Rory McIlroy looks to end great year on big note

MELBOURNE, Australia — Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry of Belgium had a few anxious moments on the back nine but held on to shoot a 4-under 68 and claim a three-stroke win Sunday at the ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup, despite a determined late run by Australia and Mexico. Pieters and Detry took a five-stroke lead into the final round of foursomes (alternate shot) at Metropolitan and the lead was reduced by one when Detry missed a nervy three-footer on the par-3 second. But they had an eagle and two birdies on the rest of the front nine and made the turn with their five-stroke advantage intact. Australia’s Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith pulled to within two strokes, thanks to holing out from the bunker for a birdie by Smith and a 12-foot par save on the next hole by Leishman. If there was any doubt, Pieters’ approach to four feet on the 18th set up a final birdie by Detry to give the Belgians a 23-under total of 265 in mostly sunny conditions after some early-morning drizzle. “We were both nervous at times, but to finish with a birdie was special,” Pieters said. Leishman and Smith shot 65. Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, who won last week’s Australian Open, and his partner Roberto Diaz, playing in the last group with Belgium, shot 66 and finished tied with the Australians for second. Defending champions Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark shot a 65 to finish tied for fourth with Canada’s Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor, who shot 66. They were six strokes behind. Americans Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley shot a final-round 68 and finished at 9-under, 14 strokes behind the winners and tied for 16th among the 28 teams.

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Presidents Cup combatants Xander Schauffele and Marc Leishman have seen immediate dividends from the new Callaway Mavrik driver as the company launches its new metalwoods and irons line. We first saw four-time PGA TOUR winner Schauffele with the new driver at the Presidents Cup in December and then again at the Sentry Tournament of Champions to kick off 2020. Schauffele garnered three points for the U.S. Team (3-2) at Royal Melbourne, including a very important Singles take down of International team veteran and on course leader Adam Scott. He then produced an impressive week in Maui, almost defending his title before falling in a playoff to Justin Thomas. “Equipment-wise, I’d say I’ve made the right decisions. I had a lead going into Sunday, which is what my team and I always work on, and the new equipment seems to be sliding in the bag perfectly,â€� Schauffele said in Kapalua. Leishman was part of 11 players in the field at the Sony Open in Hawaii to adopt the new driver that has taken the companies work with artificial intelligence or machine learning to a whole new level. The result was his best Strokes Gained: Off the Tee result over a tournament since June 2017. Leishman gained 1.1 strokes a round off the tee at Waialae Country Club (+4.394 for the week) to rank second in the field. He hit 73percent of his fairways, his highest driving accuracy percentage in a year. “This was the easiest driver fit I’ve ever had,â€� four-time TOUR winning Leishman said of suiting up to go to the Mavrik. “I think the new Mavrik driver will suit me a little better than the Epic Flash and I’m definitely feeling very confident with it. Obviously time will tell if I can keep up the improvement in my stats but the early signs are very good, especially on a tough driving course like Waialae.â€� Having debuted their supercomputer efforts last year with the Epic Flash driver, Callaway has beefed up the capabilities of their machine friend and create a specific face architecture for all three new driver heads in their lineup. The Mavrik, Mavrik Max and Mavrik Sub Zero. The new Flash Face SS20 design is thinner and features a more robust face structure that maximizes peak ball speed out of the center but minimizes the variation of ball speed around the face as well. For the first time Callaway is using FS2S titanium in a club face, an exotic material they say is remarkably strong and a full six grams lighter than traditional materials. The Jailbreak and a T2C Triaxial Carbon Crown technology return. Jailbreak features two internal bars behind the face that connect the sole and crown to promote faster ball speed and the T2C triaxial carbon crown is significantly lighter than a titanium crown, allowing engineers to redistribute additional weight to raise MOI and forgiveness. A.I. was used to optimize the internal structure and position of numerous ribs to create a more satisfying sound and feel. The Mavrik has the new Cyclone Aero shape to promote faster head speed. It is shallower from front to back, with a flatter crown, and a sole design that sweeps upward dramatically in the rear to create a markedly higher trailing edge. This helps decrease drag for increased clubhead speed. The head’s internal and external weighting includes a single, fixed 5g weight positioned at the sole’s back-center, to promote mid-level spin and a moderate draw bias. It has a 460cc head available in 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees. The Mavrik Sub Zero is a slightly smaller 450cc head that brings a combination of low spin and high MOI. The head features two interchangeable screws in the front and back, 14g and 2g, to promote changes to launch angle and spin-rate. It has a neutral ball flight bias and the lie angle is slightly flatter compared to the Standard and Max models. It is available in 9 and 10.5 degrees. The Mavrik Max is a more forgiving face with two interchangeable weights, 14g and 2g, to help change launch and spin. Off center hits can still bring distance while a distinct draw-bias weighting is implemented to help decrease a slice. It is available in 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees. Callaway’s Mavrik drivers retail for $449 and will be available Jan. 23. The new fairway woods also come in Mavrik, Mavrik Sub Zero and Mavrik Max. Callaway incorporated their A.I. designed Flash Face to work specifically with the size, shape and CG location of each head, promoting optimum speed and spin. Using C300 maraging steel the company has achieved high ball speeds that extend well across the face. A.I. also contributed to an enhanced Face Cup, which is engineered to provide speed across the face and Jailbreak Technology promotes more distance at every impact location by utilizing two internal bars that connect the crown and the sole. The standard Mavrik has a large and expansive hitting area for a high launch and a flat trajectory. The Sub Zero model has a tighter leading edge engineered to create more workability. The Max head has a lowered leading edge for better performance on shots that are hit lower on the face. All models feature interchangeable weighting to fine tune shot shape. The weighting system provides golfers with options to optimize launch angles, spin rates, and bias settings. And every club features high performance shaft options from UST, Project X and Aldila, along with premium Golf Pride grips. Callaway’s Mavrik Fairway Woods retail for $299 and will be available Jan. 23. Lastly the new Mavrik hybrids and irons have also been developed with the help of machine learning for the first time. Callaway say they’ve set a new standard for distance and performance with supercomputer help in these areas also. The hybrids come with Face Cup and Jailbreak technology and as with the fairway woods use A.I. to develop a different face design for every loft, promoting an optimal combination of speed, launch angle, and spin rate in each one. The result is easy launch, high flight, long carry and soft landing. The irons also feature a new Flash Face Cup and A.I. inspired separate face architecture for every loft. The differing faces bring a boost in ball speed and increased spin robustness off of every club in the set. Ball speed is further enhanced by the 360 Face Cup that flexes and releases at impact on center and off-center hits. A Tungsten Energy Core (precisely positioned custom tungsten weights in each iron to optimize launch and trajectory) allows Callaway to strengthen the lofts while still maintaining player preferred trajectories, spin rates, and land angles. Over one million urethane microspheres are strategically placed into each clubhead to absorb unwanted vibration while maximizing COR. The long iron faces are designed for launch and speed, while the mid-iron faces are engineered for speed and spin consistency. The short iron faces are optimized for spin and precision to promote pinpoint shot-making. Callaway’s Mavrik Hybrids retail for $249 while the 7-piece Standard and Max irons retail at $799 for steel and $899 for graphite and the 7-piece Pro irons are $899 in steel. All will be available Feb. 6.

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