Quick 9: Open triumph heals Spieth’s Masters wounds

Hideki Matsuyama cruised to his third win of the 2016-17 PGA TOUR season with five-shot victory at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Matsuyama, who closed out the tournament with a final-round 61, was nearly flawless from tee-to-green — he led the field in Strokes Gained category (plus 14.936) for the tournament — with a mixed setup that includes Callaway, TaylorMade, Honma, Cleveland/Srixon and TaylorMade equipment. Matsuyama made one significant change to his setup at Firestone with the addition of a TaylorMade TP Collection Mullen mallet that replaced the Scotty Cameron GSS Newport 2 Timeless that’s been a mainstay in his bag. During the creation process, Matsuyama requested that the heel, toe and back flange be squared off to fit his eye at address. Introduced last October, the TP Collection Mullen was used briefly by Rory McIlroy during the Travelers Championship. The compact head has a short “S” hosel that allows for a slight toe hang. Matsuyama ranked 15th in Strokes Gained: Putting (plus 3.051) with the new mallet. Here’s a look at the rest of the equipment in Matsuyama’s bag. Driver: Callaway Great Big Bertha (Graphite Design DI-8TX shaft), 9 degrees 3-wood: TaylorMade 2017 M2 (Graphite Design DI-9TX), 15 degrees Hybrid: Honma TW727 U19 (Graphite Design DI-115 Hybrid X shaft), 19 degrees Irons: Srixon Z945 (4-PW; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts) Wedges: Cleveland Golf 588 RTX 2.0 Precision Forged (52-10, 56-12 and 60-10 degrees; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts) Putter: TaylorMade TP Collection Mullen Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV 5

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PGA TOUR statement We have been working since March to develop a comprehensive health and safety plan that would be considered a best practice among professional sports leagues. While we have been thorough in building and implementing a program that mitigates as much risk as possible, we knew it would be impossible to eliminate all risk – as evidenced by the three positive tests this week. We need to use these developments as a stark reminder for everyone involved as we continue to learn from an operational standpoint; we are making several adjustments to our health and safety plan, as noted in the memo sent to players this morning, and we will continuously reinforce to all players, caddies, staff members and support personnel on property at PGA TOUR events to adhere to social distancing and other safety protocols that further minimize risk. Positive COVID-19 cases with arrival testing complete (2,757 total in-market tournament tests over three weeks; 7 positives): This week: Travelers Championship • Cameron Champ (PGA TOUR player) • Ken Comboy (caddie for Graeme McDowell) • Ricky Elliott (caddie for Brooks Koepka) Utah Championship • No positives Overview of withdrawals from the Travelers Championship field (chronological order): Cameron Champ • Withdrew after testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. • “I feel great physically and I was obviously surprised and disappointed to learn of the test result,” said Champ. “It’s important now to take the necessary steps and measures to protect others, including my loved ones.” Graeme McDowell • Withdrew out of an abundance of caution after his caddie, Ken Comboy, tested positive for COVID-19. • “When I look at the last four to five days, I have experienced some fatigue and muscle soreness myself,” said McDowell. “I didn’t think of it as COVID related, but rather just the effect of being back on the road, back practicing, back playing and just a little tired after having a few months off. But now that Kenny has tested positive – and we’ve spent a lot of time together the last 10 days – I have to take those symptoms more seriously. That is why I am withdrawing this week. I want to do the responsible thing. “I’ve had two negative tests this week – Monday and Wednesday – but if there’s any chance that I could have it, I am not keen on risking the possibility that I could pass it onto anyone else this week in Hartford. I decided to drive back to Orlando today, versus flying and those risks as well. I’m just going to take the scenic route down the east coast of the USA for 17 hours and increase my knowledge of U.S. geography a bit.” Brooks Koepka • Withdrew out of an abundance of caution after his caddie, Ricky Elliott, tested positive for COVID-19. • “I haven’t tested positive for COVID-19, but as I’ve said all along, I’m taking this very seriously,” said Brooks Koepka. “I don’t want to do anything that might jeopardize the health of any player in the field or his ability to compete. I was planning to take the next two weeks off anyway, so the right thing to do right now is get home, support Ricky and feel confident that I’m doing what I can do protecting my fellow TOUR members, my PGA TOUR friends and everyone associated with the Travelers Championship this week.” Webb Simpson • Withdrew out of an abundance of caution; has been tested twice and has not tested positive for COVID-19 this week. • “In the last 24 hours, I had a family member test positive for COVID-19,” said Simpson. “While my tests this week were negative, I feel like it is my responsibility to take care of my family and protect my peers in the field by withdrawing from the Travelers Championship. I am going to return home to Charlotte and quarantine under CDC guidelines, and I look forward to returning to competition after that time period.” Chase Koepka • Withdrew out of an abundance of caution; neither he nor his caddie, Dan Gambil, have tested positive for COVID-19, but they played a practice round with McDowell (caddie positive) and Brooks Koepka (caddie positive). • “Despite being very excited about playing the Travelers Championship, I am electing to withdraw,” said Koepka. “My team and I have all tested negative for COVID-19; however, I was in close contact with someone who tested positive. I feel as if this is the best decision to keep all other players, caddies and volunteers safe. I wish everyone the best of luck this week.”

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Round 3 of the Travelers Championship takes place Saturday from TPC River Highlands in Connecticut. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 6:45 a.m.-6 p.m. ET (Featured Groups), Saturday-Sunday 8 a.m.-3 p.m. ET (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. FEATURED GROUPS Dustin Johnson, William McGirt (tee times) Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey (tee times) MUST READS No lead safe at Travelers Championship Jason Day takes 36-hole lead at Travelers Championship Bubba Watson continues good form at TPC River Highlands Kevin Kisner back on track at Travelers Win probabilities: Travelers Championship How Bubba gave back to Pensacola CALL OF THE DAY

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