Royal St. George’s hasn’t hosted a British Open in 10 years and superstars don’t tend to win at this course. So how do you find the right player to bet on?
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His 18-foot, curling left-to-righter breaks toward the hole, eyes locked on its path, Jon Rahm raises his Odyssey Rossie S putter and unleashes jubilant fist pump as his ball dives into the darkness. We’ve seen the highlight how many times in the handful of days that have passed since that putt clinched Rahm’s U.S. Open victory? It’s hard to imagine after seeing the confidence and firm conviction the ball would roll inevitably into the hole Rahm displayed on Torrey Pines’ 17th and 18th greens, Sunday, that the world No. 1 only switched into the flatstick the tournament prior to the U.S. Open. It’s surprising, too, that the mid-mallet model he settled on was a significant departure from the gigantic rear-center of gravity, high MOI mallet he had been using for months. So, how did we get here? How did Rahmbo look more like 2008 Sunday Tiger Woods on the 72nd at Torrey Pines and less like a golfer who was so frustrated with his putting he went back to the drawing board less than a month ago? The week prior to the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, Rahm visited with Callaway head of tour operations Tim Reed and Odyssey rep Joe Toulon at the Ely Callaway Performance Center in Carlsbad, California, to test putters. There, Rahm was most intrigued by an Odyssey Rossie S mid-mallet putter. He remained happy with the Microhinge Star insert that had been, well, inserted into his 2-Ball Ten at the PGA Championship, so Toulon and company had the Rossie built with the Microhinge. After evaluation on SAM PuttLab and Quintic (two putting analysis systems), it was clear the Rossie performed better than the higher-MOI, rear-CG 2-Ball Ten he had been putting with since joining Callaway’s tour staff in January. And as evidenced by his barnstorming three rounds at the Memorial Tournament and his clutch putt-filled win at the U.S. Open, the Spaniard’s putting performance was indeed elevated. For the inside story of Rahm’s Rossie S, GolfWRX spoke with Odyssey tour rep Joe Toulon. GolfWRX: When Rahm signed with Callaway, he was using a putter that looked very much like the Odyssey 2-Ball Ten he ultimately put in the bag. It intuitively made sense that’d be his choice, but he switched to a different putter at the Memorial. Why? Joe Toulon: When he came into our putter studio in January, he hadn’t really been putting great. He was anxious to get into something. We had, probably, 20 putters made up for him, and the whole time, we were thinking the 2-Ball Ten with the S-neck would be the winner because it was similar to what he was using coming in. But through that process, you have to listen to what the player is saying and how they’re saying it. He was struggling with setup and how his putter sat on the ground…and he found himself fidgeting. In his college days, he used a 2-Ball. So the 2-Ball Ten, the way it sat on the ground for him was the reason he gravitated toward that. He felt comfortable with it…and with his path, he squared it up a little bit more and hit more putts in the center of the face. The last thing we did with that putter was change to a White Hot insert. He’s such a feel player, and he told us that White Hot felt good at impact. So that’s what he switched to at the Farmers Insurance Open and used through the PGA Championship. GolfWRX: And then he made a minor modification at the PGA Championship… JT: So, we follow player stats very, very closely. We talk to players, caddies, and agents. We always want to see what the feel is with the putter (and every club, really). His putting didn’t really change much from the beginning of the year, over time, he just grew frustrated as he expected he’d start making those 8-12 footers. He never really had a hot week with it [the Odyssey 2-Ball Ten putter]. He was always right around zero strokes gained: putting for the week. So, looking at his stats, we thought if the putter could just get relatively hot, he was doing everything else great. We had a meeting before the PGA Championship with Jon, his caddie, and a couple of other people, and we wanted to dive deep into the stats and what he was feeling out on the course and what his caddie was seeing. We started hearing him say his speed had been a little bit off, so we made an insert change in his 2-Ball Ten [White Hot to Microhinge Star]. We didn’t want to change the whole putter because it was the week of the PGA Championship. We were pretty excited about what we were seeing, but then after his round Saturday, he told us it would be his last round using the putter. GolfWRX: Wow. Back to the drawing board then! What direction do you go from there? JT: The Rossie was one of the putters I had made for him back in January, and I could just tell, watching him look at all the putters and listing to his initial thoughts, it was all positive with that one, and he kept kind of looking back at it, so that was something I built up for him along with a couple of others. We kind of pieced everything together knowing that he’s not a very linear person; he doesn’t like lines on his putter, and we knew he liked the insert. He liked the speed off the face, the feel, and the roll, so we knew we were going to go with that insert. And we wanted to go back to something with an S-neck so he could feel the face rotate. The 2-Ball Ten, where the center of gravity is in that putter is further back. Over time, we started to get the sense that wasn’t working well with him wanting to feel the face rotate. And over time, that kind of altered his stroke a little bit to the point where he didn’t look comfortable over the ball. So, we wanted to give him something with the CG a little more forward. He came into the test center Thursday and Friday (of the Charles Schwab Challenge) to look at putters and dial in the right one, but Thursday when he came, he was in love with the Rossie and we got him on Quintic and PuttLab and made sure the numbers were good. At that point, we may have made a slight loft adjustment to help launch angle, but that was it. It was pretty amazing just to see how confident and comfortable he looked with that putter in his hands. He was a completely different person on the greens. GolfWRX: So clearly a different putter and better performance, but why/how was it working better for him? JT: Basically, he was just feeling the face a little bit more, which made him more attuned to face angle and how it was rotating in his stroke. He was feeling like a more “natural” putter again. Jon Rahm putter specs Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie S Insert: Micro Hinge Star Shaft: Steel stepped Grip: Odyssey 56 pistol Length: 37 inches Loft: 2.5 degrees Lie: 68-degrees Weight: 544 grams
Because you can’t win if you don’t play, the most important piece of advice for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP is an alert. Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan, is 13 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone in the United States. Adjusting for the time difference, the tournament is scheduled to being on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET with threesomes off split tees. That’s 4:30 p.m. on the West Coast. Unlike like THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT where upwards of three or four lineups of chalk were possible, all gamers will want to lean heavily on the much smaller handful at the ZOZO. If you try to get cute in this field, it’s going to backfire. My strategy is to have the obvious four golfers rostered and blend with two others for whom I’d feel lucky if they paid off – Joaquin Niemann and Jhonattan Vegas. But if I end up with the default foursome as my starting lineup in the final round, so be it. Each of the last four tournaments of Segment 1 include a cut, so the plan is to do more damage then. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf My roster for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP (in alphabetical order): Hideki Matsuyama Collin Morikawa Joaquin Niemann Xander Schauffele Jhonattan Vegas Will Zalatoris You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. POWER RANKINGS WILD CARD Erik van Rooyen (+3000) … While the top four in the Power Rankings were gimmes, where to cut off for No. 15 presented as one of the more challenging exercises in memory. No one would have griped if EVR would’ve edged Maverick McNealy, so it’s one of those weeks when the Wild Card acts as a 15a or 16. The South African has done EVeRything asked of him and more since his first child was born over the summer. There’s been no regression since the breakthrough victory at the Barracuda Championship. If anything, he’s fulfilled the hype he brought as a first-time member last season. Sensible in every format at Narashino. DRAWS Charley Hoffman (+4000)… What do he, Cameron Tringale (Power Rankings) and Sung Kang (Sleepers) have in common? They’re the only golfers who cashed in each of the first four tournaments of 2021-22. Hoffman opened with a T22 at Silverado but his results grew progressively worse, so he’s relegated to this section. While it’s not as attention-grabbing as the other two, it still plays for the veteran who has sustained an impact for much longer than the first four events. A return to the top 25 is reasonable. Emiliano Grillo (+4000)… I’ve always cautioned never to base expectations on one good or one bad round at a specific time. However, if you’re going to lean in on any of the permutations, it doesn’t get better than the ball-striking Argentine in a no-cut invitational in the wake of a field-low 61 on Sunday in Vegas. While he’s still better suited for long-range formats, he’s been teasing and, at times, delivering on his promise throughout 2021. Branden Grace Mackenzie Hughes Yuki Inamori K.H. Lee Adam Schenk Matt Wallace Odds sourced on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. FADES Ryan Palmer (+6600)… There always are exceptions, but this puts to the test his profile as a streaky talent. In advance of the first edition of the ZOZO at Narashino, he had been performing nicely. It was only six months after he and Jon Rahm partnered to prevail in New Orleans when Palmer finished T10 here, but he had been rising on leaderboards in the interim, too. Now he arrives with only one top-25 finish in the same time frame (T4, Scottish Open). Robert Streb (+6600)… Shocked the world with that 7-under salvo on his first six holes en route to an opening 61 at THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT but he’d settle for a T9 and as the only golfer in the top 24 with fewer than three sub-70s for the week (61-72-65-70). It was a reminder to everyone who flourished and failed as a result of the rounds that golf happens. Garrick Higgo (+8000)… He’ll cash this week but it’s been a struggle for the lefty since breaking through at Congaree four months ago. In his last 10 starts worldwide, he’s missed seven cuts, withdrew from the WGC-St. Jude (due to illness) and didn’t post a top 40 in the other two. Doug Ghim Brandon Hagy Kramer Hickok Sebastián Muñoz Doc Redman Brendon Todd RETURNING TO COMPETITION Pat Perez … Had to walk off TPC Summerlin during his second round two weeks ago with a sore foot. He’s been battling discomfort in his lower extremities for a few years, but it didn’t prevent him from finding the gas pedal late last season when he walked off with four top 20s in seven starts. The firepower is still there, so it’s encouraged to sprinkle him into DFS considerations. Wesley Bryan … It’s unusual for any touring professional to end a hiatus from competition extended as long as his five months at a no-cut, limited-field invitational. Toss on the layers that he’s in the field at Narashino on a sponsor exemption and has status on the PGA TOUR via a Major Medical Extension for which he needs just 124.760 FedExCup points to retain status, and it’s all kinds of rare. Of course, the beauty is that he’s guaranteed to contribute to the objective. Green-light special. NOTABLE WDs Sungjae Im … Say it isn’t so! When he opts out early, it looks like fake news. However, the recent winner of the Shriners also elected not to make the trip to England for The Open Championship, so his decision not to travel to Japan during a pandemic isn’t unprecedented. Kevin Na … Like Im, he also passed on The Open over the summer, but Na recently has been dealing with an injured rib. He finished T49 last week at The Summit Club. Paul Casey … He’d have been a popular selection in every format at Narashino where he finished T17 in 2019. Harold Varner III … Opened his career as a father with a T32 at THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT and extended his consecutive cuts-made streak to seven, five of which went for a top 20. Charl Schwartzel … The all-or-nothing narrative continued at The Summit Club where he was the only golfer who completed 72 holes worse than par, and he was at 7-over 295 to boot. Continue to stick with complementary roles in deeper leagues in which you can surround him with consistent production. Jimmy Walker … He’s opened a surprising 2-for-2 on the season with a T24 in his last start at TPC Summerlin. RECAPS – THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT POWER RANKINGS Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Collin Morikawa 2nd 2 Dustin Johnson T45 3 Justin Thomas T18 4 Xander Schauffele T18 5 Marc Leishman T38 6 Sungjae Im T9 7 Tony Finau T45 8 Louis Oosthuizen T38 9 Sam Burns T5 10 Tyrrell Hatton T18 11 Brooks Koepka T38 12 Rory McIlroy Win 13 Shane Lowry T54 14 Viktor Hovland T18 15 Cameron Smith T9 Wild Card Jason Kokrak T54 SLEEPERS Golfer (GolfBet prop) Result Emiliano Grillo (top 20) T18 Joohyung (Tom) Kim (top 20) T49 Alex Noren (top 20) T59 Kevin Streelman (top 20) T49 Jhonattan Vegas (top 20) T14 GOLFBET Bet Result OUTRIGHT: Collin Morikawa (+1600) 2nd PROP: Collin Morikawa Top 10 (+160) 2nd PROP: Alex Noren Top 10 (+600) T59 BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PGA TOUR October 19 … Ryuji Imada (45); Louis Oosthuizen (39) October 20 … none October 21 … Alex Smalley (25) October 22 … none October 23 … none October 24 … Marc Leishman (38) October 25 … Troy Merritt (36); Xander Schauffele (28)
The third round of The Honda Classic takes place Saturday from PGA National. Aaron Wise leads by three over Brandon Hagy and first-round leader Matt Jones. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. (Golf Channel/PGA TOUR LIVE Freeview). Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel). Sunday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 7:15 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. FEATURED GROUPS 8:45 a.m. ET: Ryan Armour, Pat Perez 9:45 a.m. ET: Phil Mickelson, C.T. Pan 11:10 a.m. ET: Rickie Fowler, Keith Mitchell 1:05 p.m. ET: Harry Higgs, Brice Garnett MUST READS Wise leads after 36 holes Five players who could be in for a big weekend Westwood leaves confident despite missed cut Jones ties course record Scott goes shoeless to save par Sungjae Im’s rise continues Tiger Woods back at home recovering How water balls affect the Florida Swing Who Monday qualified CALL OF THE DAY
