Horschel-Piercy team wins Zurich Classic

DETROIT — Davis Thompson, in his third PGA TOUR event as a professional, is leading the Rocket Mortgage Classic. RELATED: Leaderboard | Bryson DeChambeau will have new caddie in Rocket Mortgage defense He’s not excited about that fact. Yet. “Sounds good on Sunday,” Thompson said after matching a Detroit Golf Club record with a 9-under 63 to take the early first-round lead. “It’s only Thursday. I know I’ve got a long way to go.” Brandon Hagy and Tom Lewis were two shots back. Seamus Power and J.J. Spaun shot 66, putting them another stroke behind the surprising leader. Thompson is in the field as a sponsor exemption after sending an email to tournament officials, asking for a spot. The 22-year-old former University of Georgia star missed the cut last week at the Travelers Championship after tying for 35th in his pro debut at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree earlier in June. It is unlikely anyone saw his breakthrough round coming after he was a combined 6-over par in six previous starts — four as an amateur — on the PGA TOUR. Thompson did show a flash of promise when he competed in the 2020 U.S. Open as an amateur, opening with a 69 before missing the cut at 7-over 147. Thompson took advantage of favorable conditions with rain-softened greens and light wind Thursday morning at Detroit Golf Club, missing only one green and needing just 26 putts in his bogey-free round with nine birdies. “If the putter gets hot, you can just kind of ride that wave throughout the day,” he said. Thompson resumed his round after play was suspended due to inclement weather for three-plus hours. He tied the course record shared by Nate Lashley, who won the inaugural event in 2019, and J.T. Poston. “I’ve played in a few pro events now, so you’ve just got to keep your emotions in check,” Thompson said. “Anything can happen. I know I’m playing well, so I’m just going to have some confidence going into (Friday) and hopefully I can play another good round.” Players with afternoon tee times had to endure a long wait to begin playing and wind that was 5 to 10 mph stronger than it was in the morning. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau got off to a shaky start, a day after parting ways with caddie Tim Tucker. He replaced him for this week with Cobra-Puma Golf TOUR operations manager Ben Schomin, who said he was a caddie in competition for the first time. DeChambeau is trying to win a PGA TOUR event in consecutive years for the first time. He had a chance two weeks ago to repeat at the U.S. Open, but went from leading the major with nine holes left to faltering and finishing in a tie for 26th. And now, the big hitter might not make the cut and that would be a blow for him. DeChambeau missed the fairway to the right at Nos. 2 and 3, leading to bogeys. At the par-3, 184-yard ninth hole, he was short off the tee, on his chip and 10-foot putt to put another bogey on his card that dropped him to even-par 36 at the turn.

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CROMWELL, Conn. – As previously reported by PGATOUR.COM, amateur standout Matthew Wolff announced that he joined Team TaylorMade ahead of his professional debut at the 2019 Travelers Championship. TaylorMade officially confirmed today that the company and Wolff have started a multi-year equipment deal. For more information about the TaylorMade clubs Wolff is using at the Travelers Championship, PGATOUR.COM caught up with the person who knows his equipment best: Ryan Ressa. Ressa, Manager of Product Development at TaylorMade, works with junior and collegiate golfers, helping them with their equipment needs. Wolff and Ressa first started working together around 2013, and Wolff has been playing TaylorMade products ever since, according to Ressa. “He was a really good player, a really solid athlete,â€� Ressa said of Wolff when he was around 14 years old. “A lot of juniors came to the Kingdom (TaylorMade’s fitting center) at that time, but when he came through, that’s when the light clicked on… the guy is just a natural talent. When you see some of the things he does with the golf club and the golf ball, that hasn’t changed since he was 13. Like the sound he creates now, that was the one thing that stood out back then.â€� When it comes to equipment, Ressa says he’s not one to tinker a lot. Back when Wolff was a junior golfer and into his collegiate years at Oklahoma State University, he’d go to the Kingdom once in January to get fit into the new product, and he wouldn’t change much all year after that, except for an occasional loft tweak. “He likes what he likes, but he’s also not hesitant to try or put new stuff in,â€� Ressa said. “He’ll come in January when we have the new product. He’ll hit it and we’ll get him into it and he’ll get comfortable with it over the next couple weeks and then he’ll go with it. He doesn’t tinker much.â€� As for his current equipment, Wolff has made a few recent changes. Ressa takes PGATOUR.COM through his equipment at the Travelers Championship (as of Wednesday’s practice session) below. Driver: TaylorMade M6 (8 degrees) Shaft: Graphite Design AD-TP 7TX Ressa says: “He’s got the M6 8-degree driver in the bag, and we just made that adjustment a couple weeks ago. He had an M5 9-degree that he used that through college. He was probably spinning it a little too much throughout the course of March and April, but we didn’t want to tinker much as he was going down the stretch of the National Championship. Then we went to a different head model last week, and lowered the loft, just to give him something different to try. He loved the feel and the sensation of the weight being in the back of that head. He felt like it gave him a bit more workability, so that’s what he’s been going with the last couple weeks and all indications are that he loves it. It has a little less spin, probably 300 rpm less spin, and he likes the control. He likes to work it both ways, depending on how he’s feeling. The M6 is giving him that flexibility.â€� As for the driver shaft, Ressa says: “He’s probably had this shaft for 3 or 4 years, and honestly the Graphite Design feel is very unique. It’s very smooth through impact, and he always identifies with that. He might test a shaft here or there, but he always comes back to that. The launch fits his eye; it probably takes off a little higher than most guys like, but he likes the higher launch and the window that comes out in. He’s always been comfortable with that, so we haven’t tinkered much with it. We tested some other Graphite Design driver shafts a couple years ago that were maybe a little stronger, but he always came back to that TP. “He’s hanging out at D4 swing weight. His stuff is a little bit shorter, so he plays his driver at 45 inches, which is just a touch shorter than where most of my guys are. He likes the shorter length because his arms seem to hang a bit lower. So that seems to be consistent throughout his bag. He plays his stuff a little shorter all the way through.â€� 3 Wood: TaylorMade M6 (15 degrees) Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke 6.5TX 80 grams Ressa says: “Three wood is a tough club for him because he hits it so far. So he will kind of alternate that one based on the course and based on what he needs that week. He goes between a 15 degree and probably a 16-degree. I would say most of the time he’ll carry a 16-degree — something that doesn’t fly so far, maybe 275-280 yards. When he gets that 15-degree, and he’s feeling it and it’s warm outside, that carries about 285 yards and goes out to 300, which is not super playable for him. I think this week he’s gone back to a lower loft, but traditionally he plays a 16-degree.â€� While Wolff doesn’t tinker much with shafts, he changed this week – at least, as of Wednesday — from a Graphite Design BB shaft to a Project X HZRDUS Smoke. Driving Iron: TaylorMade P760 (2 and 3-iron) Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Tour 130X Wolff has two different long-iron options in the bag this week ahead of the Travelers Championship. With 15 clubs in the bag, it’s likely that he’ll choose just one of these driving iron options. Ressa says: “He’s got a 760 3-iron that’s bent down to 18 degrees, so technically it’s a 2-iron. That’s been a great club for him off the tee at some of these tighter courses throughout the spring. After that, he transitions into the P750’s, 4-PW. He’s played that Nippon 130X shaft for I think 2.5 years now, since we got him into the 750s.â€� Irons: TaylorMade P750 Tour Proto (4-PW) Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Tour 130X Ressa says: “We’ve tested some smaller blade irons, but he always comes back to the 750s. He likes the shape and the forgiveness and the workability of those.â€� Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind (52, 56 and 60 bent to 62 degrees) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Ressa says: “He’s played Milled Grind wedges since we’ve had those, so a couple years. He goes 52, 56 and 62. He has a 60 that we’ve bent up to 62 for him, and that has little heel and toe relief grind on it. He’s just recently put that 62 degree in, just to have a little more height around the greens as he’s got into these tougher courses like the National Championship, which was pretty difficult, and he kind of anticipates that difficulty as he goes through this summer. That’ll be consistent in his bag.â€� Putter: TaylorMade Spider X Tour Shaft: KBS CT Tour putter shaft Ressa says: “He’s always had kind of a half mallet putter… he felt he didn’t putt great during the Waste Management and that was right around the time we introduced the Spider X. So we got him a few models of that and he put it in play the following week in Hawaii, and he won that tournament going away. He was off and running with that putter. He loves the look and the stability and everything about it, so he’s been in that since probably early February. It’s face-balanced, single bend, 33 inches, 1.5 degrees of loft. Pretty standard. No special insert.â€� Special made for Wolff after he turned pro is this “Wolffieâ€� headcover that features a wolf logo stitched with Oklahoma State University colors. The headcover, which may just be one of the best headcovers on TOUR, was designed by Cameron Bosson and the design team at TaylorMade. Wolff is also currently using a 2019 Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TaylorMade is giving him an extended period of time to make the switch into TP5x (similar to Jon Rahm in 2016), according to a company representative. Related: Matthew Wolff bringing unique game to PGA TOUR

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DETROIT – It was a midsummer day in America, and the golfing Cantlay siblings were hard at work. Patrick, 30, the oldest, was in the Midwest, gearing up for this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club, aiming for another solid week with just five tournaments remaining in his bid to become the first to successfully defend his FedExCup title. (He’s presently sixth in the standings.) Jack, 18, the youngest, was making headlines in the U.S. Junior Amateur at Oregon’s Bandon Dunes. After shooting a tournament-record 28 on his back nine in the first round of stroke-play qualifying, he beat Connor Williams, 4 and 3, in Wednesday’s first round of match play. Caroline, 23, a new graduate of Cal Poly, where she was a decorated member of the golf team, was settling into a new job as a tournament coordinator for the Pebble Beach Company. And Nick, who is 27 and has partial status on PGA TOUR Canada, was back home in Los Alamitos, California, honing his game for Korn Ferry Tour Q-School this fall. “We’ve all been inspired by Patrick and especially by his work ethic,” said family patriarch Steve Cantlay, who works in real estate and self-storage, and is four-time club champion at two different clubs. “But at the same time the kids have all forged their own paths. Jack is with his mom and her mom this week, but by and large we’ve let them do it on their own, dictating how hard they want to practice and everything else. We just feel like it’s better that way.” Reaching the upper echelon of any field is hard, but for siblings to do so is even harder. The Kuehne siblings made it to the TOUR (Hank), the LPGA (Kelli), and the highest rung of amateur golf (Trip). Sisters Nelly and Jessica Korda – coached by Jamie Mulligan, the same guy who coaches Patrick – have thrived on the LPGA. Peyton and Eli Manning won Super Bowls. But it’s not easy. The siblings must share the same passion, for starters. A history-making 28 The big headline-maker in the Cantlay family this week has been not Patrick but Jack. The rising Long Beach State freshman started this week’s U.S. Junior by going out in 39, but responded with a 28 (four birdies, two eagles) for the lowest nine-hole score in the 74-year history of the championship. He went from outside the cut line to grabbing the No. 4 seed in the 64-man, match-play bracket after shooting a second-round 70. Observers noted that he is Patrick’s kid brother, and in true Patrick Cantlay style, Jack shrugged off that record-setting performance as just another good round. Big brother Patrick was more effusive. “One of the things I really liked about it is I think he was 3 over par, 4 over par through eight holes in the biggest tournament he’s ever played,” Patrick said, “and then instead of panicking or losing it, he went out and, I mean … I think played his last 10 holes in 9 under.” (He did.) “That’s great for someone who hasn’t played a USGA championship before,” he added. “Being on the biggest stage, being able to do that after that kind of start, I thought that showed a lot of character.” Perhaps it runs in the family. Patrick and Nick are quieter and more reserved. Caroline and Jack are extroverts. “We are all very different and have unique personalities,” Caroline said, “but we are all very competitive in anything and everything.” Jack was not considered a blue-chip recruit, and chose to stay home for college, but who knows what his ceiling is? Patrick was out of the game for years with back problems; now he’s a seven-time TOUR winner. Nick was a basketball player and didn’t seriously pursue golf until he was well into high school. Caroline played for Cal Poly and was the 2019 Southern California Golf Association Match Play champion, but opted out of the life of a touring pro. “They’ve all grown up with a golf club like it’s a knife or a fork,” said Mulligan, a teaching professional and the CEO at Virginia Country Club in Long Beach, California, where he began teaching Patrick when the latter was 7. “They’ve been watching Patrick every shot, and I always say the best way to learn how to play great golf is to watch great golf.” Patrick, of course, is a generational talent, a golfing unicorn. Jack, who after making the turn birdied holes 10, 14 and 15 to close out his first-round U.S. Junior match against Williams, regards him as possibly the most influential person in his life. “I’ve always watched him play golf competitively,” Jack said, “…and I’ve wanted to do it, too, so it’s kind of led me down this path of playing competitively at a high level.” Strength in numbers The siblings have regular skull sessions on the game. Jack and Nick go back and forth about how to play certain shots. Jack and Caroline followed Patrick as he tied for eighth at the recent Open Championship at St. Andrews. Jack and Patrick have been in touch about the U.S. Junior. “We traded some texts (Tuesday) night after he finished up,” Patrick said. “I think he’s the four seed maybe, right around there going into match play, so we traded some texts on match play. “But he’s been working really hard on his game for a while now,” he continued, “and it’s really nice to see all the improvement that he’s had in his game. I know we played a number of years ago and we talked about really getting sharp around the greens and he’s improved that a lot.” Pat Neylan, the siblings’ maternal grandfather, was the family’s first golf nut. He and Mulligan used to sneak out for as many holes as they could get in after Mulligan closed the Virginia C.C. pro shop. Neylan, who built a short-game practice area in his backyard, brought young Patrick to the course. The Cantlay siblings are also connected to other legends – Mulligan and John Cook were taught by Ken Venturi, who learned from Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson. And they were influenced by the many TOUR pros (Cook, Paul Goydos, John Merrick, John Mallinger, etc.) who hung around Virginia C.C. Patrick has always had good players to watch, and so has Jack – starting with his oldest brother. “I used to watch him hole by hole,” Jack said. “Now if he has a good round, somebody might say something, and I’ll look into it. It’s more casual now. I do want to be my own person. “Eventually one day I want to play on the PGA TOUR, play at the highest level,” he added. He certainly has the blueprint for success, as do his next two oldest siblings. “Patrick is very talented,” Caroline said, “but what I’ve always noticed more than anything is that he works incredibly hard. His dedication and hard work is something that I’ve always admired and tried to emulate; I think Jack and Nick would agree with me in saying that he proved to us all that consistent hard work really pays off.”

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