Expert Picks: PGA Championship

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Heavy rainfall has saturated the course at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, and after tee times were pushed back five hours and then two hours, play was finally called for the day without a shot being hit at 1 p.m. Thursday. Players and officials will try again Friday, with the possibility of a Monday finish looming. “The bottom line is we just don’t have a golf course that’s playable,� said PGA TOUR Senior Vice President of Rules & Competition Slugger White. “We’ve got situations out there where we could lose balls in areas that we have no virtual certainty where it was. There’s so many scenarios out there that just don’t fit making an effort.� The last time rain canceled an entire round without a shot being hit was the second round of the recent ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, won by Tiger Woods. The last time it scuttled the opening round without a shot being hit was the 2013 Sentry Tournament of Champions. This is the sixth year in which rain has delayed play at Mayakoba’s El Camaleon Golf Club, where the tournament began in 2007. The last suspension was in 2017, when Patton Kizzire won after delays of two hours and 15 minutes Friday and five hours and 10 minutes Saturday.  The weather forecast for Friday is not much better, which could make for a jam-packed weekend once the rain clears. “Yes, sir,� White said, when asked if officials would go to Monday if necessary. The course has taken 8.5 inches of rain this week, and was already saturated from rain last week. “Nothing’s draining,� White said. “Everything always drains to the mangroves here, and there’s no place for it to go with that much rain.� 

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PALM CITY, Fla. — In the run-up to Cobra Golf’s unveiling of the new King F9 Speedback metalwood and irons, four-time TOUR winner Bryson DeChambeau sat down with the PGATOUR.COM’s Jonathan Wall to discuss the upcoming club line. DeChambeau touched on a number of subjects during the interview, including why he believes the transition into the King F9 Speedback driver will be easier this time around, the calls he makes to Cobra engineers on a regular basis, and what’s next for the shafts in his one-length irons. On his first impressions of Cobra’s King F9 Speedback driver: BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: It was an interesting design and look. I hadn’t really seen a driver designed that way before, and once we started going over all of the technical aspects of the driver — the aerodynamics, center of gravity, how they move weight lower in the head — it all came out as a fantastic design and build, but also a great sounding driver. Before I hit it, I thought it might have a weird sound, but it sounded beautiful — came off and sounded strong and firm. It’s a driver I feel like I can use right away after testing. Numbers have all been really good. It’s the kind of start that has me excited about using it this season. On why the transition into King F9 Speedback will be easier than F8+: DECHAMBEAU: This one feels like I could move into it pretty quickly. Might even move into it as soon as [the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open]. The spin is a lot lower, even than the F8. I’m a high-spin player who needs the least amount of spin possible on the driver and even the longer irons. For me, them moving the CG lower and having better aerodynamics made this driver easier to test. Feel like I’m able to really embrace the design and already have the confidence to pull off certain shot shapes. On why he spent so much time testing driver shafts late in the 2017-18 TOUR season: DECHAMBEAU: I just trying to get the spin, consistency of deflection, torque where I wanted it. Finally found a shaft that checked all the boxes and I’ve stuck with it. Sometimes you just have to do a bunch of testing to get there. For me, it just happened to occur later in the year. On why he regularly calls Cobra’s engineers to talk shop: DECHAMBEAU: I need an engineer to talk to. I’m usually calling them when I have something unique happening and I can’t resolve it in my brain on my own. I’ll ask them about the dynamics of the club to try and understand why some inertial properties are set up a certain way. We’re still working on that process. We’re still working on some questions that I think we can answer this year. In a couple years’ time, I think we’ll have the answers on everything when it comes to the driver. On TOUR players being intrigued by his one-length iron setup: DECHAMBEAU: Absolutely, I’ve had some guys come up and want to learn more about the setup. It’s definitely been interesting to share what I’m working on, but they’ve been doing things their way for so long and have been successful doing it that it would probably be tough to switch. Overall, one-length irons have progressed the game nicely. Will we see other young players come into the game using one-length? I like to think so. On the future of one-length irons and shaft testing: DECHAMBEAU: I’m not really sure as it pertains to the shafts in my irons. I went to a more progressive setup, but I still think I need to do more testing regarding how the shafts are deflecting, relative to what normal shafts are doing. We’re going to work on that and make it better. You actually just gave me an idea of something we can do, which is great. I’ve got a couple of good tests we can do and figure out the differences between the variable-length set and the one-length set on the wedges or the 4-iron. On finding the correct 3-wood when he went to Cobra: DECHAMBEAU: Cobra is underrated when it comes to their woods and don’t get enough respect for them. From a design perspective, they are on the cutting edge when it comes what they are doing. It’s not your standard fairway wood with the rails and CNC face. The Cobra Ltd. 3-wood I’ve had for a few years now has been definitely a game-changing club for me. I never had a 3-wood before that club that really fit my game. But right when I went to Cobra, I finally found one that worked. BUY EQUIPMENT HERE: PGA TOUR Superstore

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