Rickie Fowler switches putters in search for confidence

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One of the drivers is a 10.5-degree Callaway Epic Flash head equipped with a shorter length shaft – “about an inch-and-a-quarterâ€� shorter, according to Mickelson — so he can hit “cute little cuts into the fairway,â€� as he explained in his social media post. The other driver is a 9-degree Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero head equipped with a longer length shaft in order to “hit bombs.â€� With the longer of the two drivers, as Mickelson explained to the media following his Thursday round, he has a more upward angle of attack and it results in a ball speed increase of 4 mph. The longer setup also allows Mickelson to keep up with the “young guysâ€� in ways that his body cannot. “My swing is different than a lot of the young guys, where they’re very connected and have fast twitch muscles that explode through the ball,â€� Mickelson said. “My body moves a little more lethargic. I use length of arc for great speed. I need longer shafts and timing to be able to create the same kind of speed.â€� The longer driver, however, does have drawbacks. Mickelson says that the longer-shafted driver launches about 16 or 17 degrees, which is “such a high launch you can’t control that 14 times a round.â€� The shorter driver, on the other hand, launches “closer to 11.5, 12â€� degrees, which is “much easier to control,â€� as Mickelson said. Although Mickelson said in his Thursday post-round interview with the Golf Channel that six holes at Muirfield Village Golf Club “open upâ€� around 325 yards, which he says he can achieve using the longer of the two drivers, he wants to “get a little work doneâ€� hitting cut shots with the shorter driver to prepare for upcoming events such as the U.S. Open and Open Championship. “I wanted to try to do well here [at the Memorial], but wanted to get practice in with the [shorter driver],â€� Mickelson said. “I felt like I hit the long driver, [I] probably hit it five or six times. More than a three wood, which I took out.â€� Mickelson, who is playing with two drivers and no fairway wood, shot a first-round 70 (2-under) at the Memorial Tournament, hitting 50 percent of his fairways and averaging 310.5 yards off the tee. In 2006, Phil Mickelson famously used two drivers – one to hit a draw and one to hit a fade – at the BellSouth Classic, where he won by 13 shots, and a week later at the Masters, where he won his second green jacket. Related: Steve Stricker using irons from 2006 at the Memorial Tournament While the strategy worked, Mickelson hasn’t returned to the dual-driver setup in a “long time,â€� as he said in a social media video post on Thursday. That is, not until this week at the Memorial Tournament. Mickelson posted a video on Twitter and Instagram on Thursday, before his 1:16 p.m. ET tee-time, explaining – in his own way — that he’ll be using two different drivers during competition this week at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jason Day said he felt good about his game, and the positive impact he had on a junior golfer, as he prepares to defend his title at the site of his most recent PGA TOUR triumph. Day played with Kobe Narcisse, 14, in the tournament’s pro-am at Quail Hollow Club. It was Narcisse’s prize for winning Wells Fargo’s Succeeding Together essay contest. “It was a dream of mine,â€� Narcisse said. Day dispatched putting tips to his young pro-am partner, and there may not be a better source for such information. Day is fourth on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting. That club was key to his success at Quail Hollow last year. Day leaned heavily on his short game, finishing first in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and second in Strokes Gained: Putting, to beat Aaron Wise and Nick Watney by two shots. “I was hitting it off the map and I was trying to get it in the hole,â€� Day said. He may not have won since last year’s Wells Fargo, but he’s 33rd in this season’s FedExCup. He has five top-10s in 11 starts this season, including an eighth-place finish at THE PLAYERS Championship and T5 at the Masters. “Obviously it’s hard to be patient sometimes because you know you want to win. I feel it’s right there,â€� Day said. Narcisse, a member of The First Tee of New Orleans, started the first golf team at his school. He overcame early resistance by explaining the game’s benefits to his classmates. Related: Featured Groups, tee times | Power Rankings | Rose looks to rebound | The harsh lessons of losing can pay big dividends | Tiger’s inspiring message to Varner’s friend | Best-selling books gains popularity on TOUR “I explained that golf is the kind of sport that strengthens one’s mental stamina, one’s ability to focus,â€� Narcisse wrote in his winning essay. “Before long, we had enough interested students to start a team. “Rather than back away from the idea because of indifference, I felt confident in my ability to help my peers realize the benefits of learning to play. Although we are still a very young team in terms of skill, we are indeed a team.â€� Narcisse also wrote that his father, who helped him develop a strong work ethic, is his biggest role model. “I will never forget when he said, ‘If you want to get to where you’re at the top, you have to work harder than the next person because others are trying to work just as hard to achieve their goals,’â€� Narcisse wrote. “From that moment on, I began to look at life differently. I realized that consistency was the key in everything I did. … Consistently excelling is the discipline I now live by.â€� On Wednesday, that pursuit of excellence earned him a spot alongside one of the PGA TOUR’s top players.

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