How Jason Kokrak’s putter switch paid dividends at the Charles Schwab Challenge

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – Chaos on the leaderboard. Final group is struggling. Tiger’s in contention. No, wait, Tiger’s leading! No, wait, now he’s not. Then a six-way tie for first … and how the heck did Rory get in the mix? Thought we wrote him off two hours ago. Sunday was a delicious mess, a day in which a dozen or so guys seemed to sneak peeks at the Claret Jug. It was fun, entertaining, a roller-coaster ride of epic Open Championship proportions, as the real Carnoustie – the nasty one, thanks to stiffer winds and tougher pin placements — finally showed up. In the end, though, it belonged to the calmest guy in the room. En route to becoming the first Italian to win The Open, Francesco Molinari went about his business this weekend like a meticulous craftsman patiently working on a Stradivarius. He put his head down, never drew attention to himself, and never made a mistake. He played beautiful bogey-free golf for 36 holes on a course that, frankly, he’s avoided in recent years. Carnoustie is one of three venues for the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship; Molinari has only played the event once since 2012 and has never finished inside the top 35. “I got beaten up around here a few times already in the past,â€� he said. “I didn’t particularly enjoy that feeling.â€� That’s why he didn’t fancy his chances this week, even though the 35-year-old from Turin was on the hottest streak of his career and the hottest golfer on the planet. Two wins on two continents in his last five starts, including the Quicken Loans National earlier this month on the PGA TOUR. He also threw in a couple of runner-up finishes, including a T-2 in his last start at the John Deere Classic. So how did we overlook this guy? The big reason on Sunday was obvious – his playing partner. Tiger Woods was the host at the Quicken Loans and the one who handed the tournament trophy to Molinari. Now they were in the same twosome battling for golf’s most historic trophy. With Tiger close to turning back the clock – not exactly to year-of-2000 standards, but closer to 2008, the year of his 14th and last major victory – Molinari was relegated to sideshow status. “Clearly in my group, the attention wasn’t really on me, let me put it that way,â€� Molinari said. “If someone was expecting a charge, probably they weren’t expecting it from me, but it’s been the same the whole of my career.â€� Look at the names on that Claret Jug. What can you say? It’s the best golfers in history, and to be on there, it’s incredible. From someone like me coming from Italy – not really a major golfing country – it’s been an incredible journey. Indeed, Molinari had no problem working in the shadows. He grew up as the younger brother to Edoardo Molinari, who in 2005 became the first continental European to win the U.S. Amateur. Francesco had already turned pro, making his debut on the European Tour with muted performances. Edoardo eventually turned pro himself, and along with Francesco, began making their presence known — particularly as teammates at the 2009 World Cup and 2010 Ryder Cup. Since then, Edoardo’s career has stalled due to two hand surgeries. On Sunday, he texted his brother to wish him good luck. “I would love for him to get back to where he was a few years ago,â€� Francesco said. “Golf is a tough beast.â€� But now Francesco is the beast. Jordan Spieth has seen it up close. “He’s been working his butt off,â€� Spieth said. “I see him in the gym all the time, going through his routine, grinding on the range, doing his own stuff. It truly is hard work that paid off for Francesco. I’m certainly happy for him. I’ve watched this through the PGA TOUR this year, day in and day out, seeing him work as hard as anyone else.â€� Spieth, of course, was hoping for his own payoff Sunday after entering the final round as a co-leader with Kevin Kisner and Xander Schauffele. But the defending champ, who displayed a magic touch down the stretch last year at Royal Birkdale and who on Saturday morning got a haircut at a local shop called Magic Barbers, could conjure up very little on Sunday. A bogey-double bogey stretch midway through his front nine gave the opening his chasers needed. Schauffele and Kisner also had struggles, particularly out of Carnoustie’s bunkers; in fact, Schauffele, last year’s PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, was forced to hit three one-legged bunker shots Sunday due to some awkward lies. As a result, Molinari – who started the day three shots off the lead – moved up the leaderboard simply by working his way out of trouble and stringing together par after par after par. Woods had moved ahead of him, and for a 23-minute span, even had the solo lead. Asked if leading a major felt familiar after so many years out of the mix, Tiger simply said, “Oh, yeah.â€� Meanwhile, the cool Molinari just maintained his par train, letting others self-destruct. Woods lost the lead with a double bogey at the 11th, moving Molinari into a share of the lead with Spieth, Kisner and Kevin Chappell. McIlroy soon joined them after a 59-foot eagle putt at the par-5 14th, as did Schauffele with a birdie at the 10th. Finally, Molinari took the lead with his first birdie – or non-par – of the day at the 14th. Schauffele joined him 30 minutes later, and that’s when the crowd finally started to thin out. The possibility of a playoff loomed, but then Molinari delivered the decisive blow – a 60-degree wedge from 112 yards at the 18th hole. The ball finished 5 feet from the pin, just inside Woods’ well-struck approach. He and Woods then walked up the fairway toward the large grandstands and the Carnoustie hotel in the distance. Woods crossed the Barry Burn on the left side, while Molinari crossed it on the right. Woods missed his putt, Molinari made his and was now the leader at 8 under. “He chipped it beautifully,â€� Woods said about his playing partner. “I know he made a couple of putts here and there for par but to get it to where it was basically kick-in from some of the spots he put himself, that was impressive. Great touch.â€� The waiting game then began for Molinari. After signing his card, he retreated to a couch to watch the coverage and see if Schauffele could catch him. It was a helpless feeling, and sitting there only made it worse, even though Schauffele dropped two strokes back with a bogey at 17. He buried his head; for the first time today, he did not appear calm. “That’s why I went to the putting green because I probably would’ve felt sick watching on TV,â€� he said. “Big credit to my wife, who watches me all the time. I don’t know how she does it. I couldn’t do it.â€� Having hit a few putts, he suddenly stopped. Finally, it was official. Schauffele had not holed out at 18. It was 6:52 p.m. local time; more important, it was 7:52 p.m. back in Turin. The chaos had finally ended. A new chapter has begun. Italy has its first major golf champion. “Look at the names on that Claret Jug,â€� Molinari said, staring at the shiny object within arm’s length. “What can you say? It’s the best golfers in history, and to be on there, it’s incredible. From someone like me coming from Italy – not really a major golfing country – it’s been an incredible journey.â€� Given his form, don’t expect it to end anytime soon.

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Tiger hits full yardages, wants ball rollback

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The PGA TOUR heads to Texas for one last event before the Masters with the Vivint Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course. The course will play as a par 72, measuring 7,432 yards, and it will be played on bermuda greens again this week. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $350K Resurgence [$100K to 1st] STRATEGY Dustin Johnson ($11,500) and Adam Scott ($9,200), who were both out recently due to COVID-19, will be in the field looking to dust off the rust and get some last-minute work before heading to Augusta National next week. Other golfers such as Tony Finau ($10,900), Scottie Scheffler ($9,600) and Sungjae Im ($9,300) will embark on the recently renovated Memorial Park Golf Course, which hasn't hosted a PGA TOUR event since 1963 (Houston Open). The Vivint Houston Open will be the first PGA TOUR event designed by Tom Doak, and we should expect a course that's different than what we're used to in Texas and one that may have some similarities to next week. A 2019 Golf Advisor article alludes to a faint resemblance to Augusta National in that "much of the golf course will be opened up, especially the back nine, which Doak compared to Augusta National in the sense that spectators should be able to see several holes at once." The fairways will slope toward hazard areas, and the green complexes will be challenging; golfers will need to be steadfast in their plan to navigate the course tee-to-green. Like Pete Dye and Donald Ross, Doak uses sightlines off-the-tee to entice aggressive golfers to take risks for the potential reward. With that said, the margin for error if you miss is more penal than playing conservatively. Hole No. 13, a driveable par 4, is a prime example of one risk/reward opportunity golfers will face. The hole seems relatively benign with no hazards, but the green is very narrow and steeps severely on both sides to challenging up-and-down collection areas, bringing in the potential of big numbers. The 2019 renovations also included adding a par 5 this week (five total), which will be a big factor in scoring this week. There will be 19 sand traps and two water hazards that come into play on four holes. Doak routinely mentions golfers will need to ‘think' their way through this course and that it's not just a long track the players can overpower. Lineup stacking with golfers who have similar styles should be a good strategy this week, especially on a new course with no previous knowledge of how it will play. Pairing Brooks Koepka ($10,600), who consulted during the renovations, with other long-hitters like Sam Burns ($7,500), could be viable. Rostering shorter-hitters shouldn't be overlooked as well. Brian Harman ($8,500), Russell Henley ($9,400) and Denny McCarthy ($7,900) all rank outside the top 100 in Driving Distance but inside the top 13 in Strokes Gained: Total over the previous three months. Viktor Hovland ($9,800) Hovland looks like he's returning to his game from earlier this summer, gaining an average of 5.6 strokes tee-to-green over his previous three starts. Hovland is one of the best drivers of the ball, ranking 20th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, and should take advantage of the five par 5s, ranking eighth in par-5 efficiency over his previous three months. Sungjae Im ($9,300) Sungjae's streak of seven made cuts is due primarily to six straight events of positive Approach and Off-the-Tee splits dating back to the TOUR Championship. Sungjae is also much better putting on bermuda, gaining in seven of his last 10 rounds. Since the restart, Im is fourth Off-the-Tee, 24th with his irons and inside the top 25 in par-5 efficiency. Cameron Davis ($8,100) Davis has been one of the best bermuda putters over the previous three months, ranking third in the field. Mix his putting prowess with his ability Off-the-Tee and we should have a solid play in this range to pair with some of the top-priced studs like Brooks Koepka ($10,600) or Viktor Hovland ($9,800). Like Sungjae, Davis has been great on the par 5s, ranking fifth in par-5 efficiency since late July. Davis may also be able to pick up a few strokes on the short par 4s, ranking 14th in eagle rate and seventh in par 4s measuring 350 to 400 yards over the last three months. Wyndham Clark ($7,700) Last week was tough to watch if you backed Wyndham Clark. He played fantastic throughout the week and hit 17 of 18 greens on Sunday. Brian Gay ($6,600) just caught a heater in the final round was marvelous with his putter on Sunday. Hopefully, this keeps people off Clark this week, who should fit this course nicely with how well he plays par 5s, ranking 14th since the restart. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $350K Resurgence [$100K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. 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