Live leaderboard: CIMB Classic second round

Dustin Johnson was spotted with a TaylorMade M5 (10.5 degrees) driver while on site at the 2018 Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii, on Monday. TaylorMade has not officially revealed any information on the M5 yet, but there are a few things that the photos reveal. Let’s see what we can uncover. The original M1 and the M1 2017 drivers both utilized T-tracks for CG (center of gravity) adjustability, with the cross section of the “T� near the face. The 2018 M3 driver, on the other hand, used a Y-track, with the top of the “Y� located toward the rear portion of the sole. It’s clear from the photo that the T-track has returned in the M5, except it’s flipped. The cross section of the “T� is on the rear portion of the driver’s sole. One can expect this means higher MOI (moment of inertia) capabilities for more overall forgiveness. Additionally, it seems there is a sole slot behind the face, but it appears to cover more space behind the face than the M3 driver’s hammerhead slot did. The previous hammerhead slot of the M3 worked to increase ball speeds across the face. Written near the slot behind the face are the words “Speed Injected.� Could this have something to do with the red screws we’ve seen in the face from TaylorMade’s Tweet? Also, from the photos, it seems TaylorMade is sticking with carbon panels in the sole and a carbon fiber crown like the M3. The photo of Johnson’s driver also shows an adjustable hosel, but it remains to be seen what the retail versions will offer. As soon as we hear official word from TaylorMade on the M5 driver, we’ll report back.

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AVONDALE, La. – Rory Sabbatini thinks he may have found the secret to picking the right partner for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. “Quit trying to find the long hitter,â€� he joked. A year ago, Sabbatini played with John Daly, the current PGA TOUR Champions player who during his heyday in the 1990s was the PGA TOUR’s longest hitter. They missed the cut. This year, he’s playing with Brian Gay, who, well, is not exactly known for his length off the tee. Gay entered this week ranked 208th in driving distance. That’s out of 209 players. No problem. Gay-Sabbatini completed their first round Friday morning at TPC Louisiana, finishing with two birdies for a 12-under 60 that gave them the clubhouse lead. That 60 ties for the lowest tournament score since the Zurich Classic began using the team format in 2017. It also should secure the first made cut at TPC Louisiana for both Gay and Sabbatini in that span. Gay did not play in 2017, while Sabbatini partnered Bryson DeChambeau. They missed the cut that week; for DeChambeau, it was the third of eight consecutive missed cuts before he broke through that summer by winning the John Deere Classic for his first TOUR victory. In 2018, Gay missed the Zurich cut partnering with Aaron Wise. Just like Sabbatini with DeChambeau the previous year, it just seemed like a case of mismatched timing. The next week, Wise tied for second at the RBC Heritage, then won the AT&T Byron Nelson two weeks after that. But that’s all in the past. Gay thinks he’s finally figured out how to pick the right partner. “It helps if you know the guy pretty well,â€� Gay said. “It’s better if your games match up and if you’re comfortable with your partner and you know each other. I think that works better.â€� Both players have plenty of experience at the Zurich Classic, combining for 26 starts in this event. Ten years ago, Sabbatini was runner-up to Jerry Kelly at TPC Louisiana, but Gay’s best results came when the tournament was held at English Turn. He finished T-5 in 2001. But it was Gay who played the steadiest of the two in the first round – although his missed birdie putt from 6-1/2 feet at the 16th hole Friday morning ultimately cost them the tournament record-low of 59. “We would have beat it if Brian hadn’t actually let us down with his putting,â€� cracked Sabbatini. In truth, it’s Gay’s normally solid putting that gives the team confidence this week – especially going into the second round, which will use the Foursomes format. Sabbatini-Gay will likely start their round late Friday afternoon, meaning they’ll have to finish up Saturday morning. “We actually match up very well because we’ve got very similar games in regards to how far we hit the ball, so we know what kind of lines we’re looking at,â€� Sabbatini said. “But I actually felt very comfortable playing with him. “Obviously it’s great having him out there because you know he’s always going to putt well, so that takes a lot of pressure off it from the get-go.â€� Unlike some tandems who may spend all week together on and off the course, Gay and Sabbatini will be going their separate ways most nights. That’s because Gay has his family in town this week, while Sabbatini is flying solo with his family remaining at home. In other words … “I eat at the bar,â€� Sabbatini said. “He eats at a table.â€�

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How much water can you get into and still hope to win the Waterford crystal trophy? That's the question at The Honda Classic at PGA National (Champion Course) this week, but then again, that's the question for much of the PGA TOUR's Florida Swing. "You can survive hitting it in the water once or maybe twice for a tournament," said Adam Scott. He would know. At The Honda Classic in 2016 he'd built a three-shot lead when he put two in the soup at the par-3 15th hole in Round 3. "It's hard to watch," Johnny Miller said on NBC. Alas, Scott steadied himself and still won the next day. He's the last to win on TOUR with a quadruple bogey on his scorecard, a stat that came up recently when Viktor Hovland made his own quad - without any water balls - yet contended deep into the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession. Doctors tell you to drink half your body weight in ounces, but in golf it's best to stay bone-dry, as did recent Honda winners Sungjae Im (2020), Keith Mitchell (2019), Justin Thomas ('18), Michael Thompson ('13), Rory McIlroy ('12), Y.E. Yang ('09) and Mark Wilson ('07). None of them hit into the water even once en route to victory. And yet there are two caveats. The first is that sometimes the bailout is just as bad as the water ball, merely postponing the inevitable. For example, as players size up the white-knuckle sand shot from the back-left bunker at the par-3 15th hole, they can't help but notice that the green runs away from them and back toward the same pond they just avoided with the tee shot. Chipping downwind back across the green at the par-3 17th can end in liquid disaster, as well. "There's no bailouts," said two-time Honda winner Padraig Harrington, who thrives in the wind (common) and chaos (also common) at PGA National. "There's nowhere to go." The second caveat is that water doesn't have to drown your chances. Take THE PLAYERS Championship last week. Paul Casey hit two balls in the water and made a quad at the island 17th hole in round one but fought back and tied for fifth, three back. Ben An, conversely, pumped four in the water on 17, made an 11, and missed the cut. Scott is well-practiced at hitting into the water but winning anyway. He hit into the lake with his approach shot at the 18th hole at THE PLAYERS in 2004, but got up and down to save bogey for the win. He won the Honda despite his calamity on 15 at PGA National in '16, and won the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral the following week - despite hitting into the water at the third and fifth holes and making double bogey both times. "I think it’s one of those things, when you’re playing good, you can bounce back from one trip to the water," Scott said. "Obviously the quad (at the 2016 Honda) is not ideal and I try not to think about it too much, but I was playing exceptionally well that week and just kind of figured, you know, if I keep playing like this I’ll be able to claw my way back into it, and fortunately I did. "I think after the experience of playing these Florida golf courses for 20 years," he added, "it’s inevitable you’re going to hit one in the water, especially around here when it’s windy. You’re going to have to accept it and do the best you can to get past that hole and rebuild." Last week water figured prominently at THE PLAYERS. Before that it was the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, where Bryson DeChambeau's majestic tee shots soared over the blue like British Airways. Prior to that, water was part of the story at the WGC-Workday Championship. Now comes the Honda at PGA National, which has been the hardest par-70 course on TOUR (non-majors) three years running. Why? It's largely about the water, especially at the Bear Trap (Nos. 15-17). "You really don’t get away from it here at PGA National," said Harrington, who finished T31 at the Arnold Palmer but missed THE PLAYERS. There were 339 balls in the water at least year's Honda, which was the most on the PGA TOUR. Not to jinx it, but Harrington is one of seven players in the Honda field have come this far without hitting a ball in the water in the 2021 Florida Swing. The other six: James Hahn, Phil Mickelson, Scott Stallings, Adam Schenk, Matt Wallace and Xinjun Zhang. Good luck to them.

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