Leaderboard: What’s happening at The Open

At first glance, the Scotty Cameron GSS putters that Hideki Matsuyama and Tiger Woods use are quite similar. If you can’t tell the difference, we don’t blame you. They’re both Scotty Cameron Newport 2 models, they’re both made from high-end German stainless steel and they both have the players’ names stamped on the back bumpers. Both putters have a winning history, too. Scotty Cameron tour rep Drew Page said Matsuyama has used the Timeless Newport 2 GSS 350-gram putter for seven of his eight PGA TOUR victories (his Masters victory is the lone exception). The putter’s first win came at the 2014 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, and the most recent was at last week’s Sony Open. Woods’ Newport 2 GSS putter, even more impressively, has been in the bag for 14 of his 15 major championship victories (minus the 1997 Masters). The putter’s first major win came at the 1999 PGA Championship, and most recently was used by Woods in his win at the 2019 Masters. A closer look at both putters, however, shows a few subtle differences, aside from merely cosmetics. First off, Woods’ putter has a single dot on the topline, whereas Matsuyama’s has a straight line on the back flange. This alteration is simply based on player preference, and for everyday golfers, it’s important to find the right sightline for your setup. There’s another, even subtler difference between the putters, though. For that, let’s look to the face. The face of Woods’ putter is milled and then made completely smooth, while Matsuyama’s still has hints of milling marks. In the construction of golf clubs, milling machines help to enhance precision and ensure that the build matches the exact design intent. Also, many modern putters intentionally have deep milling marks on their faces to influence sound and feel. All things being equal, deeper milling marks will generally produce a softer feel and quieter sound than shallow millings or flat faces. Keeping that in mind, it may seem the faces of Woods’ and Matsuyama’s putters are drastically different. Actually, though, Matsuyama’s milling marks are made purposely shallow to produce a louder sound and more feedback, similar to Woods’ smooth-faced design. “(Matsuyama) likes very light milling on his putter, where you can just see the mill marks on it,” said Page, who works closely with Matsuyama on his putter. “He likes a louder hit on his putters, so that’s why it’s not quite a smooth face like Tiger’s, but you can just see a couple of the mill marks. That’s so you can hear that pop, that feedback. That’s what he likes.” Therefore, although the faces of Woods’ and Matsuyama’s putters may seem different on the surface, they actually have a similar effect. Even the differences aren’t so different. Looking at both putters, in general, one could reasonably assume that Matsuyama’s putter was inspired by Woods’ putter. While Matsuyama hasn’t spoken on the matter himself, Page’s insights reveal that the assumption may not be too far off base. Matsuyama has never hidden his admiration for the 82-time TOUR winner. “He always loves looking at Tiger’s putter, or asking about Tiger’s putters,” Page said. “I’m sure that stems from him as a kid, and everybody growing up watching Tiger. And he loves Scotty Cameron putters. He’s always asking about Tiger’s putters, and I see him looking at it.” Of course, if you pay attention to golf equipment on the PGA TOUR, you know Matsuyama is much more prone to tinker with his putters than Woods. It’s not uncommon to see Matsuyama show up to the practice rounds of a PGA TOUR event with five different putters in the bag to test. Some weeks, he actually does switch to a new putter for competition, but most of the time he goes back to old faithful when the tournament starts. “It’s his most trusted putter that he’s found,” Page told GolfWRX. “It’s the one that’s always suited his eye. … It’s really just the shape of the head. It’s got a high toe on it. And, if you notice, he always likes to have the toe off the ground just a little bit. Obviously, he likes to tinker with other stuff, but he always goes back to that putter. It feels the most comfortable for him. Other than the Masters victory, everything else has been won with that Timeless GSS.” Despite Matsuyama’s putter being nearly a decade old, it may have looked brand new at the 2022 Sony Open. That’s because Matsuyama gave it a proverbial facelift during the off-season. Scotty Cameron refinished Matsuyama’s putter because, according to Page, it was “starting to look a little sloppy for his liking.” And maybe that’s the biggest difference between Matsuyama’s Scotty Cameron putter and Woods’ version. In all its glory, Woods’ putter of 20-plus years continues to have chipped paint, dents all over, and wear marks on the direct center of the face. Matsuyama’s flatstick, on the other hand, is looking fresh off the milling machine. While Matsuyama may show up to his next PGA TOUR event with a slew of putters to test, history shows he’ll probably use the Scotty Cameron Timeless GSS 350 putter.

Click here to read the full article…

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Sunday at the Valspar Championship sets up as a wide-open and very interesting race: There are two players on top, Davis Riley and Matthew NeSmith, who will be gunning for their first PGA TOUR victories. Those chasing closely include a major and 14-time TOUR winner in 2017 FedExCup champ Justin Thomas and two past and proven Valspar champions (Sam Burns and Adam Hadwin). RELATED: Full leaderboard | JT determined to get back in winner’s circle Riley, 25, is a TOUR rookie, and had one of those shiny penny days on Saturday at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead course where pretty much everything went right. He likely had the parking spot closest to the clubhouse, enjoyed the hottest lunch, and, had there been a Las Vegas-type slot machine somewhere on campus, undoubtedly would been the one to pull the lever and collect all the riches. He birdied half the holes at the Copperhead on Saturday, making them from in the trees and from the sand, nine in all, to overtake NeSmith, who played his first nine holes brilliantly but failed to extend the job. Riley’s 9-under 62 was the second-best round of the tournament only to NeSmith’s 61 one day earlier, and there is no reason to think the two cannot go deep again on Sunday atop Copperhead’s receptive greens. As long as they can stand up to the nerves, that is. Riley moved to 18-under 195, which sets the tournament’s 54-hole record; NeSmith, who shot 69 Saturday, is two shots back. Will they be ready to shine when their Sunday moment arrives? Well, that’s an interesting question. They seem to be taking two completely different mindsets into the final 18 holes. Riley said he will bank on his two victories on the Korn Ferry Tour from 2020, and pull good vibes from a few marquee pairings during his rookie season. Though he counts but one top-10 finish in 13 starts, Riley has played with Jon Rahm, Adam Scott and Jason Day, among others, and Saturday played alongside his Alabama Crimson Tide big brother, Thomas, who already was winning college events when Riley was being recruited to Tuscaloosa. If anything was still ringing in the ears of Riley and Thomas by the time they sat down to dinner, it was this: “Roll, Tide, Roll!” And, of course, this from a fan off 18, a nod to Thomas’s new high-rise joggers that he put in play: “Justin, Tampa loves your ankles!!” Thomas, who is looking for his first victory since the 2021 PLAYERS, played solidly himself on Saturday. He grappled momentum and shot 4-under 31 on the back, though a third consecutive 66 didn’t seem so spectacular when compared to Riley’s superb effort. Thomas and Burns, last year’s Valspar champion, will start Sunday three shots behind Riley; Hadwin, the 2017 champion, is five back. “It was really impressive,” Thomas said of Riley’s magical day. “It’s a big moment for a rookie. He handled it like a rock star and made 9-under look very, very easy … barring a crazy chip-in there on 9.” Thomas smiled. The “crazy chip-in” Thomas referred to actually was an uphill bunker shot from 70 feet that Riley threw high into the air and unexpectedly slam-dunked at the par-4 ninth, his fifth birdie in his opening nine. Even stronger was the birdie he made two holes earlier, set up by a 7-iron Riley punched beneath tree limbs from 136 yards, through a tiny alleyway to the green, to 10 feet to steal birdie. Thomas joked he was a tad envious considering he’d made double-bogey 6 from those same left trees on Friday. As good as Riley was playing, he still wasn’t gaining much ground on NeSmith, who made 16 birdies and an eagle in his first 45 holes of the tournament. NeSmith kept the pedal down, went out in 32, and built a four-shot advantage at one point. Thomas said he’d like to think that experience could tilt a hotly contested and hectic final round in his favor on Sunday, but he also knows the two players ahead of him, though winless, are quite capable. “It’s (experience) always very valuable when you have a chance to win,” Thomas said. “But that being said, these guys are clearly pretty fearless and playing some good golf, so it doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t get it done. There’s first-time winners all the time.” Especially in recent months, with four of five winners from the Farmers Insurance Open through The Honda Classic (Luke List, Tom Hoge, Scottie Scheffler, Sepp Straka) holding up PGA TOUR trophies for the very first time. NeSmith, 28, got to 18 under with his own birdie at the ninth (8 feet), and walked to the back nine having not made a single bogey all week. Then he stumbled into four of them, coming home in 2-over 37, shooting 69. NeSmith’s theme for this week was to remove all anxiety from what he is doing on the golf course, not be so results-oriented, and just enjoy the walk and his golf, no matter the outcome. His four bogeys over his final nine was his first turbulent stretch of the week. NeSmith’s response to it was basically one big shrug of the shoulders. “My goal today was to finish 18 holes and I finished 18 holes and I’m really happy,” said NeSmith. “Where we end up, we’ll see on Sunday night.” Even when he played poorly on his inward nine, NeSmith talked as if there was a new calm about him as he played. “The last few holes, actually, the funny part is, I did actually feel pretty good with probably five or six holes to go,” he said. “I didn’t play very good golf, but it didn’t really matter to me … We were just going to try and put one foot in front of the other and go from there.” Riley finished ninth in the Korn Ferry Tour’s combined 2020-21 points list to earn his promotion to the PGA TOUR last fall. Along the way, he won the 2020 Panama Championship and the 2020 TPC San Antonio Championship. Different stages, sure, but proving himself there is something he hopes to call upon as he chases a maiden PGA TOUR title on Sunday at Valspar. “No matter the stage, it’s hard to win a golf tournament,” Riley said. “Just being in contention and having that blood flowing is huge. Any time you can get just a pinch of that and get that experience is huge, and winning twice served me well.” How well? The answer could be only 18 holes away.

Click here to read the full article…

Tiger Woods makes consecutive starts for the first time since his return to action. Stay in the know and follow Tiger’s round shot-by-shot with live updates from the course at The Honda Classic.  Rd. 1: Tiger Woods hole-by-hole No. 10 (par 4, 505 yards): Drive barely misses the right edge of the fairway and settled down in the first cut of rough. Second shot runs just over the green into the first cut of rough. Chipped to 1 foot, tapped in par putt. Score: Even par. No. 11 (par 4, 450 yards): Tee shot into right intermediate rough, but 151-yard approach settles to 19 feet, 6 inches. He drains the birdie putt. Score: 1-under par. No. 12 (par 4, 438 yards): Tee shot misses slight left this time, ball settling into the rough. Moves his second shot 190 yards up the fairway, and chips to three feet, five inches before making the putt to save par. Score: 1-under par. No. 13  (par 4, 388 yards): Hits 292-yard tee shot into the fairway, from where his 93-yard approach settles to five feet, three inches from the pin. He birdies again to get to -2, a solid and surprising start for a guy who missed the cut by a mile at the Genesis Open last week. Score: 2-under par. No. 14 (par 4, 465 yards): Woods belts a driver 316 yards into the left fairway, but his 161-yard approach misses the green to the right. He chips up to four feet, 10 inches and drains the par putt to remain -2. Score: 2-under par. No. 15 (par 3, 179 yards): With the tees moved up about 20 yards this morning, Tiger’s first shot goes 158 yards and settles 18 feet, six inches away from the pin. Routine two-putt par to remain at -2, among the leaders. Score: 2-under par. No. 16 (par 4, 434 yards): Throttles back a bit with the tee shot, a 267-yard shot that finds the left fairway. Alas, approach shot flies 171 yards and lands in left greenside bunker. Splashes out and watches ball roll eight feet, five inches past the pin, then misses right-to-left curling par try. Bogey drops him back to -1 and out of the lead. Score: 1-under par. No. 17 (par3, 190 yards): With the tees back a bit today, hits 200-yard first shot straight at the stick but watches ball bound into the rough, just barely left of the fringe. He’s short-sided himself, but a deft chip leaves him just five inches left for the par save. Remains at -1. Score: 1-under par.

Click here to read the full article…