What the pros are playing at the Waste Management Phoenix Open

The man who travels the PGA TOUR each week to help players tweak, tune and customize their Titleist Vokey Wedges is tour rep Aaron Dill. Dill – or “ADâ€�, as he’s often called – has been working with Vokey for more than a decade. In that time, he’s worked on some very interesting sole grinds, giving PGA TOUR players more versatility with their scoring clubs and getting the likes of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth dialed in to play their best golf. At this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, we spotted a unique 60-degree wedge in the bags of Cameron Davis and Keith Mitchell. We wanted to learn more about the theory behind the design, so we sat down with Dill to talk about what makes the club so special. ** GolfWRX: We spotted an interesting grind on some 60-degree wedges… Dill: Years ago, a couple of players talked about this one grind called the “Vâ€�. It’s a fairly popular grind … on TOUR, but some of the things players talked about, the issues, were not being able to open the face. … They want to be able to open the face and have it sit pretty low to the ground and get under the ball easily, but that was a bit of a challenge. So, we can do either one of two things. We can grind it down, but every time we grind it down, we sacrifice performance everywhere else, and we’re trying to make the smallest possible changes to improve shots and not change the rest of what guys are comfortable with or know how to do with certain wedges. We realized in order to … keep those things the same and allow that wedge to sit closer, we basically flattened that rear section of that wedge on the V and put this little channel in the back. And that basically moves that contact point around a little bit — moves it further back — and allows that wedge to sit closer to the ground for those guys around the green where they need the versatility. GolfWRX: We noticed Davis currently has one in the bag. So he wants to play one shot when it’s square, and another when it’s fanned open a bit? Dill: Exactly. Like most guys out here, he asks, “Build me a wedge that does everything,” which is a tough thing to do, considering all the conditions they play in. … In the case of this wedge, when he’s hitting square-faced shots from the fairway or pitching square-faced and chipping, it offers a lot of protection and bounce, but once he goes greenside and needs to create lift, or have some versatility, … we grind off that one spot and give him that option. ** Wedge grinds are so important. Finding one that offers the greatest amount of versatility for your swing and course conditions is vital in performing your best around the greens. The recreational golfer may not have Dill and the Vokey team at his or her disposal, but golfers of any ability can visit a qualified fitter and educate themselves about their swing characteristics and the optimal wedge setup and grind options. Of course, a few cosmetic touches don’t hurt either. Mitchell’s wedge features stamping that offers a tip of the cap to Dill for his innovative grind, calling the design the “Advanced Breakthrough Proto” and assigning an R&D number.

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Marc Leishman is as Australian as they come but some Korean golfing roots have him primed to springboard off last week’s win at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. Fresh off a dominant display at the CIMB Classic where he won by five shots, the now four-time PGA TOUR winner returns to Jeju Island in South Korea a year after losing a playoff against Justin Thomas. While some of those in the field have limited experience with Korean culture, Leishman is not one of them. He played on the Korean Tour in 2006, three years before he would become the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year. A win there catapulted his career forward and more importantly boosted his confidence to a new level. He also grew up fast, looking after himself in a strange foreign land where he didn’t speak the language. “I would just point at something and that’s what I would eat. That was probably the hardest thing for someone like me, who likes food,â€� Leishman said. “Playing in the Korean Tour did help me. Playing on courses that are so narrow really teaches you to hit the ball straighter and handle the pressure. Obviously, winning golf tournaments, which I managed to win one up here, was a great memory and a really good experience for me.â€� While the win last week has the affable Aussie relaxed, the memory of his loss to Thomas last year, where he found the water on the second playoff hole, is certainly driving him forward. Especially as the runner-up finish did not translate to further success. While he had won twice in the 2016-17 season, last season turned out winless although still successful enough to make the TOUR Championship. That goal isn’t enough for him anymore. He wants to win the FedExCup and will have a chance to take hold of the top spot early on this season with a good effort this week. He currently sits just 31 points behind Safeway Open winner Kevin Tway. “Getting off to such a good start to the year obviously here and up until probably the (AT&T) Byron Nelson I played really well and then I kind of cooled off a little bit, so that was a little frustrating,â€� he said of last season. “It was certainly a goal of mine to win this season and to win my first event of the year is great.â€� The win allows Leishman to “focus more on winning for the rest of the seasonâ€� and opens up a return to Maui for the Sentry Tournament of Champions … a clear favorite time of year for the entire Leishman family. He also now leads the International Team standings for the Presidents Cup to be held in his native Australia next year. Leishman is desperate to play under his childhood idol Ernie Els in his hometown of Melbourne. The win in Malaysia was built off some stellar putting (he needed just 102 putts for the week) but also a dialed in approach game. He intends to try to ride the momentum. “The difference was I was hitting it a lot closer to the hole,â€� Leishman said of his CIMB Classic efforts. “I know I had very few putts, I only had 25, 26 putts a round, but I think if we had strokes gained putting last week, it wouldn’t have been as impressive as the iron play numbers. “I had a lot of birdie putts from 8 foot and in, which is nice when you’re feeling good over the putter. Hoping I can continue that trend. “Hopefully, I can play well again and do one better than last year.â€�

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CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – The last time Russell Knox came to Carnoustie for an Open Championship, he was a teenaged fan trying to get a souvenir from one of the game’s best players. Now he will play alongside Tiger Woods just hours from his boyhood home. Knox was 14 years old when he attended the 1999 Open with boyhood friend Duncan McRae. They were sitting behind Carnoustie’s sixth green when Sergio Garcia’s caddie rolled a ball their way. “We wrestled and Duncan got the ball,� Knox said. “I was kind of annoyed.� Now, as the leading hope of the home country, Knox has earned a tee time with Tiger (and Hideki Matsuyama) at Carnoustie. It will be Knox’s first time playing with Woods. “Getting to play with (Tiger), that was a huge goal of mine in my career,� Knox said. “To get to play with him at a major, an Open, in Scotland, is kind of a pinch yourself moment.� Less than three weeks ago, Knox didn’t even have a spot in The Open. The undersized Scotsman has regained the form that made him a top-20 player in a game dominated by power, though. He qualified for the U.S. Open and finished T12 at Shinnecock Hills. He followed with a second-place finish in the French Open, then won the Irish Open with a pair of 40-foot putts. It was his first victory in more than two years. He also contended at last week’s Scottish Open – he started Sunday two shots off the lead – before fading with a final-round 75. “He’s never been in better form heading into The Open,� said his sister, Diane, who is working this week for BBC Radio. A firm and fast Carnoustie could benefit Knox, who is one of the TOUR’s shortest, but straightest, hitters. He ranks 144th in driving distance but 23rd in driving accuracy and sixth in greens hit. Carnoustie has been kind to its countrymen, as well. Two of the last three Scottish-born winners of The Open hoisted the Claret Jug at Carnoustie. Paul Lawrie, who won the 1999 Open, is the last Scot to win golf’s oldest championship. “It’s a hard links course. It takes experience playing links golf to win here,� Knox said. “Padraig (Harrington, who won here in 2007) has played a ton of links. Paul Lawrie played a ton of links. “If you’ve won this tournament here, you really know how to play links golf. There’s a lot of angles off the tee, angles coming into the green. It is going to take a lot of experience here. There won’t be someone who comes out of the woodwork who wins here.� Knox’s Irish Open win came on a links course, Ballyliffin. Returning to the slower greens that he grew up on has helped Knox, who had been struggling with his putting. “Once you start seeing them go in, you can hole putts. Everything kind of snowballed. It’s not like everything changed or I found a magic formula,� he said. “I have been this good before.� Knox won the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and Travelers Championship in the 2015-16 season to finish 10th in the FedExCup and crack the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking.  He was 30 years old, and making his 93rd TOUR start, when he won his first event. His second win came just 17 starts later. That rapid ascension to the game’s elite level led to a common pratfall for a player whose career has been defined by slow and steady progress. “I tried to get better too quickly,� he said. “I think I got to the point where I was really close to being right where I wanted to be, top-10 in the world, and I just pushed too hard and I got worse. “I worked hard to get back to where I am now, so it’s nice to get rewarded with a win.� And a tee time with Woods.

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