Xander Schauffele’s tough-minded approach helps him prevail at HSBC Champions

Tommy Fleetwood is the latest golfer to take the plunge and start using an alignment-aid augmented ball, joining the likes of Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson in rolling a rock that features graphics designed to help with visibility and a putt’s start line. Fleetwood put TaylorMade’s TP5x Pix golf ball in play at THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT two weeks ago and has kept it in play. The backstory behind his switch – which helped him to a T7 finish in last week’s ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP — is an interesting one. As many golfers do, the Englishman had been drawing a black Sharpie line along his golf ball to aid with the alignment of his putts. However, he realized during a recent putting session with his coach that he was often misaligned. He was having difficulty getting the line aligned with his intended target. Enter TaylorMade’s Pix golf ball and its ClearPath alignment assistance. For your own clarity, you can see an illustration of the technology in action below. Of course, Fleetwood wasn’t just going make a wholesale ball switch. That is often a massive change that only takes place after tons of testing. “At this level of the game, particularly with Tommy who is so detailed with his equipment, players are only going to switch if they know it can improve their performance on the course,” said TaylorMade senior TOUR rep Adrian Rietveld. “There’s no change for the sake of change. However, Tommy will put equipment in play immediately when he feels he’s giving up performance without it.” Fleetwood originally used the Pix as a practice aid, further enhancing the ClearPath with a black Sharpie line. He then tested the TP5x Pix against his TP5x for the back nine of a practice round at Summit ahead of THE CJ CUP, measuring each of his shots on a TrackMan. “He had to be certain that the Pix golf ball gave him the exact same performance as his TP5x gamer. Of course, we knew they were identical golf balls – the only difference being the markings on the cover. But at that level, they leave no stone unturned,” Rietveld said. From a performance standpoint, Fleetwood found the Pix performed identically to the non-Pix TP5x, and the alignment assistance was welcome. He tied for 38th at THE CJ CUP before his top-10 at the ZOZO.

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Carlos Ortiz … Only he and Abraham Ancer represent Mexico with status on the PGA TOUR, but a total of seven natives of the host country for the Mayakoba Golf Classic are in this week’s field of 132. It includes Ortiz’ younger brother, Alvaro. Carlos is rested since a T4 at the Houston Open where he thrived on a fantastic short game. Three starts prior, he also finished T4 at the Sanderson Farms Championship where he excelled tee to green. This is his sixth appearance at El Camaleón. He debuted with a T9 in 2014 and owns a scoring average of 69.56 in 16 rounds. Ryan Armour … As a 43-year-old who never will be mistaken as a long hitter, it’d be a shame if he didn’t commit to the Mayakoba Golf Classic. He’s one of the most accurate off the tee on the PGA TOUR. Consider that in each of the last three completed seasons, he’s ranked either first or second in fairways hit and/or shortest distance from the edge of the fairway on drives that don’t find the shortest grass. A solo fourth as a rookie in the inaugural edition in 2007 was his first of four career top fives on TOUR. It was love at first sight. He also placed T21 last year and arrives for his fifth appearance with a T23 in Houston and a T8 in Bermuda in his most recent competitions. Brice Garnett … Sometimes, you want to be cliché. The 36-year-old not only does his best work tee to green, but he’s also proven how this formula works at Mayakoba time, and time, and time again. Since 2014, he’s 4-for-4 with three top 10s, a T25 and a scoring average of 67.81. After enduring a quiet first half of 2019, he found his gear in Detroit at the end of June. Since a T17 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, he’s gone for five top 25s among eight cuts made in 10 starts. It also cannot be ignored that he prevailed on paspalum at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in 2018. Harold Varner III … The non-winner isn’t a veteran ball-striker, but neither were John Huh (2012) and Patton Kizzire (2017) when they prevailed for the first time on the PGA TOUR at El Camaleón Golf Club. Proper courses reward those who are willing and can adapt to the test. In three appearances, HV3 has a T5 (2015) and a T6 (2018). His scoring average in 10 rounds is 68.20. It’s a trend that’s expected to continue as he arrives in form. Since mid-July, he’s 9-for-9 with a trio of top-20s finishes. J.J. Spaun … Course-history buffs will label his inclusion on this page as lazy, while devotees of recent form will call their bluff. See, since his first appearance with a T28 as a rookie in 2016, he’s added a T14 and a T3, respectively. His scoring average in those 12 rounds is a sporty 67.75. However, he arrives having gone nine consecutive starts without posting a top 35 and only one top-45 finish (T36, Sanderson Farms). When he plays to his strength as a ball-striker, it’s rewarded here, but he’s yet to find the grip on the toolbox this season. So, however you come at him, he’s compelling. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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