PGA TOUR and ZOZO Inc. announce 2021 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP will be contested in Japan

Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau squared off in The Match on Friday in Las Vegas. Here’s a closer look at the clubs that the two stars used in their showdown: BROOKS KOEPKA Driver: Srixon ZX5 (9.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade M2 Tour HL (16.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX Irons: Nike Vapor Pro (3), Srixon ZX7 (4-PW) Shafts: Fujikura Pro Tour Spec 95 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW) Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore – Tour Rack Raw (52 Mid, 56 Mid, 60 Low) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: Scotty Cameron T10 Select Newport 2 Prototype Ball: Srixon Z-Star Prototype Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord (Midsize) round BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU Driver: Cobra Proto (9 degrees) Shaft: LA Golf BD Prototype 60 X (45 inches) Driver 2: Cobra RAD Speed (5.5 degrees) Shaft: LA Golf BD Prototype 60 X (48 inches) 3-wood: Cobra SpeedZone Tour (14.5 degrees) Shaft: LA Golf BAD Prototype 70 TX Irons: Cobra King One Length Utility (4), Cobra One Length MiM Tour (6-PW) Shafts: LA Golf Rebar Proto (37.5 inches) Wedges: Artisan Prototype (47, 52, 58) Shafts: LA Golf Rebar Proto shaft Putter: SIK Pro C-Series Armlock Shaft: LA Golf C2L-180 Grip: JumboMax JMX Jumboflat 17 Ball: Bridgestone Tour B X (2022 prototype) Grips: JumboMax JMX Ultralite

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GERMANTOWN, Tenn. – Sahith Theegala was out to dinner the other night. It was a Thai place near TPC Southwind, home of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, where Theegala’s second-round 70 has him at 7 under and in contention yet again entering the weekend of a PGA TOUR event. They were a party of seven, including Theegala’s childhood coach, Rick Hunter; college coach, Michael Beard; Beard’s two sons; a Pepperdine University booster; and Theegala’s fitness guy, Josh Loyo. It was going to be 20-25 minutes to get a table. Then the restaurant owner, spotting a celebrity in his midst, got involved, which, ahem, expedited things. You could say life has changed for Theegala. A year ago, he was gearing up for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Now he’s taking selfies with restaurant owners and is known as one of the fastest rising talents on the PGA TOUR. “It feels like he’s starting to own it a little bit,” Pepperdine’s Beard said Friday, when Theegala hit 11 of 14 fairways for the second straight day but putted poorly. “At first he was kind of feeling it out, but he’s getting more comfortable out here.” The proof is in the numbers. He’s 39th in the FedExCup and 64th in the world. Cameron Young leads the Rookie of the Year race after a T3 at the PGA Championship and solo 2nd at The Open, two of his seven top-3 finishes this year. He’s ninth in the FedExCup. Joohyung “Tom” Kim, 20, entered the picture with his Wyndham Championship win and is 34th. Mito Pereira (38th) led all the way to the last hole of the PGA and has had a nice year. Theegala, though, would also have to be considered a strong contender for top rookie. “He reminds me of Tony at that age,” said Boyd Summerhays, who coaches Tony Finau, the 32-year-old who’s won three of his four PGA TOUR titles in the last 12 months. “I love the guy. A little raw, but a massive talent, and he’s got the head for it, too.” To be sure, Theegala is learning fast, and from more than just narrow losses at the Travelers Championship (72nd-hole double bogey, T2), WM Phoenix Open (71st-hole bogey, T3), and Sanderson Farms Championship (final-round 71, T8). Theegala has had to learn how to travel, too, which meant realizing that living in L.A. wasn’t working. Although he is SoCal to his core, he moved to Houston four months ago. He plays out of The Woodlands, where TOUR pros have put down roots for years and where Theegala said childhood memories of visiting his aunt factored into his decision. “Just like a more central location,” he said. “I lived pretty far east in L.A. so getting to (Los Angeles International Airport) was a pain and I had like 10-hour travel days and connecting. I was like, I’m over this.” Of Houston, he added, “It’s a two-hour flight everywhere direct and it’s been so awesome for that.” What’s more, he has had an easier time simulating TOUR golf there than in L.A. For the last three months, Theegala said, he has been practicing and playing on Bermudagrass, a notoriously fickle surface that can give fits to players who hail from the West Coast. The move has steeled him nicely for the Bermuda at TPC Southwind. Not that he hasn’t had a few hiccups. Of his second round, he said the front nine was a string of missed opportunities and the back was scratchy but still featured “some good shots coming down the stretch.” Despite all that, he’s still poised to make a move in the FedExCup Playoffs. “He forgets quickly,” said his childhood coach Hunter, who teaches at the public El Prado G.C. in Chino, California. “It’s a huge quality. Like today, he could have shot 5 or 6 under. On the first seven holes he didn’t have a birdie putt over 10 feet.” The other night, Hunter was at the practice area with Theegala and his caddie, Carl Smith, when Theegala hooded his sand wedge and started hitting low hooks to a target only 20-25 yards away. That turned into a competition to see who could throw it closest to the pin. Sometimes his thirst for competition leads to darts, or Ping-Pong, or games made up on the spot. “When he was 7,” Hunter said, “playing on little par-3 courses, he came back from a tournament and said, ‘Mr. Hunter, there’s this one hole with a tree right in front of the green. I can’t get over it. Can you teach me how to go around it?’ And I went, here we go, now we’re going to learn how to hit shots at 7 years old, and that’s all he does now. Around, over, under. Back then he was never hitting a straight ball, and that’s what he does now.” Theegala is also never far from his dedicated fans. As on the West Coast Swing and elsewhere, his parents, father Muralidhar and mother Karuna, have followed him at TPC Southwind. They’ve rented a house, because Sahith also pulls in friends, cousins, aunts, uncles. Sometimes his little brother, Sahan, a student at Seton Hall, comes out. Theegala is like the Boston Red Sox: He can travel far and wide and still enjoy a modicum of hometown support. “And people who don’t even know him love him,” Hunter said. “I always say the kids love him and the drunks love him, and everybody in between. He’s a great personality, he really is. And fun to watch. He’s not afraid to take a risk, and sometimes he gets bit, but he lives with it. He’s had so many miracle shots over the years, it’s a normal happenstance.” Theegala figures he’ll go into the weekend with some ground to make up, but he’s not worried. At the Travelers he never really led until the end but double-bogeyed 18 to lose to Xander Schauffele by two. In Phoenix, as a sponsor exemption, he was the solo leader after the second and third rounds, but a bad bounce at the drivable 17th hole trundled into the water and led to a crushing bogey. Scottie Scheffler was the first-time winner that week. At Sanderson Farms, Theegala had at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds, but he never had his best stuff as he faded with a final-round 71. Sam Burns won. Asked what he’s learned, Theegala said it hasn’t been a conscious evolution but somehow he still seems to be getting better at handling those late tee times on the weekend. “I keep reminding myself this is a great feeling to feel pressure,” he said. He’s got the physical tools. He’s got the head for it. Sahith Theegala’s table is ready.

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He endured three playoff losses before earning his first PGA TOUR win, at the 2015 and now he’s on the card at another big fight.CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Quail Hollow has a history for rewarding golf’s biggest hitters, but the 165-pound player who’s been atop the leaderboard all week at the PGA Championship is accustomed to punching above his weight class. Kevin Kisner doesn’t impress fans with a silky swing that produces jaw-dropping drives, but he has the strong will and tenacity that we love to see from our undersized athletes. It’s the reason movies like “Rudyâ€� get made. “The TOUR, the way it’s going, everybody is huge and driving it 350 yards,â€� Kisner said. “Guys like (me) are less and less. If you don’t have that attitude, you’re going to get run over out here.â€� Kisner has displayed a strong will and determination to make it this far, and those characteristics will undoubtedly come in handy now that he holds a one-shot lead entering the final round of a major championship. This is the player who just four years ago was pondering retirement because he couldn’t keep his ball on the planet. He endured three playoff losses before earning his first PGA TOUR win, at the 2015 RSM Classic and now he’s on the card at another big fight. Kisner will have little room for error Sunday, and not just because of his slim advantage. Quail Hollow’s uppercut is lethal to a lightweight, the course’s thick rough and firm greens even more penal for a shorter hitter. “I’m in a dogfight tomorrow and I have to be prepared for that,â€� said Kisner, who ranks ninth in the FedExCup. He earned his second PGA TOUR win earlier this season at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. Kisner had the opportunity to take a larger lead into the final round until he was undone by Quail Hollow’s demanding finishing stretch, known as the Green Mile. He played the final three holes in 3 over to shoot 1-over 72 on Saturday. “I had a chance to run away from guys and take people out of the tournament that were four or five, six back, and I didn’t do it,â€� Kisner said. At 7-under 206, he sits one shot ahead of two players who both hoisted trophies of their own last Sunday. One is Chris Stroud, a 35-year-old who earned his long-awaited first win last week at the Barracuda Championship. The other may be the hottest player on the planet, Hideki Matsuyama. The FedExCup leader is coming off a Sunday 61 at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. It was his third win of the season. Justin Thomas and Louis Oosthuizen are another shot back. Thomas is another three-time winner this season, while Oosthuizen is the only major champion among the top 15 on the leaderboard. That experience may come in handy Sunday, because Quail Hollow is playing like an old-fashioned major layout, with thick rough and firm, fast greens. One bad swing can lead to bogey … or worse. “It’s the type of golf course you don’t have to go out and make birdies. You just need to keep everything together,â€� Oosthuizen said. The end of Saturday’s round showed how penal the place can be. It had been a rather quiet day as players cautiously navigated their way around this Charlotte track, contentedly collecting pars. Kisner hit his approach shot into the water at No. 16, and was one fortunate bridge bounce away from doing the same on the final hole. He played his final three holes in 3 over to drastically change the complexion of Sunday’s final round. This is the fifth time that Kisner has held a 54-hole lead. He has converted one of the previous four into a victory (2015 RSM Classic). Because of his lack of length, Kisner has limited opportunities to make birdies at Quail Hollow. When he first visited the course a few weeks ago, he knew there were only a handful of holes he could be aggressive on: the course’s three par-5s (Nos. 7, 10 and 15) and two short par-4s, the 346-yard eighth hole and drivable 14th. He’s executed his gameplan perfectly. He’s 11 under par on those holes this week, making nine birdies and an eagle. He’s 4 over on the rest of the golf course, making just three birdies on the remainder of Quail Hollow’s holes. “It’s a difficult mind-set where you’re … holding on, holding on, and then you’re like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to birdie, I’ve got to birdie,â€� Kisner said. “You’ve got to be ready to handle that situation and the change, and you’ve got to be able to take 30 feet (for birdie) and take your medicine. I think that’s one of the biggest things out there.â€� Kisner, a lifetime resident of the South, fares well on Bermudagrass greens, but Quail Hollow’s length would seemingly disqualify a player who ranks 127th on the PGA TOUR in driving distance (288.3 yards). “When we came up here a few weeks ago, we realized that we had to be spot-on with our ball-striking,â€� Scott Brown said. “He’s been ball-striking it to death.â€� Despite having longer clubs into the greens than a majority of the field, Kisner leads in greens in regulation. He’s missed just 12 greens over three rounds. “He’s always a good iron player. He lives and dies by the putter,â€� Brown said. He’s succeeded with those clubs thus far this week. He’s fourth in Strokes Gained: Putting (+2.011 strokes per round) and fourth in driving accuracy, hitting 31 of 42 fairways. Quail Hollow’s new Bermudagrass rough is thicker than players are accustomed to at the Wells Fargo Championship, and especially penal considering the course’s firm greens. “The rough’s brutal. … If I can just keep hitting fairways, I’m going to like my chances,â€� Kisner said. But if he makes one mistake, the brute called Quail Hollow is waiting to knock him out.

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