PGA TOUR stars line up for shot at Race to Dubai title

For its 10th generation Spider putter, a line that launched in 2008, TaylorMade is releasing Spider “X� putters, which are the retail versions of the Spider prototype that Rory McIlroy, among other PGA TOUR players, has been using in 2019. (Click here for comments from TaylorMade’s Chris Trott on why TOUR players have switched into the new Spider X-style prototype designs.) What separates the new X designs from the Spider Tour Red and Tour Black putters, which reinvigorated the Spider line in recent years, is a new True Path alignment system. On the top of the crown and running parallel to the target line sits what TaylorMade calls an “optically engineering sightline,� highlighted by a white-colored crevice. This design is said to “enhance visual perception through color sensitivity,� and to reduce off-center strikes. For more visual alignment aid, there’s a black sightline that runs along the center of the crown. Additionally, the new Spider X shape is 5 percent smaller overall and with less-protruding back bumpers than the Spider Tour Red designs. TaylorMade says this makes it more of a mallet-type design that some players prefer. For greater forgiveness, additional weight has been added to the perimeter of the structure, and it has a deeper center of gravity. Golfers can dial in head weight and feel by way of two weight ports that rest in the outer edges of the back bumpers. There are three different weights available; 2-gram aluminum weights, 6-gram steel weights and 12-gram Tungsten weights. TaylorMade has redesigned the Pure Roll inserts on the putter faces, making the Surlyn insert thicker and with more grooves for less backspin. The company says the combination of added grooves and a thicker insert helps to deform the insert at impact and increases the amount of contact between the grooves and the golf ball. The new Spider X putters will be available on February 15 in a navy-and-white and a copper-and-white colorway; the copper version will come with either a short slant hosel or a single-bend, while the navy version is available in only the short slant neck. They each come with SuperStroke Pistol GTR 1.0 grips, KBS CT Tour putter shafts, and they will sell for $349.99 each. Right- and left-handed versions are available.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Max Homa said he was shaking when he stepped to Quail Hollow’s first tee Saturday afternoon. He was playing with Charlotte’s adopted son, one of the biggest names in golf, on his birthday. The crowd serenaded Rory McIlroy on the first tee, while Homa just stood and watched. “I felt like a sideshow out there,â€� he said. On Sunday, he’ll be the center of attention. Homa will play in the Wells Fargo Championship’s final group with Jason Dufner. Both players are atop the leaderboard after fighting out of the depths of a deep slump. They share the lead with a cancer survivor, Joel Dahmen. The trio is tied at 11-under 202. Pat Perez is one shot back, and several big names are still close enough to cause concern. McIlroy, the man whose record at Quail Hollow is unmatched, is two back. The reigning FedExCup champion, Justin Rose, is three behind. Paul Casey is at 7 under, while Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed are among the names who are five back. Sunday nerves aren’t some overblown storyline. They’re very real. But the co-leaders have all been steeled by hardship. Dufner is a major champion who has struggled to break par this year. The Wells Fargo is his ninth event of 2019. He was 27 over par in the first eight. He made it to Sunday just once. And he didn’t finish under par in a single event before this week. He is 188th in the FedExCup standings. He has five PGA TOUR victories, including the 2013 PGA Championship, but hasn’t won since the 2017 Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. That experience will be invaluable come Sunday, though. “I felt good out there and I expect to feel good tomorrow,â€� Dufner said. He has converted three of his seven 54-hole leads into victory. Dahmen and Homa are in this position for the first time. The two first-timers have taken different paths to get here. Homa won the NCAA individual title in his senior year at Cal and was a contemporary of Justin Thomas. They played on the same Walker Cup team and both played their first PGA TOUR event as a pro at the 2013 Safeway Open. Homa finished ninth. Thomas missed the 54-hole cut. Dahmen, meanwhile, fought testicular cancer in the midst of a five-year stint on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada. Homa and Thomas only needed one season to graduate from the Web.com Tour. They were both PGA TOUR rookies in 2015, but their careers went different directions. Thomas has become a FedExCup champion and major winner, while Homa has bounced between the PGA TOUR and Web.com Tour. Homa fell for the lie that he had to get substantially better to have a long PGA TOUR career. His driver became a liability, though. Related: Tee times | Dufner, Homa prove there’s light at the end of the tunnel | Dahmen proves he can handle the pressure | Watch PGA TOUR LIVE: 8:30 a.m. ET Two years ago, he made less than $20,000 on the PGA TOUR. He made just two cuts in 17 starts and was 61 over par for the season. This is his third crack at the TOUR. Reminding himself of his past success has helped him regain his confidence. Those previous victories, even if they were at lower levels, have proven to him that he can handle the Sunday pressure. He’s a two-time winner on the Web.com Tour. “I’m nervous all morning and I get the club in my hand and it’s just the same thing,â€� Homa said. “I feel very comfortable when I’m playing good and I think that’s it. My brain clicked in and I piped it off No. 1, hit a great 8-iron.â€� Like Homa, Dahmen is in his third season on TOUR. He took a different path, though. At 31, he’s three years older than Homa. Dahmen’s cancer diagnosis has given him a different perspective. “I’ve known life and death, and this isn’t it,â€� he said earlier this week. Just like Homa gained valuable experience playing Saturday with McIlroy, Dahmen learned from a third-round pairing with one of golf’s superstars. He played with Tiger Woods in the third round of last year’s Quicken Loans National, shooting a 69 to Woods’ 68. Dahmen was 3 over par on his first five holes Saturday, but was 4 under the rest of the way. He eagled the par-4 eighth and made three back-nine birdies. Dahmen has been the first-round leader in three of his past five starts. Sundays are a different story, though. “I can’t wait to wake up,â€� Dahmen said. “I might not sleep very well tonight, probably can’t sleep in, but I mean, I love it. This is competing against the best. I mean, that leaderboard is pretty stacked, so I’m excited.â€�

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MELBOURNE, Australia – Notes and observations from the fourth round of the ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf where Belgium won their first World Cup title by three shots. LEADING LIGHTS Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry admitted they could feel the groundswell of support for the host nation Australia as it got to gut-check time in the World Cup. Starting the day with a significant five-shot lead, Team Belgium knew it would take something special to beat the Aussies at Metropolitan Golf Club. As the locals swarmed around Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith and became more and more vocal in the group ahead, the pair knew a challenge was being issued. But with nerves of steel, the 26-year-old Pieters and 25-year-old Detry met every test and then capped off the win with a final-hole birdie to win by three shots. The final round, 4-under 68 was more than enough to stay ahead of Australia (65) and Mexico (66) – leaving them at 23 under for the week. “You can hear the “oi oi oi” chants going, so you know somebody made a birdie,â€� Pieters said. “We felt the guys coming right behind us and we answered it with a birdie, so I think we handled the situation very well.â€� It is the first win for Belgium in the World Cup. Belgium hadn’t had a result better than fourth since 1955. “Being able to put our name down the list when you see the amount of good players and all the big names that were actually on the Cup, it feels pretty special,â€� Detry said. Pieters burst onto the European Tour scene a few years ago, winning three times in a 12-month span in 2015-16. But he hasn’t been able to maintain the same form since, making this victory extra special. “It feels very good. It’s been a long time since I won and this feels as good as an individual title. I’m very, very happy,â€� Pieters said. “We’ll take a lot of confidence out of this. It’s a shame the season’s over for me now.â€� Detry is yet to win on the European Tour but he’s been knocking on the door with a handful of recent close calls. Pieters now thinks this will change. “His drive down the 18th … that’s a drive of somebody that’s going to win next year, for sure,â€� Pieters said of his partner. “To hit a drive like that, I can tell how much adrenaline was going through his body by how far it went. He’s going to take this forward for sure.â€� NOTABLES AUSTRALIA: Host nation Australia had the local crowds rocking down the back nine at Metropolitan after Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith caught fire and threatened to steal the Cup. But a short putt from 4 feet for birdie on the par-4 16th was pushed wide by Leishman, stalling the huge charge the locals had made. Starting the final round a distant six shots back of Belgium, the Aussies made the turn after four birdies thinking they could certainly make the leaders sweat with a few more. Smith buried birdie putts on the 12th and 13th holes and then, just as hopes looked dashed after Leishman left a bunker shot in the sand, he holed out for another birdie. But it was the last birdie they’d bank. The short miss on 16 sucked the life out of the charge and they would ultimately sign for a 7-under 65 to finish at 20 under. “Obviously that putt on 16 I would like to have made,â€� Leishman said. “I would love to have that again. “But Belgium was clearly the best team all week. When you come up against someone like that, we did what we had to do today to put the pressure on and they were just too good. When you get beat by someone who’s playing that well, there’s not much you can do.â€� MEXICO: It was an impressive couple of weeks in Australia for Abraham Ancer, who won the Australian Open before combining with Roberto Diaz to finish in a tie for second at the World Cup. A final round 6-under 66 on Sunday was highlighted by late birdies on 14, 16 and 17 giving them an outside shot at victory if they could make something happen on the last hole. But Belgium stayed rock solid. The runner-up result represented Mexico’s highest finish in the tournament, besting the seventh-place effort in 1953 from Al Escalante and Juan Neri. USA: Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley never really threatened to bring the USA a 25th World Cup title, shooting 66-79-66-68 to finish at 9 under and a tie for 16th. SHOT OF THE DAY QUOTABLES I haven’t heard a roar like that for a very long time. It was awesome. There’s nothing like representing your country on the other side of the world, it’s just amazing. It’s kind of a funny week, the weather was different, total different all the time. A little disadvantage having different balls … that’s why I struggled with the short game a little bit this week.  

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