Brooks Koepka beats back challengers, wins 100th PGA Championship

Jordan Spieth did not walk away with a green jacket, but he sure tried. Starting the day nine shots back, Spieth put together one of the greatest runs in Masters history. Here’s how he put a charge into Augusta National, and a scare into Patrick Reed.

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SAN DIEGO – As each week went by without a win Jason Day became a little more frustrated. A little madder. And a little harder to be around. He watched young guns Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth and long-time rival Dustin Johnson dominate 2017 and finally turned the annoyance of not being part of it into motivation. It was less than a year ago he was still world No. 1 before Johnson took it from him and hasn’t looked back. Meanwhile, without a win since the 2016 PLAYERS Championship, Day had free-fallen to 14th on the world stage entering the Farmers Insurance Open this week. There were extenuating circumstances – a cancer scare for his mother curtailed his regular focus and practice time – but he still expected more of himself. With every win from Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson his goal of being the best was slipping further and further away. He also dealt with a mini split from Colin Swatton – who reverted to full-time coach and moved away from caddy duties – because Day was afraid of damaging the friendship. He was snapping at everyone. But over the off-season he got things back in sync. And in his first start in 2018 he grabbed career win No. 11 with his triumph over Alex Noren in a six-hole playoff. Now his sights are firmly set on winning the FedExCup – he moved to ninth in the standings – and climbing back to world No. 1 – he is now 10th. In short – he is telling his rivals – look out. “Last year was a good kick in the butt, you know, not really being talked about — and being talked about for the wrong reasons,â€� Day said. “Last year I felt mentally stressed but also rundown, burnt out. It was hard for me to be on the golf course, but this year my whole mindset’s different. I’m very motivated to get back to the No. 1 spot and I know that the only way to get back to the No. 1 spot is win and that’s what I’ve just got to do. “I’ve said it for the longest time, I’ve always wanted to be the No. 1 player in the world. I got there for 51 weeks but I’ve always wanted to be a dominant No. 1 player in the world. “I’ve got to keep trying to build and build and build and hopefully win the FedEx Cup at the end of the year.â€� The biggest question mark on Day’s ability to make the long climb back is just that – his back. He pulled out of the pro-am with soreness this week and admitted he couldn’t bend over to hit a golf ball just a few weeks ago. He now must continue to manage it going forward, saying it takes about an hour or 90 minutes worth of work every day. “My facet joints just got a little bit larger over the years just through constant wear and tear of hitting golf balls,â€� he explained. “When they get a little bit larger, they get a little bit closer to the nerve, and when they get close to the nerve and things kind of all align, your back can go out and you can get shooting pains down both legs. Even last night to a certain degree I had pain going down my right leg. “But I know that I need to do my posture, my mobility exercises. I know that I need to go back and ice it straightaway and I need to heat it up every morning before I come. I’m constantly doing stuff trying to maintain my back.â€� Next up for Day is the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he intends to make further statements against his rivals. He will be joined there by the likes of defending champion Spieth, Johnson and Rory McIlroy … what a great year we have in store.

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Tiger Woods’ career has spanned nearly … wait for it … a quarter-century. His equipment is as talked about as anything in the game, short of his resume. But what were the individual club(s) that have fueled his epic career? What clubs played a part in the actual historic moments that demanded our attention? We dug, debated, and ultimately landed on these 10 (ranked 10 to 1). Some will be obvious, and some will be a surprise. Keep in mind that a few on this list are representations or switches in Tiger’s bag that had a direct impact on his success, while others were just clubs he dominated with — either in a single moment or over a long period of time. This list could have been 50 clubs. Easily. Some clubs that aren’t mentioned on this list: Woods’ Nike SasQuatch driver, 3-wood, and 5-wood, his Vokey 58 (bent to 56) and 60-degree wedges from 2000, the TaylorMade Phase 1 irons he won the TOUR Championship with in 2018, and on and on. It’s like trying to rank the top 10 Air Jordans from moments in MJ’s career == not the coolest-looking shoes but the ones where he did something great. It’s almost impossible. We did our best, and we hope you enjoy where we landed. Here we go. 10. Nike T40 Tour 5-wood The Nike T40 was the first 5-wood Tiger ever put into competitive action. This was also the first time we saw Tiger start to routinely bring 15 clubs to a tournament and rotate the clubs in his bag based on playing conditions and course setup with either the 2-iron or the 5-wood being called into action. The Nike T40 was considered a mid-sized fairway wood at the time, and the key design element of the club was the 40-gram tungsten plug directly in the middle of the sole to help lower the center of gravity, increase launch, and improve forgiveness. The 5-wood has become a mainstay in Tiger’s bags since the original T40, and the 2-iron has all but disappeared the last few years in favor of an easier-to-flight option. The current club of choice for Woods is a TaylorMade M3 with a Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana D+ 80 TX White shaft. 9. King Cobra Deep Face Driver This particular model first caught steam at the 1993 Open Championship when Greg Norman lit up Royal St. George’s on the final day with a 64 to win his second Claret Jug. At the time, Cobra was in a transition, having rebranded to the “King Cobra” label and upped its presence. Fast forward a year when Tiger began dabbling with the Cobra driver. The first models he tried were not the ones with which he ultimately took over the golf world. The model that made history (1996 U.S. Amateur and 1997 Masters), was a special setup made specifically by Cobra for Tiger with a “bore through” shaft. According to legend, the idea was that having the shaft go all the way through would increase stability to support Tigers 130-plus MPH swing speeds. Specs Loft: 9 degrees Length: 43.5 inches (finished with grip) Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 (tipped to length with bore through) Swing weight: D4 Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord 58R 8. TaylorMade P7TW 8-iron It may seem odd to most, but this club, especially in the final round of the 2019 Masters, was the one that did the most work — and arguably the most damage. Tiger hit nine 8-iron approach shots on Sunday at Augusta, two of which represented the beginning of his chase (8-iron into the seventh for a birdie) and the door-slammer (8-iron into the 16th). Tiger’s specs on this club are as precise as you would imagine. Specs Loft: 40.5 degrees Length: 36 5/16″ (finished with grip) Lie: 63.5 degrees Shaft: Dynamic Gold X100 (tipped 1/4″) Swing Weight: D4 Grip: Golf Pride BCT 58R 7. Titleist 681T 2-iron In the early Tiger days, this club was as much a tool for Tiger as it was an intimidation stick. On any golf course, Tiger could pull thus club and hit a variety of shots the distance that the average PGA TOUR player was hitting his 3-wood, and in some cases, driver. And, oh yeah, the “stingers” this club produced were legendary. Arguably, the most notable 2-iron from this time was the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. Coming down the stretch, Tiger hit a frozen rope 2-iron into the 13th hole from 263 yards that set up a birdie and all but secured his three-shot victory over Phil Mickelson. Specs Loft: 19 degrees Length: 39.5″ Lie: 60 degrees Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 (tipped 1/4″) Swing weight: D4 Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord 58R 6. Titleist 975D driver The Titleist 975D is the driver that, to this day, stayed in the bag the longest of any driver Tiger ever used. The 975D debuted in 1998 and was a big success on TOUR and with amateur players. Even as more and more professionals on the PGA TOUR transitioned to larger heads with graphite shafts, Tiger stuck it out with a 43.5-inch True Temper Dynamic Gold X100-shafted 260cc driver and remained one of the longest players. As driver head volume grew to over 400cc in the early 2000s, Tiger was reluctant to switch and used the 975D all the way until the 2002 season when he finally switched to a Nike Forged Titanium driver. Woods stayed with the steel shaft for a number of years after that. 5. Nike Fastback 60-degree wedge The 2005 Masters was the scene. Final round. 16th hole. From the back left of the 16th green, Tiger (with his 60-degree Nike wedge in hand) ran his ball up the side of the hill past the flag, and in a moment that seemed to last forever, the ball gingerly crept back down the hill, perched on the edge of the cup for an eternal couple of second, and slipped into the hole. Some say this was Woods’ best shot ever, and it’s hard to argue that point. This wedge, built and ground by the famous Mike Taylor, was front and center. Specs Loft: 60 degrees Length: 35 3/16″ (finished with grip) Lie: 64 degree Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 Swing weight: D4 Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord 58R Notes: This wedge featured a square sole, flatter camber, and 10 degrees of bounce. Three exact models were made for Tiger in February of 2005 4. Mizuno combo set: MP 14 and MP 29 Looking back at Tiger’s first major win, the 1997 Masters, his golf bag was very different than it is today. Yet one thing remains the same: forged blades. The irons Tiger used during that record-breaking win were a mixed set of Mizuno irons consisting of two different Mizuno blade models: the MP 14 and MP 29. The reason for the mixed set of irons was a slight difference in the offset progression between the two sets, and Tiger chose the irons from each model that offered the least amount of offset. The MP 29 irons had a reverse-offset progression that offered less offset in the longer irons and more offset into the shorter irons — something that is much less common today. The MP 14 irons had a standard progression of more offset into the longer irons and less into the shorter clubs. The result was a mixed set MP 29 2-iron through 4-iron and MP-14 5-iron to pitching wedge. This is a key example of Tiger’s exacting eye for getting his specs just right. To put this in perspective, this particular iron set was used to win all three of his U.S. Amateur titles (94, 95, 96), his first six professional wins, and his first major. Interestingly, the specs of these clubs are almost spot on to the lofts and lies he uses to this very day. 3. Titleist 970 3-wood Beyond the famous Scotty Cameron Newport 2 putter, the Titleist PT (970) fairway wood could be the club most synonymous with Tiger Woods and some of his most famous shots. The deep face satin steel look of the Titleist PT made it easy to recognize, and from a design perspective in an era of quickly evolving technology in fairway woods Tiger, much like with the 975D driver, stuck it out with a steel shaft and small head shape for a long time. This was the tool used to hit perhaps his best 3-wood shot ever, the famous, “That the one you’re talking about?” at the 2000 Open on the 14th hole at St. Andrews during the third round from 281 yards. The 3-wood was his only fairway wood for a long time, and the next club in his set was always a 2-iron. This meant having to execute a lot of shots with that single club. One of the benefits of the Titleist PT, when you are one of the best players of all time, is that for what it lacked in overall forgiveness, it offered extreme workability. Tiger took full advantage of it. 2. Scotty Cameron Teryllium Newport The final two spots were reserved for putters. With all the talk of his power and precision iron play, it’s the flat stick that demoralized his competition more than anything. The ridiculous amount of key 5-footers, long bombs and everything in between. Tiger Woods’ relationship with these two Scotty Cameron putters is no different than Harry Potter to his wand or a Jedi to his lightsaber. Alone they are strong; with them, they are unstoppable. Most people know about the Newport 2, but the other famous Scotty Cameron Tiger used is the Teryllium Newport that he used to win the Masters in 1997. Tiger once famously said in an interview years ago when talking about all the clubs around his house, “My kids can play with any clubs, but they know there are two clubs they can’t touch and it’s this putter (referring to his Newport 2) and the putter I won the Masters with.” The difference between the Newport versus the Newport 2 model, which has now become famous, is the rounded bumpers and slightly shorter blade length compared to the more squared-off shape of the Newport 2. The other big feature of the Newport is the Teryllium insert and elastomer backing that helps reduce vibration. The back cavity is an iconic part of the design and was recently brought back by Cameron for the release of the T22 series of putters. This particular model was also the first sighting of the “Tiger dot” for alignment. In this case, Tiger blacked out the sightline and had Scotty drill a white dot on the top line. 1. Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS The Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS that Tiger has used since early in the 1999 season has been most the most talked-about piece of golf equipment in the last 50 years. The tri-sole design and very recognizable red lettering have been with Tiger for 14 of his 15 major wins and 66 of his 82 PGA TOUR victories. Getting a face-on look at it now, you can not only see the incredible wear mark in the upper middle part of the sweet spot of this particular putter but also the face of actual golf history. Specs (note: with the age of the putter these specs may be +/-) Loft: 3.75 degrees Length: 35.25 (finished with grip) Lie: 70 degrees Head weight: 327 grams Grip: Ping Man (Black Out)

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