OnScene: Steph Curry looks to turn things around

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – PGA TOUR officials, on behalf of the Federation of PGA Tours, HSBC and IMG, today announced that the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions will not be played as scheduled in 2022. The decision was made in conjunction with the China Golf Association due to ongoing COVID-19 related restrictions. “We have worked with all Tours, as well as the China Golf Association, on the viability of hosting the WGC-HSBC Champions this fall, but unfortunately the logistical implications forced the difficult decision to cancel the event,” said PGA TOUR Senior Vice President, International, Christian Hardy. “We are thankful for HSBC’s partnership during these trying times as we continue to navigate the changing COVID-19 climate.” With the cancelation of the WGC-HSBC Champions, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship will be played as a stand-alone event with full FedExCup points and an elevated purse of $6.5 million. The tournament returns to Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda, the week of Oct. 24-30.

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Paul Casey shot an opening-round 74 at the RBC Heritage presented by Boeing, but his work on the greens was hardly the problem. While he hit his tee shot out of bounds and triple-bogeyed the par-4 eighth hole, Casey gained nearly a full stroke on the field with a cross-handed putting stroke he’s been using for less than a week. The change goes back to the Masters, where, fed up after rounds of 73-74-73, Casey and longtime caddie John McLaren decided to make a dramatic change for round four. “It was a text conversation last Saturday night,” said Casey, who took just 26 putts at Harbour Town on Thursday. “Johnny suggested the claw. I’ve never done the claw, so I nixed that idea.” They decided he should try cross-handed, a style Casey had practiced with because it fixes the various alignment and biomechanical flaws in his regular stroke. There was only one sticking point: He didn’t have much time to practice the new stroke before his tee time Sunday. Enter his final-round playing partner Billy Horschel. “On the putting green before we got to the first tee, I was still asking Billy how to grip the thing, because he’s left-hand low,” Casey said with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘How do you grip it?’ Because my index finger on my right hand, I wasn’t comfortable with it on the outside, so I just left it where it was and just wrapped the left over it so it’s kind of hidden underneath.” Despite the hasty change, it worked: Casey birdied his first two holes and shot 69 (T26). “I made a really nice eight-footer on the first, made another one on the second,” he said. “I putted well. I felt comfortable right from the get-go with it. I think there’s a Nicklaus quote where he said if he could have done one thing different, he would have gone left-hand low. “I’d dabbled with it a little bit,” Casey continued. “I think I tried it once at a tournament in Dubai or something like that. It didn’t go very well. But I’ve practiced a lot with it, and it solves a lot of my flaws that I normally have when I’m putting regular-style.” On the agenda for Friday will be to keep rolling it well on the greens while hitting more fairways (8/14 in the first round) and more greens in regulation (9/18).

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