Putnam, Johnson turn FedEx St. Jude Classic into 2-man race

2022 Valspar Championship, Round 2 Top 10 win probabilities: 1. Matthew NeSmith (1, -14, 28.6%) 2. Justin Thomas (5, -10, 16.7%) 3. Adam Hadwin (2, -12, 15.9%) 4. Sam Burns (T3, -11, 13.6%) 5. Scott Stallings (T3, -11, 5.0%) 6. Xander Schauffele (T7, -8, 3.5%) 7. Louis Oosthuizen (T10, -7, 2.0%) 8. Webb Simpson (T7, -8, 1.9%) 9. Brian Harman (T7, -8, 1.4%) 10. Davis Riley (6, -9, 1.4%) Top Strokes-Gained Performers from Round 2: Putting: Callum Tarren +4.7 Around the Green: Bubba Watson +2.8 Approach the Green: Matthew NeSmith +4.8 Off-the-tee: Davis Riley +2.0 Total: Matthew NeSmith +9.5 NOTE: These reports are based off of the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live “Make Cut”, “Top 20”, “Top 5”, and “Win” probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 20K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the Valspar Championship, or to see how each golfer’s probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model’s home page.

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With a buddy on the bag and fresh off receiving the Jack Nicklaus Award in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday, celebrated amateur and Florida State standout John Pak is making his professional debut at this week’s Palmetto Championship at Congaree — and he’ll do so as a TaylorMade staffer, the company announced today. College golf’s top player, Pak has played TaylorMade gear and a Titleist ball since his amateur days. And as we found out from Ryan Ressa, TaylorMade’s player development manager, who has worked with Pak since he was in his early teens, it’s not surprising Pak will continue with the same bag setup and ball combination as he joins the professional ranks. The Scotch Plains, New Jersey, native is an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” kind of guy when it comes to his equipment, which is a trait Ressa sees among many of the game’s best. (Another TaylorMade staffer Tiger Woods, for one, comes to mind). Ressa and TaylorMade have had a relationship with Pak for nearly a decade, and it’s Ressa’s job to not only make sure Pak is in the right equipment for his game but is also navigating the matrix of amateur competitions, college, and the decision to turn pro successfully. According to Ressa, Pak, and other junior standouts, need new equipment, or at least a fitting, roughly every six months as their bodies and swings change. Even so, while he’s transitioned into new fairway wood models as they’ve become available, the DNA of Pak’s bag has stayed largely the same. “Jon is a very simple guy when it comes to equipment, and he doesn’t do a lot of tinkering outside of driver shafts,” Ressa said. “Deep down, he’s a great competitor. He just loves to compete and is focused on getting the ball in the hole. He’s stayed really, really consistent with the look of his irons, the loft of his wedges, and his bag setup. He’s been easy to work with and only needs one or two visits per year to get squared away.” All of this dovetails with the swing Pak has built with coach Sean Hogan, says Ressa. Pak’s action is tight, consistent, and repetitive with simple checkpoints to get back in sync when things go slightly awry. According to Ressa, when it comes to hitting the ball straight, Pak is “on another level.” Digging into the specifics of his bag: As mentioned, Pak regularly levels up into the latest generation of TaylorMade woods and usually makes the switch quickly after launch. He played the P750 irons — which Jon Rahm was in for years, as well as Collin Morikawa — before switching into the cavity-back P7MC. A few other notes: Pak has historically moved between a half-mallet TaylorMade putter model and a Spider (he’s in the Spider X Copper currently), and he plays the standard bounce on his wedges (no unique sole grinds here). Check out Pak’s full line up clubs below. WHAT’S IN THE BAG: JOHN PAK Driver: TaylorMade SIM2 Max (9 degrees) Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 5 S 3-wood: TaylorMade SIM2 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7 X Utility: TaylorMade TP UDI (2) Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 95 X Irons: TaylorMade P7MC (3-9) Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 125 S Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 (48, 50, 54, 58 degrees) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 Putter: TaylorMade Spider X Copper (slant neck) Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Grip: Golf Pride Z Grip Cord

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Defending champion Phil Mickelson returns to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where last year he won for a record-tying fifth time on the Monterey Peninsula. Past winners including Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker, and Jordan Spieth join Mickelson in the field. This year’s pro-am field includes notable names from Hollywood, and the worlds of music and sports like Peyton and Eli Manning, Wayne Gretzky, Tony Romo and Aaron Rodgers.   RELATED: Inside The Field FIELD NOTES: At 48, Mickelson became the oldest winner in tournament history. He’ll return to defend, making his seventh TOUR start this season. He’s 167th in the FedExCup standings. … Mickelson is one of eight past champions in the field… Jason Day returns to action after finishing T16 at Torrey Pines. Day finished T4 at Pebble Beach a year ago and is looking for his first TOUR win since 2018… Paul Casey is back to defend his title this year. No, not the TOUR title – although he did finish T2 in 2019 – but he and Don Colleran, the president and chief executive officer of FedEx Express, topped the amateur field last year…  Sponsor exemptions include Sam Saunders, Justin Suh, Brandon Wu, and Kurt Kitayama, who won twice on the European Tour in a three-month stretch last year. Suh, Wu and Kitayama all have Northern California ties. Suh is from nearby San Jose, Kitayama was born in Chico and Wu is a Stanford alum. Wu made headlines at Pebble Beach in last year’s U.S. Open, where he finished T35 while still an amateur and received his diploma on the 18th green. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points COURSE: Pebble Beach Golf Links, 6,816 yards, par 72. A longtime part of the PGA TOUR schedule, the first “Clambake� was played there in 1947. Pebble Beach has been the host of six U.S. Open tournaments (including 2019, won by Gary Woodland). Spyglass Hill Golf Course (6,953/72) and Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore course (6,958/71) are also played the first three days. The tournament ends at Pebble Beach on Sunday. STORYLINES: Spieth is hoping a return to the friendly confines of Pebble Beach will help him find the winner’s circle for the first time since winning The Open Championship in 2017. Pebble Beach is where Spieth earned his first check as a pro and he won here in 2017. He’ll play the pro-am with his longtime partner, country star Jake Owen… With Day’s T4 finish in 2019, the Aussie now has five top-6 finishes at Pebble Beach, but no wins… Johnson – who has five top-three finishes in 12 starts, including wins in 2009 and 2010 – returns to action on the PGA TOUR for the first time since finishing T7 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions… Two golfers who finished in the top-10 at last year’s U.S. Open will be teeing it up next week: Chesson Hadley (T9) and Chez Reavie (T3)… Only 10 times in tournament history has a player won the pro-am title and the tournament title in the same year. The last time was in 2016 when Vaughn Taylor won (by one over Phil Mickelson) and topped the team competition with businessman Gregg Ontiveros.   72-HOLE RECORD: 265, Brandt Snedeker (2015). 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Sung Kang at Monterey Peninsula (2nd round, 2016). Pebble Beach record: 62, Tom Kite (3rd round, 1983), David Duval (3rd round, 1997). Spyglass Hill record: 62, Phil Mickelson (1st round, 2005), Luke Donald (1st round, 2006). LAST TIME: It took an extra day, but Mickelson won for the fifth time at Pebble Beach, tied with Mark O’Meara for the most victories in the tournament’s history. Mickelson fired a 7-under 65 that ran into Monday because of darkness. He shot 4-under 32 on his back nine to beat Casey by three strokes. Casey had a three-shot lead going into Sunday but shot 71 in the final round. Scott Stallings was alone in third after a final-round 66. Kevin Streelman (who won the pro-am portion of the event in 2018 with NFL star Larry Fitzgerald) matched Mickelson’s final-round 65 – the best of the day – and finished in a three-way tie for seventh.  HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-2:45 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Featured Groups and Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Saturday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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