Monday Finish: Kizzire breaks through in Mayakoba

The PNC Championship may be a warm-hearted exhibition that highlights the familial bond, but Tiger Woods isn’t just using the event as an opportunity to play alongside his son. He’s also testing equipment during this 36-hole scramble at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida. Woods announced earlier this week on Twitter that he’ll be using a prototype Bridgestone ball this weekend. When he showed up Friday for the PNC’s pro-am, he also was seen using TaylorMade’s Stealth Plus driver. The USGA and R&A added the Stealth and Stealth Plus drivers to their lists of conforming drivers just days ago, opening the door for the clubs to be used in competition. Woods may have said at the Hero World Challenge that his future is as a part-time player, but the fact that he’s testing equipment seems to imply that he’s preparing to play more than just exhibitions. “It’s about right. Right on par,” Justin Thomas said with a laugh when asked what Woods’ testing this week reveals about his obsession with the game. It should be noted that Justin’s father Mike played recently with Woods and was surprised by how hard he was swinging. “He’s got some speed,” Mike Thomas said. “He’s got some length.” The Stealth and Stealth Plus have the word ‘carbonwood’ printed on the sole. The face is listed as ‘60X Carbon Twist Face’ on the USGA’s List of Conforming Driver Heads. Carbon-composite materials are often used in driver designs to remove weight from the head, especially in the sole and crown, and reposition it elsewhere to impact spin, launch and stability. Companies have shied away from using the material in the driver’s face, however, after attempts in the early 2000s failed to gain traction. Titanium is still the material of choice for driver faces, but TaylorMade appears to have solved the issues that plagued past carbon-composite faces. The aerodynamic sole of the Stealth and Stealth Plus drivers are similar to TaylorMade’s SIM line, including a speed pocket behind the face. The Stealth Plus also features a weight track on the bottom of the head to alter shot shape.

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Alex Noren … Although he’s exempt into The Genesis Invitational as a member of Europe’s Ryder Cup team in 2018, he’s a rarity. It’s not often that a golfer on conditional status qualifies automatically for an invitational. Case in point, he’s the only in his category of the Priority Ranking in the field at Riviera, while four others are committed to the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic in Florida. Identically positioned last season, Shane Lowry proved that it’s a good place to be on the road to winning The Open Championship. There’s no requirement to reach the membership minimum of 15 starts, but Noren still is eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs. He’s made it count early, too, by going 5-for-5 with three top-15 finishes. Because 17 of his 20 rounds have been in the 60s, he’s fifth on TOUR in adjusted scoring. He’s also 12th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, third in scrambling and inside the top 20 in par-3, par-4 and par-5 scoring. And for good measure, in his only prior trip to Riviera, he finished T16 in 2018. Denny McCarthy … If we could just park him on this page every time he plays, no one would disagree; well, unless he’d appear in the Power Rankings (which he did for the Bermuda Championship and finished T15). In fact, this is the third time that he’s landed here. After a T31 at Greenbrier, he placed T9 at the Shriners. Overall, he’s 10-for-10 with three top 10s among five top 20s. Currently T21 on TOUR in greens in regulation, third in Strokes Gained: Putting and 25th in adjusted scoring. Luke List … Possesses the prototypical profile to thrive at the Riv, not that he hasn’t already made a little noise here throughout his career. The 35-year-old is 3-for-4 with a pair of top 20s and a scoring average of 70.14. As long as he can maintain consistent putting for four rounds, expect another decent showing. For example, in keeping his head above water on the greens at TPC Scottsdale, he didn’t waste a strong effort from tee to green and finished T25. Wyndham Clark … While loaded with talent, the learning curve still has a hold of his direction, but he’s proven to sustain bursts of form for a few starts consecutively. That’s why an upswing is projected to continue in his debut at Riviera. After missing two cuts in January, he connected for a T34 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open where his power and putting were on display. Then, en route to a T18 at Pebble Beach, he authored a balanced attack led by a frequency of precision on approach (T8 in GIR; averaged 13 per round) while still ranking T2 in par-5 scoring. Joseph Bramlett … In the field as this year’s recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial exemption. Since it was first awarded in 2009, he’s the only to receive it twice. As a PGA TOUR rookie at Riviera in 2011, he missed the cut. It was his only appearance until now. Just happy to be a touring professional again after overcoming a serious back injury, there must be a persistent sense that so much of what he accomplishes is a bonus. With last week’s T18 at Pebble Beach where his irons were sharp, he’s recorded a pair of top 20s and sits 114th in the FedExCup. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Joel Dahmen has earned nearly $10 million on the PGA TOUR. He’s kept his card for five consecutive seasons, won for the first time in 2021 and contended at this year’s U.S. Open. Yet Dahmen admits that he was afraid at the start of this season. Why? Because if playing professional golf is akin to tightrope walking — both professions have severe penalties for those on the wrong side of small margins — then Dahmen embarked on the 2023 season without a safety net. The two-year exemption that Dahmen earned with his win at last year’s Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship expires at season’s end. He’ll have to earn his return to the TOUR for 2024, and if there is one thing that Dahmen does not want to do it is lose his TOUR card. “I’m scared to death of having a job,” said Dahmen, whose vocational experience includes working at a golf course and as a valet. “Golf is very hard and it can go sour quickly,” he added. “Teeing it up in Napa (in September for the season-opening Fortinet Championship) was like OK, we’re back at square one. If you don’t play well, you don’t have a job. I was very aware of that.” Dahmen doesn’t have to dust off his resume quite yet. His quest to keep his TOUR card is off to a good start. He arrived at Sea Island ranked 19th in the FedExCup, including top-10s in his previous two starts. He’s made his last five cuts and four of those finishes have been T16 or better. Dahmen also is just a shot off the lead at The RSM Classic’s halfway point and in good position to earn another of those coveted two-year exemptions. He opened this week with a 67 on Sea Island’s Seaside Course and a 64 on Friday at the Plantation. Dahmen played the first two rounds with FedExCup leader Seamus Power, another player who’s saved his best golf for his mid-30s. They offer a stark contrast to the young studs on The RSM leaderboard, such as Sahith Theegala, Cole Hammer and Chris Gotterup. Hammer and Gotterup are both competing on sponsor exemptions after turning pro earlier this year. Gotterup was this year’s collegiate player of the year, while Hammer is a former No. 1 in the world amateur rankings who made headlines after qualifying for the 2015 U.S. Open at age 15. Theegala was college golf’s top player just two years ago and is coming off a rookie season that concluded at this year’s TOUR Championship. Hammer holds a share of the halfway lead at 12-under 130 (64-66), while Theegala (68-63) is one back and Gotterup (65-68) is three back. Gotterup and Hammer were each in the top 10 of this year’s class for PGA TOUR University presented by Velocity Global and have Korn Ferry Tour status for next year. Dahmen and Power first met during their freshman year of college, so along ago that the course they were playing (Arizona State’s Karsten Course) no longer exists. They both spent several years on the mini-tours before making it to the Korn Ferry Tour, then waited a few more seasons for that first TOUR title. Now one of them could start 2023 atop the FedExCup standings. Power currently holds that position after earning his second career TOUR win at last month’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship and then finishing T3 in the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. Power is just four off the lead at The RSM after shooting 66-68. “I’m like, if I can keep up with Seamus it means I’m probably in a really good spot today,” said Dahmen, who’s 35 years old. “It wasn’t so much competition, it’s like, hey, this guy’s kind of leading right now and he’s ahead of the game, so if you can hang with him, you’re probably going to be in a good spot.” They were tied with four holes remaining Friday, but Dahmen made three birdies while Power played those holes in even par. Dahmen said his ability to convert some breaking short putts on Sea Island’s slick greens was one of the most satisfying parts of his play this week, “I’ve been improving a lot on my putting. Stats aren’t showing that, but I promise it’s improving. My short game’s improved a ton this fall,” Dahmen said. “Obviously this fall’s been really good for me, but I think my best golf is in front of me, yes.” Fear can be a great motivator.

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