Green takes 1-shot lead into Palos Verdes finale

Click here to read the full article…

What’s the biggest golf apparel trend for 2020? Well, it isn’t a brilliant new color, cool print, or updated fit. Instead, it is sustainability, and Ralph Lauren finds itself at the forefront of this movement. Throughout its history, Ralph Lauren has set the tone for American fashion and now it is taking a leadership role in environmental issues. For 2020, the brand has expanded the use of recycled polyester in three of its popular fabrics for the course—Lightweight Airflow, Featherweight Airflow, and Airtech Pique. Each polo is made of an average of 7 post-consumer use recycled plastic bottles while maintaining the quality and performance attributes players have come to expect from Ralph Lauren’s iconic golf polos. The use of recycled polyester in its golf line fits into Ralph Lauren’s goal to source 100% recycled polyester by 2025 and its ‘Design the Change’ strategy focusing on global citizenship and sustainability. Through ‘Design the Change’ the American fashion house is setting out to create timeless style, protect the environment, and champion better lives. To further its commitment, Ralph Lauren has joined other companies across industries by signing onto the United Nation’s Global Compact (UNGC) to implement universal sustainability principles and to take steps to support UN goals. In addition to its sustainability initiatives, Ralph Lauren showcased its Fall 2020 Collections at the recent PGA Merchandise Show. The early season drop takes us to the New England Coast with preppy looks in an array of soft bright hues that are grounded in white and navy. With prints trending, Ralph Lauren pulled inspiration from vintage Polo neckwear and timeless Ralph Lauren patterns in the form of colorful madras, preppy foulards, tonal paisleys, and micro florals. Over the past few years, Justin Thomas and Billy Horschel have turned to Ralph Lauren’s stylish hybrid layers in cooler conditions. For the season, the brand is updating its range of hybrid layers to higher functioning trims and a new fleece layer called the Polar Tech. Look for players to pair the quilted layers with pants in multiple weights including classic everyday pants to outerwear down and a rain suit pant. With the lines between the course, street and gym continuing to blur, Ralph Lauren is expanding the RLX athleisure-wear collection with new pieces and fabrications. A long-sleeve crewneck and half zip, both in a new lightweight air micro-mesh fabrication highlights the collection by providing sensible warmth inside or outside. A second drop was inspired by Thracian Cliffs, a scenic course along the Black Sea. This collection features a palette of cool lavenders, light blues, and royals that are grounded in navy and grey. Classic prints and yarn dyes from menswear, such as dots, checks, foulards, and glen plaids, provide a sophisticated group of easy-to-wear micro prints. These traditional patterns are executed in performance fabrications for a unique juxtaposition of heritage and tech. PGA TOUR players Tom Watson, Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel, Davis Love III, Jonathan Byrd, and Smylie Kaufman will be decked out in the latest styles and technology from Ralph Lauren throughout the year. Expect them to mix and match pieces from the Polo Golf and RLX Golf Collections. In addition to outfitting these players, Ralph Lauren will provide the uniforms for the United States Ryder Cup Team.

Click here to read the full article…

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Danny Lee is certainly not the first golfer on the PGA TOUR who is trying to chase a little more speed with his driver. But he may be the first to cause a bit of a last-minute panic by one of his fellow TOUR members after just one swing. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Inside Hovland’s strengths Wednesday afternoon at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, Lee, who finished T2 last week at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, was in the middle of a speed-training session. He was getting up to about 185 m.p.h. ball speed but Viktor Hovland, who was next to him, wanted to see how much more speed Lee could generate with his driver – which is about an inch longer. Lee stepped on one, and the shaft shattered. “That was very unexpected,” said Lee. “I felt so sorry for him. If I had a spare driver, I would have given it to him, but I didn’t.” “I just looked up after he hit the shot and it was in pieces,” said Hovland. Enter James Hahn, who had another Ping G-425 driver to nearly the same specs as Hovland’s usual gamer. “(Hovland) kept hitting it on the driving range and surprisingly he was hitting great with it,” said Lee. Kenton Oates, who is a PGA TOUR rep for Ping, said the driver Hovland put into play on Thursday was the same model, same loft, and had the same swing weight – with a slightly different shaft – as Hovland’s usual driver. “You give something pretty close to a guy like Viktor and he’ll figure it out,” said Oates. Hovland didn’t seem to have a problem with it. The defending champion in Mexico fired an opening-round 4-under 67 and missed only two fairways – both, he said, when he didn’t actually hit driver. “It’s a little bit shorter, it’s a different shaft, but honestly, almost helped me this week because it’s a little shorter,” said Hovland. “It probably goes 10 yards shorter, but I just felt like I could really hit it a little lower and a little straighter. So I’m hitting that thing really well.” Hovland, who was fifth on TOUR last season in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, ventured to another golf course in the area to try the new driver on Wednesday into different winds. But it was a quick learning session for Hovland. “As soon as I like, hit a couple with it, I was like, ‘this feels pretty nice. I think I can work with this,’ said Hovland. Oates said Hovland’s driving has always impressed him and Hovland’s consistent shot shape has been combined with a gain of nearly 6 m.p.h. of ball speed since he joined the TOUR. Oates said because the break (which happened because Lee has such an aggressive recoil on his driver swing) that occurred in Mexico was a unique situation for the Ping team. If this was the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open next week, Oates said, the two-time TOUR winner would have had a new driver in about 20 minutes. Oates said PING staffer Taylor Moore, who was in Mexico hoping to get into the field as an alternate, was also willing to provide a suitable replacement to Hovland. After the driving performance Hovland put on in the opening round at El Camaleón Mayakoba Golf Course, Oates laughed when he was asked if Hovland may consider Hahn’s specs when he gets fit into some new Ping stuff next year. “Dude, next year? If he’s hitting it like this it might be next week,” said Oates. “You play this game, and a lot of times guys may be out with their friends and say, ‘you know, I hit so-and-so club.’ This is a different situation, but it does happen (on TOUR) and that ends up being the best fitting process.” While it all worked out in the end for Hovland (and Lee, who opened with a solid 3-under 68) will Lee still try to make it up to Hovland somehow? “In the future,” said Lee, “I’ll give him something for sure.”

Click here to read the full article…