Couples: Koepka wants to return to Tour from LIV

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Top-ranked Jon Rahm closed with an eagle on the tougher South Course at Torrey Pines for a 6-under 66 on Wednesday, trailing leader Billy Horschel by three strokes after the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Rickie Fowler hits all 18 greens, shoots 66 at Farmers | Dustin Johnson shoots 68 on South Course after long layoff Horschel shot a bogey-free 9-under 63 on the North Course and led Michael Thompson by one stroke. Of the 30 players who shot 67 or better, 26 played the North. Rahm’s was the best score on the South by one over Luke List, Peter Malnati and Cameron Tringale. The players switch courses Thursday and play the final two rounds on the South. Taking advantage of the North’s shorter distances and more forgiving rough, Horschel made five birdies on the front nine, highlighted by a 25-foot putt on the par-4 second hole. The 35-year-old from Florida is seeking his first non-match play victory on the PGA TOUR since April 2018. “I told my caddie, ‘Let’s just go out there, no expectations, and just enjoy,’” Horschel said. “And I think we did a really good job of that. My game is in a really good spot.” Thompson also played bogey-free, putting him one shot ahead of Stephan Jaeger and Kevin Tway. Rahm’s strong start in San Diego is no surprise: The world No. 1 got his first PGA TOUR victory at Torrey Pines in 2017, and he won last year’s U.S. Open on the South Course for his first major. “Doesn’t shock me,” Horschel said when told of Rahm’s impressive round. “I think he won a U.S. Open on that course, last I checked. He’s a really good player. There’s a reason why he’s the No. 1 player in the world.” Rickie Fowler, Doug Ghim and Francesco Molinari also shot 66s, all on the North. Rahm said the conditions were “relatively easy,” even on the South. He stumbled with two bogeys on the back nine before finishing strong, crushing a 280-yard approach shot on the par-5 18th to 12 feet for eagle. “It was probably one of the best swings I’ll make all year,” Rahm said. “That 3-wood was absolutely perfect.” Horschel tied for 36th at the Sony Open in Hawaii two weeks ago, but he nearly had to skip Torrey Pines because of a persistent upper-body muscular injury that has required daily treatment. He didn’t decide to play for sure until he felt good when he woke up on Wednesday morning. “Thankfully (with) all the work we’ve done and everything I felt, it never got any tighter,” Horschel said. “It’s actually felt like it’s a little bit looser right now. Hopefully we got through the tough of it and now we’re on the downhill side and I don’t have to worry about it anymore.” Horschel, who won the BMW PGA Championship in England last September on what is now called the DP World Tour, had two top-10 finishes in his first 11 career starts at Torrey Pines. His excellent start came two days after he dressed up as a human target and allowed kids to hit balls at him in a stunt widely enjoyed on social media. Thompson is seeking his first win since July 2020, and he played another excellent round after finishing in a fifth-place tie at the Sony Open. Thompson is a PGA TOUR veteran, but he is getting plenty of double-takes around the TOUR while rocking a thick, long beard that he started growing before last year’s playoffs. “I haven’t been mistaken for anybody,” said Thompson, whose wife told him to keep the look. “It’s just more people think I’m a rookie because I look so different. You know, I’ve probably gotten more comments of, ‘What hockey team do you play for?’” The Farmers Insurance Open being played Wednesday through Saturday to avoid a television conflict with the NFL’s two conference championship games on Sunday.

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ST. LOUIS – Gary Woodland wasn’t as good as he was on Day 1, but he was good enough. Playing with the red-hot Kevin Kisner (64, 9 under), Woodland shot a 4-under 66 to get to 10 under and take the second-round lead at the 100th PGA Championship at Bellerive. Woodland completed his round on Friday before the horn blew for a weather delay at 3:35 p.m. Those who returned Saturday morning were unable to reel in his lead. The third round will begin Saturday afternoon and will feature players in groups of three going off the first and 10th tees. “I probably didn’t play as well as I did yesterday top to bottom,â€� said Woodland, who won the Waste Management Phoenix Open earlier this year, breaking a victory drought that went all the way back to the 2013 Barracuda Championship in Reno. “But the iron game really kept me in it today. I got a little wayward with a couple of drives and hit a lot of good putts that didn’t go in. I can live with that.â€� Woodland hit 9 of 14 fairways and, for the second straight day, 15 greens in regulation. Two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka charged into contention with a 7-under 63 that tied the record for low round at the PGA. He had a chance to break the record but watched his 20-foot birdie putt slide by on his last hole, the par-4 ninth. He’s at 8 under, just two back. Charl Schwartzel, who also shot 63, and FedExCup and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson (66) were among four players at 7 under, three back. The quartet included first-round leader Rickie Fowler, who finished off a 3-under 67 this morning to move to 8-under. The cut fell at even par sending plenty of big names home early. Among those was Masters champion Patrick Reed (72-71), multiple major winner Phil Mickelson (73-71), Sergio Garcia (70-71), Henrik Stenson (73-69), Bubba Watson (70-78) and Matt Kuchar (71-70). Woodland, 34, began working with putting coach Phil Kenyon at The Open Championship, and was coming off one of the best putting days of his career in the first round. He drained 152 feet, 5 inches worth of putts and also led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (+4.365) Thursday. He was not as good Friday, making just 72 feet, 5 inches worth, but was optimistic, nonetheless. He’s smashing the ball off the tee, watching it trundle into the hole, and is being followed this week by a bigger-than-usual crew of family and friends from nearby Topeka, Kansas. “For me as a whole, the putting was kind of just the last piece of the puzzle,â€� Woodland said. “Butch (Harmon, his coach) and I focused so hard this year on driving the golf ball because, when I drive it in play, I’m playing a game a lot of guys aren’t playing out here, and that’s a huge advantage. … “When I see putts go in, I’m a completely different player,â€� he added, “especially with as aggressive as I’m playing right now. It was nice to get some work in with Phil at The Open, and then I’ve had a couple weeks to work on it. It just feels comfortable. Today I felt like I putted it as good if not better than I did yesterday. I just didn’t see putts go in, but I can live with hitting good putts.â€� OBSERVATIONS KISNER BACK IN THE MIX. One year after Kevin Kisner took the 54-hole lead at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, only to fade with a final-round 74 to finish T7, he’s back for more at Bellerive. How did he manage to almost keep up with his much longer playing partner Woodland? “Greens are receptive,â€� Kisner said, “so my 4-iron stops as quick as his 7-iron.â€� Kisner, Woodland and Sergio Garcia (71, 1 over) started on the back nine, and Kisner shot 29 to shoot up the leaderboard, eliciting memories of Quail Hollow a year ago. He attributed his solid performance in part to playing with Woodland, and the power of two playing well instead of just one. “Yeah, a 100 percent,â€� Kisner said. “I think every time that you see guys playing well it kind of drags other guys in the group along. And Sergio wasn’t having the best day, but I bet we made him hang in there just because of how well we were going. “Gary and I are good buddies,â€� he added, “had a great time out there playing, and if I could only hit it as far as he could it would be a different game.â€� NOTABLES JORDAN SPIETH – Found the water at the par-5 17th hole for the second straight day, but saved a par and hit 15 of 18 greens for a 66 (3 under total). For more on Spieth’s round, click here. ADAM SCOTT – Lingering at a distant 119th in the FedExCup, Scott finally found his game with a second-round 65 to get to 5 under overall. For more on Scott’s round, click here. FRANCESCO MOLINARI – Magical summer continues for the Italian who already has The Open Championship and Quicken Loans National trophies. Shot 67 to get to 5 under and well in the mix. JON RAHM – Fiery Spanish superstar shot 67 to also get to 5 under par. JUSTIN ROSE – Was iffy to start this PGA after a WD at the WGC-Bridgestone last week, but has kept it together nicely (67-69, 4 under) at steamy Bellerive. TONY FINAU – After top-10 finishes in each of the first three majors this season, the long-hitting Utah golfer bounced back with birdies on eight of his first 11 holes. He also triple-bogeyed the par-3 sixth hole. He shot 66 to finish on the cut line at even par. RICKIE FOWLER – A 3-under 67 has him 8 under and T3. The quest for a maiden major is on. TIGER WOODS – Put together a 4-under 66 to start Round 3 six shots off the pace. JUSTIN THOMAS – A back-nine blitz in the soft morning conditions helped the defending champion to a 5-under 65 and 6 under total. He is just four back. RORY McILROY – A 67 from the two-time PGA champ left him 3 under and seven back. JASON DAY – Settled for a 68 to sit 5 under and five back. QUOTABLES It’s really nice to know that even know though we’re seven time zones away people are cheering us on.I didn’t even think of it. I’ve been so in the zone you don’t know where you are or where you’re at. I’m definitely wanting to get that second major. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 7-under 63 – Brooks Koepka & Charl Schwartzel Longest drive: 373 yards – Ollie Schniederjans on the par-4 4th Longest putt: 69 feet, seven inches – Y.E. Yang Toughest hole: The par-4 4th played at 4.374 with just seven birdies. Easiest hole: The par-4 11th played at 3.568 with three eagles and 72 birdies.

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Scottie Scheffler has won four PGA TOUR events this season, including the Masters, and he once held a record-setting, 1,041-point lead in the FedExCup standings back in June. Scheffler holds the lead heading into the finale of the FedExCup Playoffs – this week’s TOUR Championship – but now it’s a matter of strokes and not points. He will begin the tournament at 10 under par, two shots ahead of No. 2 Patrick Cantlay under the unique Starting Strokes format. Cantlay, who was seventh in the FedExCup prior to his timely win at last week’s BMW Championship, moved to second with his victory. With the injury withdrawal of No. 3 Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele is the only other player within four strokes of Scheffler (and two behind Cantlay). The player with the lowest score in relation to par at week’s end will win the FedExCup and the $18 million bonus. For Thursday at least, the focus will be on Scheffler and Cantlay, who’s trying to become the first back-to-back FedExCup champ. We wanted to take a closer look inside the bags of the two players atop the leaderboard at East Lake. In Scheffler and Cantlay, you have two players who stay pretty consistent with their equipment but who also have several notable differences. We found six notable differences: 1. Brands: Firstly, and most obviously, Scheffler is sponsored by TaylorMade, whereas Cantlay is sponsored by Titleist 2. Different driver lofts: Scheffler uses a lower-lofted 7.5-degree build, while Cantlay opts for a higher-lofted 9.5-degree driver 3. Driving irons vs. high-lofted fairways: Scheffler fills out the top end of his iron set with driving irons (3- and 4-iron), while Cantlay uses a 7-wood instead 4. Blade vs. cavity back irons: Scheffler uses a set of blade-style irons, and Cantlay uses cavity-back irons, which are typically designed for greater forgiveness on off-center hits 5. Lighter iron shafts: Scheffler uses True Temper’s Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts, which weigh-in at around 130 grams, and Cantlay uses True Temper’s lighter Dynamic Gold 120 Tour Issue X100 shafts that weigh 120 grams 6. Blade vs. mallet putter: Although both players use custom Scotty Cameron designs, Scheffler uses a more traditional blade-style putter, whereas Cantlay opts for a winged mallet design that helps boost forgiveness The vast differences in their golf clubs highlights the importance of custom fitting; not everyone swings the same way, so not everyone should use the same golf clubs. Look no farther than Scheffler and Cantlay for proof. Below, we’ll dive into both of their full setups to see what they’re currently using and what’s changed throughout the year. Scottie Scheffler As previously mentioned, Scheffler doesn’t tinker much with his equipment. Since his Masters victory back in April, in fact, he hasn’t made any changes to the clubs in his bag. Scheffler did, however, make huge equipment news in 2022 when he signed with TaylorMade Golf the week of THE PLAYERS Championship in March. Prior to the announcement, Scheffler was an equipment free agent, so he wasn’t obligated to play any particular brand. Plus, he was coming off of two PGA TOUR victories (the WM Phoenix Open and Arnold Palmer Invitational). So, why did he end up signing with TaylorMade then? “I would say first and foremost (the reason) would be the driver,” Scheffler told GolfWRX’s Two Guys Talking Golf podcast following his Masters victory. “I already used the (TaylorMade P-7TW) irons for a while. I like the irons, but the (TaylorMade Stealth Plus) driver, when we did testing over the winter, I saw some pretty nice gains. It was one of those things, like, I know I’m going to use this driver, I know I’m going to use the irons, so maybe let’s see if we can work something out. Just because having consistency with their brand, obviously I trust what they do. To be part of the family and be part of the team was pretty cool for me, and so we wanted to work something out with them, and we were able to get it done. I’m happy to be part of the team.” Since signing with TaylorMade, however, not much has really changed for Scheffler, aside from switching out his old Nike VR Pro Limited fairway wood for a new TaylorMade Stealth Plus 3-wood at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas, which he went on to win to reach No. 1 in the world. He explained why to GolfWRX.com: “One of the things I’ve struggled with was actually hitting 3-woods too far, and also just not seeing all my shots. … Austin was a good area for me to be like, ‘OK, I’m only going to hit this off the tee maybe a few times, let’s put it in the bag and see what I can do with it.’ And it was a pretty seamless transition. I saw the shots I wanted to see. My mishits were more accurate with the TaylorMade than they were than my Nike. I’ve seen some significant improvements already.” Arguably the most notable clubs in Scheffler’s bag are the irons he plays. They’re TaylorMade P-7TW blade irons, which were actually co-designed by Tiger Woods, hence his initials in the clubs’ name. Not surprisingly, Scheffler told GolfWRX.com that Woods had an influence on why Scheffler even started testing the irons in the first place. “I would say the reason I tested it was definitely a Tiger influence,” Scheffler said. “I used the P730’s for a number of years, and I played with Tiger at the Masters in 2020, and I watched him it. He hits it so solid and he flights it so well and does all kinds of stuff with the ball. It kind of clicked in my head, I was like, ‘I used Nike clubs for so long when he was helping develop those irons.’ I’m like, why wouldn’t I at least test his new irons with TaylorMade because they’re his irons, and he obviously had some influence in the process of developing and producing the irons. “I went home in the off-season, tested them out, and I saw that I was able to hit more shots with them. I was able to flatten out the flight a little bit more if I wanted to hit it low or hit it through the wind. And when I wanted to hit it higher, I could do that, as well. It gave me a little bit more variety in what I could do with the golf ball than the P730. And it’s not a big difference, it’s just when you put yourself in a 20mph wind in your face and want to flatten it out a little bit. I can flatten it out and have the ball be a little bit more stable with the head. It’s only a couple yards, but for me it felt like a huge difference.” Also, during the week of Scheffler’s first TOUR win and first of four victories this season in 2022 – the WM Phoenix Open – he switched into a custom Scotty Cameron Timeless Tourtype GSS prototype putter that measured 36.5 inches, with two 25-gram weights in the sole. Scotty Cameron putter rep Brad Cloke spoke on the backstory behind the “Scottie” special: “He just wanted to switch things up a little bit and give himself a slightly different look heading into 2022,” Cloke said in a Titleist press release. “Prior to visiting us in the studio, he’d been messing around with an older Newport 2 Timeless he had at home. He’d added bunch of lead tape to the sole to try and get it to a similar swingweight as his Super Rat. He really liked the profile but the feel wasn’t exactly where he wanted it, so we went to work on building him a new setup with adjustable weighting.” Check out Scheffler’s full specs below, and for more photos, head over to GolfWRX.com. Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (8 degrees, 7.5 degrees of actual loft) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X 3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (16.5 degrees, 15 degrees of actual loft) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X Driving iron: Srixon Z-U85 (3-iron, 20 degrees) Shaft: Nippon Pro Modus3 Hybrid Tour X Irons: Srixon Z-U85 (4-iron, 20 degrees), TaylorMade P-7TW (5-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50-12F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks prototype (60-06K) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Tourtype GSS prototype Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Patrick Cantlay Speaking of not changing clubs very often, Cantlay still uses a driver from 2018, a 3-wood from 2014, a 7-wood from 2018, irons from 2017, and two wedges from 2018. The newest clubs in his bag are his custom Scotty Cameron T5 prototype putter, which Cantlay started using in August of 2021, and a new Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks 60-T custom wedge, which he started using at the Masters. The new wedge has Vokey’s T-grind on the sole, which is the company’s lowest bounce option, and it’s popular on Tour with players such as Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas also using the grind. Check out Cantlay’s full current setup below. Driver: Titleist TS3 (9.5 degrees, B1 SureFit setting, 0.75-degree flat lie angle) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60 TX 3-wood: Titleist 915F (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting, 0.75-degree flat lie angle) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 70 TX 7-wood: Titleist TS2 (21 degrees, B1 SureFit setting, 0.75-degree flat lie angle) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 80 TX Irons: Titleist 718 AP2 (4-9 iron) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 Tour Issue X100 Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (46-10F, 52-08F), Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (56-08M and 60-T) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300 Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X T5 Proto Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

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