Tiger set for 4am alarm with Masters glory up for grabs

It's been more than five years since we have seen Rickie Fowler putt with anything other than his trusted Tri-Sole Newport 2 Scotty Cameron. The shafts have changed a bit from traditional steel to a beefed-up LAGP graphite model, but that's it: same design for half a decade. It's easy to understand the loyalty. Regarded as one of the best putters on TOUR for some time, it's typically not a part of his game that requires any drastic changes. The stats don't lie: Over the past five seasons, Fowler's Strokes Gained: Putting rank has ranged anywhere from a respectable 64th all the way to first in 2017. However, this week at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin, Fowler has put a putter in play that is not only a new look but a totally different profile. In simple terms, it's like going from a razor blade to a chainsaw. The new putter is a face-balanced Scotty Cameron X5 Prototype with a single bend shaft. The idea behind this model is face stability. Fowler has always preferred a traditional "Anser 2" profile to promote releasing the toe of the putter, much like Tiger Woods. The switch is showing early returns as well. Despite a double-bogey on the par-3 17th, Fowler finished Round 1 ranked first in SG: Putting en route to a 67 that included seven birdies. In the current case, the X5 profile gives Fowler a putter with a much higher MOI that reduces twisting and stabilizes the face. In addition, it helps with a new look for alignment. It's not abnormal these days for players to just want to look at something new—Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, and even last week's winner Sergio Garcia have gone back and forth from Anser-style putters and mallets on numerous occasions one the season. Is he changing his stroke? Probably not. However, Augusta is right around the corner and players like Fowler will need to optimize what they do well if they are going to keep up with what one Bryson Dechambeau is setting out to do to the Georgia track. Specs: Scotty Cameron X5 Prototype 35 inches 70-degree lie 3-degree loft D7 swing weight 335-340 gram head weight

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There is always a bit of a letdown after the Masters in April. But that is gone. With just two weeks before the year’s next major, we reset things and figure out who’s ready, who has work to do and more.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR announced today that Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard has accepted Special Temporary Membership for the remainder of the 2018-19 PGA TOUR Season. Bjerregaard, currently ranked No. 44 in the Official World Golf Ranking, brings the total number of active international PGA TOUR members to 90 from 27 countries. Forty-six of the top 50 players in the world, including all of the top 35, are now TOUR members. Through seven starts during the 2018-19 season, Bjerregaard’s best result came at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, where en route to a fourth-place finish, he defeated Tiger Woods 1-up in the Quarterfinals before falling to Matt Kuchar in the Semifinals. In all, Bjerregaard has made 10 starts on the PGA TOUR and has three top-25s. The only current TOUR member from Denmark, Bjerregaard becomes the second player to join as a Special Temporary Member during the 2018-19 season, joining Matthew Fitzpatrick. As a Special Temporary Member, Bjerregaard is eligible for unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the 2018-19 season as he attempts to earn his PGA TOUR card for the 2019-20 season through the Non-Member FedExCup Points List. Special Temporary Members are not eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs, but Special Temporary Members or non-members who subsequently become regular PGA TOUR members by winning an official event during the season will be counted on the FedExCup points list, along with any FedExCup points earned as a non-member (excluding those won at World Golf Championships events as a non-member) and thus be eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs.

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