everything it can do give you the deft touch on the green.

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