Expert Picks: ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

Twenty-five high school graduates have been selected to the First Tee College Scholarship Program. This is the largest class to date and a significant milestone as the youth development organization celebrates 25 years of helping young people build their strength of character through golf. The Scholars Class of 2022 includes aspiring physicians, computer scientists and lawyers, all of whom will be attending stand-out colleges and universities, including Harvard University, New York University and Columbia University. Selected from a national pool of First Tee teens, the diverse group of Scholars – 15 young women and 10 young men – are from both urban and rural communities across the United States. Nine of the Scholars will play on their college’s golf team; several are heading into STEM, business, and medical fields; and many already have impressive plans for careers that will support underrepresented and underserved populations. “I offer congratulations and a warm welcome to our Class of 2022 First Tee Scholars,” said Greg McLaughlin, CEO of First Tee. “With the support of our donors, we’re able to provide this ongoing support as they matriculate through college and prepare for future careers. These outstanding young leaders have bright futures ahead, and we believe the skills and values developed through First Tee will empower them throughout their collegiate journey and beyond.” First Tee College Scholarship Program extends its impact to alumni by providing support throughout their post-graduate careers. Each of the Scholars is paired with a dedicated, trained adult mentor who will help encourage and guide them throughout their college experience, including virtual and in-person meetups. The program also provides professional development workshops held in-person throughout the year, and up to $5,000 per year toward tuition. The program, which re-launched in 2020, is an evolution from the First Tee Scholars Program established in 2003. The program began after participant Steven Outlaw gave a moving speech in 2001 at the age of 16 and was provided an impromptu scholarship from a generous donor. Two years later, Outlaw graduated high school and was part of the inaugural First Tee Scholars Class. Since 2003, First Tee headquarters and its chapter network have awarded more than $15 million in college scholarships to alumni. Applications for the Class of 2022 were received from participants across the First Tee network. Following an online application process, finalists were selected by a committee for one-on-one interviews. In addition to academic performance, applicants were considered based on financial need, chapter involvement, volunteerism, and other criteria. First Tee College Scholarship Program is made possible by donors and corporate partners who stand behind the program and First Tee’s mission, including 3M, A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Astros Golf Foundation, Brendan and Shay Cavanagh, Charles Schwab, Chevron Corporation, David and Geri Epstein Private Foundation, Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Fund, Edward and Lisa Vaughan, Jon Clay, Nelson and Michele Carbonell Family Foundation, Paul and Ruth Flowers, Peter A. Bonanni Scholarship Fund, PURE Insurance, Timothy W. Finchem Scholarship Fund, TruGreen, USSGA Memorial Fund, and Zotec Foundation. First Tee College Scholarship Class of 2022: Average GPA: 4.1 on a 4.0 scale Average SAT score: 1,470 out of 1,600 Average ACT score: 31 out of 36 Breonna Boyd, First Tee — Tennessee University of Michigan; Major: Business Administration Breonna plans to start a nonprofit that will provide natural hair care products to African American girls who need them. Nicholas Canales, First Tee — Greater Houston University of Nebraska; Major: Political Science and History Nicholas is a first-generation college student and will play on the men’s golf team. Antonio DelCastillo, First Tee — Orange County University of Alabama; Major: Pre-Med Pursuing a career as either a neuro-orthopedic surgeon or anesthesiologist. Srishti Dhurandhar, First Tee — Metropolitan New York New York University; Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering Srishti will play on the women’s golf team under the leadership of her former First Tee coach and NYU head coach, Katie Rudolph. Vivian D’Orazi, First Tee — Metropolitan New York York College of Pennsylvania; Major: Marketing; Minor: Hospitality Management Vivian will play on the women’s golf team and aspires to work in the golf industry post-graduation. Dylan Ebs, First Tee — Greater Austin George Washington University; Major: Journalism Dylan plans to pursue his goal of becoming a political reporter in Washington, D.C. Esther Etherington, First Tee — Indiana Franklin College; Major: Elementary Education Esther will play on the women’s golf team and plans to later receive a Master’s degree in Special Education. Maleyna Gregorio, First Tee — Coachella Valley University of California Riverside; Major: Business Maleyna will play on the women’s golf team and aspires to work in the golf industry. Raiyan Johnson, First Tee — Savannah Georgia Institute of Technology; Major: Astrophysics Raiyan will pursue her goal to become an astrophysicist and ultimately an astronaut. Lea Han, First Tee — Greater Sacramento Harvard University; Major: History Lea plans to become either an immigration or civil rights lawyer and pursue her passion for social justice. Zara Karim, First Tee — Greater Washington, D.C. George Washington University; Major: Computer Science Graduating with 4.5 GPA, Zara aspires to become a computer scientist or software engineer. Nelia Leong, First Tee — Upstate South Carolina University of Florida; Major: Public Health Nelia will be pursuing the pre-dentistry track with plans to use her degree to have her own pediatric dentistry practice. Myles Manor, First Tee — Greater Washington, D.C. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; Major: Chemistry Myles has a desire to bring interest and awareness to STEM careers in his community. Abigale Morris, First Tee — Phoenix Biola University; Major: Cinematography Abigale will play on the women’s golf team. She aspires to own a film company that provides film and media for nonprofits. Hannah Newell, First Tee — Greater Houston LeTourneau University; Major: Chemical Engineering Hannah will play on the women’s golf team while working toward her goal of building a career in chemical engineering. Sabrina Poole, First Tee — Greater Seattle St. Martin’s University; Major: Psychology Sabrina will play on the women’s golf team. Her future aspirations include helping high school and college student-athletes with mental and psychological struggles or crises as a clinical psychologist. Nancy Rivera, First Tee — Silicon Valley Middleburg College Vermont; Major: Pre-Med Nancy wants to be the voice for Latinx families who have had limited representation in the medical field. She plans on becoming an OB-GYN. Ahmad Raoul, First Tee — Greater Chicago Winston-Salem State University; Major: Computer Science While playing on the men’s golf team and majoring in computer science, Ahmad plans to leverage his STEM knowledge to further his passion for golf and improve his golf performance. Daniel Sears, First Tee — Massachusetts Franciscan University of Steubenville; Major: Philosophy and Finance Daniel plans on a career in either real estate or law. Connor Shooks, First Tee — Benton Harbor Loyola University Chicago; Major: Sports Management Connor aspires to either be an athletic trainer or physical therapist. Kenneth Treece, First Tee — Pine Mountain University of Alabama; Major: Aerospace Engineering and Political Science Obtaining a 35 out of 36 on the ACT, Kenneth has plans to become a public defense attorney. Alexa Vela, First Tee — Greater Houston Rice University; Major: Psychology and Pre-Law Alexa aspires to become a lawyer to grant the underrepresented the opportunity to recognize their constitutional rights and the powers granted to them by their government. Jaylon Wilson, First Tee — Metro Atlanta North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; Major: Finance With plans to become a financial advisor, Jaylon aspires to serve the African American community through providing financial literacy, specifically to athletes and musicians. Iris Xue, First Tee — Greater Washington, D.C. Columbia University; Major: Computer Science and Engineering Iris hopes to one day build artificial intelligence models that tackle healthcare challenges, such as disease modeling and disease prevention. Jacob Zakaria, First Tee — Central Coast University of California Berkeley; Major: Biology Inspired by his father’s family being raised in a war-struck refugee camp in Lebanon without access to healthcare, Jacob plans on becoming a medical doctor.

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His 18-foot, curling left-to-righter breaks toward the hole, eyes locked on its path, Jon Rahm raises his Odyssey Rossie S putter and unleashes jubilant fist pump as his ball dives into the darkness. We’ve seen the highlight how many times in the handful of days that have passed since that putt clinched Rahm’s U.S. Open victory? It’s hard to imagine after seeing the confidence and firm conviction the ball would roll inevitably into the hole Rahm displayed on Torrey Pines’ 17th and 18th greens, Sunday, that the world No. 1 only switched into the flatstick the tournament prior to the U.S. Open. It’s surprising, too, that the mid-mallet model he settled on was a significant departure from the gigantic rear-center of gravity, high MOI mallet he had been using for months. So, how did we get here? How did Rahmbo look more like 2008 Sunday Tiger Woods on the 72nd at Torrey Pines and less like a golfer who was so frustrated with his putting he went back to the drawing board less than a month ago? The week prior to the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, Rahm visited with Callaway head of tour operations Tim Reed and Odyssey rep Joe Toulon at the Ely Callaway Performance Center in Carlsbad, California, to test putters. There, Rahm was most intrigued by an Odyssey Rossie S mid-mallet putter. He remained happy with the Microhinge Star insert that had been, well, inserted into his 2-Ball Ten at the PGA Championship, so Toulon and company had the Rossie built with the Microhinge. After evaluation on SAM PuttLab and Quintic (two putting analysis systems), it was clear the Rossie performed better than the higher-MOI, rear-CG 2-Ball Ten he had been putting with since joining Callaway’s tour staff in January. And as evidenced by his barnstorming three rounds at the Memorial Tournament and his clutch putt-filled win at the U.S. Open, the Spaniard’s putting performance was indeed elevated. For the inside story of Rahm’s Rossie S, GolfWRX spoke with Odyssey tour rep Joe Toulon. GolfWRX: When Rahm signed with Callaway, he was using a putter that looked very much like the Odyssey 2-Ball Ten he ultimately put in the bag. It intuitively made sense that’d be his choice, but he switched to a different putter at the Memorial. Why? Joe Toulon: When he came into our putter studio in January, he hadn’t really been putting great. He was anxious to get into something. We had, probably, 20 putters made up for him, and the whole time, we were thinking the 2-Ball Ten with the S-neck would be the winner because it was similar to what he was using coming in. But through that process, you have to listen to what the player is saying and how they’re saying it. He was struggling with setup and how his putter sat on the ground…and he found himself fidgeting. In his college days, he used a 2-Ball. So the 2-Ball Ten, the way it sat on the ground for him was the reason he gravitated toward that. He felt comfortable with it…and with his path, he squared it up a little bit more and hit more putts in the center of the face. The last thing we did with that putter was change to a White Hot insert. He’s such a feel player, and he told us that White Hot felt good at impact. So that’s what he switched to at the Farmers Insurance Open and used through the PGA Championship. GolfWRX: And then he made a minor modification at the PGA Championship… JT: So, we follow player stats very, very closely. We talk to players, caddies, and agents. We always want to see what the feel is with the putter (and every club, really). His putting didn’t really change much from the beginning of the year, over time, he just grew frustrated as he expected he’d start making those 8-12 footers. He never really had a hot week with it [the Odyssey 2-Ball Ten putter]. He was always right around zero strokes gained: putting for the week. So, looking at his stats, we thought if the putter could just get relatively hot, he was doing everything else great. We had a meeting before the PGA Championship with Jon, his caddie, and a couple of other people, and we wanted to dive deep into the stats and what he was feeling out on the course and what his caddie was seeing. We started hearing him say his speed had been a little bit off, so we made an insert change in his 2-Ball Ten [White Hot to Microhinge Star]. We didn’t want to change the whole putter because it was the week of the PGA Championship. We were pretty excited about what we were seeing, but then after his round Saturday, he told us it would be his last round using the putter. GolfWRX: Wow. Back to the drawing board then! What direction do you go from there? JT: The Rossie was one of the putters I had made for him back in January, and I could just tell, watching him look at all the putters and listing to his initial thoughts, it was all positive with that one, and he kept kind of looking back at it, so that was something I built up for him along with a couple of others. We kind of pieced everything together knowing that he’s not a very linear person; he doesn’t like lines on his putter, and we knew he liked the insert. He liked the speed off the face, the feel, and the roll, so we knew we were going to go with that insert. And we wanted to go back to something with an S-neck so he could feel the face rotate. The 2-Ball Ten, where the center of gravity is in that putter is further back. Over time, we started to get the sense that wasn’t working well with him wanting to feel the face rotate. And over time, that kind of altered his stroke a little bit to the point where he didn’t look comfortable over the ball. So, we wanted to give him something with the CG a little more forward. He came into the test center Thursday and Friday (of the Charles Schwab Challenge) to look at putters and dial in the right one, but Thursday when he came, he was in love with the Rossie and we got him on Quintic and PuttLab and made sure the numbers were good. At that point, we may have made a slight loft adjustment to help launch angle, but that was it. It was pretty amazing just to see how confident and comfortable he looked with that putter in his hands. He was a completely different person on the greens. GolfWRX: So clearly a different putter and better performance, but why/how was it working better for him? JT: Basically, he was just feeling the face a little bit more, which made him more attuned to face angle and how it was rotating in his stroke. He was feeling like a more “natural” putter again. Jon Rahm putter specs Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie S Insert: Micro Hinge Star Shaft: Steel stepped Grip: Odyssey 56 pistol Length: 37 inches Loft: 2.5 degrees Lie: 68-degrees Weight: 544 grams

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DUBLIN, Ohio — Patrick Cantlay got another handshake with Jack Nicklaus, this time as the winner of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Starting four shots behind, Cantlay closed with an 8-under 64 for a two-shot victory Sunday. It was the lowest final round by a winner in tournament history, and it moved the 27-year-old Californian to No. 6 in the FedExCup and into the top 10 in the world. Martin Kaymer, trying to end five years without a victory, started with a two-shot lead and never recovered from back-to-back bogeys on the back nine. Adam Scott was the last player with a chance to catch Cantlay when he ran off three straight birdies to get within two shots, but he fell short. Cantlay first met the tournament host in 2011 when he won the Jack Nicklaus Award as the top player in college at UCLA.

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