‘Everybody just stopped … we were watching history.’ From Nick Saban to Bill Murray, stars recall Tiger’s 2019 Masters win

Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Door Ajar Co-54-hole leader Dustin Johnson was 16-under-par for the event and four-under for the day after seven holes on Saturday. His three bogeys on his next 11 holes saw him fall out of the lead. With that, a nice chunk of players were also let back into the tournament. Johnson righted the ship with a birdie on the last at Pebble Beach for 70 (-2) but after that beginning, it almost felt like a round over par. He’ll play in the final group tomorrow with Ted Potter, Jr. #59Watch Potter needed to play the final three holes at Monterrey Peninsula Country Club one-under-par to add his name to the famous list. Instead of a birdie, he made two bogeys instead and now finds himself tied with Johnson entering Sunday.  The lefty does own a T16 from three attempts at this event but backing up his career-best 62 playing with Dustin Johnson and Wayne Gretzky would truly be something. He’s cashed three top-10 finishes in 83 TOUR events, two at Greenbrier, including his only win and the other at Riviera, site of next week’s Genesis Open. Noted. SaturDay The last Saturday Jason Day was in the mix he was three back of Alex Noren at Torrey Pines and we all know how that worked out. Tomorrow he’ll begin the day T3, two shots back as he looks to win in back-to-back events for the third time in his career. That’s an impressive number considering he has 11 TOUR wins. His last four Sundays at Pebble Beach are 67, 71, 67 and 67.   Familiar Faces Gamers wondering where popular picks Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson are in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf and One & Done presented by SERVPRO don’t have to look very far. Rahm held his T5 position with 70 (-2) at Spyglass Hill while Mickelson made nothing but still resides inside the top 10 (T9) after an even-par round at Pebble Beach. Mickelson suggested that anything in the mid to upper 60’s tomorrow will be premium due to the difficult conditions. Of the top five selections in One & Done, four are T14 or better. Never Daunted Chez Reavie is clearly not a history major. He battled Gary Woodland into a playoff last week on a course where he NEVER had any success. He’s clearly riding that wave of confidence this week as well as his 66 at MPCC today moved him up 15 spots to eighth place and was the low round of the day on that track. Reavie’s largest direct deposit from this event was two years ago and it was good for T26. Not even an opening round 63 at MPCC that year could spring him forward. He’s played Pebble Beach on three Sundays and has signed for 74,76 and 77. He fired 67 there Thursday with seven birdies and a double so we’ll see which trend is bucked. Moving Day William McGirt had the low round of the day at Pebble Beach with 66. He moved up 71 spots to T16 after his bogey-free loop. Now, do it again! … Ben Martin’s set the low one at Spyglass Hill, also with 66, but he only moved up 70 spots to T29. This is the first time he will make the cut in four tries. … Russell Knox was one short of McGirt but his 67 advance him 54 spots to T16. Knox will be looking to improve on his best finish of T27. Moving Day Wrong Way Robert Garrigus has been sniffing around recently but his 75 at MPCC today dropped him 62 spots from T23 to T85 (MC). … Matt Kuchar fell right on the line after his 75 at Pebble Beach dropped him from T18 to T60. His reward is he gets another crack at Pebble Beach tomorrow. … Gamers noticed J.B. Holmes’ course history the last three weeks. After taking his time on the final hole at Farmers Insurance Open, he’s MC/MC in his last two. His 73 on Saturday dropped him 37 spots to the wrong side of the cut line. Here’s how tight the field is entering the final day: Vaughn Taylor carded 70 (-1) and dropped 12 spots from T8 to 20th. … Last year’s 54-hole leader Byeong Hun An posted 72 and dropped from T8 to T26. Don’t Sleep On… Each Saturday when I’m not dying from Flu I’ll check in on a few of Rob Bolton’s Sleepers. This week, Kevin Streelman shared the first round lead and is still in the top 10 (T9) after 54 holes. Streelman and Larry Fitzgerald are leading the Pro-Am so he’ll be locked in tomorrow. Nick Watney and Sam Saunders are also teeing it tomorrow and will look to sneak in the back door. Study Hall Don’t be surprised tomorrow if the rookies and newbies aren’t hanging around. Pebble Beach is notorious for chewing them up and spitting ’em out on the weekend so if you’re having lineup issues, lean veteran I say. … K.J. Choi is T16 heading into the final round but I’ll point out he’s 17-for-17 at Riviera and is in the field next week. … Rory McIlroy suggested after his round that the Poa annua might have gotten stuck in his mind after a rough Friday. He’ll get another dose of it at Riviera next week. I might just stick him in the closet until he returns to a more familiar South Florida. … Corey Connors streak of weekends is over at eight. I see you, rookie! … Charley Hoffman WD during the round citing a back issue. As of today he was in the field at the Genesis Open next week. Eyes open.

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When Tiger Woods alters his lineup, it’s huge news in the equipment world. While he didn’t necessarily make any golf club “changes” heading into this week’s PNC Championship, he did make a number of interesting and impactful equipment “tweaks.” Even his small switch-ups are notable and can offer insight into changes in Woods’ game overall. Since our last on-site analysis of Woods’ equipment at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills, it appears he’s made slight adjustments to his driver and 3-wood, added weight to his putter head and changed his longtime putter grip. He also made a change to the one piece of equipment that he uses on every single shot. We break down each of the tweaks below. Tiger’s driver settings At this year’s PGA Championship, the 15-gram adjustable sole weight on Woods’ TaylorMade Stealth Plus 9-degree driver was placed slightly toward the draw side of the neutral setting. By placing the weight in that position, the center of gravity (CG) made the head slightly draw-biased. This week, he’s using a lighter 10-gram weight, and it’s now in the neutral position. All else equal, the driver head would be slightly lighter and comparatively less draw biased. Not all things are exactly equal, however, because Woods also switched up his hosel settings. Referencing TaylorMade’s Stealth hosel setting chart, it seems the driver now has a 58.75-degree lie angle, instead of the previous 57.25 degree lie angle. In both settings, the hosel setting creates a 3-degree open face angle compared to standard, and -1.5 degrees of loft. In general, a more upright lie angle means the driver head will release more easily through impact. Woods’ driver now has a lighter sole weight, a more neutral sole weight, and a more upright lie angle. Tiger’s 3-wood setting As with his driver, Woods also changed hosel settings in his TaylorMade SIM Titanium 15-degree 3-wood. Referencing TaylorMade’s SIM setting chart, it appears that Woods’ 3-wood is now set to be 1.5 degrees open, has -0.75 degrees of loft, and has a 59.5-degree lie angle. Previously, it was set to be 3 degrees open, had -1.5 degrees of loft, and a 58.75-degree lie angle. Since Woods is still using the same Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70TX shaft, and there are no apparent changes to the weight of the head, his 3-wood should now have slightly more spin and launch, with a draw-bias due to the upright lie angle. Tiger’s putter (and grip) changes Throughout nearly his entire career, Woods has used a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS prototype putter with a Ping PP58 putter grip, which has a notably thin and light construction. He’s had very brief stints with other putter grips, but it’s the PP58 that’s nearly always had the starting spot. Woods is using the same putter head this week, but he has switched into what looks to be a Scotty Cameron Pistolini Plus grip that has a heavier 77–80-gram weight, according to Scotty Cameron. His previous Ping PP58 grip, as the name implies, weighs in at just 58 grams. Woods’ new Scotty Cameron grip also appears to show that the usual white lettering on the grip has been darkened, possibly with a marker or otherwise. Also, as we’ve seen Woods do amidst slower greens and windy conditions at The Open Championship, he’s added a few strips of lead tape to the back of his putter head. The lead tape will add just a few grams of weight, but it can make an impactful change to the feel and performance of the putter. Based on the wear mark on the center of his putter face, Woods hasn’t missed the center very often throughout the years, so if he’s making tweaks to the setup, it’s likely for a significant purpose. Tiger’s golf ball change For years, Woods has been using a Bridgestone Tour B XS TW Edition golf ball, which he co-designed with Bridgestone to achieve increased spin on approach shots and a soft feel. This week, Woods is using a Bridgestone Tour B X model, which has a relatively lower-spinning design. This should allow Woods to pick up more distance on longer shots, while making a small sacrifice to workability and stopping power.

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Patrick Reed won’t play in this weekend’s BMW Championship after being hospitalized with bilateral pneumonia, according to the Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis.

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