Rain came and changed this Masters. Hideki Matsuyama heads into Sunday with a four-shot lead. Is he about to win the green jacket? If not him, who will do it? And how far is too far back?
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Harry Higgs … PGA National is no joke, but it doesn’t discriminate against newcomers. Since the current definition of a rookie was adopted during the 2013 season, 15 true rookies have recorded a top-25 finish at The Honda Classic. They’re led by Daniel Berger’s playoff loss in 2015, Luke Guthrie’s solo third in 2013 and Wesley Bryan’s T4 in 2017. Higgs has enjoyed a fruitful rookie experience in 2019-20 with six top 25s, including in each of his last three starts. He’s consistent throughout his bag, evidenced by ranking 16th in the all-around. He’s also 24th in bogey avoidance. Russell Knox … Before the Scot was twice a winner on the PGA TOUR, two of his three podium finishes occurred at PGA National, first with a playoff loss in his debut in 2014, and then with a T3 in 2015. His penchant in finding so many fairways and greens not only positioned him as a threat on challenging tracks, it also laid the foundation for sustainable success. Alas, he’s just 2-for-4 without a top 25 in The Honda Classic since, but the interim between the close calls and his latest appearance has allowed his stature to subside enough to qualify among this weekly fivesome. Still proficient with the irons, he slots 16th in greens hit and T28 in proximity. He’s also 25th in scrambling and 11th in bogey avoidance. Jhonattan Vegas … It’s no secret why he’s 6-for-7 at PGA National with three top 20s, including last year’s T16 when he opened with a field-low 64. The 35-year-old Venezuelan always has profiled as a ball-striker, and a long-hitting one at that when the occasion calls for it. He’s also proven to be streaky, so what better than a course-record 62 in his finale at Coco Beach upon which to spring into south Florida. Predictably en route to his T9 at the Puerto Rico Open, he ranked inside the top 15 in total driving and greens in regulation. Sam Burns … Until he wins a PGA TOUR event, it’s possible that fans’ lasting image of him is when he was in lockstep and matching smiles with Tiger Woods off the first tee at PGA National in the final round two years ago. Burns went on to birdie the hole and closed in bogey-free 68 to place T8. (Woods signed for an even-par 70.) After returning from a broken ankle last summer, Burns endured a quiet autumn, but he’s connected for a T6 (American Express) and a T23 (Genesis) more recently. He can hang with almost anyone off the tee, but his putting is the primary, albeit inconsistent weapon thus far this season. Tim Wilkinson … The 41-year-old southpaw from New Zealand has been the poster boy of resiliency throughout his career. Amid injuries and in between membership statuses, he’s managed to make 171 PGA TOUR starts while cracking the top 110 in FedExCup points or earnings (when it still determined status) only once. He’s poised for his seventh appearance at PGA National where two of his career four mid-tournament withdrawals have occurred and where he hasn’t finished inside the top 50 in 12 years. However, all three of his top 25s this season were logged in his last four starts, so his form is in as good shape as he’s displayed. Currently 18th in fairways hit, T25 in proximity, 28th in scrambling and T18 in bogey avoidance. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.
Dustin Johnson, a former No. 1 golfer, said he has to decide what to do regarding the Olympics this summer.
Jordan Spieth is not known to tinker with his equipment much, but he’s made a few significant changes in the past two weeks. Ahead of the 2019 PGA Championship, Spieth switched out of his Titleist 915F fairway wood, which he’s used for about 4 years, into a new Titleist TS2 fairway wood. Then this week at the 2019 Charles Schwab Challenge, Spieth switched out of the driver shaft that he’d been using in his Titleist TS3 driver throughout 2019, into a new Fujikura Ventus 6X shaft; he’s still using the same Titleist TS3 driver head model, at 10.5 degrees. Related: DJ using a Fujikura Ventus prototype shaft | Bettinardi’s military inspired putters | Equipment Q&A: Ping designer Marty Jertson Coming into the 2019 Charles Schwab Challenge, Jordan Spieth was ranked 204 on the PGA TOUR in driving accuracy off the tee, hitting just 51.94 percent of fairways. The Ventus shaft Spieth changed into, however, is designed to reduce twisting at impact with a multi-material bias core, which Fujikura calls “VeloCore,â€� or “Velocity at its Core.â€� The core of the shaft is made with Pitch 70 Ton carbon fiber material that’s “three times stiffer than your standard mod,â€� according to Fujikura’s Fitting and TOUR representative Marshall Thompson. Back in February, PGATOUR.COM went in-depth with Thompson about the shaft, and Thompson said that “upwards of 80-to-90 percent of people had an easier time hitting the center of the faceâ€� with the Ventus shaft, due its twist reduction qualities through impact. According to Fujikura, Spieth also found the center of the face more often using the Ventus shaft. Ahead of the Charles Schwab Challenge, Fujikura said: “The increased tip stiffness moved his toe impact locations to more center face with Ventus. His ball speed was similar at 170-172 (mph), but the misses were better so he decided to put it in play.â€� Although Spieth shot 65 (5-under) in the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Thursday, he hit just half of his fairways, missing 6-of-his-7 missed fairway to the left.  “I still had some scar tissue on shots today where I’ve had some foul balls to the right this year where that’s been my miss,â€� Spieth told PGATOUR.COM. “… I played away from that shot because of the potential of what’s been there this year.â€� If Spieth can heal the mental scar tissue off the tee and continue hitting the center of the face more often with his new driver setup, his driving accuracy could begin trending up.
