Collin Morikawa to debut new irons at Hero World Challenge

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – This week, it’s the amateur portion of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Next month, it’s a sponsor exemption, making him one of the 132 competitors at the first-year PGA TOUR event, the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. And then? Difficult to say right now. At age 37, Tony Romo is a retired NFL quarterback, just finished his first year as lead analyst on CBS and is arguably the most accomplished golfer as any amateur in the field this week at Pebble Beach. More important, for the first time in his life, he has the time, the health and the desire to make golf a daily part of his life. So maybe he gets more invites into TOUR events. Maybe he sees progress. Maybe the competitive juices flow just like they did when he quarterbacked the Dallas Cowboys. And maybe one day, he chases membership onto a professional tour. Consider this: Romo has 13 years to fine-tune his game for the PGA TOUR Champions. He could follow the same path as another former NFL quarterback, John Brodie, who retired from the NFL at age 35 and eventually became a Champions member once he turned 50, even winning one event. When asked if Romo might have pro golf aspirations, his good friend and practice partner Jordan Spieth said he could see it happening. “He loves golf so much,â€� Spieth said. “He’s going to practice it all the time. That’s all he’s been doing. Yeah, I think that’s not out of the realm at all.â€� Romo, of course, is not about to disclose such lofty intentions. He’s just grateful for the opportunity to play next month’s event in the Dominican Republic. The news of the sponsor exemption was made public on Wednesday, so let’s just digest that for now. Even so, he wasn’t dismissing the idea. “Well, you got to go play,â€� Romo said. “You never know how good you are until you go play and perform. Ultimately, obviously the odds going against these guys are not great. I think we all know that. “But I think that’s what makes it really fun and enjoyable. I also think that the challenge that’s presented is what a competitor really wants. I think that’s what you always want to be around or be a part of. I know it’s about your own game and it’s about improving, that’s all you’re trying to do is consistently improve and get better. But you can learn a lot being around these guys and competing against them and I think that does make you better.â€� Romo has chased golf opportunities before. He’s attempted to qualify for the U.S. Open three times, advancing to the sectional stage of qualifying in 2010. He’s made a few appearances in the AT&T Pebble Beach as an amateur, and last year he played in the Western Amateur. But there are significant differences between those attempts and the present (and future) ones. As the Cowboys quarterback, Romo’s window of playing a significant amount of golf was basically reduced to five months a year. And of course, late in his career, he battled lower back injuries, undergoing two surgeries. A compression fracture to the L1 vertebra prior to the 2016 season kept him sidelined for most of the season. He was supplanted as the starter, giving way to Dak Prescott, and eventually opted to retire in order to join Jim Nantz in the CBS broadcast booth for the 2017 season. With a year of good health and a job that allows him plenty of time on the course, Romo finally has been able to focus his attention on golf for an extended period. “I started off very rusty last spring and summer and then I started to see some good signs here over the last month or two that I feel good about with the game,â€� Romo said. “Hopefully it will show.â€� At Pebble Beach, he will partner Will Zalatoris in the team competition. Romo carries an +0.3 handicap and is one of just three amateurs with a 0 handicap (the others are investment banker Kevin Baldwin and No Doubt drummer Adrian Young). Evidently, Romo’s goals are lofty this week – at least according to Spieth. “He wants to beat the pros that are in his group,â€� Spieth said, referring to Zalatoris and Hunter Mahan. “That’s kind of his goal. He thinks he can win this golf tournament if he played it with us.â€� Romo smiled upon hearing the comments: “Jordan just set me up for failure a little bit.â€� So how will Romo define success at Corales Puntacana? Just like his long-range future, it’s tough to say. “I really don’t know, to be honest with you,â€� he replied. “I’ve never played golf for a year straight. I don’t know what constitutes (success). More than anything, I’m not putting any expectations as far as what’s going to make a successful week. “You play and compete in tournaments to know what to practice. The tournament will show me a lot.â€� However it turns out for Romo – not only in the Dominican Republic but also this week at Pebble Beach — it should be fun to watch. Spieth often plays with Romo when the two are back home in Dallas. The 11-time TOUR winner is quite impressed with the former quarterback of his favorite NFL team. “His short game is fantastic,â€� Spieth said. “He’s walking in putts from 15 feet at home. I mean, walking them in almost every hole. It’s really impressive. We’ll see if he walks them in out here. It’s harder to walk them in on poa annua. “But he’s a guy that when he gets kind of a feeling, he sees a couple shots – he believes it like this. And then he can hit a hundred of them in a row. His muscle memory, his hand-eye coordination, is really special. So I have no doubt he’ll shoot under par every round out here from where they’re playing from.â€�

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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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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Adam Svensson was in prime position to shoot 59 in the second round of the Wyndham Championship after going 9 under through 13 holes. Alas, he could only manage pars the rest of the way and signed for a 61 that left him tied for the lead at 11 under after the morning wave of players had toured rain-soaked Sedgefield Country Club. He hit 13 of 14 fairways, 16 greens in regulation, and made 132 feet of putts. “Got a little nervous,â€� said Svensson, a 25-year-old Canadian who is 171st in the FedExCup, but projected to move up to 59th. “But I was happy with the way I played.â€� After struggling to 31 putts in the first round, when he ranked 136th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, Svensson used his new claw grip to perfection Friday, taking just 25 strokes on the greens. With 59 in play, fans flocked to his group to watch him play the final four holes. Svensson shot 61 at the Sony Open in Hawaii this year, so the round was not a total shocker despite his struggles. Danny Sahl, who also caddies for Vijay Singh, but has been helping Svensson try to keep his PGA TOUR card, was especially unsurprised. This is their fourth week together, and Svensson finished T15 and T18 in the first two, the 3M Open and John Deere Classic, respectively. He worked on switching to the claw putting grip at the Barracuda Championship last week, missing the cut. “Tee to green,â€� Sahl said, “he’s the best I’ve seen besides probably Vijay in his heyday. His demeanor and distance control were still there as we got closer to that famous number.â€� Before the tournament started, Sahl told Svensson to just go out and play, no pressure. That’s a lot easier said than done, but Svensson has responded. He said he was standing in the 14th fairway Friday when it occurred to him that he could shoot 59, assuming Sedgefield was a par 70. Suddenly nervous, he missed the 14th green with his approach, but got up and down for par. He duck-hooked his drive on 15, bouncing back nicely with his next two shots before pushing his short birdie try well right of the hole. He now need to birdie two of the last three. He birdied none. Still, a 61 is nothing to sneeze at, and Svensson makes this the sixth season in the last decade in which a player has shot multiple rounds of 61 or below on TOUR. (Steve Stricker 2009, Troy Merritt 2015, Ryan Moore 2012, Chez Reavie 2017, Troy Matteson 2009.) “Same game plan,â€� he said of his weekend plans. “You know, we play aggressive at some flags and we shoot wedges from other ones. I think I learned a lot from the Sony Open, shooting 61 as well. I just played too aggressive trying to get out front and tomorrow I’m just going to play my normal game.â€�

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