Collin Morikawa wins Workday Charity Open for ‘amazing’ second TOUR title

Round 1 of The Honda Classic begins Thursday as PGA National and The Bear Trap welcome some of the PGA TOUR’s top pros. Past Honda winner Sungjae Im, Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger, Rickie Fowler, Billy Horschel and last week’s wire-to-wire champion Joaquin Niemann headline the field. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12–6 p.m. ET. Saturday, 1–6 p.m. Sunday, 1-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes FEATURED GROUPS THURSDAY Marquee Group Joaquin Niemann, Brooks Koepka, Mackenzie Hughes Featured Groups Billy Horschel, Patrick Reed, Cameron Young Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Rogers, Harry Higgs Rickie Fowler, Keith Mitchell, Matthew Wolff Lucas Herbert, Sungjae Im, Louis Oosthuizen Daniel Berger, Matt Jones, Gary Woodland FRIDAY Marquee Group Rickie Fowler, Keith Mitchell, Matthew Wolff Featured Groups Lucas Herbert, Sungjae Im, Louis Oosthuizen Matt Jones, Daniel Berger, Gary Woodland Joaquin Niemann, Brooks Koepka, Mackenzie Hughes Billy Horschel, Patrick Reed, Cameron Young Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Rogers, Harry Higgs MUST READS Power Rankings Expert Picks Koepka’s best shoe moments Q&A: Feherty talks Tiger, World Golf Hall of Fame ceremony The First Look Inside the Field

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HILTON HEAD, S.C. – A new putter and a new driver seemed to breathe new life into Shane Lowry’s game on Thursday at the RBC Heritage. The Irishman admittedly had started the year off on a strong note with a win in Abu Dhabi in the season-opener on the European Tour. But he simply hadn’t been able to build on that momentum – on either side of the Atlantic — in the weeks following his third career win. In fact, Lowry hadn’t broken 70 in four stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR since he missed the cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am back in February. He was a combined 24 over par in those tournaments and had only made the weekend once. On a blustery morning at Harbour Town Golf Links, though, Lowry was back in control — firing a bogey-free 66 that earned him a one-stroke advantage. “Pretty much my whole game felt good,â€� Lowry said. “… I haven’t had that feeling in a while. So, it’s kind of nice.â€� He only needed to use that putter he put in his bag this week 27 times in the first round. Lowry took advantage of all three par-5s, too, getting up and down at each with birdie putts in the 3-foot range. His other birdie putts ranged from 8 to 19 feet. “It was something I’ve been struggling with — my par-5 scoring hasn’t been very good,â€� Lowry said. “I just played them nicely today. I struggled off the tee quite a bit this year, and I managed to find a new driver that I like. I hit that pretty good. And when you do that on par-5s it always gives yourself a chance.â€� Related: Featured Groups, tee times | Insider: Big week for small ball | Kisner keeps perspective as lifelong friend battles tumor Finding the right driver has been a work in progress for Lowry, who even in that early victory struggled off the tee – hitting just four fairways as he shot a course-record 62 in the first round in Abu Dhabi. Lowry estimated he tried 30 different drivers this year before settling on the Srixon one he first used at the Masters and liked so much that it earned another spot in his bag this week. “We’ve done a lot of work and I managed to find one I like and feel like I can trust it there,â€� Lowry said. “So, hopefully it keeps going. Today was the first day that I hit the ball well off the tee. So even it felt okay last week in Augusta, but today was the first real day.â€� Lowry hit 13 of 14 fairways in the first round and 14 of 18 greens in regulation, scrambling successfully for par on the ones he missed. Not surprisingly, then, he ranked in the top three in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, Tee-to-Green and Around-the-Green. “I’m happy with my golf,â€� Lowry said. “My scores haven’t been great as of late. But I felt like I’ve been playing okay. So maybe this is a reward for the perseverance.â€� Lowry has only played the RBC Heritage once previously, finishing tied for 44th in 2017. But he had some success that week – opening with a 66 before giving all that back with a 75 in the second round and eventually finishing 2 under for the week. “It’s just difficult,â€� Lowry said of the Pete Dye creation. “And if you’re 7- or 8-under going into Sunday, you’re going to have a chance to win the tournament, I think. And that’s kind of the way this course plays. You just need to be as patient as you can. “A couple of years ago I got off to a good start and I maybe tried to force it a little bit. So just try to stay patient the next few days. I enjoyed today. It’s nice to shoot a good score. And it’s my first good score in a few weeks. So just enjoy that and just get out there tomorrow and get after it.â€� Friday figures to be a challenge for everyone but particularly those with afternoon tee times when winds of 20-30 mph, gusting to 40, are expected and severe thunderstorms are possible. “You know the forecast is not going to be great,â€� Lowry said. “Yeah, I’ve seen it and knew this was my chance to go out and shoot a good number.â€� Mission accomplished.

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After ranking 71st in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green last season, Rory McIlroy performed a system update on his wedges ahead of the DP World Tour Championship two weeks ago. He switched his two highest-lofted clubs to TaylorMade’s MG3 model, which he’d already been using in his 46-degree wedge. McIlroy had been using the MG2 model in his 54- and 58-degree wedges before making the change for the European Tour’s season finale in Dubai. He has the same setup in the bag for this week’s Hero World Challenge. While it’s always interesting to see a player switch equipment, what’s notable in McIlroy’s case is the nuance behind the move. The two-time FedExCup champion opted for high-bounce varieties of the wedges. TaylorMade’s MG3 line comes in LB (low bounce), SB (standard bounce), and HB (high bounce) variations for each wedge. The 56-degree MG3, for example, features 8, 12, and 14 degrees of bounce in the three configurations. As a refresher, “bounce” refers to the angle of the leading edge of an iron or wedge and the lowest part of the sole. The sole of the club “bounces” through the turf, hence the name. The higher the leading edge of a club is off the ground at address, the greater the bounce. Generally, speaking more bounce means more forgiveness and, all things being equal, better performance from the rough, longer grasses, and softer turf. McIlroy most recently had 8 degrees of bounce on his highest-lofted wedge (58 degrees). He now has 14 degrees of bounce in that club. McIlroy indicated adding bounce will benefit him at Albany, which has many closely-mown areas surrounding its greens. “Bounce is certainly your friend,” he said. “I mean especially a course like this week, really grainy, it’s helped a lot around the greens. I just have more trust in it, just more trust it’s not going to dig, it’s going to get out of the ground a little bit easier.” Regarding ball flight on mid-range and full shots, McIlroy said the new clubs help him better control his trajectory. “The ball doesn’t get up as much so when you’re able to control your trajectory better, you’re able to control your distance better and I’ve sort of found that with them,” he said. Keith Sbarbaro, TaylorMade’s VP of TOUR Operations, said McIlroy recently went through a fitting with the TaylorMade team. “We presented him with all bounce options — low, standard and high. We started with 50-75 yard shots and he immediately noticed a lower and more controlled flight with the high bounce,” Sbarbaro said. “He also noticed how much better the club was sliding through the turf. The club was never getting stuck, whereas with low bounce he noticed it occasionally sticking.” As McIlroy mentioned at his Hero World Challenge press conference, improved performance was apparent around the green as well. “We then moved to the chipping green and once again he felt it was much easier to get the club through the turf,” Sbarbaro said. “The extra bounce allows him to be more aggressive without the club digging and the ball coming up short. Rory felt as if he could slam the club behind the ball or even hit a bit behind it and still not get the club stuck. The one shot that really showed this was uphill pitches into the grain and once he saw the performance he was sold. The high bounce sole has now progressed into being Rory’s first choice of bounce moving forward.”

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