Cink sets another scoring mark, keeps RBC lead

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Brooks Koepka delivered on the biggest stage again, this time with Tiger Woods at his side. At times overlooked even after winning three majors in the last two years, Koepka gave thousands of fans a round to remember Thursday morning at brawny Bethpage Black with a record-setting start to his title defense in the PGA Championship. He had a 7-under 63, making him the first player in 101 years of the PGA Championship to shoot that score twice. He broke the course record at Bethpage Black and became the first player to post 63 at a major in consecutive years. “That was one of the best rounds I’ve played probably as a professional,” Koepka said. “This golf course is brutal.” Danny Lee was nearly as impressive and made eight birdies in the afternoon, including the final two holes. He finished with a 64 to close the gap to one shot, exceeding his own expectations. “My mindset was honestly some kind of under-par round would be good,” Lee said. “I did a lot better than that today.” That wasn’t the case for Woods, who had not played Bethpage Black since his nine-hole practice round Monday, and had not played a tournament since he won the Masters. He opened with a pair of double bogeys on the back nine and ruined a torrid start to the front nine — two birdies and a 30-foot eagle in a four-hole stretch — with a pair of three-putt bogeys. That gave him a 72, leaving him nine shots behind and ending 12 consecutive rounds at par or better in the majors dating to the U.S. Open last summer. Make no mistake: A gallery that trudged through muddied walkways to the 10th tee in the early morning was there primarily for Woods. What they saw was a major performance. Just not from him. So special was Koepka’s round, even on a course still soft from rain earlier in the week, that only 16 players broke par. He was 10 shots better than the average score in the opening round. Tommy Fleetwood had a 67, while the group at 68 included Pat Perez, who played a practice round with Koepka on Tuesday. Jordan Spieth overcame a double bogey on the 10th hole for a 69 and was in a group that included Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Jason Day. “The course is not easy, but Brooks obviously made it look real easy,” Perez said. “I saw that on Tuesday when I played with him. I actually congratulated him on his win.” But it’s far from over, even before Lee made his afternoon move to cut into the lead. Fowler was bemused when asked how close he would have to be to Koepka heading into the final round Sunday. “What makes you think he’s going to be leading?” Fowler said. “I would say there’s no lead really safe here.” Woods is the only player to win back to back at the PGA Championship in stroke play — he did that twice — and Koepka had an ideal start in a bid to catch him. He won at Bellerive in steamy St. Louis last August by two shots over a hard-charging Woods. Koepka played in the group in front of Woods at Augusta National and finished one back. This time they were together, along with Francesco Molinari (72), and it was a one-man show. It began with a 40-foot birdie putt from just off the back of the 10th green. It ended with a birdie putt from just inside 35 feet on the ninth hole for the 17th score of 63 in the PGA Championship. “I think that was probably the highest score he could have shot today,” Woods said. Koepka failed to birdie the two par 5s, missing a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 13 and scrambling for par on the easier fourth hole. He also missed a 7-foot birdie putt on the 11th and an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 2. Yes, this could have been special. Then again, he also made four birdie putts of 15 feet or longer, including the long ones at the start and end of his round. “When that putt went in on No. 10, that was kind of the momentum that set me,” Koepka said. “But I never once thought about the course record or anything. I was just trying to shoot the best I could. Simple as that. Just keep going and total them up at the end.” He is the ninth player to open a major with 63, and only two of them went on to win — Jack Nicklaus at Baltusrol in the 1980 U.S. Open, and Raymond Floyd at Southern Hills in the 1982 PGA Championship. There is a long way to go. Considering Koepka’s record in the majors — three wins and a runner-up in his last seven majors — this felt shorter. Koepka came seriously close to a bogey only one time, and he made a 10-foot par on the sixth hole. Woods managed to get under par, but only briefly. His opening tee shot took enough bounces to barely get into the rough, and it left him no option but to hack out. The mistake was a wedge that went over the back of the green, and Woods threw his head back knowing his mistake. His fast pitch went 6 feet by and he missed to open with a double bogey. His other double bogey came on the par-3 17th when he went into the face of a bunker, blasted out longer and took three to get down from there. A birdie-birdie start to the front nine, and a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fourth, brought him to 1 under. And then he bogeyed three of the next four holes. “I fought my way back around there, and unfortunately, I just didn’t keep it together at the end,” he said.  

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In 2018, Ping launched its line of Sigma 2 putters that offer a way to change length with the turn of a dial. The feature allows for golfers to adjust length between 32 and 36 inches, helping golfers find the right length for their individual needs. The system is USGA legal, and according to Ping’s VP of Engineering Paul Wood, it helps solve a problem that plagues the majority of golfers. The extensive line of Sigma 2 putters, which includes 10 different head models, also have two-layered face inserts for a soft yet responsive feel, and they have TR (True Roll) face technology designed for a better roll. Click here for the full technology story of Ping’s Sigma 2 putters.  Recently, we asked Dr. Paul Wood, Ping’s VP of Engineering, a number of questions about how the length-adjustability feature works, how golfers can benefit from it, how to find a putter head that’s right for a particular stroke, and how the TR Face insert helps the ball roll better. Enjoy the full Q&A below! PGATOUR.COM: How many golfers are currently using the wrong length putter for their stroke and body makeup? Dr. Paul Wood: We estimate that it could be as high as 80% from our testing. We know that the vast majority of people are not currently getting a putter fitting and in our testing, no more than one single length of putter was best for more than 20% of people. What it’s hard to know is how many people are buying shorter or longer putters off-the-shelf and finding the best length for them in that fashion.  Was the length-adjustability feature on the Sigma2 putters a difficult mechanism to develop? How long did the process take before reaching a system that works? This feature was years in the making. This is our second adjustable length device. The first took around 2 years to research, test, design and bring to market and then we started work on making improvements for this second-generation feature; that took more like 3 years to get through research, testing, design and development. It’s a significant challenge because it hits all of our major engineering groups. We used our knowledge of high-strength plastics to design the plastic pieces to be light but also withstand the forces needed in the device. We used a lot of mechanical engineering time to research and design the mechanism because we needed it to be precise but also work with a range of grips and be as unobtrusive to the golfer as possible. We also had significant research and development to figure out the optimal way to build the putters. We build all of these shafts here in Phoenix and made some major investments in our assembly equipment to do so, including laser markings on the shaft. Is Ping the first company to ever put this system into the market? I believe so, although I can’t discount the possibility of a smaller golf brand having done something. Our system is unique as far as we know. How does length-adjustability benefit golfers?  The two main benefits will be seen in improved distance control and perhaps altering (hopefully fixing) a miss tendency. How does a golfer know what putter length to use? Is there a way golfers can self-fit, or is it a comfort thing?  We have touted the benefits of a golfer simply adjusting the putter to a comfortable length. This is the simplest way to use the feature and is very effective. In our testing, golfers experienced between 10 and 20% distance control improvements simply by adjusting to a length they were comfortable with. We are also aware that it gives golfers a chance to experiment – simply add an inch of length and see how the results change (or vice versa). We have some philosophies on helping a golfer adjust to a good length (such as getting the eyes somewhere in the region between over the ball to just inside the ball) that we work with our fitting accounts to promote. Does changing the length effect swing weight or feel of the club head, and if so, what adjustments should golfers make?  Yes, keeping all things equal, adding length will increase swing weight and shortening will reduce it. This is actually how most putter builds are already in the market. The same head weight is often used for different lengths. Over a relatively small range of length adjustments the effects will be somewhat minor. Over the full range of our adjustability the effects will add up to a big change. If a golfer wants to change the head weight, we have that ability through our Vault 2.0 putters, or through special custom orders. What happens if a golfer needs to regrip the putter?  They can go ahead and do that. The feature is compatible with most grips on the market. The Sigma 2 line features a wide array of head models, including the Fetch that helps to retrieve the golf ball from the hole. How can a golfer determine which head is right for them without testing each model?  This is a very under-served area in the industry right now. Most putter fittings have tended to focus on loft and lie angle without paying much attention to the most important part which is the head model itself. We have two main philosophies. The first is our fit for stroke, whereby all the models are categorized as either face balanced (suiting a straight back straight through stroke or someone fighting a push miss), mid-hang (suiting a slight arc stroke, a good middle ground for many players) or toe down (suiting a strong arc stroke or someone fighting a pull miss). Each putter is marked according to stroke type and we have some of each in the line. The second is we encourage golfers to think about their primary aiming mechanism. Most players haven’t really thought about it. We see 4 main groups of golfers: those who use a very traditional clean top rail and maybe a small line or dot, those who use ball-width alignment lines to frame the ball, those who like to see long and plentiful alignment features, or those who look for an alignment aid (or line) that goes right up to the ball. Once most people think about that for a minute or two, it helps narrow down the choices considerably. How does the TR Face insert design work, and what does it do?  This is one of our marquee performance technologies. Typically companies focus on increasing the Moment of Inertia of the putter. Our company was founded on this principle. The reason to do this is to minimize twisting, and therefore energy loss on off-center hits. However, there is always some energy loss on off-center hits, which is felt by a drop in ball speed, as well as some angular changes. The TR technology employs a patented variable depth groove that serves to minimize the differences in ball speed from heel, across the center of the face, to the toe. In our testing, heel, center and toe hits roll very close to the same distance. This leaves you the golfer to focus on making the roll you want, knowing that the club is doing everything it can do give you the deft touch on the green.

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Patrick Reed opens the FedExCup Playoffs with his second victory at THE NORTHERN TRUST. Here’s a look at Reed’s equipment: Driver: Ping G400 (9 degrees) Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 70TX Fairway Wood: TaylorMade M6 Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 80TX Driving Iron: Titleist U-500 (3 iron) Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 AMT  Irons: Callaway X Forged 2013 (4 iron), Callaway Razr MB (5-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 Tour Issue Wedges: Artisan Golf (51 degrees), Titleist Vokey SM7 (56 and 60 degrees) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 Tour Issue Putter: Odyssey White Hot Pro 3 Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Grips: Golf Pride MCC

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