Howard Men, Texas A&M Corpus Christi Women lead PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship

Adam Scott is back on the leaderboard at The Riviera Country Club with a new putter in hand. Scott, winner of The Genesis Invitational just two years ago, was in third place after Friday’s morning wave thanks to rounds of 68 and 65. He gained approximately four strokes on the greens in the first two rounds to rank fourth in the field in that metric when he walked off the golf course. Unlike most of his peers on the leaderboard, Scott doesn’t use a conventional length putter, or putting style. Instead of letting both of his hands hang in front of his body, as per tradition, he grips his elongated putter like a broomstick with his left hand up by his sternum. While Scott has spent most of his recent years with the same Scotty Cameron prototype putter in the bag, he recently switched into an L.A.B. Golf “Mezz.1 Proto” putter ahead of last week’s WM Phoenix Open. (Scott’s other recent switch is into Titleist 681.AS irons. More on that here) L.A.B., which stands for “Lie Angle Balance,” crafts putters that are designed to reduce torque and twisting throughout the stroke. Scott has experimented with the company’s original Directed Force head shape in the past, but the newly developed Mezz.1 Proto has a more palatable look for him. “I had experimented with their putters; in 2019, I used a shorter version of their original design for a few weeks on Tour and I like the technology,” Scott told the media on Friday following his round. “They’ve designed a new shaped head, which I think is more appealing than the old one, and the performance is good. Obviously, that’s why I’m using it. I like what it does for me.” The winged shape of the putter helps to enhance forgiveness across the face, and the sole of the head comes with 20 weights to ensure the head is properly weighted for Scott’s longer build. “The whole concept is lie-angle balanced,” Scott explained. “I’m not smart enough to explain the physics of it, but it swings very nicely.” Since most golfers swing the putter on some degree of an arc, L.A.B.’s lie-angle balance design is intended to keep the putter face square to that arc. With less twisting of the face compared to more conventional putters, the idea is to create greater consistency and stability. So far – through two rounds, at least – the technology and the switch appear to be working.

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The smile on Mac McLendon’s face was almost as big as the trophy he was holding. Next to him on the 18th green stood partner Hubert Green, holding an identical trophy but a smile not quite as wide. McLendon and Green had teamed together in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, to win the 1974 National Team Championship. For Green, it was his fourth title of the season. McLendon had a little different perspective as he was emerging from the depths of a four-year slump that left the former LSU golfer struggling to make cuts and even considering a career change, putting his accounting degree to use. The one-shot win by McLendon and Green over the uncle-nephew team of Sam and J.C. Snead and the pairing of Ed Sneed and Bert Yancey in the best-ball event at Walt Disney World allowed McLendon to stay in his chosen career and simply use an adding machine and ledger to count the $50,000 the two players split evenly. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me. I’m one year older than Hubert, but I look 10. That’s what Monday morning qualifying does to you,” McLendon said at a time on the PGA TOUR when non-exempt players had to qualify weekly. “My game left me, just totally left me, about four years ago. I came close to quitting the TOUR. I had some really bad times. But I’m not a quitter. Golf is my life, my profession. This makes it worthwhile. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.” No wonder why McLendon’s smile was so big. That victory began a solid run of play and was the first of four official PGA TOUR titles for Benson Rayfield McLendon, Jr., nicknamed Mac, born in Georgia but an Alabama resident for almost his entire life. McLendon died July 4 in Shoal Creek, Alabama. He was 76. Fresh out of LSU, where he led the Tigers to three consecutive Southeastern Conference titles and was a first-team All-American his senior year, McLendon had immediate success after turning pro, winning in his first start, at the unofficial Magnolia Classic, a Second Tour tournament held in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, played opposite the Colonial National Invitation, in 1968. That week, McLendon opened with a 5-under 65 and closed with a 66 to finish 72 holes tied with Pete Fleming. What made the tournament memorable was the nine-hole, sudden-death playoff that ensued, with McLendon finally prevailing over Fleming with a birdie as the sun was quickly setting. McLendon’s second TOUR title came in bittersweet fashion at the 1976 Southern Open at Green Island Country Club Columbus, Georgia. McClendon was the only player in the field to post four rounds in the 60s, and that was enough for him to defeat his friend, Green, by two strokes. Green passed in 2018. McLendon’s best season on TOUR came two years later when he won the Florida Citrus Open at Rio Pinar Country Club, the final event at the course before the tournament moved to the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, current site of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. That week, McLendon cashed the largest check of his career—$40,000—by again turning in four sub-70 rounds, including a 36-hole final day, to defeat a leaderboard full of future World Golf Hall of Famers. David Graham finished second, followed by Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite and Hale Irwin. The victory amazed even McLendon, who told the media following his victory, “I don’t know when I’ve hit the ball worse. I’ve heard players say they had won and they really weren’t playing well. Well, I just put that down as a lot of baloney. Now I know what they’re talking about.” What won McLendon that title in Orlando were the 111 putts he took for the entire week. The win also earned him a spot in the Tournament of Champions a month later in Carlsbad, California, where he tied for fourth. His win in Orlando was a harbinger of things to come in the Sunshine State. At the season-ending Pensacola Open in late-October, just over the border from Alabama, McLendon took a three-shot lead into the final round but couldn’t hold it, shooting a 1-over 73 on the final day to fall into a playoff with Mike Reid. McLendon defeated Reid with a par on the first playoff hole. He finished that season, his best, 22nd on the money list with $107,299 in earnings. In his career, McLendon played in 326 PGA TOUR events. He turned 50 on August 10, 1995, but never attempted to play PGA TOUR Champions. His final TOUR appearances came in 1981, fittingly, at the Pensacola Open and then a week later at the Walt Disney World National Team Championship, paired with Leonard Thompson. Following his TOUR career, McLendon worked in the financial services field in Birmingham, Alabama. He is a member of the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the Montgomery County (Alabama) Sports Hall of Fame. McLendon is survived by his wife of 55 years, Joan; his daughter, Amy (Jason) McLevaine; and two grandchildren. His son, Lance, preceded him in death. Funeral services will be July 8 at Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church in Alabama.

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If there’s one thing that can zap the confidence from any golfer without notice and without mercy, it’s an injury. Brandt Snedeker withdrew from the RBC Canadian Open on Monday. He was an early WD from last week’s Open Championship due to soreness in a rib that “didn’t respond to treatment as I had hoped,” he tweeted on Wednesday, July 19. This leaves the event in Ontario, Canada, without its all-time earnings leader at Glen Abbey Golf Club. In three appearances, he’s won (2013) and finished T5 twice (2009, 2016). Of course, this also means that opportunity is even greater for the 156 in the field who are able to compete. Glen Abbey is a fan-friendly venue on which golfers often struggle to find fairways and greens, but they know going in that par-breaker chances are everywhere. At least they should know. The par 72 with three par 5s on the inward nine connects with both angles as a putting contest. Either pile up the greens in regulation or sink it from everywhere with fewer looks. Do both and you’ll be raising that gorgeous trophy. Beginning with Snedeker in 2013, the last three winners at Glen Abbey dutifully step into formation. Glen Abbey is embraced by all who enter, not to mention a host country that continues to return to it for its national open – this will be the fourth time in five years that the RBC Canadian Open has been held here – but the Jack Nicklaus design checks all of the boxes from our analytical perspective as well. Fairness of the test translates into equity in the box scores. Last year’s field leaders in distance of all drives (Dustin Johnson), fairways hit (Steve Wheatcroft), greens in regulation (Martin Laird), proximity to the hole (Jon Rahm) and scrambling (Ricky Barnes) all finished inside the top 10 on the leaderboard. Now, because wind influenced higher scoring in the first two rounds, to get a fairer observation of the value of strokes gained: putting, it’s better to review the 2015 edition when only 16/100ths of a stroke separated the lowest round (first, 71.13) from the highest (third, 71.29). Not surprisingly, six of the top 10 on the leaderboard ranked inside the top 10 in the stat, including field pacesetter David Hearn. However, to avoid confusion by mixing and matching editions, all of the groupings in the identifiers below apply to 2016. Golfers in this week’s field inside the top 10 in the following categories in last year’s RBC Canadian Open: * – Currently inside the top 50 on the PGA TOUR in the stat. (Golfers who haven’t logged enough rounds are not tagged.) Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green Rank  Golfer (Tournament Finish) 1  Cameron Percy (T26) 2  *Jhonattan Vegas (Win) 5  Alex Cejka (T5) 6  Ricky Barnes (T5) 8  Hudson Swafford (T14) 9  Geoff Ogilvy (T9) 10  *Dustin Johnson (T2) Greens in Regulation Rank  Golfer (Tournament Finish) T3  Ricky Barnes (T5) T3  *Hudson Swafford (T14) T3  Jhonattan Vegas (Win) T8  *Chez Reavie (T14) T8  Johnson Wagner (T43) Strokes Gained: Putting Rank  Golfer (Tournament Finish) 2  Jared du Toit (T9) 5  *Steve Wheatcroft (T5) 6  Chris Kirk (T14) 7  K.J. Choi (T38) Par-5 Scoring Rank  Golfer (Tournament Finish) 1  *Dustin Johnson (T2) 2  Alex Cejka (T5) T3  Matt Kuchar (T9) T3  *Luke List (T14) T10  Ben Crane (T9) T10  Ken Duke (T49) T10  *Whee Kim (T38) T10  Geoff Ogilvy (T9) T10  Chez Reavie (T14) T10  *Hudson Swafford (T14) T10  Vaughn Taylor (T43) While Glen Abbey has undergone more than its fair share of modernizations in recent years, the historical line of demarcation as it concerns relevant course history occurred between 2000 and 2004 when a major renovation took place. So, the data below takes into account results from only 2004, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2016. NOTE: The groups below are comprehensive to assist in data mining. Inclusion doesn’t imply automatic endorsement in every fantasy game as all decisions are specific to your situation. CONFIDENCE MEN Selected golfers with multiple cuts made sorted by rank on the tournament’s money list. BUILDING CONFIDENCE Sorted by best finish, selected golfers who are either finally finding form on the course or are still relatively new to the tournament but have enjoyed some success. OTHER SIGNS OF CONFIDENCE Sorted by most recent top 10s, selected golfers for whom it’s been a few years since their last.

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