All Brooks Koepka needs is hate

The first redesign by noted course architect Tom Doak for the PGATOUR is featured this week as Memorial Park in Houston assumes the role host of the Vivint Houston Open. The TOUR returns to its roots as this municipal track is back on the schedule for the first time since 1963. The inaugural event in Houston took place in 1946 and the first one at Memorial Park debuted the following year, running until 1963. The Houston Open sat as the preparatory exam for Augusta National, for most of the last 15 years and returns to that position on the schedule, albeit accidentally, this time around. Tom Doak and Brooks Koepka (player consultant) have positioned only 19 bunkers through 7,432 yards on this Par-72 (36-36). The focus this week will be on excitement and scoring chances rather than grinding out pars and surviving. With five Par-5 holes, five Par-3 holes and a pair of Par-4 holes that can possibly be driven, a full array of shots will be required, not to mention a bunch of birdies, to pick up the trophy this week. Think ZOZO but with a few hundred additional yards and Bermuda on the greens. We all remember who was on the podium that week (Cantlay, Rahm and Thomas). RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | Sleeper Picks With a new test it’s always the ball-strikers who move to the forefront. With 28 acres of fairway, less than three inches of rough and only four holes with water, I would think scoring will be a major focus this week. Greens are large, averaging 7,000 square feet, and running slick with Mini-Verde Bermuda so hitting plenty of them will be the angle. The more GIR will give more scoring chances and it won’t hurt to have shorter clubs into those scoring holes. Lanto Griffin is the defending champion at the event and will lead the field of 132 as they look to get their hands on $1.26 million (winner) of the $7 million prize pool plus 500 FedExCup points. The winner won’t get into the Masters next week but will be eligible in 2021. Event Winners at Golf Club of Houston Recent Winners 2019: Lanto Griffin 2018: Ian Poulter (not entered) 2017: Russell Henley Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. Those listed in BOLD deserve deeper inspection if not already on your RADAR. Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green 2 Hideki Matsuyama 4 Sergio Garcia 8 Harold Varner III 9 Dustin Johnson 10 Scottie Scheffler 11 Tony Finau 13 Tyrrell Hatton 14 Russell Henley 16 Corey Conners 20 Viktor Hovland 21 Luke List 24 Emiliano Grillo 25 Cameron Tringale Par-5 Scoring 6 Wyndham Clark 6 Matt Jones 10 Hideki Matsuyama 10 Dustin Johnson 10 Kevin Streelman 10 Tyrrell Hatton 10 Ryan Palmer 10 James Hahn 18 Alex Noren 21 Cameron Davis 21 Sam Burns 21 Jhonattan Vegas 21 Sungjae Im 21 Scottie Scheffler Strokes-Gained: Putting 1 Denny McCarthy 3 Andrew Putnam 4 Kristoffer Ventura 8 Mackenzie Hughes 9 Maverick McNealy 11 Patrick Rodgers 14 JT Poston 16 Wyndham Clark 23 Troy Merritt 24 Beau Hossler 25 Patton Kizzire Top players at Bermuda Championship (entered this week) 1 Brian Gay P2 Wyndham Clark 3 Ollie Schniederjans 4 Matt Jones 4 Stewart Cink 4 Denny McCarthy 4 Doc Redman 8 Ryan Armour 8 David Hearn 14 Scott Piercy 16 Russell Knox 21 Maverick McNealy 21 Brice Garnett 21 Andrew Putnam 21 Sepp Straka 26 Paddy Harrington 26 Beau Hossler Top 25 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD (entered this week) 4 Russell Henley 4 Ryan Palmer 8 Corey Conners 11 Tony Finau 11 Dylan Frittelli 11 Lanto Griffin 17 Alex Noren 17 Scottie Scheffler 26 Brian Harman

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SAN DIEGO - Two-time Farmers Insurance champion Jason Day will make his 2021 debut at Torrey Pines with a Frankenstein bag set up and a new coach behind him as he looks to return to the top of the PGA TOUR. Day, who won the Farmers Insurance Open in 2015 and 2018, revealed recently he is working with Tiger Woods' former instructor Chris Como and will start the year as an equipment free agent after being with TaylorMade since 2006. Como is just the second major coach the 33-year-old Day has had in his career with the Australian previously working with childhood mentor Colin Swatton for two decades before the pair parted ways last season. The 12-time TOUR winner has battled back issues over the last decade and continues to try to adjust his game to limit the risk of injury and pain. Day divulged he is trying to get his swing path more inside but has to do so at a slow pace as it is a move that in the past has caused problems. "I feel like things are progressing nicely with my swing … but I just really have to be very patient with the technical aspect of it," the 12-time TOUR winner said. "I’m working with Chris Como and we’re not trying to change the makeup that I had beforehand ... we're just trying to fine-tune it. "We’re trying to get better hip movement, we’re going to get a little bit deeper on the backswing in regard to the hip motion, and I’m trying to get a little bit more turn in the upper body ... last year I was kind of coming over the top of it just to kind of alleviate some of the back pain. "Right now, if I do it correctly, it doesn’t hurt my back, which is tremendous. For the longest time I was swaying a little bit, getting a little bit too much tilt in my upper body, and that was forcing my right hip to sway out and then I’d get too lateral going forward. Then I’d crunch down to try and lift the ball up and crunch down my back, and I just did it over and over and over again, and then sooner or later it would just kind of flare up and go out." Day is making the changes with a bevy of mis-matched equipment. In fact, he will use six different brands in his bag with a Ping driver, TaylorMade 3-wood, Mizuno irons, Artisan wedges, a White Hot 2-ball Odyssey putter and a Bridgestone XS golf ball. Day missed the TOUR Championship for the second straight year in 2020 and hasn't won on TOUR since his two-win season of 2018 - a drought coming up on near three years. He sits outside the top 40 in the world after spending a total of 51 weeks at the top back in 2015 and 2016. "All I have to do is just go out and play ... there are no excuses," Day said ahead of starting back up this season while sitting 94th in the FedExCup. "Playing bad golf is frustrating, being a competitor and not living up to what you think you should be living up to is very frustrating. This is my 14th season on TOUR now; I know that a career is long, but I’m trying to do everything I possibly can to get back to where I should be, and I feel like that’s No. 1 in the world. "If I look in the (recent) past, it’s depressing, so I don’t want to do that. If I look to the future, it gives me anxiety, so I don’t want to do that. I can only control what I can do right now." A closer look at what Day has in the bag this week: Driver: Ping G425 (10 degrees) Shaft: TPT 14 LO 5 3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Max Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage XTS 80TX Irons: Mizuno JPX921 Tour (3-P) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 Wedges: Artisan Prototype (50,54,60) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: Odyssey White Hot 2 Ball Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS

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