Corales Puntacana shines after quick turnaround for TOUR event

Two-time FedExCup winner Rory McIlroy got off to a blistering start on Thursday at the BMW Championship, firing an 8-under 64 after making a series of equipment changes. Following his disappointing T43 finish last week at THE NORTHERN TRUST at Liberty National, McIlroy revealed that he tossed his 3-wood over the fence and in the direction of the New Jersey Turnpike, leaving him with some decisions to make before this week’s second event of the Playoffs. A quick rummage around his garage did the trick. The Irishman told media this week that rifling through his old gear led him to some significant changes, including the revelation of a “new old 3-wood,” he said. “It’s actually a 3-wood I used last year,” McIlroy said. “I went home, I went down to Florida after NORTHERN TRUST on Monday night, went into the garage and rummaged through a few different things, got my old putter back out, got my old 3-wood, brought a few shafts out, tried different shafts in the driver, went to a new shaft in the driver, and it seemed to work out today.” As well as the 3-wood change, McIlroy put a Graphite Design Tour AD XC shaft in his TaylorMade SIM2 driver. He said the new setup reduces spin while still allowing him to draw the ball consistently. “I just had a driver I felt was spinning a little too much, so a couple of times last week into the wind, I’d hit it and it would balloon up in the air,” McIlroy said. “And then if I wanted to try and hit a cut off the tee, I was not comfortable doing it because I felt like I was losing too much distance by hitting the cut.” Another significant equipment change this week has been McIlroy’s return to the TaylorMade Spider putter. The four-time major champion had recently swapped the club out for a Scotty Cameron blade but has returned to the Spider as he believes his off-days with the blade are too punishing. “I said to (caddie) Harry (Diamond) after the first round last week, I’m thinking about going back to the Spider,” he said, “and then I proceeded to gain four strokes on the greens over the next two days with the blade. But I think the thing with the blade is the good days are really good, but the bad days are pretty bad, as well. There’s quite a lot of inconsistency in it for me. It’s almost like I need to practice with the blade at home because you have to get your stroke spot-on to hit good putts with that style of putter.” Mcilroy also revealed that he may decide to practice with the blade at home while keeping the Spider for tournament play, as this week’s return to the mallet style has felt so easy after the small break. “Felt like I couldn’t not start it on line,” he said. “It was sort of – there’s a lesson in there somewhere about maybe just keeping the blade at home and practicing with it and then coming out here and putting with something that’s got a little more technology in it.” McIlroy’s driver shaft change led him to hit all but one fairway in the first round of the BMW at Caves Valley Golf Club, while the return to the Spider helped him gain over three strokes on the greens.

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COPY HERE The 12th of 24 contributing events for PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO is this week’s Principal Charity Classic. It begins on Friday. Scroll for tournament notes, 18 notables and three wild cards from the field of 78 in Des Moines, Iowa. There’s an argument to be made that there are five 3-0 fastballs and one 3-2 changeup in the mix at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Daniel Berger hasn’t been beaten in two consecutive appearances. He’s a go-to for front-runners but he’s humming along at only 84 mph or so with little movement. If your objective is to play defense, then look no further, but if you’re leading your league and still want to swing for the fences, pivot to … Dustin Johnson, the 2012 champ, who brings the heat just about everywhere and is buzzing beneath the radar of late, but that’s not a compliment. Besides, you’ll want him for a majors or in the FedExCup Playoffs, which brings into play … Billy Horschel, he of four straight top 10s at TPC Southwind since 2013 and recent winner (with Scott Piercy) in New Orleans, but he’s a better fit for chasers because of his higher risk not to contend. For the opposite experience, consider … Phil Mickelson, who shores up the left side of the rubber and remains in pursuit of his first title in Memphis, loves this tournament and the golf course. We hear that a lot from the soon-to-be 48-year-old (on June 16), but he’s backed it up in each of the last five editions of the St. Jude. Regardless of your position, he’s your man. But if you’ve already burned him, it’s time for … Brooks Koepka, the No. 1 in my Power Rankings and for whom I wrote in this space during the week of the Masters, “And who knows, there’s plenty of time for Brooks Koepka to crash the conversation.” That was in response to his extend his time away due to injury for what was another month. And indeed, it’s time to cash in on your patience regardless of your position. That’s quite a staff from which to choose your starter for the FedEx St. Jude Classic, but what if, like me, you’re looking to guess off-speed pitch on the full count? I never mind playing the push, which is to say that I subscribe to J-Wall’s philosophy on Koepka below, but I need to force the action even more. This is why Henrik Stenson gets the spot start. I’ve invested in almost nothing but chalk. I’ve drifted from my once-defiant narrative of playing aggressively. What’s more, I’ve started to hear from readers that I’ve gone soft and become predictable. Who better than the Swedish machine to silence the critics? Two-man gamers should consider Joaquin Niemann, Chez Reavie, Matt Jones, Austin Cook and Ben Crane. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2017-18. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … St. Jude (1; two-time defending); Travelers (2) Kevin Chappell … St. Jude (5); WGC-Bridgestone (2); Dell Technologies (3) Tony Finau … Greenbrier (2); Canadian (4) J.B. Holmes … Greenbrier (5) Billy Horschel … St. Jude (1); TOUR Championship (4) Dustin Johnson … St. Jude (8); U.S. Open (13); Canadian (10); WGC-Bridgestone (14); PGA Championship (9); Dell Technologies (11); TOUR Championship (6) Brooks Koepka … St. Jude (3); U.S. Open (1; defending); Open Championship (4); WGC-Bridgestone (6); PGA Championship (2) Phil Mickelson … St. Jude (1); Open Championship (5) Ryan Palmer … St. Jude (6) Scott Piercy … John Deere (6) Charl Schwartzel … U.S. Open (5); Open Championship (6); WGC-Bridgestone (2) Brandt Snedeker … U.S. Open (5); Travelers (6); Canadian (3); Wyndham (4) Henrik Stenson … Open Championship (6); WGC-Bridgestone (4); PGA Championship (7); Wyndham (8; defending); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (2) CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE Principal Charity Classic Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa, has served as the host since 2013. It’s a stock par 72 stretching 6,831 yards. Brandt Jobe returns to defend what remains his only title on the PGA TOUR Champions. At 14-under 202, he clipped co-runners-up Scott McCarron and Kevin Sutherland by one stroke. All previous champions at Wakonda are committed to play, including McCarron (2016), Mark Calcavecchia (2015), Tom Pernice, Jr. (2014) and Russ Cochran (2013). The total prize money of $1.75 million ties for lowest of all remaining tournaments this season. The winner will bank $262,500. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Stephen Ames … Principal (8); U.S. Senior Open (6); Boeing (2); Shaw (7) David Frost … U.S. Senior Open (4); 3M (7); Boeing (5); Shaw (8); PURE (1) Fred Funk … Boeing (6); PURE (5) Doug Garwood … SAS (1) Paul Goydos … 3M (1; defending); DICK’S (3); SAS (5) Lee Janzen … U.S. Senior Open (2) Brandt Jobe … Principal (3; defending); U.S. Senior Open (4); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (5); Boeing (8) Jerry Kelly … Boeing (1; defending); Shaw (5); PURE (2); SAS (4) Bernhard Langer … Usable everywhere. Defending five titles. Tom Lehman … Principal (1); U.S. Senior Open (3); SAS (9) Billy Mayfair … Boeing (2); PURE (1) Scott McCarron … Principal (1); SENIOR PLAYERS (3; defending); Senior Open Championship (10); DICK’S (4; defending); Shaw (5; defending); PURE (8) Tom Pernice, Jr. … Principal (2); Shaw (3); SAS (5) Kenny Perry … 3M (1); DICK’S (10); SAS (2) Gene Sauers … U.S. Senior Open (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (6); Boeing (1) Kevin Sutherland … Usable everywhere. David Toms … Boeing (2); SAS (4) Duffy Waldorf … Principal (6); Shaw (5) WILD CARDS (short list of golfers not included above but on the rise or still building portfolios after recently turning 50): Steve Flesch; Rocco Mediate; Scott Parel

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