Looking ahead to the rest of the 2025 PGA Championship

The Bryson Effect is a real thing. TOUR players are pushing themselves to find five, 10, or even 15 mph of ball speed. Players are hitting the gym, and changing their equipment, in hopes of surpassing the 350-yard barrier. It was just a few weeks ago when we heard of Bryson's intention to test — and potentially put in play — a 48-inch driver. For those that don't know, the "normal" TOUR length for a driver is anywhere from 43.5 inches (Rickie Fowler) to the TOUR standard of around 45 inches. So what does a longer club do? Well, it's simple: If the whip is longer, the head has more time to speed up and boom—more distance. So what's the catch? Accuracy. Yes, it goes a long way but can get off-line very quickly. Back to the whip example: If that whip has a long way to go but it’s coming in on the wrong plane, that equals long in the wrong direction. This is why when you watch a long-drive competition, you will see shafts close to 50 inches—and the vast majority of drives going well wide of target. Another element of the long drive world: The person swinging the club is more likely to look like a lineman than Justin Thomas. It takes ridiculous strength to generate and control 140 mph of clubhead speed with a driver that's more than 4 feet long. Nevertheless, Bryson's competitors are at least circling the bandwagon, if not fully jumping on board, and are asking PGA TOUR reps to build them long sticks. Will this trend stick around? We don't think so. At a place like Augusta National (or Kapalua), it could make some sense since the track doesn't penalize the errant tee shot as much as the average TOUR venue. Over the course of the PGA TOUR schedule, however, it makes very little sense to use the longer drvier. Yes, distance is a big advantage. Strokes gained stats bear this out every year, but players can't play from the rough on every hole. At some point, a player reaches a point of diminishing returns. The benefit of hitting it 375 yards versus 360 aren't as grandiose as you would imagine. But it sure is fun to watch in the meantime! Here are a few notable players that have gone to or tested longer drivers: Bryson DeChambeau: 48-inch LAGolf Rebar Proto 60 – You can imagine the launch numbers and 200-plus mph ball speed, although there's a very slim chance it sees action this week. Phil Mickelson: 47.5-inch KBS TD 60 C5 TX – Mickelson has been testing for weeks. He's seeing ball speeds in the mid 180s with a 310-315 carry. As of now, it'll see action at Augusta. Viktor Hovland: 47 and 48-inch Project X RDX 60G 6.5 – Strictly for off-season testing Adam Scott: 46-inch Fujikura Ventus Red 6 X – Led the field in driving distance last week in Houston at a 326.4 clip. Dylan Frittelli: 46-inch Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 60 TX Vijay Singh: Testing (no further details) Dustin Johnson: Testing (no further details)

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Even before the Masters Tournament began, it was obvious Augusta National in April was nothing like it was in November. Far less clear was which course Justin Rose was playing Thursday. RELATED: Leaderboard | A return to April means a tough test at Augusta National Rose made seven birdies and an eagle during a torrid 10-hole stretch for a 7-under 65 and a four-shot lead, his lowest score at Augusta National in one of its toughest opening rounds. It started with a nice hop off the mounds left of the green on the par-5 eighth that set up a 10-foot eagle. Only two of his birdie putts were outside 8 feet. He holed a 12-foot par putt on the one green he missed. Not bad for a 40-year-old from England playing for the first time in a month while resting an ailing back. His 65 looked even better on a day so tough only 12 players broke par, and the average score was 74.5. “Listen, I didn’t know where my game was going into this week,” Rose said. “I’ve been working hard. I could have played the last two tournaments, but I was really trying to prepare hard for this Masters.” Twice a runner-up, including a playoff loss to Sergio Garcia four years ago, Rose tied a Masters record by taking at least a share of first-round lead for the fourth time. The other to do that was Jack Nicklaus. The difference? Nicklaus went on to win two of his six green jackets from that position. Rose likes to say he’s only had one arm in the jacket. Brian Harman, the last player to get into the 88-man field, and Hideki Matsuyama were wrapping up their rounds of 69 about the time Rose began on a course that was dry and crusty, on greens that were so fast there were splotches of brown. Among those at 70 were former Masters champion Patrick Reed and Masters newcomer Will Zalatoris. Jordan Spieth overcame a triple bogey from the trees on No. 9 for a 71. Missing were a slew of red numbers on the leaderboard in conditions so difficult that Garcia said after a 76, “I feel like I just came out of the ring with Evander Holyfield.” Five months ago, in the first Masters held in November because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the turf was so soft that 53 players were under par after the opening round. Shane Lowry chipped from the back of the 15th green into the water in front of the green. He escaped with bogey and managed a 71. U.S. Amateur champion Tyler Strafaci hit a 60-foot putt from behind the ninth green that wound up 75 feet away on the other side. Defending champion Dustin Johnson, who set the record last year at 20-under 268, failed to break par for the first time since the opening round in 2018. He three-putted for double bogey on the 18th for a 74. “I feel sorry for the guys’ first Masters in November, and then they’re walking out there today wondering what is going on,” Kevin Kisner said after a hard-earned 72. This was no surprise. Augusta National has not had rain in more than a week, and players could not recall the last time greens were this fast during practice rounds, much less with a scorecard in hand on Thursday. “It’s my 10th year, but I’ve never seen the greens so firm and fast,” Matsuyama said. “So it was like a new course for me playing today, and I was fortunate to get it around well.” And what to say of Rose? Even in more forgiving conditions, he had never done better than 67. “I didn’t feel like today was the day for a 65, if I’m honest,” Rose said. No one needed convincing, least of all Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy, among top players who struggled with the wind and had just as many problems when the ball was on the ground. DeChambeau, the U.S. Open champion who has been licking his chops about bringing his super-sized game to Augusta National, didn’t make a birdie until the 15th hole and shot 76, his highest score as a pro at the Masters. Patrick Cantlay hit into the water on both par 3s on the back nine and shot 79. “Guys are going to shoot themselves out of the golf tournament on day one,” Webb Simpson said after a late double bogey forced him to settle for a 70. McIlroy, needing a green jacket to complete the career Grand Slam, hit his father in the leg with a shot on the seventh hole. That was about the most interesting moment in his round of 76. Lee Westwood, who had a pair of runner-up finishes in the Florida Swing, had a 78. Rose looked as though he might be headed that direction. He made a soft bogey on No. 1. He three-putted across the green on No. 7. He was 2 over, though not ready to panic. He knew it was tough. He also knew he was headed in the wrong direction. “You can’t win the golf tournament today. Even with a 65 you can’t win it today,” Rose said. “You can only probably lose it today, obviously. I reset just prior to that and thought if I can get myself back around even par, that would be a good day’s work.” He hit 5-wood into 10 feet for eagle and a 9-iron to the dangerous left pin on No. 9 to 4 feet for birdie. He holed a 25-foot putt on the 10th and hit 8-iron to 6 feet on No. 12. It never stopped. Even from the first cut of rough on the 17th, his wedge settled 4 feet from the hole. He finished going over the details of that incredible stretch, smiled and said, “Sounds easy.” It looked that way. But only for him.

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Let’s try this again. One year ago the first round of the 2020 PLAYERS Championship was almost completed before the tournament and the PGA TOUR was completely shut down. COVID-19 arrived and was sweeping the country and the decision was made to be safe rather than sorry. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | The First Look One year later, the TOUR returns to its flagship event on its most famous course to offer a prize pool of $15 million for the deepest field in golf. Of the top 50 players in the OWGR 48 are on the property this week with only Matthew Wolff (wrist) and Brooks Koepka (knee) unable to participate. From the field of 154, 112 are previous winners on TOUR. This year’s champion will take home $2.7 million and 600 FedExCup points plus a five year exemption on TOUR. THE PLAYERS Stadium Course designed by Pete Dye will serve as host as it has since 1982. The second full edition since the return to March will feature Rory McIlroy as the defending champion as last year’s tournament was cancelled after one round. The over-seeded conditions will apply on the 5,500 square foot greens, 2.5 inches of rough and 26 acres of Celebration Bermuda fairways. Water comes into play on 17 of the 18 holes and 88 bunkers will also gobble up loose shots. Pete Dye plays games with your eyes, head and feet. No lies are flat. Tee boxes are set at off angles. No two holes run in the consecutive direction. No bulkheads or mounds are nearly as close or far as they appear. Your brain, caddy and nervous system are always running at 10 trying to figure out where to attack. Dye’s tracks reward the boldest lines and punish those who don’t place it perfectly. Great shots are rewarded. Good shots can be salvaged. Safe shots will take some navigating to save par. We learned that March is different from May. There’s no chance of the course to be firm and fast this early in the season. The weather and the overseed don’t allow it so fairways get wider (no roll), greens are more receptive and the rough is easier to play from because of the extra grass. I think we should still look back to the last two editions from May because the routing of the course hasn’t changed and we can learn from those two events as well. Last year before the delay, this is what the scoreboard looked like for a point of reference: Hideki Matsuyama 63 – tied course record Si Woo Kim 65 – 2017 champion Christiaan Bezuidenhout 65 – debut round Harris English 65 – only his second round in the 60s from 21 Needless to say this should be a wide open event. The 31 first-time players from 2020 and 2021 combined won’t be at as much of a disadvantage because of the new March start. Eddie Pepperell (not entered) was T3 on his debut in 2019. TPC Sawgrass has catered to all styles over the years. Great ball-strikers, super short games and even recent bombers like McIlroy all have found their way around. Fred Funk hit 45 fairways to win at 48 years old. Si Woo Kim only needed eight rounds to figure it out to win at 21. Kim is the only player in the last 10 events to win with less than 5 previous visits. Experience pays on Pete Dye tracks and on TPC Sawgrass. Recent Event Winners Stats 2020: Event Cancelled After First Day (COVID-19) 2019: Rory McIlroy (-16, 272) Defeated Jim Furyk (not entered) by one shot to win in his 10th appearance. … Played in the penultimate group as he began Round 4 just one back. … Co-leader after 36 holes on 12-under. … Gained just over 13 shots Tee to Green. … Picked up his third victory on a Pete Dye track (Kiawah Island, Crooked Stick). … 15th TOUR victory. … 15th International winner. … Joins Tiger Woods and Henrik Stenson as major, WGC and FedExCup champions who have won THE PLAYERS. … Worst finish in five events leading into the week was T6. Notables: Jhonattan Vegas (T3) posted a bogey-free 66 for his best payday. … Tommy Fleetwood (T5) played in the final group for the first time on TOUR and posted 73. … Dustin Johnson (T5) became just the second player to post all four rounds in the 60s as he enjoyed his best finish in 11 tries. … Brandt Snedeker (T5) co-led the field with 23 birdies. … 2016 champion Jason Day (T8) hits the top 10 for the third time in four seasons. … Brian Harman (T8) only squared seven bogeys for the week. … Hideki Matsuyama (T8) closed 66-67 before opening with 63 in 2020. … Justin Rose (T8) played the final 54 holes in 14-under after opening with 74. … Abraham Ancer (T12) made 23 birdies on his debut to share the lead on the week. … Holding the 54 hole lead for the first time after firing 64, Jon Rahm (T12) closed with 76. … Adam Scott (T12) has 23 rounds in the 60s here. … 2008 winner Sergio Garcia has 24 rounds in the 60s, best all time. … Keegan Bradley (T16) shared the first round lead with Fleetwood with 65. … Webb Simpson (T16) keeps the streak alive of previous champions unable to defend. … Cut was 1-under 143. … Only 11 of the 24 who had played previously in March made the cut. 2018: Webb Simpson (-18, 270) Led by seven after 54 holes and won comfortably by four in the last May event. … Joins the major-PLAYERS-FedExCup Playoff event fraternity as the sixth to do so. … First top 10 in his ninth start at TPC Sawgrass. … Co wire-to-wire winner as he shared the 18 hole lead with five others. … Tied the course record of 63 in Round 2 to set the 36-hole mark on 15-under. … Led by five after 36, also a record. … Led by seven after 54, another record. … Tied Greg Norman on 19-under after 54 holes. … Became only second winner to shoot an over par score (73) and win. … Just third winner to lead in Driving Accuracy. … Loves Bermuda as his best finishes that season were T4 Sony, T5 The Honda Classic, T8 Valspar and T5 RBC Heritage; T21 week before at Wells Fargo. Notables: Charl Schwartzel (T2) picked up his only top 25 to date. … Debutant Xander Schauffele (T2) posted three rounds of 68 or better. … Jimmy Walker (P2) collected his best finish in his ninth start. … Jason Day (T5) bounced back from T60 in his title defense in 2017. … Jason Dufner (T5) grabbed his second top 10 in nine starts. … Keegan Bradley (T7) began his run of form here closing with 66. … Tommy Fleetwood (T7) closed 68-68 to suggest he was figuring it out. … Danny Lee (T7) opened 68-66 before playing the weekend 2-under. … Harold Varner III (T7) made 25 birdies and an eagle. … Brooks Koepka (T11) tied the course record on Sunday with 63 but will miss this year with a knee injury. … 2017 champ Si Woo Kim (T63) extended the streak of defending champions not to hit the top 10 (Adam Scott, 2007; T8). … Most eagles in event history and on TOUR for the season. … Warm temperatures and light wind. … Top 22 players 10-under or lower. … Cut 1-under 143. … Event followed the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow. 2017: Si Woo Kim (-10, 278) Won by three shots to become the youngest champion in history at 21 years 10 months. … Began the final round two shots back. … Bogey-free 69 was the only bogey-free round on Sunday. … Highest winning total since 2008 (Garcia). … Won in only his second start. … Did not lead after any of the first three rounds. … Had seven MC and four WD on the season entering the week. … Becomes only second Korean winner (KJ Choi, 2011). Notables: Louis Oosthuizen (T2) co-led after 36 holes and was one back after 54. … Ian Poulter (T2) posted all four rounds at par or better. … Co-leader after 36 and 54 holes, Kyle Stanley (T4) hung on for his best finish at TPC Sawgrass. … Lucas Glover (T6) shot 32 going out on Sunday but made four bogeys on the back. … Francesco Molinari (T6) was one of five players to post both weekend numbers in the red. … Adam Scott (T6) posted all four rounds par or better. … Brendan Steele (T6) fired 68 on Sunday, tying the low round of the day with Dustin Johnson (T12). … Alex Noren (10th) was the best debutant in the field. … Jason Day (T60) couldn’t defend, but nobody does. … Emiliano Grillo (11th) matched Sergio Garcia (T30) for the round of the day on Saturday with 67. … Pat Perez (T22) shared the low round of the week, 66, with Oosthuizen and Stanley. … Cut was 2-over 146. … Wind picked up on the weekend as the 36-hole lead was 9-under. … Only two bogey-free rounds on the weekend. … Only 12 rounds in the 60s. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. * – Top 10 finish here since 2015 or past champion Horses for Courses

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