Here’s why Bryson DeChambeau made a drastic change to his grip weights

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Rory McIlroy sat back in the chair, took a deep breath, and smiled when asked. He smiled because he recognized a chance to give public credit to some special people in his life. His parents. The 14-time PGA TOUR winner was giving a press conference for his first appearance at this week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions and the question about who he felt was the foundation of his success was a welcome one. Now almost 30, McIlroy has found a greater appreciation for the sacrifices his parents Gerry and Rosie provided for him. “I couldn’t single out one over the other, because my dad worked three jobs at one time and my mom worked night shifts and so they made a lot of sacrifices,â€� McIlroy praised. “All their extra money and time off was put into me to go and play golf tournaments.â€� It’s true. Gerry split time between cleaning and bar work. Rosie would work nights at a factory. It allowed young Rory to follow his passion for golf. It set the base that would lead to a FedExCup title and four majors to this point. It is a theme you can find all over the PGA TOUR. The trip to greatness is not a solo one. It takes help. It takes belief from others. For Jason Day, a joint course record holder at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, the reflection was to his mother, his wife, his agent and his coach. Without these people on his journey Day says he would never have made it to the PGA TOUR. “Everyone on the PGA TOUR has someone or some people who have put us first on multiple occasions,â€� Day says. “While we work hard and sacrifice our time to practice and get in shape it is those behind the scenes who keep things running smoothly. “It started with my mum, then Colin Swatton came into my life as a coach and father figure, then my agent Bud and my wife Ellie … they all do more than I can ever thank them for. They’ve always done right by me. It allows me to be the best golfer I can be.â€� Up and coming star Cameron Champ threw praise on his family, particularly his grandfather, and also renowned coach Sean Foley for taking a chance on a kid with raw talent but little means. Champ is at the beginning of his PGA TOUR journey. He is acutely aware of the assistance needed from others for him to be living out this dream. Foley, who has coached Tiger Woods among others over the years, was happy to take him on board. People would pay huge money for his instruction. Champ obviously could not do so at the time coming from a humble background. “I met Sean at about 15. He was generous enough to teach me even though means was tough for us,â€� Champ says. “And the connection, the relationship, has gone from there until now which has been amazing.â€� The 23-year-old is already a PGA TOUR winner and touted as the next big thing, something that may or may not have happened as quickly without this foundation. Golf Channel analyst Mark Rolfing, who forged his own golf career in the 1970s before becoming a long-time Maui resident and member of the Kapalua golf family, believes these foundations are critical for not only professional athletes, but for all of us. He has seen the cultural idea of Ohana work on the Hawaiian islands for decades – one based on a wider community or “familyâ€� where everyone works together and supports each other. And he is very keen to push the idea onto the general population. “Part of living on Maui and the whole Ohana aspect of what we do has permeated into my soul and I take it everywhere I go around the world with me,â€� Rolfing explains. “It’s maybe easier for me because I’m constantly reminded about how important people were to me and how I had so many people do right by me. “But the average person has just as many people in their lives provide this foundation. People who share advice. People who unselfishly donate time to help others. “It would be good if every person could stop every once in a while and reflect who has been right by them and reflect on who got them to where they are.â€� This is something McIlroy for one can certainly agree on. He admitted it took time for him to truly appreciate what his parents have done for him and continue to do to help him be the person he is. “I didn’t truly realize until maybe when I was out of my teenage years, when I was on my own two feet, and I realized that my childhood wasn’t the norm and that’s not what a lot of parents do for their kids,â€� McIlroy said. “And so it took me a while to realize just the sacrifice and the hard work that they put in to just give me a chance to do what I do. “I always said I can never repay them for what they have done for me … just make sure they’re happy and comfortable for the rest of their days.â€�

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Viktor Hovland of Norway holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Sunday for a 6-under 65 and a one-shot victory in the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN, his second PGA TOUR victory this year. RELATED: Final leaderboard | Winner’s Bag: Viktor Hovland It was the first time since the Mayakoba Classic began in 2007 that it was won with a birdie putt on the final hole. For the 23-year-old Hovland, it’s old hat. He made a 30-foot birdie putt on the last hole to win the Puerto Rico Open in February. Aaron Wise closed with a 63 and did everything right over the last two holes except make the birdie putts. Tied for the lead, he missed birdie putts from 12 feet on each of the last two holes at El Camaleon Golf Club. Hovland had four birdies in the opening six holes and built a two-shot lead going into the back nine on a course softened by rain that caused a two-hour delay in the morning. But he made bogey on the 12th hole, and that seemed to create chances for a half-dozen players separated by one shot along the back nine. Hovland responded with birdies on the next two holes, and he appeared to be in control with a tee shot to 4 feet on the par-3 15th. But he hit a tentative putt to remain tied with Wise, and Hovland thought he was in big trouble when his long iron on the 515-yard 16th hole sailed hard to the right toward the mangrove trees. It came down in the waste area a few feet from the hazard, and he hit a splendid sand shot to 4 feet to save par. Hovland, starting his second season on the PGA TOUR after a stellar college career at Oklahoma State, finished at 20-under 264 and moved to No. 15 in the world. That makes three players in the top 15 who were still in college a year ago in May. The others are PGA champion Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff, a teammate of Hovland’s at Oklahoma State. Adam Long (67) and Tom Hoge (69) tied for third at 17-under 267. Hoge holed a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 15th hole to get within one shot, but he three-putted from some 70 feet on the tough 16th to fall back. Long lost hope when he sent his tee shot into the vegetation on the 17th hole and took bogey. Emiliano Grillo, who led after the second and third rounds, closed with a 72 and tied for eighth, five shots behind. Justin Thomas got back to the fringe of contention with a 62 on Saturday but followed that with a 69, making double bogey on No. 10 to end his chances. This was the final official PGA TOUR event of the year, one last chance for players to either qualify for the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua or lock up a spot in the Masters next year. Neither was an issue for Hovland, who qualified for Maui with his win in Puerto Rico and was set for Augusta National by reaching the TOUR Championship his rookie season. Austin Eckroat of Oklahoma State had a 67-65 weekend and tied for 12th.

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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Lost in the chaos of Tiger Woods’ record-tying 82nd PGA TOUR win at last season's ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan was the runner-up. Only Woods could make Hideki Matsuyama second fiddle in his home country. A year later, Matsuyama leads an eight-strong Japanese contingent looking to make Woods second fiddle in his backyard. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced a temporary move of Japan's PGA TOUR event to the U.S. mainland - and to Southern California no less - where Woods grew up. Sherwood Country Club has been a venue where Woods has notched five wins and five runners-up at his World Challenge. RELATED: Historic look at Japan’s history on the PGA TOUR But while Matsuyama and his countrymen won't hear a throng of local support like they would back home, they do feel the energy of their country. The will to win their event is just as strong over 5,500 miles from the homeland. Matsuyama has been part of the TOUR landscape for some time now. He was just a teen when we first saw him as a standout amateur at the Masters and now at 28 he is a five-time TOUR winner. He was the first Japanese player (and first Asian) to win a World Golf Championships event and he still hopes to be the first to win a major championship and a FedExCup. And of course the first to win the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. "I’m very happy that we’re able to have this tournament with this coronavirus. We didn’t really know what was going to happen," said Matsuyama, who ended up three shots behind Woods a year ago in Japan. "I would love to win this week and be able to have the fans come out in Japan next year and be the defending champion, that would be awesome." While Matsuyama has been a beacon of consistency in making the TOUR Championship in every season since he joined the PGA TOUR in 2014, the last of his five wins came back in 2017 at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He's had 17 top-10s since without winning. "It’s been three years since I’ve won and I definitely think about that quite a bit. I always try my best and every week feel like I’m getting there, but definitely hasn’t happened," he added. "So I’m preparing myself and hoping that week will come sooner than later." Joining him in the field this week is perhaps the biggest threat to beating Matsuyama to major success. At just 22, Takumi Kanaya has been following in his idols footsteps. Until turning pro last week Kanaya was the world's best amateur who, like Matsuyama, won the Asia Pacific Amateur to earn a spot at the Masters and Open Championship. "Obviously Matsuyama's success on the PGA TOUR gave not just myself, but a lot of the Japanese players, big confidence that we could compete against the world like he did," Kanaya said. "Although the goal is high, he set a good goal for us and for that I really admire him and admire him as a role model." While it is still premature to expect Matsuyama-like success from Kanaya, plenty of good judges expect big things. He has already won on the Japan Tour and went close to winning the Australian Open last year. In his first pro start last week he was seventh in the Japan Open. He has a serious passion for his country, one solidified by watching Matsuyama at home events and Adam Scott in his home country of Australia where the fans returned the love. "I would like to be just the same as that moving forward. If I play well enough overseas, I think a lot of people back in Japan will cheer for me whenever I go back and play in my home country." TOUR regular Satoshi Kodaira - winner of the 2018 RBC Heritage - has the pedigree to win this week even if his form hasn't been at peak. Having missed his last five cuts prior to the pandemic break, Kodaira only returned to the TOUR a few weeks ago to play at the Sanderson Farms Championship and the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He failed to make the weekend at both. Here is a look at the remaining Japanese players looking to win. Rikuya Hoshino - A 24-year-old who has won three times on the Japan Golf Tour. Missed the cut at the 2018 U.S. Open, finished T67 at 2019 Sony Open in Hawaii, T51 at the 2019 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and was T45 at 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii in his only previous TOUR starts. Shugo Imahira - A 28-year-old with four wins on the Japan Tour who finished first on the 2018 money list. Makes 17th PGA TOUR start with a T27 at the 2019 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational his best result. Was 61st at the recent 2020 U.S. Open. Ryo Ishikawa - Now 29, Ishikawa first won on the Japan Tour at 15 and has 17 total wins including one where he shot 12-under 58 in the final round. Played 151 TOUR events since 2009 with two runner-up finishes his best result. Represented the International Team in the Presidents Cup in 2009 and 2011 and has at least one top-30 finish in each of the four major championships. Mikumu Horikawa - Turned pro in 2014 and claimed his first Japan Golf Tour title in June 2019. Shot final-round 64 before losing playoff to Rikuya Hoshino at the 2020 Fujisankei Classic and said afterwards, "I gained 7kg (15 lbs.) while working out hard. I don't know if my method is correct or not, but I am aiming to be like DeChambeau." In six previous PGA TOUR events, a T49 at the WGC-HSBC Champions is his best result. Naoki Sekito - Making first PGA TOUR appearance. Won twice on the Asian Development Tour in 2019, including an 11-stroke win at the Gunung Geulis Golf Invitational.

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