The home of the Masters is a draw for basketball’s best, too

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Prior to The Genesis Invitational, we looked inside the pros’ bags to see what they’re using at historic Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. We peeked at the equipment in play for the world’s No. 1 player, tournament host Tiger Woods and an NFL quarterback. We spotted some unique wedge stampings and plenty of tributes to the late Kobe Bryant. ** A closer look at Woods’ TaylorMade MG2 TW Grind wedges from a recent practice round. Whispers in the golf equipment world suggest TaylorMade is considering bringing Woods’ wedge design to retail, just as it did with the P7TW irons. Matthew Stafford’s 60-degree Vokey SM8 is stamped with wise words. Rory McIlroy’s bag featured a number of headcovers paying tribute to Bryant in the town where he starred for the Lakers. Dustin Johnson’s bag featured a Mamba Mentality cover, as well. While he’s prone to tinkering before a tournament, and even switching clubs once play begins, it’s worth noting that for now, Johnson, like McIlroy, has a TaylorMade SIM Max hybrid in the bag. Marc Leishman, winner at the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago, has the names of his two sons, Harvey and Oliver, stamped on his 52- and 60-degree wedges. Adam Scott, who experimented with one of LAB’s putters last year, is testing another of the company’s models against the Scotty Cameron Xperimental prototype putter, which has been in and out of his bag for several years. Sure, it looks cool, but players usually drill out the backs of irons for function, not fashion. The process removes weight from the clubhead to achieve a desired swing weight. You can see the technique on Rafa Cabrera Bello’s wedges below. Charles Howell III is known as one of the TOUR’s great equipment tinkerers, as evidenced by the photo above. Safe to say CH3 was doing quite a bit of testing on the range at Riviera. Sergio Garcia, who is currently without an equipment sponsor, is featuring the iconic Three Stripes of his apparel sponsor, adidas, on his bag.

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