Romo returns to PGA TOUR’s Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship

The second major of the calendar year will be played this week, in November, at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. The Masters hasn’t been cancelled since the days of World War II and the 2020 edition wasn’t going to be added to the list. The tournament committee decided during the early days of the pandemic that the Masters would be rescheduled to the fall. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | Sleeper Picks As November arrives, this will be a different Masters. Patrons will not walk the fairways or fill the grandstands built around the greens and tee boxes. Roars won’t be heard on the back nine on Sunday. But, a champion will still be crowned and a Green Jacket will still be awarded and semblance of normalcy will return to golf, at least for a week, this week, in November! Dr. Mackenzie’s par 72 (7,475 yards) track laid over the grounds of the Fruitland Nursery usually produces a winner with five-plus appearances on the resume before slipping on the Green Jacket. Of course there are exceptions to that “rule” but after 83 tournaments, that’s a solid number. Augusta National is filled with decisions to be made and is not a “see it, hit it” golf course. Uneven lies are the trademark in the fairways. Undulation on the steep, sloping A-1 Penn Bentgrass greens mandates the ball to below the hole. Five water hazards will shape the leader board on the back nine. Experience will take on many shapes this week. Where to leave the ball when the lie is not perfect. Trusting the putt will break to Raes Creek. When to attack with opportunity presents itself. When to accept par and move on because the wind is swirling. How to handle the pressure of holding off the best players in the world as they clutter the first page of the leaderboard Sunday. And it sounds like Mother Nature will have her say as well as rain is in the forecast starting Tuesday night and continuing throughout the day on Thursday. The weekend is a 50-50 proposition as of this writing. Drainage conditions are “good”, but that will depend on how much rain arrives. Near record temperatures, in the good direction, should allow hands to stay warm and backs and muscles to remain loosened up. Tiger Woods has been the guest of honor in Butler Cabin five previous times, one behind all-time leader Jack Nicklaus, and will lead the field of 92 after his victory in April of 2019. The purse last year was $11.5 million with Woods taking home $2.07 million plus 600 FedExCup points. Sergio Garcia and Joaquin Niemann have both WD due to COVID-19. Recent Winners and Notables 2019: Tiger Woods (-13, 275) First winner in 14 events not to reside in the top 10 after Round 1 as he was T11. … Played from the final group on Sunday. … He was the only past champion in the final four groups. … Hit 80% GIR for the week. Notables: Dustin Johnson (T2) posted 12-under, his best four round tournament total and his fourth consecutive top 10. … Brooks Koepka (T2) picked up his first top 10 in four starts and has played his last six rounds in 16-under. … Xander Schauffele (T2), led the field with 25 birdies, opened with 73 but played the final 54 holes 13-under in just his second tournament appearance. … Jason Day (T5) claimed top 10 finish No. 4 after tying the low round on Sunday with 67. … Tony Finau (T5) played in the final group with Woods and Francesco Molinari after his 64 on Saturday, T-Low Round of the week. … Francesco Molinari (T5) led by two with seven holes to play yet also led the field in putting and scrambling. … Webb Simpson (T5) first top 10 included 64 on Saturday. … Patrick Cantlay (T9) closed the weekend 64-68 for his best finish in three trips. … Rickie Fowler (T9) is now 24-under the last two years, better write that down. … Jon Rahm (T9) is now 24-under in his last seven rounds here. … Only seven, bogey-free rounds. … Sunday tee times moved into the morning hours Sunday to avoid afternoon weather. … Bryson DeChambeau (T29) circled nine birdies to open with 66 to share the first round lead with Koepka. 2018: Patrick Reed (-15, 273) Seventh and final first-time major champion of the decade. … Was looking to become the first player ever to post all four rounds in the 60s but closed with 71. … Led by three after 54 holes over Rory McIlroy. … Played the Par-5 holes in 13-under (record is 15-under). … Only one top 10 in majors prior. … Entered the week on the back of three straight top 10 finishes. Notables: Rickie Fowler (2nd) closed 65-67 to miss a playoff by a shot. … Jordan Spieth (3rd) opened with 66 to lead by two and closed with 64 to post the low round of the week. … Jon Rahm (4th) opened with 75 and played the final 54 holes 14-under, including a 65, for his first top 10. … McIlroy (T5) fired 65 to get into the final group then posted 74 to only beat four players on Sunday. … Cameron Smith (T5) closed with 66 for his first top 10. … Henrik Stenson (T5) first top 10 in 14 starts. … Bubba Watson (T5) first top 10 since his two wins. … Marc Leishman (9th) picked up his second top 10 in seven starts. … Tony Finau (T10) closed with 66 in his first appearance. … Dustin Johnson (T10) picked up his worst finish in three years. … Four players double digits under-par. 2017: Sergio Garcia (-9, 279) – Not Entered (COVID-19) 74th major championship and 19th Masters for his first major championship. … Won the first playoff hole. Notables: Justin Rose (P2) led the field with 22 birdies, played in the final group and picked up his third consecutive top 10 (T10, T2). Led by one with two holes to play. … 2011 champion Charl Schwartzel (3rd) led the field in Par-5 scoring (12-under). … Matt Kuchar (T4) picks up his fourth top 10 in six years. … Paul Casey (6th) cashed in the top six for the third consecutive year. … Rory McIlroy (T7) and Adam Scott (T9) rounded out the top 10 of those entered this season. … Par-3 Contest was rained out. … Only 15 players under par. … Only two rounds in the 60s Round 1. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. Strokes Gained: Approach the Green 1 Justin Thomas 2 Collin Morikawa 4 Tyrrell Hatton 5 Hideki Matsuyama 6 Webb Simpson 7 Viktor Hovland 9 Paul Casey 10 Gary Woodland 12 Corey Conners 17 Dustin Johnson 18 Patrick Cantlay 19 Rory McIlroy 21 Tony Finau 27 Jimmy Walker Par-5 Scoring 1 Sungjae Im 2 Lanto Griffin 3 Collin Morikawa 4 Xander Schauffele 7 Scottie Scheffler 8 Hideki Matsuyama 9 Sebastian Munoz 12 Adam Long 12 Justin Thomas 15 Tony Finau 17 Dylan Frittelli 18 Corey Conners 18 Billy Horschel 20 Patrick Reed Bogey Avoidance 1 Webb Simpson 2 Jon Rahm 4 Xander Schauffele 7 Bryson DeChambeau 8 Justin Thomas 12 Abraham Ancer 15 Zach Johnson 18 Paul Casey 19 Tyrrell Hatton 21 Hideki Matsuyama 23 Brendon Todd 24 Adam Scott 26 Brandt Snedeker

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Sam Burns, the defending champion at this week’s Valspar Championship, certainly wasn’t hurting for PGA TOUR wins in 2021. Not only did he win the Valspar Championship in May, but he also won the Sanderson Farms Championship in October. During the offseason, however, Burns and his coach Brad Pullin noticed that his mid-range approach play with his wedges could use improvement. Burns, like most golfers, was using a gap wedge that had a “traditional” wedge look and design. As pictured below on the left, his traditional Jaws MD5 50-degree wedge had a low-bounce design, thinner topline, blade-like cavity and a more rounded shape than his Callaway Apex TCB cavity-back irons (on the right). Interestingly, Burns was also using a 46-degree pitching wedge that had a traditional wedge shape, rather than using a pitching wedge (PW) that was part of his iron set. At the 2021 Valspar Championship, Burns won with four traditional Jaws MD5 wedges in the bag: 46, 50, 56 and 60 degrees. Now, at the 2022 Valspar Championship, Burns has just two Jaws MD5 wedges (56 and 60 degrees) in the bag. After thorough equipment testing during the offseason, Burns switched out his 46- and 50-degree Jaws MD5 wedges for two Apex TCB irons (PW and AW) that matched his iron set. “Sam (Burns) called me and said he was struggling from 125-135 yards,” said Dean Teykl, Manager of Tour Operations and Player Performance at Callaway. “So we looked at some options and I told him the gap wedge that goes with the iron set is going to be more forgiving than what he was playing. From a design aspect, it’s more of a cavity back, and it has a little more bounce and a wider sole.” Lofts and shafts being equal, as Burns found out, the Apex TCB irons (PW and AW) provided greater forgiveness on off-center hits, helping to reduce the negative impact of mishits on full shots. Due to the wider sole with more bounce, he also found the Apex TCB gap wedge to provide enhanced turf interaction since it doesn’t dig as easily into the turf. “I think it was just a better transition from the irons into the wedges, and also the A-wedge is just a little bit better through the turf,” Burns told GolfWRX. “I was looking for a little more consistency, and those clubs provide that very well … I think there’s more forgiveness in those for sure than with the other wedges.” Apparently, the switch has worked. In the 2020-21 season, Burns ranked 25th on the PGA TOUR from 100-125 yards (17 feet, 9 inches) and 115th from 125-150 yards (23 feet, 6 inches). Thus far in 2021-22, he ranks ninth (15 feet, 4 inches) from 100-125 yards and 47th (21 feet, 6 inches) from 125-150 yards. “He can (control the flight) with either option, but we noticed his distance control got better,” Tekyl explained. “It’s probably because it’s a little more forgiving. It’s blade versus cavity back, basically.” Generally speaking, due to the increased perimeter weighting of a cavity-back iron versus a traditional wedge, an iron shape will tend to offer more forgiveness on full shots. Although traditional wedge shapes may offer greater versatility on chips and pitches around the green, gap wedges and pitching wedges are mostly used for full shots. So why do most amateur and professional golfers opt for traditional wedges rather than high-lofted irons? “It’s basically habit,” Tekyl said. “I don’t know that there’s a thought process there.” For amateurs who are currently struggling with their wedge play, it could be time to try out a gap wedge that’s part of their iron set, rather than one that has a traditional wedge shape. It has worked so far for Burns, at least.

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Weekly 18: Losses lead to wins — just ask Kizzire, who edged Fowler

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