Sony Open in Hawaii, Round 3: Leaderboard, tee times, TV schedule

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Despite having a reputation as a tinkerer, Dustin Johnson said he doesn’t change equipment all that much, stating in his pre-PGA Championship press conference, “I really don’t like to change clubs ever, but when one’s not working … I have to find something else.” This is, in a couple of senses, true. The centerpieces of his golf bag have been cemented for years (P730 DJ Proto irons, for example) and when he does make a change he often rapidly reverses course. Johnson is often spotted with multiple flatsticks on the putting green early in tournament weeks, but in recent years, he’s almost always stuck with his TaylorMade Spider Limited Itsy Bitsy once competition began. In fact, after putting a TaylorMade TP Bandon 1 Prototype in play two tournaments ago, he has returned to the Spider this week. At the other end of the bag, Johnson has bounced between TaylorMade SIM2 and SIM heads this season but he has always showed up to the first tee with a Fujikura Speeder 661 Evolution 2.0 Tour X Flex shaft in his driver (with one exception, the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January). In fact, the reigning FedExCup champion has played the Speeder 661 for the better part of five years — all the way back to the days of the TaylorMade M1. So it was big news in the equipment world, and shafts in particular, when Johnson was spotted with an LA Golf Prototype in a SIM2 Max head ahead of the competition at Kiawah Island. If LA Golf sounds familiar, that is because it’s the company that makes the shafts for all 14 of Bryson DeChambeau’s clubs, including his putter. Of course, given Johnson’s propensity for pre-tournament testing, it remained to be seen whether he’d put the combo in play at the PGA Championship. But when Johnson stepped inside the ropes shortly after 2 p.m. for his first-round tee time Thursday, he uncorked a 295-yard drive with the aforementioned TaylorMade SIM2 Max head with an LA Golf Proto shaft. Johnson shot 76 in the first round but gained +0.8 strokes off the tee. The shaft was back in the bag for the second round but that will be the only action it sees this week. Johnson will likely miss the cut after shooting 74 on Friday. He gained another +0.9 strokes off the tee in the second round but struggled with his iron play. According to TaylorMade’s Keith Sbarbaro, Global Vice President, Tour Operations & Sports Marketing at TaylorMade, the shaft is “a stiffer tip version with a lower balance point to help promote more of a fade,” which is DJ’s preferred ball flight. Adding further intrigue to the story, similar to the prototyping process DeChambeau and LA Golf have engaged in for the development of his wood, iron, and putter shafts, Johnson and LA Golf have been collaborating on the shaft design. Reed Dickens, LA Golf’s CEO had this to say about Johnson’s prototype: “We custom designed a low torque shaft for Dustin for lower trajectory and have been iterating with him for a few months. We’re excited that the No. 1 player in golf trusts LA Golf enough to put our product in play for the first time at a major championship.” After appearing almost unbeatable last fall – he tore through the FedExCup Playoffs before winning the Masters – Johnson has struggled in the spring and may be searching for answers. He is 26th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee after ranking in the top five of that statistic from 2014-19. Johnson entered this week gaining 0.44 strokes off the tee per round, which would be his worst performance in that statistic since 2013. He hasn’t had a top-10 on TOUR since The Genesis Invitational in February. He has just one top-25 in six starts since and withdrew from last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson with knee pain. Whether Johnson makes a return to his beloved Speeder remains to be seen, but for now, one of the longest-tenured shafts in pro golf has been bumped from its position.

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DUBLIN, Ohio – Kevin Streelman didn’t exactly come out of the blocks quickly when the PGA TOUR resumed play after a four-month shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He missed the cut in the Charles Schwab Challenge, as well as the RBC Heritage. But the early exit in Hilton Head proved to be fortuitous when Streelman and Aaron Baddeley got together for a friendly 18 holes on Saturday while everyone else was battling at Harbour Town. “He just saw one little thing in my putting and kind of gave me a little tip, and I’ve been putting beautifully since,” the Duke graduate said. The boost of confidence on the greens was among the keys to Streelman’s second-place finish at the Travelers Championship, his second runner-up of the season. And it’s carried over to the Workday Charity Open where he entered Saturday’s third round tied for second, three strokes off the lead held by 23-year-old Collin Morikawa. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Morikawa builds on lead Streelman made nine birdies in a round of 64 on Friday and stood first in Strokes Gained: Putting through two rounds with a career-best +8.475. The 41-year-old finished four rounds at TPC River Highlands ranked a solid 10th in the same category, as well. Streelman, whose golf bag was signed by his beloved Chicago Cubs starters before the pandemic hit, is now 37 under in his last seven rounds on the PGA TOUR. “I putted beautifully, kept it below most of the pins, was able to give some nice strikes to some putts, but took care of the difficult shots out there and birdied the par 5s and put myself in position,” Streelman said, terming himself “excited.” As for the tip? Well, Streelman declined to share it when he met with the socially distanced media after his round on Friday. It wasn’t anything fundamental, anyway. “It’s actually nothing with the stroke, it’s much more visual and getting out into my spot of how I want it to go in,” Streelman said. “I was more into my stroke, and it just kind of freed it up, to be honest.” Streelman, who is seeking the third win of his career, came to Muirfield Village relaxed after beating the 110-degree heat in Phoenix by spending more time in the pool with his kids last week than playing golf. He finished fourth in last year’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, closing with a 66, and said Jack Nicklaus’ signature layout fits the Midwesterner’s eye. He’s been driving the ball particularly well this week – ranking third in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and second in fairways hit this week. “There’s just shots you’ve got to step up and hit great shots,” Streelman explained. “… I drive the ball straight. Been able to hit a lot of fairways, and when my putter is on, I know I can compete with most of the guys and (looking forward to) see how I do against these young guys on the weekend.” Streelman finished a distant second to Nick Taylor at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am earlier this year. He had a much better chance at the Travelers Championship where he started the final round three shots behind Brendon Todd and one behind Dustin Johnson, the eventual winner. “I was right there in Hartford,” Streelman said. “I played well enough, and I was bummed to not finish that off. I enjoy that moment. I enjoy having a chance and just going for it. Sometimes you do great and sometimes you don’t, but I enjoyed … having that opportunity to attack and see what you’ve got. “I think that’s my favorite part of this game, playing it professionally, is going head-to-head with the best players in the world when the cameras are on, when the heat is on and just seeing what you’ve got. Like I said, some weeks you’ve got it and some weeks you don’t but being in the moment is what’s awesome about playing this sport competitively.”

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