Latest from PGA Tour and LIV Golf: McIlroy’s back and DeChambeau is everywhere

Brooks Koepka has split with longtime swing coach Claude Harmon III, according to a report in Golfweek. The pair had been working together since 2013. "I love Claude, we had a great run and he's still family to me, but unfortunately we're not working together anymore," Koepka said in a text to Golfweek. Harmon said the split came three days after another of Harmon's clients, Dustin Johnson, won the Masters in November. Golfweek reported that Koepka delivered the news in a face-to-face meeting at the Floridian Golf Club in Palm City, Florida. Koepka finished seventh at Augusta National, one of two top-10s in five starts this season. He has missed his last two cuts, in his final event of 2020 and at last week's The American Express, his first start of the calendar year. Koepka has seven PGA TOUR victories, including four majors, but has not won since the 2019 World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Koepka struggled with knee and hip injuries in 2020, his first winless season on TOUR since 2016. He finished 104th in the FedExCup after three consecutive seasons in the top 10. His previous worst FedExCup finish was 35th in 2016. There was no mention of Koepka's new instructor. In March, Koepka flew to Las Vegas to work with Claude's father, Butch, squeezing in the trip between the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, where Koepka finished T47, and the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship. "What Butch said, I mean he saw it in four swings," Koepka said. Koepka also has used Pete Cowen, who is primarily his short-game coach, to look at his swing. Cowen, an Englishman, was stuck outside the United States for much of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic but Koepka saw immediate results when Cowen entered the country before last year's WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. "Pete is obviously one of the best coaches ever, in my opinion," Koepka said after shooting a first-round 62 at the FedEx St. Jude. He finished second there and was in contention through the first three rounds of the following week's PGA Championship before fading on Sunday.

Click here to read the full article…

There will be one extra player on the 17th tee at this year’s The PLAYERS. He’s actually a resident of TPC Sawgrass, but he’s never taken a full swing. THE PLAYERS’ Tiffany & Co. trophy – a three-dimensional depiction of the tournament’s gold swinging man logo — will hop off his stand and come to life on the broadcast this week. The PGA TOUR, working closely with NBC and creative agency The Famous Group, will become the first golf organization to incorporate mixed reality into its broadcast, as the trophy will digitally appear on the 17th hole. Mixed reality is the merging of real and virtual worlds, making physical and digital objects co-exist in real time. For THE PLAYERS, the technology will be used to show the trophy taking aim at TPC Sawgrass’ famed Island Green. His shots will be illustrated with a golden trail. Honoring the 40th anniversary of the first PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass, the trophy’s swing is an amalgamation of the action from past PLAYERS champions. Two interstitial moments will be used as part of the transition process between shots on the 17th hole. Another two animations will spotlight iconic moments in The PLAYERS Championship history. On Saturday, the trophy will reimagine Tiger Woods’ “Better than most” putt from his 2001 title (complete with Tiger’s fist pump). On Sunday, the trophy will reenact Rickie Fowler’s 2015 tee shot from his playoff win. Along with the trophy’s mannerisms, broadcast audio overlay will narrate the trophy’s depiction of each moment. “I think as we head into The PLAYERS every year, we’re always looking for the new way we can push technology. It’s usually a point in our schedule where we try to stretch the limits,” says Anne Detlefsen, Senior Director, Digital Content, PGA TOUR. “We thought about a way we could not just do it for the sake of throwing mixed reality into our broadcast, but really add some extra layers of storytelling to it.” Fans may recognize The Famous Group’s work from other instances of mixed reality. The Famous Group incorporated digital slime into the NFL’s Nickelodeon Wild Card Game and commemorated famous Los Angeles venues during the Super Bowl pregame show in February. Last September, the company formulated a mixed-reality panther for the Carolina Panthers’ home opener against the New York Jets. While the panther did not harm any season ticket holders, he did rip down a Jets flag and his presence on social media went viral. The partnership generated more earned media for the Panthers than any other activation in the last decade. Part of what makes mixed reality so impressive is the ability to animate while not changing weather conditions. Whether TPC Sawgrass is sunny and warm or if it is cold and rainy, the trophy will take his swing in the present setting. While the animation is prerecorded, its merging with the outside world is not. The PLAYERS Championship TV broadcast will use two cameras to capture multiple angles of this sequence in real-time. Details down to the reflection of the trophy’s gold exterior matching the existing position of the sun will be evident as this mixed reality comes to life. The current real-life The PLAYERS Championship trophy debuted in 2019, glistening with both sterling silver and 24k gold vermeil. Like the mixed reality 3D animation, the real-life trophy’s swing and form is combination of past PLAYERS champions, going back to Jack Nicklaus’ win in the first PLAYERS in 1974. Fans can expect to see mixed reality shots throughout the week on both NBC/Golf Channel and PGA TOUR LIVE broadcasts. Sure, you’ve watched the highlight of Woods’ “Better than most” putt over and over again, but have you seen it physically happen at No. 17 in the 21 years since? No. But you will see it in mixed reality form this week.

Click here to read the full article…

Tiger Woods made birdie at his final hole to sneak inside the cut line at the Farmers Insurance Open, appearing to reach the third round of a PGA Tour event for the first time since 2015.

Click here to read the full article…