Daniel Berger leads by five shots at The Honda Classic

LA QUINTA, Calif. – At just 22 years old, Matthew Wolff is one of the most exciting players on the PGA TOUR. He wields a fierce golf swing, hits the ball a mile high, and ranked fourth on the PGA TOUR in driving distance last year. Distance can be a gift, but also a curse at times. Long hitters on the PGA TOUR can have an undeniable leg up on certain holes and courses, but when there’s trouble off the tee, their advantage gets minimized as accuracy becomes the priority. Tighter holes can work to even the playing field and take driver out of the hands of big hitters. But what happens when a long hitter starts to hit the ball straighter? Theoretically, it could put driver back into their hands more often, since the risk of driving it into trouble is reduced. In that case, the length advantage would return, even on difficult driving holes. That could be the case this year for Wolff, due to an off-season equipment change. Thanks to his new TaylorMade Stealth Plus driver, Wolff says he’s not only hitting the ball longer, but he’s hitting it straighter on mishits, too. “I think I may be inclined to take more drivers this year and use it as a weapon, even on holes that are maybe a little tighter,” Wolff told GolfWRX. “I think (I’ve gained) a few miles per hour, but nothing drastic. I’m not really looking for speed. I’m looking for that dispersion and consistency to get brought in a little more. I’m really happy with it. I’m really excited to put it in play. I already feel like I have a lot of confidence with it, and I’m hitting it a lot better.” Wolff said the company’s past drivers tended to be a bit unforgiving on shots hit off-center. The new TaylorMade Stealth drivers, which are made with an all-new 60-layer carbon composite face, however, don’t have those same issues for Wolff. “I think it’s the best driver that TaylorMade’s ever had,” Wolff said. “I feel like it’s the perfect in-between of when you hit it good, it obviously reacts the way you want it to, but even the misses are really good. I think that my dispersion has been brought in quite a bit.” With a brand new face material (and color) for 2022, it’s understandable for golfers to skeptical of the Stealth design. Wolff, though, says the changes have helped with both performance and feel. “It’s not so much that I can tell the difference sound-wise, but feel-wise… I just feel like the misses off the toe or the heel aren’t so hard,” Wolff explains. “It’s a pretty soft face, in my opinion, which I really like, because when you miss the center, it’s pretty forgiving.” Additionally, while Wolff says he’s sticking with his trusty SIM2 3-wood from last year, he’s added a new TaylorMade Stealth Plus 5-wood into the bag for 2022. For Wolff, the 5-wood will be an option from week-to-week, replacing his P-7MC 3-iron depending on course conditions. “This 5-wood I put in…it goes like 260-265 yards and kinda replaces my 3 iron,” Wolff said. “The 3-iron is really good for off the tee, and I feel like I have a lot of confidence with it. But going into par-5s, it’s kind of hard to get it up in the air sometimes, so I’ve put that 5-wood in. Sometimes I’ll have the 3 iron, sometimes I’ll have the 5-wood, just depending on how I feel that week and the conditions. If it’s windy I’ll probably keep the iron in, but if it’s out here (The American Express), or there’s no wind and I can put the ball up in the air, I’ll probably put the 5-wood in.” If the new TaylorMade clubs perform like he says they do, Wolff will be even more exciting to watch this year. He enters the week ranked 10th in the FedExCup after finishing no worse than 17th in four fall starts, including two top-5s.

Click here to read the full article…

Round 3 of THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES gets underway today. Here’s everything you need to follow the action. Round 3 leaderboard Round 3 tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Wednesday-Saturday (ending Sunday), 10 p.m.-2 a.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: None. Radio: None. NOTABLE PAIRINGS (ALL TIMES LOCAL) Sergio Garcia, K.J. Choi, Brooks Koepka Tee time: 8:15 a.m. (No. 10) Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama, Ryan Palmer Tee time: 8:45 a.m. (No. 1) Emiliano Grillo, Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith Tee time: 9:35 a.m. (No. 1) Justin Thomas, Byeong Hun An, Danny Lee Tee time: 9:45 a.m. (No. 1) MUST READS Thomas leads THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES after second-round 63 Win probabilities Day returns to old putter, shoots 66 Power Rankings The First Look: News and notes Sleeper Picks Top 10 rookies to watch What to expect during the fall schedule Sign-up and play Fantasy Golf

Click here to read the full article…

NEAR-FLAWLESS NIEMANN DRIVES AWAY AT GENESIS Historic course. An event with a storied history. And the event host is Tiger Woods. As if there wasn’t enough pressure on Joaquin Niemann entering Sunday with a three-shot lead at The Genesis Invitational. But the 23-year-old from Chile settled in after a slow start, pulled off plenty of pressure shots and capped it with a final-round 71 to win by two strokes at The Riviera Country Club. Niemann, who opened with rounds of 63 on Thursday and Friday, became the first player to win the event in wire-to-wire fashion since Charlie Sifford in 1969. “This weekend felt like a month,” Niemann said. “I’m so happy it’s finally done. I’m really proud of the way my caddie and I battled.” It was Niemann’s second PGA TOUR win. His first came in 2019 at The Greenbrier. Niemann also came within one shot of tying the event’s scoring record. He finished at 19-under for the week, one short of Lanny Wadkins’ tournament record of 20-under which came in 1985. That remains as the longest standing active scoring record on TOUR. Niemann moved to No. 7 in the FedExCup standings after picking up 550 FedExCup points. The elevated event also brings with it a three-year exemption. SUNSHINE STATE AWAITS The PGA TOUR switches coasts for The Honda Classic, the start of the Florida swing. Matt Jones’ win last year was his first victory in seven years. He returns to defend, while South Florida locals Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger top the list of notables in the field. Koepka’s brother, Chase, will play on a sponsor exemption, as will 20-year-old Nicolai Hojgaard. The two-time winner on the DP World Tour, including earlier in February, will make his first star on the PGA TOUR at PGA National, the Tom Fazio design that was re-worked by Jack Nicklaus. The course has long been known as one of the toughest on the PGA TOUR thanks in large part to The Bear Trap from hole Nos. 15 to 17. Big names including Louis Oosthuizen, Sungjae Im, Keith Mitchell, Padraig Harrington, and Rickie Fowler are all set to tee it up. The winner will pick up 500 FedExCup points. WOODS DISCUSSES HEALTH, PLANS TO RETURN Tiger Woods met with the media last week prior to the start of The Genesis Invitational, which he hosts each year. It was a year ago when Woods was severely injured in a single-car accident. He suffered multiple fractures in his right leg and shattered his ankle. “I wish I could tell you when I’m playing again,” Woods said. “I want to know, but I don’t. My golf activity has been very limited. I can chip and putt really well and hit short irons very well, but I haven’t done any long stuff seriously. I’m still working.” VIDEO OF THE WEEK MIC CHECK “This has to be one of the toughest courses we play during the year. “I surprised myself with how good I played. During the weekend, I just told myself that we have to finish this and to stay focused.” – Joaquin Niemann, winner of The Genesis Invitational BY THE NUMBERS 64 – After shooting his age in Round 1, Bernhard Langer (64) went on to win at the Chubb Classic in Naples, Florida. Already the oldest winner in PGA TOUR Champions history, Langer broke his own record after winning a record fourth Chubb Classic title. 17 – Under-par score for Byeong Hun An to win at the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

Click here to read the full article…