Featured Groups: RBC Heritage

HONOLULU — Abraham Ancer can’t remember playing better with so little to show for it. His hope is the payoff is not far away. RELATED: Players rally to Australian bushfire relief cause | Players to Watch in 2020: Abraham Ancer | The First Look  Ancer arrived for the Sony Open in Hawaii with his confidence still brimming from a solid debut in the Presidents Cup last month in Australia. He was among seven rookies on the International team. That didn’t keep Adam Scott from saying on the eve of the matches he would be shocked if the 28-year-old Mexican wasn’t “a big point winner for us.� Ancer delivered by going unbeaten in four teams matches. And when the pressure was even greater — singles against Tiger Woods, with social media driving a plot that Ancer wanted a piece of him — Ancer held his own until Woods outlasted him in 16 holes to start a U.S. comeback. “A lot of good stuff came out of the Presidents Cup,� Ancer said. “Just playing a lot of golf under a lot of pressure. I like to put myself in those situations. I become a better player when I put myself in those situations, and moving forward, I feel like I will be a little calmer in situations where I would be normally stressed out.� He felt like every shot mattered, not just for him but for the team. Now he’s back on his own, playing against a 144-man field at windy Waialae Country Club, not nearly as many fans watching from along the ropes or in front of the TV. He is among 15 of the top 50 in the world ranking, led by Justin Thomas, who won the Sentry Tournament of Champions last week at Kapalua and has won three of his last six starts on the PGA TOUR. Ancer is still looking for his first PGA TOUR victory. He won late in 2018 at the Australian Open, which earned him a spot in the Open Championship. He did well enough last year, particularly his runner-up finish to Patrick Reed at THE NORTHERN TRUST, to make it the TOUR Championship and earn a spot in the Masters for the first time. “It just shows me what I need to get better at, how you feel under pressure,� Ancer said of his 3-1-1 mark at Royal Melbourne. “I can take that and look back when I’m in a situation like that, maybe playing in the last round for a chance to win. I’ll draw back and remember how I felt that day.� A great week for him ended awkwardly because of his match against Woods. Ancer was asked a month before the Presidents Cup who he wanted to play, and he mentioned Woods, the greatest of his generation and an idol for most players on both teams in Melbourne. It was portrayed as poking Tiger, with his quote posted on social media accounts as a reminder. Woods played well, and the match turned on the 14th hole when Woods made an 8-foot par putt and Ancer missed his par from about 6 feet. Woods went 2 up and closed him out with a birdie on the 16th. “Abe wanted it. He got it,� Woods said during the winner’s press conference. Ancer didn’t want the loss or the narrative to ruin an otherwise good week. “I tried not to let it get to me,� Ancer said. “That was actually a month before in Mayakoba when I got asked this question. I was like, ’Well out of the 12 guys who would I like to play on a big stage in a big event like that? Yeah, obviously I would like to play my hero growing up, Tiger Woods. It would be an incredible experience.� And it was, on and off the course. “I didn’t only learn from the golf course and from golf, I learned a lot about the media and how it can get twisted,� he said. “Definitely got twisted, just the context how I said things. And maybe Tiger didn’t know the way I said it. He just kind of took it from what he was reading or what he heard, which is fine. “Maybe it was a little bit of a downer because people didn’t know I said it,� Ancer said. “Some guy reached out to me and said, ‘You were really, really cocky.’ I was like, ‘What?’ I was thrown off by some of the comments.� Ancer faces a big year, his first playing in all four majors, and he virtually is a lock to represent Mexico in the Olympics. For now, golf is back to the individual sport it normally is. Six of his teammates from the Presidents Cup are at the Sony Open in Hawaii, including Marc Leishman, with whom Ancer won a match and halved another. Matt Kuchar is the defending champion. Thomas will try to sweep the Hawaii swing for the second time in three years.

Click here to read the full article…

Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro White shafts represent the next evolution of the company’s premium low launch, low spin shaft option. Engineers utilized an abundance of high-tech materials in the creation of the successor to the popular CK Pro White — foremost among these is the 1K Fiber that gives the shaft its name. Super-premium 1K Fiber is three times thinner than Carbon Kevlar, and it produces a tighter, more consistent weave. According to Mitsubishi, this allows for the transmission of more high-frequency vibrations through the shaft to create a signature “1K feel.” In other words, pure shots feel really pure, and on the other side of the coin, it’s easier to tell when a shot hasn’t been struck in the center of the face: a valuable piece of feedback. “The Tensei 1K series is the result of a years-long collaboration with our team in Japan. Tensei 1K is the most premium Tensei part we’ve ever made and uses the most premium materials and most advanced shaft construction technologies we currently have. We pulled out all the stops to try to bring the best shaft we’ve ever made into golfers’ hands across the globe,” said Mark Gunther, VP of Sales and Marketing While the fiber gets top billing, It’s the combination of the 1K Fiber and new XLINK Tech Resin System that showcases the company’s commitment to premium materials and performance. As a refresher, resin binds the layers of a golf shaft together. Unique to Mitsubishi Chemical, XLINK Tech Resin System is an innovative dual-phase process that creates a carbon-rich structure that is universally stronger, while still remaining responsive. According to Gunther, “Tech bonded structures are both higher modulus and higher elongation, two key factors we look for to improve stability.” Tod Boretto, Composite Engineering Executive at Mitsubishi Chemical, broke things down further on the 1K front. What does “1K” refer to exactly? TB: 1K Fiber describes the number of individual carbon fiber filaments that are contained with a fiber bundle. These fiber bundles contain 1,000 (1K) individual filaments of carbon fiber that are smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Normally a carbon fiber bundle, commonly referred to as a “tow” bundle, contains upwards of 3,000 to 12,000 filaments which makes the layers of the carbon weave much thicker and heavier than a carbon weave made from 1K fiber. What does 1K Fiber allow engineers to do, for lack of a better word? TB: The very thin-lightweight nature of the 1K weave allows us to place this layer on the outside of the layered composite construction in the upper section of the shaft where the wall thickness is much thinner than compared to the tip section of the shaft. By placing this thin-lightweight 1K weave in the upper section of the shaft, we minimize the thin section of the shaft from ovalizing during the swing under the loads applied by the golfer. This provides superior stability and minimizes tube deflection. It increases accuracy and face placement of the head at impact. Anything else you’d like to mention about 1K Fiber? TB: An added benefit to the golfer is that the 1K weave is comprised solely of carbon fiber compared to prior Tensei Designs, which included kevlar/carbon and our proprietary Aluminum Vapor technology. By eliminating the use of materials like Kevlar and Aluminum Vapor, the 1K transmits vibrations from impact faster and over a broader range of frequencies thusly providing critical feedback to the golfer as to where they struck the ball on the face. In other words, ball strikes on the toe or heel of the clubface are more easily felt by the golfer, which allows the golfer to make a swing adjustment while on the course and not in front of a launch monitor. GEARS A final element of the Tensei 1K Pro White shaft story is the implementation of GEARS 3D motion capture system, which allows Mitsubishi Chemical engineers to measure both the golfer and club simultaneously. Nodes are placed on the club head and shaft to measure how the shaft twists, deflects, droops, loads, etc. For the company, it’s extremely useful to validate new products and prototypes, but equally valuable when it shows designers where to make corrections and adjustments. Zane Nuttall, Manager of Product Development and Innovation on GEARS: “We have always thoroughly tested our products with robotics and player tests. As we continued to apply more resources within this process, we began to work with the GEARS motion capture system to analyze the shaft’s behavior in 3D motion. This allows us to validate existing structures and qualify developmental structures. As we continue to grow, it is important to take our testing processes and systems to the next level.” Weights and flexes Tensei Pro White 1K 50 (R, S, X, TX Flex) Tensei Pro White 1K 60 (R, S, X, TX Flex) Tensei Pro White 1K 70 (S, X, TX Flex) Tensei Pro White 1K 80 (S, X, TX Flex) This special production will be available only at MCA authorized retailers and dealers with a suggested retail price of $500.

Click here to read the full article…

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – A couple beers last Saturday and good conversation with those closest to him was enough to get Harold Varner III back in the right frame of mind. He had a self-described “meltdown” earlier that day after flying the green with his approach shot to Sedgefield’s 11th hole in the third round of the Wyndham Championship. Don’t worry, there were no broken clubs. Just a bad attitude. But it was unacceptable to Varner. “Having a bad attitude probably makes me more mad than … playing bad golf,” he said Thursday, after shooting a first-round 66 at THE NORTHERN TRUST. “That’s the only thing you control. You don’t really control what you’re going to shoot or where your golf ball is going to end up, but you control how you approach each shot.” A good mindset was imperative Thursday at the trouble-laden Liberty National, which was buffeted by inconsistent breezes. Varner countered with a hot putter. He gained approximately three strokes on the greens, and that doesn’t include the 22-footer he holed from the fringe on the fifth hole. That was a belated birthday gift for Varner, who celebrated his 31st birthday Sunday. “That’s a lot of … luck,” he said. “There was a clump of mud on one side of it. I was like, I’ll just roll it down there, whatever, and ended up going in. Perfect pace.” Varner finished T3 at Liberty National two years ago. At the time, it was the best finish of his PGA TOUR career (he bested that this season with his runner-up at the RBC Heritage). His good result the last time he played in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty – he finished two back of winner Patrick Reed – had no impact on Varner’s play Thursday, however. “That was in 2019. It’s 2021. Do your job,” Varner said. “The biggest thing for me is … having a better attitude. That’s what it comes down to, especially with the conditions like they are right now, windy.” He shot 68 or lower in all four rounds here in 2019, which was good enough to skyrocket from 102nd to 29th in the FedExCup standings. He didn’t stay in the top 30, however, after finishing second-to-last in the next Playoffs event, the BMW Championship. He still finished a career-best 38th in the FedExCup that season. It’s the only time in his five FedExCup campaigns that he has advanced to the BMW. Varner arrived at Liberty National ranked 72nd in this season’s standings. His runner-up at the Heritage is his lone top-10 thus far this season but his eight top-25s are one off his career high. After one round at THE NORTHERN TRUST, Varner has put himself in position for his biggest FedExCup payday. With a baby boy due in October, some of that would undoubtedly go towards diapers.

Click here to read the full article…