PGA Tour best bets: Sony Open in Hawaii

Phil Mickelson, by his own admission, hasn’t historically been “high on hybrids.” There are several reasons the reigning PGA champion hasn’t had much success with the clubs in the past: Too much variability in spin and ball flight, depending on where the ball is struck on the face. Too difficult to flight the ball down. Inconsistent distance. Given Mickelson’s apprehension around members of the hybrid family, it’s interesting to note that he is carrying one of Callaway’s new Apex UW (utility woods), which were released to retail this week. What’s different about this hybrid for Mickelson? “It gives me a consistent apex and a consistent spin rate from different lies that hybrids haven’t given me, and the ability to hit from the rough and control the flight and bring it down that fairway woods don’t,” Mickelson told Callaway’s Johnny Wunder. Mickelson’s UW hybrid is reportedly bent to 17 degrees, tightening the gap between his longer clubs while also allowing him to hit a variety of shots. The Apex UW utility wood was designed to combine the best features of higher-lofted fairway woods, hybrids, and a more neutral ball flight. “The reason why I like it is the center of gravity is more forward, or plays like an iron, so I don’t get the jumpers out of the first cut and then the big spin ones out of a tight lie, Mickelson said Wednesday from the PGA TOUR Champions’ Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS. “And the relief on the back sole allows me to open the face and keep the face open through impact in the rough on the chop rough shot, as opposed to having the back of the sole close the face through impact. It allows me keep the face open and have some loft so I can get it out of thicker, longer, heavier rough a lot easier.” We’ll be keenly watching for additional adopters on TOUR as the Apex UW arrives at retail and its profile is further raised. According to Wunder, Mickelson first set eyes on the club at the U.S. Open, where he watched fellow left-hander Akshay Bhatia use it on a long par-3 during a practice round. Bhatia began testing it at the Ely Callaway Performance Center the previous week. Given Mickelson’s love of tinkering and experimentation, it’s no surprise what happened next: Mickelson borrowed the club and fired a towering tee shot toward the green. Reportedly, Callaway had built him an Apex UW to test before he even finished the round, and an Apex UW with a Fujikura Ventus Red 9 X shaft has been among Mickelson’s chosen 14 clubs ever since.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – There was plenty of daylight when third-round play concluded, the fans marching off the course and back to their regularly scheduled lives. That’s the thing about a limited-field event like the World Golf Championships FedEx St. Jude Invitational: There’s always plenty of time to work on your game after you sign your card. And so, one by one, the chase pack alighted for the practice grounds at TPC Southwind. Cameron Smith (65, 16 under, two back) went straight for the driver, having hit just five fairways in round three. Bryson DeChambeau (63, also two back) worked on short putts. Scottie Scheffler (67, five back) worked on his bunker play. Then there was leader Harris English, who shot 65 to reach 18 under par, did his media hits, and left the property. He is who he is. With two wins already this season (Sentry Tournament of Champions, Travelers Championship) he is fifth in the FedExCup and a career-high 10th in the world. At 32, he has never looked more comfortable being Harris English. “Yeah, just to be you,” English said, when asked what advice he would give to his 24-year-old self who won here, the first of four PGA TOUR titles and counting despite a seven-year win drought. “I mean, I’ve spent too many years chasing my swing, trying to swing it like somebody else instead of just refining what I did and why I swing the club how I did. Just to be myself and keep grinding at it, keep doing what you’re doing, keep enjoying the challenge.” DeChambeau also is enjoying the challenge. He came into this week with few expectations after having to bow out of the Olympics with COVID-19, but despite dropping a few pounds and losing a few miles per hour of clubhead speed, he’s in the thick of it after a 7-under 63. “Not much, just a little lower ball speed,” he said, when asked what impact being sick has had on his game. “But I’ll get that back real quickly. It’s honestly kind of helped me this week hit it in the fairway, I don’t know why.” (He’s 29 of 42 in driving accuracy, tied for 12th in the field.) English and DeChambeau, who would each become the first player with three victories this season with a win, will make up the final twosome at 2 p.m. ET Sunday. “I enjoy playing with Bryson,” said English, who has been one of the premier ball-strikers in the game since recommitting to his natural swing in 2019, and who leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. “To me it’s a lot like playing with Bubba Watson, I enjoy kind of seeing what he does.” Cameron Smith would love to come from the second-to-last group and spoil the party. He got more out of his round than he could have after hitting just five fairways. His iron play was on point, as was his putting one day after tying a TOUR record with 18 putts. The turning point for him Saturday: a chip-in birdie at the ninth hole to change his momentum. “Harry was hitting the ball so good today,” Smith said, a nod to his playing partner English in the last twosome out Saturday. “It was good to see some good shots, especially when I was struggling myself. Yeah, he definitely toted me along I think for sure.” One intangible: Smith will go out with Presidents Cup teammate Abraham Ancer (67, four back after bogeys on the last two holes) and they could not be more comfortable with each other. “Got to take it low tomorrow,” said Ancer, who is still searching for his first TOUR win. Although Smith came in with the same score as DeChambeau, the first-in-last-out rule means it will be DeChambeau in the last twosome Sunday, not Smith. “Personally, I like to see what’s going on,” Smith said of playing in the final group. “Obviously there’s a lot of leaderboards around, so we’re able to see (despite being in the penultimate pairing). I’m looking forward to playing with Abe. He’s a really good friend and we have a lot of fun out on the course.” Scheffler and Ian Poulter (67) are not out of it at five back. English, who would surpass Collin Morikawa at FedExCup No. 1 should he hold on, would be the third wire-to-wire to winner in this event after Tiger Woods (2000) and Stewart Cink (’04), both of whom accomplished the feat when the tournament was played at Firestone South. Of course, English was just a teen-ager back then, and in his 20s he got caught up trying to be someone else, losing the DNA of his swing somewhere along the way. Now he’s just himself, even during increasingly rare dry spells like his first seven holes (all pars) on Saturday. The forecast calls for temperatures in the 90s, and DeChambeau, Smith and the rest of them will no doubt be trying to apply their own kind of heat. English, who grew up in Georgia, who knows himself and his game better than ever, seems nonplussed. Bring it on. “I love being in this situation,” he said. “I love this golf course and I feel like my strategy through the years has really worked out and it’s a lot – it’s very similar to a course I grew up on in south Georgia, so very comfortable with it and looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.”

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