2017-18 Web.com Tour graduate reshuffle

story), Callaway also announced a number of new products for 2019 on Thursday. The new products include Apex 19 hybrids, Apex 19 and Apex Pro 19 irons, PM grind wedges, Odyssey Stroke Lab putters, Odyssey Toulon putters, ERC Soft golf balls, Supersoft and Supersoft Magna golf balls. Below, we take a look at all of the new Callaway clubs, technologies, pricing and release dates. Apex 19 hybrid The Apex 19 hybrid, described as a “players hybridâ€� due to its compact shape and design, now comes with Jailbreak technology. That means along with offering workability and spin control similar to an iron, compared to larger hybrid shapes, the Apex 19 also has the benefits of two stiffening bars behind the face for increased ball speed. The heads are made from 455 carpenter steel and come with a dark PVD finish. They come stock with True Temper Catalyst shafts, will sell for $269.99 apiece, and they hit retail on January 25. Apex 19 irons Occupying the space between a true players iron and a game-improvement iron, Callaway looks to combine feel and distance in its Apex irons. For the Apex 19, Callaway injects urethane microspheres, which contain air pockets, into the cavities of the multi-piece iron heads to dampen vibrations of the flexible faces, thus enhancing sound and feel. The long irons have 360 Face Cups for higher ball speeds, while the short irons have VFT (variable face thickness) faces for increased control. The bodies of the irons are made from 1025 forged mild carbon steel, and each of the irons is also infused with Tungsten in order to control center of gravity (CG) of the iron heads. The Apex 19 irons have a platinum chrome finish and come stock with True Temper Elevate 95 shafts. They will sell for $1,399 steel and $1,499 graphite, and will be available at retail on January 25. Apex Pro 19 irons Leaning more toward the players category than the standard Apex 19 irons, the Apex Pro 19 irons have a more compact shape with thinner soles and toplines. But, as with the standard Apex 19 irons, the Apex Pro 19 irons also have 1025 forged mild carbon steel bodies with urethane microspheres for enhanced feel and sound. Additionally, the long irons have 360 Face Cups while the short irons have VFT faces, and Tungsten is infused into the iron heads to help with CG locations. They have an “Apexâ€� finish, and will sell for $1,399 with steel shafts starting on January 25. PM Grind wedges The next iteration of PM Grind wedges, which were originally co-created by Phil Mickelson in 2014, have the high-toe look with grooves that extend across the entire face. For 2019, Mickelson worked with legendary wedge designer Roger Cleveland in order to build a wedge that can execute both low-spinners and high flops shots, for which Mickelson is known. To execute those demands, the new PM grind wedges have Callaway’s familiar groove-in-groove faces that have ridges between each groove; this results in more points of contact between the ball and the face, and greater spin, according to the company. The new 20-degree angle of those ridges makes them sit close to perpendicular with an open face to achieve more spin on flop shots, says Callaway. Also, the new PM 19 wedges have more offset, making it easier to hit a knockdown with the ball back in your stance, and they have an even higher toe, to raise CG for a lower ball flight. The PM Grind 19 wedges (54-14, 56-14, 58-12, 60-12 and 64-10 degrees) have C-grind soles and come stock with KBS Hi-Rev shafts. They will be available in either a Platinum Chrome or Tour Gray finish, each selling for $159.99 starting on February 15. Odyssey Stroke Lab putters Odyssey seeks to improve the dynamics of golfer’s putting strokes with a new weight distribution system. The new multi-material Stroke Lab shafts, which have graphite top sections and steel tips, are 40-grams lighter than standard steel Odyssey shaft. Overall, the shafts weigh 75 grams. To adjust for the weight reduction in a large portion of the shafts, Odyssey has added 30 grams to the grips, and 10 grams of weight to the putter heads via sole plates. According to the company, the new weighting system leads to more consistent backswing time, face angle at impact, ball speed and ball direction, compared to a standard Odyssey #7 model. The new Stroke Lab line of putters includes 10 different models – four blades and six mallets – each of which come with White Hot Microhinge face inserts. The models available are #7, #7S, Marxman, Marxman S, 2-ball Fang, 2-Ball Fang S, Red Ball, Red Ball S, Tuttle, Tuttle Flow, V-Line, V-Line Fang, V-Line CS, #2, #3, #9 Double Wide and #9 Double Wide Flow. The Odyssey Stroke Lab putters will sell for $249.99 apiece starting on February 8. Odyssey EXO Stroke Lab The new EXO putters, which have multi-material head designs made with 6061 milled aluminum bodies and steel perimeters for higher MOI (moment of inertia), now come with Odyssey’s new Stroke Lab weighting system. They also have White Hot Microhinge faces. They will sell for $349.99 starting on March 29. Odyssey Toulon with Stroke Lab Odyssey’s new Toulon putters, which emphasize craftsmenship with their milled designs, now come with the Stroke Lab weighting system, as well. As always, the Toulon putters will have Diamond Mill faces that have cross hatches to channel vibrations and improve roll, according to the company. The new offerings have a Charcoal Smoke finish, and they will sell for $449.99 starting on March 1. ERC Soft golf balls Callaway says the ERC Soft golf balls – named after Ely Reeves Callaway — are its longest golf balls, and they come with a new look, too. For both distance and greenside performance, the ERC Soft golf balls have a multi-material Hybrid Cover that is said to produce faster ball speeds on long distance shots, and “noticeablyâ€� higher spin around the greens. The balls also have Graphene-infused DualFast Cores, which are said to maximize energy and promote low spin with the driver and high launch. The covers are designed with what Callaway calls “Triple Trackâ€� technology that uses Vernier Acuity Precision, a visual technology that Callaway says helps land planes on aircraft carriers. For golfers, the technology is used on golf balls to help with alignment. ERC Soft golf balls will sell for $39.99 a dozen starting on February 8. Supersoft and Supersoft Magna golf balls Made for “straight distance,â€� according to the company, the 2019 versions of Callaway’s familiar Supersoft standard golf balls have a softer cover and “optimizedâ€� HEX Aerodynamics for less drag. The softer Trionomer cover, according to the company, also helps to promote “greater shot-stopping spin.â€� The new Supersoft Magna golf balls, as their names suggest, are actually larger in size. The USGA-legal golf balls, according to Callaway, are designed for golfers “who struggle with consistent solid contact, and those looking for more distance and easy launch.â€� Due to a higher center of gravity, Callaways says the golf balls are more forgiving. Both the Supersoft and Supersoft Magna golf balls will be available for $22.99 per dozen starting on February 8.

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The first leg of the bonding trip with his sons last summer was a cruise. But Boo Weekley doesn’t remember the island destination, or any other ports of call, for that matter. “We just went, and we came back,â€� he says with a shrug of his shoulders. After the cruise, Weekley and his boys went to Disney World and Legoland. In total, the trip lasted seven days. Or maybe it was eight. “I can’t remember that either,â€� Weekley grins. What he does remember, though, is the fun he had with Parker (now 17) and Aiden (now 10). But despite all the theme nights and the cartoon characters roaming the decks and those Disney movies shown on board, the trip wasn’t completely carefree. Not after his doctor told him just as the trip started that tissue samples taken after removing that angry cyst from Weekley’s left shoulder had shown signs of cancer. The doctor’s next sentence was just as alarming. You need to come back to the office – now. But Weekley said no. He and the boys were already on their way. The trip would go on as planned. “I ain’t gonna turn around,â€� Weekley told his doctor. Upon his return home to Jay, Florida, Weekley finally met with his doctor. The small incision made to excise the infected cyst was replaced by a bigger scar as the surgeon dug back into his shoulder to remove the cancerous cells. “They cut it all out and here we are — we’re back to normal,â€� says Weekley, who makes just his fourth PGA TOUR start of the season this week at the Charles Schwab Challenge, a tournament he won in 2013. Before you think that Weekley is the ultimate optimist or the master of the understatement all rolled in one, he was concerned. But he knew whatever happened was out of his control, and quite frankly, golf’s ultimate country boy doesn’t particularly like talking about his feelings and the like. “Yeah, it worried me, but I mean what’s the worst thing, I couldn’t play golf again?â€� Weekley wonders aloud. “The good Lord is gonna take care of us the way he wants to take care of us. I believe in him so I’m gonna just have my faith and it is what it is.â€� But still, when they say you have cancer … “It scared me. I was worried,â€� Weekley admits. “But I mean, I don’t know, it’s just kind of like one of them things like all right, how serious is it? I didn’t know how serious it was, and then when he said, ‘Oh, I can cut all this out, and we’ll be done in about a day, about three hours,’ I was like ‘All right.’ “So sure enough, they did it all, and I mean it was over with.â€� Well, not exactly. In reality, the cancer diagnosis was just part of a series of setbacks that kept the three-time champion off the TOUR for 18 months. Weekley has worked hard to get back, though, and he has hopes of more starts this summer that will allow him to get back into a competitive flow. Tendinitis in his right elbow originally forced Weekley off the TOUR after he missed the cut at the RBC Canadian Open in July of 2017. Just a month earlier, he had tied for fifth at the Travelers Championship, his best finish in more than a year. Weekley underwent various kinds of treatment for the next few weeks. But after a month, nothing had worked. Only one option remained – surgery. “We done tried shots,â€� Weekley says. “We done tried everything; iced it, we done just let it rest for a month and that didn’t do nothing. It wouldn’t heal up right. It wouldn’t nothing. “So they went in there and just they did a little old cut. He just jabbed that thing down in there and fixed it all up.â€� Weekly didn’t hit balls for nearly six months. He says it was the longest he’d gone without playing golf since he was about 13 years old. He went to rehab, using a rubber band stretched around his fingers to regain strength and mobility in his tendon. Even hunting on those 400 or so acres he owns in the Florida panhandle was problematic. “I couldn’t do a whole lot cause I had to climb, and I couldn’t climb and stand ‘cause I couldn’t pick nothing up,â€� Weekley says. “You know what I mean? It ain’t that I wasn’t strong enough, I just couldn’t get my hands on it. So I didn’t really do a whole, whole lot.â€� Weekley – who first learned to play golf left-handed — was able to fish, though, transferring the reel to his opposite hand. The bass cooperated, and he was able to spend plenty of time with his sons. “I figured out a way to fish,â€� he says. “I promise you I did do that.â€� Once Weekley started playing golf again, though, the cyst in his shoulder flared up, filling with pus and causing him considerable pain. In truth, the shoulder had bothered him off and on for several years. So he went to the doctor and the decision was made to remove it. “I’d been hitting balls,â€� Weekley says. “I wouldn’t say I was all the way ready to come back out and play but yes I was close enough to where I felt like I go out and should’ve shot even par easily.â€� But then came the cancer diagnosis. Another surgery and a big scar across the top of his shoulder. And another delay in getting back out on TOUR. His future might’ve seemed uncertain, but Weekley also recognized it as a reality check. “I don’t know, adversity is a good thing to have sometimes,â€� Weekley says. “It’s a good thing to have ‘cause you just, it is what it is. It’s how you deal with it. Every day in life, there’s something new, so take your time, be patient, let it happen. I don’t know, it’s been crazy the last two years for me. “The way I look, my outlook on life, it’s different, way different than it used to be. … I guess I have a different outlook on when all this came about and well, the worst thing that can happen if I don’t play golf, then I’ll at least be home every day with my boys.â€� In his lowest moments, Weekley admits that he considered the possibility that he might not play golf again at the highest level. But he missed the grind, and the desire was still there. Whatever happened, he wanted it to be on his terms, so he stayed determined to give himself another shot. “It wasn’t because of an injury — that was gonna be my decision,â€� Weekley says. “It still might be my decision, I might play this year and say ‘You know what, I don’t want to do this no more.’ “This is right now, still in my gut I got a fire and I still want it and that’s the only reason why I’m actually sitting right here right now ‘cause I still want it. I could be sitting at home, just chilling out. I could go get a job down there working as a farmer, whatever, don’t matter to me.â€� But right now, he wants to play golf. For him it’s not very hard because that guy’s one of the greatest ball-strikers that ever lived, you know? Scott Hamilton, who is the director of golf at Cartersville Country Club just north of Atlanta and “instructor to a bunch of cool guys on the PGA TOUR,â€� according to his Instagram account, has taught Weekley since 2010. He considers the pro one of his closest friends and kept in touch during his layoff. “I’d just call him every once in a while, and you know I’ll call and ask him about golf and the next thing were talking about fishing or something,â€� says Hamilton, who also works with Matt Every, Scott Stallings, Hudson Swafford, Peter Uihlein and Harold Varner, to name a few of those “coolâ€� guys. So when Weekley told him the doctors were going to take the cyst out of his shoulder, Hamilton wasn’t particularly concerned. After all, Weekley had his shoulder drained before, so why should this be any different? “I thought he’d go to like a little in-patient thing that they lance it,â€� Hamilton says. “Have you ever watched that ‘Dr. Pimple Popper’ (show)? “I just thought it’d be like something like that when you got in there and found it, they gotta cut that out. And then they found cancer around it and was like, oh s—, you know.â€� Hamilton remembers telling Weekley he was “insaneâ€� when he decided not to delay the Disney cruise and have the surgery. “I mean I know he’s frugal but that’s borderline ridiculous,â€� he says, thankful he’s able to chuckle now. As Hamilton, a kindred spirit to Weekley if there ever was one, puts it, the doctors had to cut a chunk of “meatâ€� out of there to make sure they had removed all the cancer cells. He knows Weekley was frustrated by the second setback. but he rarely let it show. “He was pretty nonchalant about it but I could tell he was pretty nervous about it because … a) it made the heal on the shoulder take so much longer, and he had just been through the elbow thing, you know, (and was finally) feeling good, and then b) he didn’t know what kind of post-op treatments he’d have to have, which he didn’t end up having to have any,â€� Hamilton says. “I think it scared the crap out of him.â€� Once the shoulder healed and Weekley was able to start hitting balls again in November, Hamilton says it didn’t take his student long to get his game back. “For him it’s not very hard because that guy’s one of the greatest ball-strikers that ever lived, you know?â€� Hamilton says. “People just don’t have an understanding of how good of a ball-striker he is. I mean, when he hits balls on the range, other TOUR players will watch him hit.  “If he was a great putter, the guy would’ve won … no telling how many times.â€� Normally when an elite player has been injured and away from the game, Hamilton says the hardest thing is to get his speed back. Weekley came up to Cartersville twice late last year to work on his game, and the results were almost immediate. “We got him back up to 112-113 (mph) or something like that with his driver which is — you know he’s a 115 guy,â€� Hamilton says. “It was really close. The biggest challenge is the shape of his swing and his golf swing stays simple. “I work on it a little bit on the posture stuff and a couple different little small things, but that golf swing he’s got is ingrained. It’s more training — trying to get him on a pressure mat and shifting with the right time limit and that kinda stuff.â€� Hamilton says there’s an added, unexpected benefit. Weekley has lengthened his swing and has more range of motion than he had before the shoulder surgery. In some ways, the surgery may have been a blessing in disguise. “I always equated it to the tendinitis, but I think we really might have had to deal with the impingement that he had in his shoulder,â€� Hamilton says. “But yeah, we didn’t do a ton of stuff to him. He’s got a real strong grip, he’s super rotary, he’s a torque guy, he spins around in real tight circles and he hits way down on it.â€� Weekley admits he missed the game, the grind, while he was sidelined. Not that he watched it on TV or anything. In fact, on the Sunday last month when Tiger Woods won the Masters, Weekley wasn’t even aware of the news until later that day when he arrived at Hilton Head for the RBC Heritage. “My caddy’s like, ‘Did you hear what happened?’â€� Weekley recalls. “I said, ‘No, what happened?’ I was thinking something bad. He was like, ‘Tiger won.’ I said, ‘Tiger won what?’ He said, ‘The Masters’. I said, ‘No way’. He’s like ‘Yes’. I was like ‘No s—? I didn’t even know he was even in the hunt.â€� Weekley tied for 25th that week at a course on which he’s won twice. This week, he’s at the other course he’s experienced success. Colonial Country Club — home to one of the best ball-strikers the game has ever seen and Weekley’s favorite player, Ben Hogan — offers another opportunity to gauge the progress he’s made. He has high expectations for himself, and Weekley won’t be satisfied until he meets them. “I just want to play good golf,â€� Weekley says. “I want to prove to myself. I ain’t worried about proving anything to anybody else. I just want to prove myself that I still got the game first to play. “As long as I get myself in contention, to where at least I can get myself an opportunity to try to win or to try to do something special. The way I look at it, that’s all it is, just being able to do something special.â€�

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CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Satoshi Kodaira and Kramer Hickok each shot a PGA TOUR career-best 7-under 63 to share the first-round lead Thursday in the Travelers Championship. RELATED: Leaderboard | Kevin Streelman right at home at TPC River Highlands Talor Gooch was a stroke behind Hickok after the morning rounds. Kodaira took the lead at 8 under in the afternoon after making the turn onto the front nine birdie-eagle-birdie, but a bogey on the par-3 eighth dropped him back into a tie with Hickok. Defending champion Dustin Johnson, who held the world No. 1 ranking until Jon Rahm passed him Sunday with his U.S. Open victory, stumbled at the start with a bogey on the second hole and then a double on No. 3. He finished with a pair of birdies to end the day at 70 at TPC River Highlands. Two-time Travelers champion Phil Mickelson sank a 64-foot putt for birdie on the par-4 ninth hole — his second-longest putt since the TOUR began tracking such things in 2004. The 2001 and ’02 winner then made a 40-footer for par on No. 10. “That long birdie putt, it’s just a bonus. You’re just trying to lag it up there close and it just felt in,” Mickelson said. “Same thing on 10, after making a mistake and having that long par putt. To make it was a nice little boost. Unfortunately, I didn’t advantage of that on the back nine.” Micklelson was 1 over on the back in a 69. “I let a good opportunity go after playing the front nine a couple under,” he said. “I was very close to hitting a lot of really good shots but they were just fractionally off.” Kodaira’s 63 matched his best score on the PGA TOUR, from the second round of the 2018 RBC Heritage — his only victory. He was helped when he holed out from the fairway for an eagle on the 348-yard, par-4 second hole. “I knew it was on target but didn’t see it go in,” he said. “I heard the applause, so I knew it went in.” Hickok’s top finish is a tie for eighth at the Bermuda Championship this year. He opened with a bogey on the par-4 10th hole, then rattled off eight birdies without dropping another stroke the rest of the way. He missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole, but then birdied five of the next seven holes and he played the last four of the day in three under. “I really only hit one bad putt — on the par-5 13th. Other than that, I just felt like the holes looked awfully big today,” he said. “I made a lot of good putts today, and the greens says are rolling so good that just the holes look big.” Hickok said he had his worst warmup session of the year in the morning, spraying the ball all over the range. “So I really changed my strategy,” he said. “You just take a lot weight off your shoulders and you just go and simplify things … just saying, ‘I don’t have that shot today. I’m not going to try and hit it.’ Just go with what you got.”

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