Five Things to Know: East Lake Golf Club

A lot has changed in Brooks Koepka’s equipment setup since he won last year’s WM Phoenix Open. He was a free agent at last year’s event, meaning he had the flexibility to play any clubs he wanted. This year, he is as an official staffer of Cleveland-Srixon after signing a deal with the company in November 2021. A black-white-and-red Srixon staff bag with his name on it is the most immediate proof. His bag at last year’s WM Phoenix Open did include Srixon ZX7 irons (more on the development of Srixon ZX7 irons here), and that hasn’t changed. He switched to those irons in January 2021, and given the way he still talks about those irons and their unique V-sole designs, it doesn’t seem like that will change anytime soon. “The irons have been probably the easiest transition I have ever made,” Koepka said in Wednesday’s pre-tournament press conference. “(The V-sole), … I’d never even heard of it, didn’t know it existed. But going through the turf, every once in a while, because I’m very steep on it, I felt like the club would grab a little bit and kind of drag it left. I haven’t seen that once with these irons. They went in the bag immediately.” He’s added more Cleveland-Srixon clubs to the bag since becoming a staffer. Koepka has the new Cleveland RTX ZipCore Tour Rack Raw wedges in play. Having played Cleveland wedges when he was a kid, the biggest part about getting comfortable with his new wedges was figuring out the right sole grind for his turf interaction. “The wedges, I’ve played Cleveland wedges growing up as a kid,” Koepka said. “It’s all about getting the grind work done for me. My lob wedge is probably a little difficult to get the grind right. Takes a few tries. Once we got that done, everything else, you know, you just match your specs.” At the top end of the bag, Koepka has a new Srixon ZX7 driver at 10.75 degrees, equipped with a Mitsubishi Diamana D-Limited 70 TX shaft that he’s used for years. Like Koepka said, he matched up his previous specs, so it makes sense he didn’t switch up his driver shaft even though he switched the heads. It’s the golf ball switch, though, that seemingly has Koepka most excited. As of November 2021, Koepka has been using a Srixon Z-Star prototype that offers him more height and stopping power with the irons, which is an advantage on the faster and firmer greens on the PGA TOUR. Despite the added height, Keopka says the ball provides ample stability in the wind. “The ball has been crazy actually to me,” Koepka said. “The ball doesn’t move that much in the wind, which I think is the craziest thing. So a little bit of adjustment there. But, I mean, it goes probably, like if I was hitting 7-iron, ball goes 15 feet higher, the Srixon ball, and it’s got the same amount of spin. So to me it’s only going to help me. This place, the greens are kind of firm so I can hold greens a lot better. Then it’s just been very easy transition, something I have been very, very pleased with. We have been working at it for probably six, eight months. So I have been very pleased.” Filling out his bag, Koepka continues to use a TaylorMade M2 Tour 3HL fairway wood and a Nike Vapor Fly Pro 3-iron, each of which has been in his bag for years. He also has a Scotty Cameron Teryllium TNP2 putter, which is a new and slightly different version of the T10 Select Newport 2 proto he used to win last year. Check out the full specs below on Koepka’s bag for this week as he defends his title at the WM Phoenix Open. Driver: Srixon ZX7 (10.75 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D-Limited 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade M2 Tour 3HL (16.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D-Limited 80 TX Driving iron: Nike Vapor Fly Pro (3-iron) Shaft: Fujikura Pro Tour Spec 95 X Irons: Srixon ZX7 (4-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore Tour Rack Raw (52 Mid, 56 Mid and 60 Low) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: Scotty Cameron Teryllium TNP2 Golf Ball: Srixon Z-Star proto Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord (midsize)

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FORT WORTH, Texas – The worst car that veteran caddie Kenny Harms ever owned was a green 1973 Chevy Camaro. He paid $200 for it and soon nicknamed it the Putty Box because that’s the material he kept using to fix the rust. On Sunday, Harms became the owner of another car built in 1973. This one’s considerably more valuable … and certainly more significant, as it comes courtesy of his man Kevin Na, who romped to a four-shot victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Among the perks for winning at Colonial are a plaid jacket, the Texas-sized Leonard trophy, a permanent spot on the Wall of Champions and a hefty check. This year, another perk was added – a 1973 blue Dodge Challenger to commemorate the year the Charles Schwab company was founded. It’s a unique prize, one that Na remembers hearing about months ago. Harms was equally aware of it too, and during a recent promotional piece on the car for the Caddie Network, he had a message for Na: “You wouldn’t really look so great in this but I will. I should I get the car if you win.â€� Then on Tuesday during the practice round, they spotted the Challenger sitting just off the 10th fairway. “Kevin, that’s my car, right?â€� Harms said. “Yeah, if I win, I’ll give it to you,â€� replied Na. “BOOM!â€� Harms said as he retold the story on the 18th green at Colonial, the trophy presentation having just completed. “Pretty smart for a caddie.â€� Said Na: “I don’t know how my caddie convinced me to give him the car, but he’s a good salesman I guess. He sold me into it. But I’m more than happy to give it to him. He deserves it.” “I got something cooler right here.â€� Na then patted the Leonard Trophy, which stands 42 inches tall and weighs 55 pounds, making it one of the biggest trophies on TOUR. It’s one he’s long coveted – and one he long imagined winning, perhaps even expecting to at some point. Colonial is one of the few courses on the PGA TOUR that Na thinks fits his shot-maker’s game. It’s not overly long, it rewards precision, and several of the holes play to his strengths. “I think a lot of my draws work out here,â€� he said. He also called it a second-shot-in golf course, noting that a majority of well-struck tee shots end up in the same spot in the fairway. “It’s about how good you can hit it with the irons and how well you can putt,â€� said Na, whose career-low 61 came here last year, and who shot a 62 on Friday to jump into contention. “I’m a pretty good player fairway in.â€� He was more than good on Sunday, hitting 14 of 18 greens and making several key putts. Starting the day with a two-stroke lead, Na birdied three of his first six holes – including a 33-foot putt at the fourth — then bounced back from his first bogey with another birdie from 20 feet at the par-3 eighth. Na, known for walking in putts, kind of side-walked this one, then pumped his first. A few steps later, he smiled for the first time in his round. No one would catch him on this day. He eventually finished at 13 under, and his 4-under 66 was exceeded by only one player Sunday, Russell Knox’s 65. “A well-deserved win this week,â€� said Tony Finau, his closest pursuer at 9 under. A little less than a year ago, Na won at The Greenbrier. It was his second TOUR win but his first in 158 starts. Na said the drought lasted so long – despite several close calls – that he wondered if he would ever win again. He’s not wondering any more. Although he feels like there are just seven or eight courses he can legitimately contend it – that may explain why he had just one top-10 this season coming into this week — Na is now converting those opportunities. “I feel like this week was the next chance at a win, next time I legitimately could contend – and I won,â€� Na said. “I felt so much more comfortable. Had so much more confidence. I think me winning Greenbrier last year has obviously taken a lot of pressure off.” “There is always pressure, but it’s taken a lot of the load off, weight off my shoulders. I think it helped me today.â€� Harms – who has been on Na’s bag since the end of the 2008 season when he jumped off Hale Irwin’s bag – has noticed the difference. “Ever since his win at Greenbrier, that was the first time I actually saw a calmness to him that all the greats have in golf,â€� Harms said. “I can tell when he’s nervous. I never really saw any nervousness from him today.â€� Until this week, 2019 had not gone all that smoothly. A finger injury forced him to withdraw from the Sentry Tournament of Champions and sidelined him for a month. A neck injury at Valspar also slowed him down. Then there are courses that simply don’t serve him well, like last week at Bethpage Black when he failed to make the cut. But Colonial will always be a special place for him. Just before starting his round Sunday, he looked at the Wall of Champions next to the No. 1 teebox and noted the engraved name of last year’s winner, Justin Rose. Then he looked at the empty spot just below it. “In my head, I engraved my name in it,â€� Na said. He won’t have to visualize any longer. Next time he arrives at Colonial, his name will be there, alongside all the other winners, including four-time champ Ben Hogan. The ’73 Dodge Challenger, though, will not be in his garage. Harms said he has ample room in his own garage, right next to his 911 Porsche Carrera. But don’t feel too bad for Na. Asked if he owned a car that could race the Challenger, he cracked a smile. “I got a Lamborghini at home.â€�

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR released today the four featured groupings for Thursday-Friday at this week’s Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. To watch the featured groupings on Thursday-Friday, fans in the United States can tune into the Golf Channel telecast (2-6 p.m. ET) and stream PGA TOUR LIVE via subscription on NBC Sports Gold and Amazon Prime Video Channels. Featured Groups Thursday Afternoon (May 2) Justin Rose – Rickie Fowler – Webb Simpson • NOTABLE: Fowler won his first PGA TOUR event at the Wells Fargo Championship in 2012. • 2018 FedExCup champion Rose, who won the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this season, has top-fives in his last two starts at the Wells Fargo Championship (2014, 2016). • Fowler captured the Waste Management Phoenix Open in January and sits ninth in the FedExCup standings. • 2017 PLAYERS Championship winner Simpson’s home is on the course at Quail Hollow Club. Rory McIlroy – Tony Finau – Sergio Garcia • NOTABLE: McIlroy, winner of THE PLAYERS Championship in March, is the only two-time winner of the Wells Fargo Championship (2010 and 2015); currently third in the FedExCup standings. • Finau finished T5 at the Masters Tournament, his fourth top-10 in his last five major starts. • Garcia returns to the Wells Fargo Championship for the first time since 2013; has four top-10s in eight starts this season, including a runner-up with partner Tommy Fleetwood at last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Friday Afternoon (May 3) Phil Mickelson – Jason Day – Harold Varner III • NOTABLE: Mickelson has eight top-five finishes in 15 Wells Fargo Championship starts but looking for first title; the Wells Fargo Championship is one of seven PGA TOUR events Mickelson has played 15-plus times without a victory. • Day is the defending champion of the Wells Fargo Championship. • North Carolina native Varner grew up 30 minutes outside of Charlotte in Gastonia. Paul Casey – Patrick Reed – Hideki Matsuyama • NOTABLE: While Casey is fourth in the FedExCup, Matsuyama (44) and Reed (66) sit outside the top 30 in the FedExCup standings; both players have qualified for the season-ending TOUR Championship five straight seasons (2014-18). • Casey is the last player to successfully defend a PGA TOUR title at the Valspar Championship (2018-19). • Reed successfully Monday qualified for the Wells Fargo Championship in 2013 and finished T32; he finished solo-eighth in his last start in 2018

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