Lehman turns back the clock at Charles Schwab Challenge

No platitudes are needed to emphasize the singularity of 2020—they've all been used, so let's dive right into the subject at hand: On the golf equipment front, the COVID-19 pandemic saw not only an uptick in rounds played, but record-breaking equipment sales. Indeed, according to industry research firm Golf Datatech, Q3 equipment sales topped the $1 billion mark, which was the second-highest quarter ever recorded since the firm began measuring transactions. Looking at the narrow (albeit highly influential) world of equipment on the PGA TOUR, there was a wealth of interesting storylines this year, the most notable of which we'll dig into now. The Bryson DeChambeau Effect It was the story of 2020. Bryson DeChambeau transforming himself from a moderately fit and successful TOUR professional into a muscle-bound freak of nature. The hard work and dedication not only changed the face of the game overnight, but it also sparked an outpouring of opinions and curiosity as to how everyone else was going to contain him or compete against him. The payoff for Bryson? Validation, in the form of a dominating performance at the U.S. Open. Arguably the last major a player of his profile would be expected to be successful at. As we saw with Tiger in 2000, strength reveals itself in multiple ways, and at Winged Foot it was not only off the tee but out of the rough and the stamina to get through 72 holes with zero letdown. In response, the media has started a similar argument to the one posed in Jurrasic Park: "Can we? Yes. Should we?" The conversation has become quite polarizing with lead personalities like Brandel Chamblee arguing to support the evolution and others who believe this path will obliterate the legacy of the game. Who's right? Who knows? But it's fun to watch it all go down. Bryson’s competitors took a different approach: speed training, squats, deadlifts, new ways to look at the golf swing, and of course longer shafts in their drivers. The ever-curious and open-minded Phil Mickelson was the first big name to jump in with a 47.5-inch Callaway and was shortly followed by Dylan Frittelli, Viktor Hovland, Adam Scott, and many others. Will it stick? Who knows. We will see more long drivers in 2021, along with more two-driver setups and more and more Instagram posts with players pushing their personal launch monitors to the brink. TaylorMade SIM Takes Over TaylorMade had a huge year. Not only did the Carlsbad-based company dominate a majority of the spotlight on the PGA TOUR stage with wins in two of the three majors (Collin Morikawa and Dustin Johnson), all three of the FedExCup Playoffs events (Johnson, Rahm, Johnson), and the winner of the FedExCup (Dustin Johnson). This isn't to say that the other metal woods didn’t fare well. They did, but the momentum of SIM was like a freight train from the TOUR to the fitting bays. If the lockdown didn't hit, it might have been the biggest-selling driver in TaylorMade history. Why do you ask? Speed. Pure speed for a very wide range of players. Fujikura Ventus As metal wood shafts go, very few saw the growth and response after the season resumed that Fujikura's Ventus did. Not only did Ventus Black find its way into the clubs of several notable players (Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, and Tommy Fleetwood), it was also a huge hit with fitters across the country. The combination of speed and stability made it a component that may not have been built into every stick, but it was definitely a serious consideration in every conversation. Momentum for Manufacturers “It’s always darkest before the dawn.” Never has a quote been more accurate than it was for the golf industry after the COVID-19 lockdown. With most equipment companies experiencing the lowest of lows in March, April and May, they saw the highest of highs in the third quarter with a majority of them setting sales records. It got to the point where it wasn’t necessarily a lack of buyers that was the concern. It was a lack of inventory. Now that the stock has been replenished, companies are seeing continued energy online and at retail. Golf in general was identified as a saving grace for the COVID-19 boredom and limited menu of permissible activities. Fred Couples Changed Irons After 10 years Besides Bernhard Langer, there isn’t a player on any tour that sticks with what works more than Fred Couples. Up until a couple of months ago, his bag consisted of 10-year-old irons, a 12-year-old 3-wood, a 9-year-old hybrid, and a 54-degree wedge from 2014. A visit to Ping headquarters before the Charles Schwab Cup Championship changed a lot of that. Thanks to a herculean effort by Ping Senior Tour Manager Brad Millard, Couples walked out of that session with a new Ping G425 driver, Ping I210 irons (3-P), and two new Ping Glide 3.0 wedges (54, 58). Give that man a medal, as the sticks are still in Couples' bag today. Based on his track record, Couples should be set well into his 70s.

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The hot, humid days of May have shifted to the relatively cool, damp days of March in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, as the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass hosts the top 50 players in both the FedExCup standings and the OWGR for the 46th edition. Pete Dye’s masterpiece (Par 72, 7,189) has stood the test of time and was originally designed for play in March. With multiple different doglegs, visual tricks and no two consecutive holes playing the same direction, multiple decisions and multiple shot shapes will be on display. The major differences will be not navigating Bermuda rough and greens that are not crispy from the lack of heat this time of year. Manageable rough and softer conditions this week might make March more palatable, but the winner ($2.25 million; 600 FedExCup points) of the $12.5 million purse will need every club in their bag plus the six inches between their ears to lift the new trophy. Need more Course Info? Check Rob Bolton’s Power Rankings, The First Look and Course Preview. Recent Winners Webb Simpson (2018). Justin Thomas remarked that we would never see TPC Sawgrass play as easy as it did on Sunday (70.014) of last year. Simpson destroyed too many records to list as he led the field in fairways, Strokes-Gained: Putting and Par-4 and Par-5 scoring while winning comfortably (73 on Sunday) by four shots. Notables: Brooks Koepka closed with 63, the lowest final round in history to cash T11; Xander Schauffele continued his role a quick study as he cashed T2 in his first appearance; Simpson was last in driving distance and went co-wire-to-wire as he shared only the first round lead. Si Woo Kim (2017): The youngest winner ever at 21, the South Korean debuted in 2016 (T23) and spent his weekend scrambling for pars (T1) and avoiding bogeys (T1). He posted 10-under, including 69 in Round 4, to win by three in hot, blustery conditions.  There were just seven rounds in the 60’s on Sunday. Notables:  54-hole leaders J.B. Holmes (84) and Kyle Stanley (75) never factored; Kim was bogey-free in the final round as he beat Louis Oosthuizen (T2) heads-up by three; Like Kim, Rafa Cabrera Bello made his second start and cashed T4. Jason Day (2016): Picked up his second win of the season in wire-to-wire fashion (API) to go along with his WGC-Dell Match Play victory. Gamers will remember his victory at Match Play as he injured his back and couldn’t pick the ball out of the hole. Day opened with 63 and never looked back as he won by four. Notables: Thomas fired 65 in the final round (T3) in his second start; Colt Knost posted 63 in Round 2 and shared T3 with Thomas and Ken Duke proving this course can be played by short, straight hitters. Day led the field in scrambling, bogey avoidance and Par-4 scoring while finishing T51 in fairways hit. Key stat leaders Golfers inside the top 25-ish in each statistic on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. This is the 20th event of the season. * – Finished inside the top 10 since 2010 Strokes-Gained: Tee to Green  1  *Rory McIlroy  2  *Justin Thomas  3  *Hideki Matsuyama (20 under par in four starts before MC last year)  4  Byeong-Hun An  5  Dustin Johnson  6  Gary Woodland (best T11, 2014)  7  Patrick Cantlay  8  Jason Kokrak (6 trips, 1 weekend)  9  *Tommy Fleetwood (T7 ’18, T41 ’17) 10 Matthew Fitzpatrick 11 Luke List 12 *Paul Casey (first time, 2004, none in 10 other trips) 13 *Xander Schauffele 15 Keith Mitchell (coming in HOT) 16 Lucas Glover (T6 ’17, 3 2010) 18 Sungjae Im (maiden; rookie) 19 Corey Conners (maiden) 20 Talor Gooch (maiden) 21 Jon Rahm (T63, T72) 22 *Webb Simpson 22 *Ian Poulter (T2, 2017) 24 *Matt Kuchar (2012 winner) 25 Bubba Watson (T37 best in 11 trips) Strokes-Gained: Putting  1  Dominic Bozzelli  2  Brian Gay  4  Andrew Putnam  6  *Rafa Cabrera Bello (T4 ’18, T17 ’17)  7  Scott Langley  8  *Rickie Fowler  9  Dustin Johnson 10 Patton Kizzire 11 *Jason Day 12 *Brandt Snedeker 13 *Xander Schauffele 14 Patrick Reed 16 Wyndham Clark (maiden) 17 Charles Howell III (16 events, T17 ’18 is his best) 18 *Adam Scott 19 *Francesco Molinari 20 Billy Horschel 21 Cameron Smith (MC, MC) 22 Denny McCarthy (maiden) 23 Vaughn Taylor 24 *Si Woo Kim 26 Kiradech Aphibarnrat Bogey Avoidance  1  *Lucas Glover  2  Charles Howell III  3  Dustin Johnson  4  Patrick Cantlay  5  *Matt Kuchar (2012 winner)  6  *Webb Simpson  7  *Xander Schauffele  7  Kevin Tway  9  *Jim Furyk 10 *Aaron Baddeley 13 *Marc Leishman (one top 10 in 9 starts) 15 *Harold Varner III 16 *Kevin Kisner (P2 on debut in ’15 is only top 50 result) 17 Talor Gooch 18 *Justin Rose 20 Troy Merritt 21 *Justin Thomas 21 Andrew Putnam 23 Abraham Ancer (maiden) 24 *Rory McIlroy 25 *Jhonattan Vegas Levels of Confidence Premium Veterans Tiger Woods is the only player to win in March (2001) and May (2013) and has only missed once in 18 tries. He’s also the only multiple winner in the field. Rested and raring to go, he’ll look to improve his T11 from last year, his first start since 2015. Another veteran who has played both sides is Sergio Garcia. The 2008 champ was second in 2007, T4 in 2002 and has cashed in 17 of 19 appearances. He’s quietly racked up T9 and T6 in his last two on TOUR. At age 23 in 2004 Adam Scott became the youngest winner after Fred Funk became the oldest winner in 48 the year before. He backed up his win with T8 and added T6 in the first May edition. Since 2012 he’s played the event under-par and has finished outside T19 exactly once. Last week’s winner Francesco Molinari will look to join Woods (2001) as the only players this century to win THE PLAYERS the week after winning on TOUR. Woods also used the Arnold Palmer Invitation as his springboard that season and interestingly enough, Day won his trophy after claiming the API earlier in the year in 2016. Form Over Function    The foot of Rory McIlroy has to be sore from trying to kick open the door to victory this year as his streak of top-10 finishes is now at five. His run of T8, T6, T8 and T12 from 2013-16 cooled with T35 in ’17 and MC last year. It’s shocking that Dustin Johnson has never hit the top 10 here in 10 trips. It’s also not shocking he’s won twice worldwide in 2019 including his last time out at WGC-Mexico Championships. His two best paydays are the last two years (T17 ’18, T12 ’17). With three top-25 cashes, including T3 and T11, I’ll suggest Justin Thomas is comfortable around these parts. I’m trying to think where he’s not comfortable … The last time Brooks Koepka was at TPC Sawgrass he set the Sunday scoring record (63) that included an albatross. His check for T11 was his third-consecutive pay INCREASE at THE PLAYERS. Caution The last time we saw Jason Day he WD after six holes on Thursday at Bay Hill. He claims his injury has been blown out of proportion. His three top-10 paydays in the last eight years will gather eyeballs again this week. Justin Rose has only one top-10 payday from 15 tries but he’s also won this season at a difficult Torrey Pines. After finishing T2 in 2012 and winning in 2015, Rickie Fowler looked like an annual “save” for this event. Since his win he’s left early twice and cashed T60. With only two cuts made in five trips I’m not sure if I’m running Jordan Spieth to the front of the line this week. I don’t believe this is the track or event to get healthy or bust a slump. The mystery that is Phil Mickelson continues to taunt gamers as he’s done nothing since his win at Pebble Beach. He’s MC in six of his last seven here with the best result being T41.

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KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Rickie Fowler needed a special invite to get into the 103rd PGA Championship but he’s already locked up a spot in the 104th after an impressive week at the Ocean Course. Fowler won’t be sweating on a spot at Southern Hills in Oklahoma next May as rounds of 71-76-69-71 left him at 1-under and in a tie for eighth with the top 12 and ties getting a return ticket. RELATED: Final leaderboard | Mickelson makes history It was Fowler’s first top-10 on the PGA TOUR since he finished T10 at The American Express in January of 2020, over 16 months ago. Having slipped to 128th in the world rankings and 147th in the FedExCup, the result came timely as Fowler looks for an 11th hour push towards playing in his hometown US Open at San Diego’s Torrey Pines next month. He is now 101st in the world rankings and onto the playoff bubble at 125th in the FedExCup. Fowler can make the U.S. Open field either by forcing his way into the world top 60 after the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide or by getting through final qualifying in Columbus on June 7. “I’m starting to feel pretty darn good. The last few months, it’s been a lot more just go play golf and not play golf swing. Put a lot of time in prior to the last few months of working on swing and doing the stuff we kind of needed to work on and accomplish. Now it’s just go play golf,” Fowler said during the PGA Championship tilt. “I’m very happy with where we’re at. Things can still get better, but we’re back to playing golf and hitting shots and having fun.” While Fowler was celebrating the milestone, so too was Harry Higgs who surged into a tie for fourth in his first major championship with a final round 70. Higgs not only earns a trip back to the PGA Championship next year but also finds his way into the 2022 Masters. “You don’t really want to root for people to make bogeys, but I’m going to be rooting for people to make bogeys,” the affable Higgs joked when he finished up well ahead of the leaders at 2 under. “When I get focused at the task at hand I can perform at this level. Even though these golf shots are treacherous and they look brutal, the clearer that I am, the more focused that I am, I can pull these things off, and then just simply (I know) I can win these things.” Veteran Padraig Harrington was also part of the top four and while as a past champion his spot at the PGA is always secure he will now return to Augusta for the first time since 2015. Another set for the 2022 PGA Championship that may not have found a way otherwise was Kevin Streelman who pulled within a shot of the lead early in the final round before settling for a 75 and tie for eighth.

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