What does Scheffler’s Masters win mean for the rest of majors season?

The PGA TOUR shifts from Maui to Oahu this week, and while the state may be the same, the island change calls for a dramatically different style of golf. Gone are the sweeping elevation changes of Kapalua and in comes the flatter, European and Hamptons-inspired Waialae Country Club, home of the Sony Open in Hawaii. Waialae pre-dates Hawaiian statehood, was featured in a popular 1960s comedy flick, and has been part of the PGA TOUR schedule since 1965. That’s a lot of tournament film to study, but Waialae still packs a few new punches every January. 1. It pays tribute to legendary courses When golf course architect Seth Raynor and his then-associate Charles Banks crafted Waialae in the early part of the 20th century, they looked to some of the famous courses of the day for inspiration. Raynor designed the first hole, now a 488-yard par 4, with the “Road Hole” from the Old Course at St Andrews in mind. Like the 17th hole in Scotland, the first hole in Hawaii demands an approach shot into a shallow green with a deep bunker guarding in front. No. 7 at Waialae is a sibling of No. 6 at National Golf Links of America in Southampton, New York, one of the trademark courses of Charles B. Macdonald, Raynor’s mentor. Both par 3s play short – the back tees at National Golf Links stretch to 141 yards and the Sony Open hole reaches 162 yards – but both provide a layer of bunker troubles in front of a wide green. Raynor originally surrounded the entire green with sand as a further tribute to Macdonald, but today it’s only in the front. Waialae’s par-3 17th hole employs a “redan-style” green that was recently restored to Raynor’s original vision with a large bunker on the left and four smaller bunkers to the right of the green. Macdonald and Raynor were important figures in establishing the redan concept in the U.S., bringing it over from its origin at North Berwick Golf Club in Scotland. The par-3 fourth hole at Waialae, with its 55-yard green including a deep swale running across the middle, is said to take its shape from the Biarritz Golf Club in France. Unfortunately for Raynor, he never saw the full fruit of his labors, as he passed away in January 1926, one year before Waialae officially opened. 2. The front and back nines are flipped Hawaiian golf is primetime golf in the contiguous United States. And to make sure fans see the most picturesque views of Oahu as they watch the late-night action, the Sony Open swaps the front and back nine for tournament play. There are two notable reasons for the change. First of all, aesthetics: The back nine holes (front nine for members) best highlight the beauty of the Hawaiian sun setting in the west. Second, this affords the opportunity to use the par-5 dogleg left 18th hole (ninth hole for members) as a dramatic finishing hole. While the 18th only played 546 yards in 2021, a series of bunkers at the dogleg require a precise tee shot to set up a feasible second shot into the green. Last year, Kevin Na put his second shot through the green on 18 before getting up and down for birdie and a one-shot win. In 1983, Isao Aoki holed out for eagle from 128 yards to become the first Japanese player to win on the PGA TOUR. No matter what the contenders do on 18, it’s almost always entertaining. 3. It’s a mad, mad ‘W’ The most iconic feature of Waialae is the “W” formed by four coconut trees behind the 16th green. This formation is on purpose, and while it has only been around since 2010, its history goes back more than 50 years. In 1963 – two years before the debut of the Sony Open – Stanley Kramer’s “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” debuted in theaters, and it featured one of Hollywood’s all-time star-studded casts with Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle and Sid Caesar, among others. The film’s plot revolved around a group of individuals racing to uncover $350,000 hidden under a W-shaped tree in the fictional California city of Santa Rosita. Waialae member Ethan Abbott estimated he was around 9 or 10 years old when he originally saw the movie. His boyish enthusiasm about the film never left him, and as an adult in the 2000s, he started lobbying the course to create its own W. After some initial pushback, Waialae relocated four trees from the hundreds on the course, planting them behind the No. 7 green for members. The entire alteration cost $3,500 and came from a gift already earmarked for a project on the course. While the trees are tricked into thinking they are growing straight, they now form one of golf’s iconic images, with the “W” appearing on Waialae merchandise and earning the club a series of national landscape awards. Weddings have even become common at the “W,” a prime photo opp spot for golf enthusiasts. But did Abbott hide any cash under the trees? That remains unknown. 4. Justin Thomas has the course record In 2017, Justin Thomas arrived at Waialae directly from a victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He backed that up with an opening-round 59 at Oahu, a new course record, surpassing Davis Love III’s 60 in 1994. Thomas started on the back and book-ended his round with eagles on No. 10 and No. 9. At age 23, Thomas became the youngest player to ever shoot a sub-60 round. Along with the 18-hole record, Thomas proceeded to set the 36-hole, 54-hole and tournament records at the Sony Open, finishing at 27-under 253 to beat Justin Rose by seven strokes. The Sony Open was Thomas’ third of five wins en route to his 2016-17 FedExCup title. 5. It’s a flat track The Sentry Tournament of Champions field climbs as high as 510 feet above sea level at the Plantation Course at Kapalua. At Waialae, players can leave their hiking boots back at the hotel. The Oahu course has an elevation change of roughly 10 feet. While Waialae includes features unique to Hawaii – coconut, monkey pod and kiawe trees, along with Pacific Ocean views – water hazards are minimal and 83 bunkers span the grounds. Breezes can play a factor, but after the mountains and unexpected winds of Kapalua, Waialae presents a more subdued atmosphere. The last three Sony Open champions are Kevin Na, Cameron Smith and Matt Kuchar, which suggests ball-striking and putting are more important than distance on this classic course.

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2022 Sanderson Farms Championship, Round 1 Scoring Conditions: Overall: -1.4 strokes per round Morning wave: -1.64 Afternoon wave: -1.15 Current cutline (top 65 and ties): 70 players at -2 or better (T50) Top 3 projected cutline probabilities: 1. 3 under par: 38.5% 2. 4 under par: 36.0% 3. 2 under par: 12.3% Top 10 win probabilities: 1. Harold Varner III (T2, -7, 11.0%) 2. Sahith Theegala (1, -8, 9.0%) 3. Si Woo Kim (T4, -6, 7.6%) 4. Corey Conners (T7, -5, 6.4%) 5. Sam Burns (T17, -4, 5.7%) 6. Sungjae Im (T7, -5, 5.1%) 7. Gary Woodland (T7, -5, 3.4%) 8. Patton Kizzire (T7, -5, 3.1%) 9. Roger Sloan (T4, -6, 2.9%) 10. Taylor Moore (T7, -5, 2.8%) NOTE: These reports are based off of the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live “Make Cut”, “Top 20”, “Top 5”, and “Win” probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 20K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the Sanderson Farms Championship, or to see how each golfer’s probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model’s home page.

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Tiger Woods’ 2007 FedExCup victory saw him fire rounds of 63-63-63-66 for a resounding 8-stroke victory in the inaugural edition of the FedExCup Playoffs. It was, in short, a vintage performance and a classic example of Woods answering the bell. The first to have his name engraved on the sterling silver Tiffany FedExCup trophy, Woods arrived at East Lake with the well-established bag setup of the “graphite shaft” portion of his career. The rough formula is below. ● Latest iteration of his sponsor’s woods ● Mitsubishi Diamana shafts ● Prototype irons built to similar specs and shaping to the Titleist 681T irons Larry Bobka developed early in Woods’ career ● Mike Taylor (now of Artisan Golf) crafted wedges ● His “Elder Wand” Scotty Cameron ● Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord grips played since time out of mind ● True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue shafts in irons (X100), wedges (S400) 2007 Driver: Nike SasQuatch Tour 460 (7.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana Blue 83 TX 3-wood: Nike SasQuatch II (15 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana Blue 103 TX Irons: Nike Forged Blades (2-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wedges: Nike Pro Combo (56), Nike SV (60) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS Ball: Nike One Platinum TW Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord As a point of comparison, take a look at what was in Woods’ bag for his iconic TOUR Championship win 11 years later. As we always say about Tiger’s setup, the DNA remains the same — and usually the putter, when comparing two points in time. The Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS putter Woods wielded for 14 of his 15 major victories was in the bag for the wins in question. A TaylorMade staffer in 2018, Woods’ woods were TM rather than Nike. Woods’ shafts stay in the family but get a little lighter. Prototype irons built to Woods’ specs, same wedge lofts in similar designs…more similarities than differences, to be sure! 2018 Driver: TaylorMade M3 460 (9.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade M3 (13 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 80 TX 5-wood: TaylorMade M3 (19 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 80 TX Irons: TaylorMade TW-Phase1 prototype (3-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind Raw (56 and 60 degrees) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

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