Jim Nantz will be alone in the CBS booth during the Charles Schwab Challenge, and the network is taking a stab at modernizing its coverage.
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OVERVIEW Love him or not, Bryson DeChambeau is here to stay in a big way. Sure, the eccentricities of this now five-time PGA TOUR winner might get under the skin of a few but it also invigorates and inspires others. You don’t have to agree with single-length shafts, or brain training, or taking every variable like barometric pressure into each yardage calculation … but you do have to agree it works for DeChambeau. It was an incredible 2018 for the former U.S. Amateur champion. First he won at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide under the glare of Jack Nicklaus. Then he stepped up big time in the FedExCup Playoffs, winning the opening two starts at THE NORTHERN TRUST and the Dell Technologies Championship. He would parlay it into a third-place finish in the FedExCup. Keen to show it was no flash in the pan, DeChambeau stepped out in his only fall appearance at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and promptly won that, ensuring he starts 2019 nice and high on the FedExCup list once more. If there is a part of his game he could improve to take things to an even higher level, it is his putting. Perhaps the new rules in golf – where you can leave the flagstick in – might be the catalyst. DeChambeau has already signaled his intentions to leave the flag in on occasion as his research indicates it will help him. He was 32nd in Strokes Gained: Putting last season so any improvement on that metric will make him very tough to beat. His performance out of the sand is another weakness he has zeroed in on. At 109th in sand saves last season and 135th the season before, some extra time on the beach is in his practice future. We expect plenty more headlines around this guy in 2019. — By Ben Everill Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 8th Playoff appearances: 2 TOUR Championship appearances: 2 Best result: 3rd in the 2017-18 season SHOTLINK FUN FACT Bryson DeChambeau shot four rounds of 66 or better to win the 2018 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open — the first time he has shot 66 or better in every round at a PGA TOUR event. INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Bryson DeChambeau in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: A little outspoken? Sure. A lot unconventional? Absolutely. Frankly, DeChambeau is a breath of fresh air for golf where sometimes we get lost in the pursuit of monotony. Innovators are often deemed crazy in the beginning before being truly appreciated at a later date. Sports are sold on characters; with Bryson, it’s just time to enjoy the ride. — By Ben Everill FANTASY INSIDER: Easily the most polarizing relative newcomer to the PGA TOUR, he reminds gamers who resist accepting his out-of-the-box thinking that this is a results-based business. He’s merely a variation of the “swing your swing” mantra. He’s handed us four wins in his last 13 starts alone, so that’s more than sufficient for all. Meanwhile, for those of us who can’t get enough of his methods and madness, he’s taken us on a ride of a lifetime because of the repeat successes. The experiments are working. And entirely fact over friction, he’ll probably throttle back into a season totaling 23-25 starts. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: Did you hear Bryson plays with irons that are all the same length, loft and lie angle? Yes, you did. He plays with Cobra King One-length irons (Utility 4-5 irons, and standard 6-PW), a King V Grind wedge (50 degrees) and King WideLow grind wedges (55 and 60 degrees) that all have True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 shafts in them that measure 37.5 inches. In other Bryson news, however, he won the Shriners using the new King F9 Speedback driver (7 degrees) for the first time in competition. As a partner with LA Golf Shafts, he’s also helped design his own putter shaft, which he uses in a SIK tour proto head. It will be interesting to see whether he collaborates with LA Golf Shafts on shafts aside from just the putter. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: At a time when so many players dress alike, DeChambeau has succeeded in carving out a unique look for himself. He blends old school and new school pieces by combining the vintage Hogan cap with modern high-tech threads. Bryson began working in custom shoes in 2018. Expect him to find more opportunities to show off one-of-a-kind kicks in 2019. — By Greg Monteforte
Jason Kokrak starts the final round one shot behind but holds steady with an even-par 70 for a two-shot victory over Jordan Spieth (73). Meanwhile, Charley Hoffman (65) makes a big move to finish in a four-way tie for third in his bid to move up in the Official World Golf Ranking and avoid U.S. Open sectional qualifying. Here are five stories you might have missed from the Charles Schwab Challenge. 1. Jason Kokrak is a late bloomer Jason Kokrak, 36, had never won a tournament on the PGA TOUR, but now he’s won two, joining Bryson DeChambeau and Stewart Cink as the third to win at least twice this season. In a way, Kokrak said, the second victory was harder than the first. That was due in no small part to the fact that he was playing against Jordan Spieth, who is always the people’s choice in Texas. “But I’ve got a high school buddy and my cousin’s friend was out here supporting me,” Kokrak said. “So I had a couple people rooting me on. It’s just one of those things. You stay in the moment and it’s a golf course. You’re playing the golf course. You’re playing yourself. You’re not really playing Jordan. “But for where we got to in comparison to some of the other players,” he continued, “I knew it was going to be a boxing match and see who was going to come out on top.” For more on Kokrak, click here. 2. Jordan Spieth briefly lost his swing Runner-up Spieth, whose 15-under 195 equaled his lowest 54-hole score on TOUR, began the tournament by playing 40 straight holes without a bogey. But he struggled Sunday, when he bogeyed three of his first four holes and never felt confident over the ball. He went into the 18th hole just a shot back but hit his second shot into the water left of the green, all but ending it. He faulted his tee-to-green game after hitting just 27 of 56 fairways, which was 63rd in driving accuracy. He fell to 10-for-20 at closing it out with a 54-hole lead/co-lead. “I didn’t play well at all, quite simply,” he said after moving into second in the FedExCup with his eighth top-10 this season. “I could have shot even par today and won the golf tournament but from the very get-go, just a really bad start, and then tried to fight my way through it. “But I was just really off with my golf swing,” he continued. “I really lost it this weekend. You just have to be in control around Colonial.” It was Spieth’s seventh top-10 finish at the Charles Schwab. For more on Spieth, click here. 3. Charley Hoffman’s 65 was big San Diego’s Charley Hoffman began the week at 69 in the world, and with aspirations to play his way into the top 50 so as to avoid having to qualify for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He went a long way toward doing exactly that with a final-round 65 and T3 finish. That moves him up to 60th in the Official World Golf Ranking, and the top 60 as of June 7 get in. “There’s only one goal,” Hoffman said. “I’m playing Muirfield next week, but hopefully this week was enough to get me inside the U.S. Open. Sitting just outside the (top 60 in the) World Ranking, near my hometown where I group playing Torrey Pines, I’m obviously trying to win golf events but getting in that U.S. Open is a key.” 4. Patton Kizzire is heating up Patton Kizzire went into the Schwab at 150th in the world and 60th in the FedExCup, but things are looking up. His final-round 67 left him in a four-way tie for third, which was his second straight T3 finish (AT&T Byron Nelson) in his last two starts. With his T9 at the Valero Texas Open, he has three top-10s in his last six starts. He’s up to 106th in the world and 46th in the FedExCup. “I had some good stuff happening out there,” he said. “Kept my head down and hit some really good shots and made a few putts, and I’m proud of the way I battled. “My confidence has been building a lot lately,” he added. He isn’t yet in the field for the U.S. Open in three weeks. He will play in this week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide and next week’s Palmetto Championship at Congaree. 5. Mark Russell, Slugger White will be missed The Charles Schwab marked the last time Slugger White and Mark Russell will work together. The two longtime PGA TOUR rules officials are retiring after four decades of service. White played the TOUR himself into the late 70s before turning to the rules. Russell started in 1980. They became two of the most recognizable faces on TOUR, even if sometimes people had trouble telling them apart. “Slugger was still playing when I started,” Russell said, “and then he came along a year or so after me, but I’ve known Slugger since mid ’70s, we’ve been friends a long time.” For more on Russell and White, click here. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup regular season. The competition will conclude prior to the FedExCup PLAYOFFS where the top 10 FedExCup points leaders will be recognized and awarded as the most elite in golf. Week after week, shot after shot, each event matters more than ever before. Who will finish in the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10? Click here to follow the weekly action.
DALLAS — Sung Kang rolled in a 23-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole to finally take the lead for good at the AT&T Byron Nelson, getting his first PGA TOUR victory on a Sunday when he had to play 27 holes. That was the middle of three consecutive clinching birdies for Kang, the 31-year-old South Korean who lives in North Texas. In his 159th career PGA TOUR start since his debut in 2011, Kang closed with a 4-under 67 to finish at 23 under and beat Matt Every and Scott Piercy by two strokes. Every finished with a 66. Piercy, also in the final threesome, finished a bogey-free tournament with a 64. Brooks Koepka, the No. 8 player in the FedExCup standings, finished fourth at 20 under after a 65. Every and Kang played all four rounds together at Trinity Forest, including the extended day Sunday after the third round was delayed six hours by rain and they got in only nine holes before play was suspended by darkness Saturday night. Twice over the last two days, Every overcame deficits of at least four strokes and went ahead of Kang.
