Rose holds 1-stroke lead at Indonesian Masters

Three overlooked takeaways from the Players Championship

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After three months of a COVID-19 hiatus, the PGA TOUR returned last week for the hotly contested Charles Schwab Challenge. A stellar leaderboard kept us riveted to live golf all weekend before a wild finish saw Daniel Berger prevail in a playoff over Collin Morikawa. Welcome BACK to the Monday Finish where if somehow you weren’t glued to the screen all week like we were … well here are some things you may have missed. THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 1. Perspective. Daniel Berger grew up as the son of a top level tennis player turned Davis Cup and Olympic tennis coach, but that doesn’t automatically spell success. But being around professionals from a young age gave Berger a great appreciation of how to make it to the top. For Berger, making the PGA TOUR and winning was expected. Sure it was cool, but at the end of the day… that’s what he was there to do. Berger made the decision to be a professional athlete before he knew exactly what sport that would be in! He even admitted he used to not really love golf, it just turned out to be the sport he was best at. And yep, he’s pretty good. He won back-to-back FedEx St. Jude Classics (2016, 2017) before it was turned into a World Golf Championships event and was on his way. Then he hurt his wrist and the injury curtailed everything. A young man who knew nothing but practice, practice, practice and play could not do this anymore. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say, and for Berger it was true. As the months dragged on he started to worry he might never be fully fit and be able to compete to his usual standards. But finally as 2020 rolled around things were looking up. His perspective changed when he returned to competition and was trending very nicely with a T9-T5-T4 run going before the COVID-19 enforced break. What’s another three months right? He vowed to make sure he made each week count and not take anything for granted anymore. So as the stacked leaderboard was getting dissected pre final round and his name wasn’t the main focus. “I just kept telling myself, why not me today?â€� Berger said. Why not indeed. Read more on his victory here. 2. Approach – Precision on approach has long been a key factor at Colonial Country Club and it continued with Berger outperforming the field by +1.362 strokes per round this week. He ranked fifth in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green on his way to hitting 77.8% of Greens in Regulation (T4). That was over 10% more than the field average (67.45%) and he had the fifth closest proximity to the hole average at 26-feet, 1 inch, a good 5-feet, 10 inches closer than the field average (31-feet, 11 inches). 3. Putting – Berger made a field leading 16 putts from over 10-feet for the week, a career best for him in a single tournament. He was deadly from 10-15 feet where he made 10 from 14 for a PGA TOUR season high 71.4% (minimum 10 attempts). Berger ranks third in make percentage among players who’ve faced at least 50 putts from that distance over the entire season and he is the only player to make 10 or more putts from 10-15 feet in one week…, a feat he’s now done twice having also done so at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. For more numbers to know, click here. OBSERVATIONS New normal. It was nearly three months between a ball being hit in a full-field PGA TOUR event thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and took a lot of work from countless people to enable the TOUR’s Return to Golf, albeit under new guidelines. The endeavor went extremely well. Social distancing was in the forefront of the mind and while things are certainly different without on-site fans, there was still plenty of excitement. We can be pretty confident the next four events, before we start seeing some fans in the crowds and the guidelines shift slightly again, can also be a success. Read more about how it all went down here and here. Putting is hard, crowd or not. Pressure doesn’t need thousands of eyeballs piercing at a player to rear its head. Coming down the stretch at Colonial countless players had chances to make their mark on the title only to see their hopes dashed on the greens. Jordan Spieth had a four-putt earlier in the week and offered the simple explanation of having picked up all his close range putts during the three month break from competition. Maybe Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa had done the same. Schauffele had a horrible horseshoe lip out on the penultimate hole from close range and Morikawa lipped out in sudden death from close also to hand the trophy to Berger. Morikawa had missed from 6-feet to win on the 72nd hole. Others missed from makeable range to join the playoff. Get the full run down here. Old school course creates cool contest. Colonial is an old-school course where bombing away can help, but not necessarily be the difference. You can play short and precise and do well and you can wail away and still survive if you are a little off. This helped give us a leaderboard of all types. Bryson DeChambeau, Gary Woodland and Rory McIlroy used power, Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth and co used precision. Early in the week 58-year-old Tom Lehman started hot… anyone can play decent on this track. We might get something similar this coming week in Hilton Head. HV3 always an MVP. Harold Varner III doesn’t ask to be a role model. He just is one. As one of the few African Americans on the PGA TOUR, Varner III became the point person for talk on racial and social injustice issues weighing heavy on the nation at this time. Varner III was strong in his views but as always even stronger in his actions. For those of us lucky to spend considerable time with him the facts are always clear – he’s a champion human who always tries to make others around him smile and feel important. The fact he led at the halfway point this week and went close to a breakthrough win was cool to see. And he will win sooner rather than later. Read more about the TOUR’S response to social change here. QUOTEBOARD “It’s tough out here. It’s cutthroat, and the best players in the world every week are showing up. I worked my butt off the last year to be in this position, and I’m just glad it all paid off.â€� – Daniel Berger “Definitely progress,â€� – Jordan Spieth who notched his third top-10 this season as he looks for first win since 2017. WYNDHAM REWARDS The Wyndham Rewards Top 10 is a season-long competition that offers a $10 million bonus for the 10 golfers who end the regular season at the Wyndham Championship inside the top 10 in FedExCup points. The player atop the standings will earn $2 million, with varying payoffs for the others through $500,000 for the 10th place finisher. Sungjae Im continues to hold the top spot this week, in fact second place Justin Thomas and third Rory McIlroy also hold their spots. Patrick Reed’s T7 at Colonial helped him vault from sixth to fourth sending Brendon Todd and Webb Simpson down a slot each. Xander Schauffele finds himself inside the top 10, jumping from 12th, with his T3 finish while tournament winner Daniel Berger is now just outside the mark in 11th, up from 45th. Other significant movers this week in the FedExCup Justin Rose from 205th to 123rd, Jason Kokrak from 116th to 69th, Collin Morikawa from 41st to 18th and Jordan Spieth from 110th to 88th. Here’s how the standings look heading into this week’s RBC Heritage. SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

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Titleist has officially launched its T-series (T100, T200 and T300), 620 MB and 620 CB irons to the public, after recently launching its new U500 and U510 irons), as well as its TS hybrids. The T100, 620 MB and 620 CB irons first launched on the PGA TOUR at the 2019 U.S. Open, while the T200 and T300 irons first appeared at the 2019 Travelers Championship. PGA TOUR players have been using Titleist’s new irons since they launched, but until now, Titleist has remained quiet about retail dates, design details and pricing. With today’s announcement from Titleist, all of those details are now public. According to Titleist, the 620-series nomenclature is a nod to former 600-series forged blades released in the early-to-mid 2000’s. The T-series, on the other hand, is a separation from the past. After 11 years, Titleist is replacing the AP-series with the T-series. “The T-Series represents a revolutionary step forward in Titleist iron design and technology,� said Josh Talge, Titleist’s Vice President of Golf Club Marketing, in a press release. “Our Club R&D team is nearly six times the size it was when the first AP iron was introduced 11 years ago. It’s because of that ongoing investment that we’ve been able to make such significant breakthroughs in materials and construction, and learn how to package those technologies into constructions that offer the look, sound and feel that players expect from a Titleist iron.� Below, we take a look at what’s different with all of the new iron designs. The T100, T200, T300, 620 MB and 620 CB irons will all be available for fittings on August 8, and they will hit golf shops on August 30; read on for further information about each of the irons. T100 The T100 irons were developed based on direct feedback from TOUR players, including Jordan Spieth. They have a fully forged, dual-cavity construction, and they have an average of 66 grams of Tungsten in each head that’s placed in the heel and toe sections of the iron heads for added stability. Compared to the previous AP2 irons, the T100 faces are constructed thinner for higher ball speed across the face. Since these irons are made with TOUR players in mind, they have thin toplines, minimal offset, and camber on the sole to improve turf interaction. Throughout the sets (3-PW, W50), there are progressive blade lengths, sole widths and hosel lengths to ensure CG (center of gravity) is in the right spot for each head. “With T100 we wanted to build an iron that delivers incredible performance and perfectly suits the player’s eye,� said Marni Ines, Director of Titleist Irons Development, Golf Club R&D, in a press release. “This is a precision product. It’s not about hitting it the furthest, it’s about hitting it that exact distance each and every time, being able to work the ball when necessary and having that pure look and feel that the best players in the world demand.� The T100 irons come stock with True Temper AMT Tour White steel shafts, or Mitsubishi Tensei White AM2 graphite shafts. They will sell for $175 per club in steel ($1,399 for a set of 8 clubs), or $187.50 per club in graphite ($1,499 for a set of 8). T200 and T300 Both the T200 and T300 irons are made with what the company is calling “Max Impact� technology, which is a design that was developed in partnership with Titleist Golf Ball R&D. To increase speed across the faces without sacrificing sound or feel, Titleist is putting polymer cores behind the faces, allowing them to be constructed thinner; this allows for more speed, consistent distances, and higher launch angles, according to Ines. “Max Impact allows us to make thinner, faster faces that push the limits of iron ball speed,� Ines said. “With this system in place, we’re able to take our materials and make them thinner and faster to maximize speed across the face, and help give us the launch angle we need to deliver more consistent distances on every swing.� The T200 irons are “player’s distance irons,� according to Titleist, while the T300 irons are a “player’s improvement iron.� Made for players who want distance without sacrificing looks, feel, trajectory or stopping power, the T200 irons have thin toplines and camber on the soles for better turf interaction. The also have SUP-10 L-Face inserts, and they use an average of 90 grams of Tungsten in each head to lower CG for higher launch. The T300 irons, which have a larger profile than the T200 irons, are made for maximum distance and forgiveness. They have an average of 52 grams of Tungsten in each head to lower CG. Both the T200 (4-PW, W48) and T300 (4-PW, W48, W53) iron sets have progressive blade lengths, sole widths and hosel lengths. The T200 irons will sell for $175 per club in steel ($1,399 for a set of 8 clubs), or $187.50 per club in graphite ($1,499 for a set of 8). Stock shaft offerings will be True Temper AMT Black steel shafts or Mitsubishi Tensei Blue AM2 graphite shafts. The T300 irons will sell for $125 per club ($999 for a set of 8) in steel or $137.50 per club in graphite ($1,099 per set of 8). Stock shafts will be True Temper AMT Red steel shafts and Mitsubishi Tensei Red AM2 graphite shafts. 620 MB and 620 CB Due to the increased number of players switching into mixed irons sets, Titleist has matched the head profiles of the 620 MB and 620 CB irons, and each of the sets have progressive designs; the blade lengths are shorter in the short irons and longer in the long irons. The 3- and 4-irons of the CB sets, however, use Tungsten to improve ball speed and forgiveness.   “Our ability to use co-forged high-density tungsten in such a compact blade size like 620 CB is extremely powerful, especially at the long end of the set where players need the most help with launch and forgiveness,� said Marni Ines, Director, Titleist Irons Development. “We’ve seen many MB players gravitate toward mixed sets particularly because that combination of performance and workability in the CB 3- and 4- irons is so compelling. At the same time, with mixed sets becoming so common, we matched the profiles and blade lengths of 620 CB and MB so that players can start blending at any point in the set without making any sacrifices.� The MB heads, on the other hand, are all one-piece forgings made from 1025 carbon steel. They have a brushed chrome finish, and the labeling on the irons was kept intentionally simple based on TOUR feedback. “One request we started to hear over and over from both pros and amateurs was to make MB as clean as possible,� Talge said. “Really the only way to do that was to remove any ‘MB’ graphic, leaving only the Titleist script on the back of the club head. MB players know what an MB is, so that’s what we did.� The 620 CB irons (3-PW) will come stock with Project X LZ steel shafts, while the 620 MB irons (3-PW) will come stock with Project X steel shafts; both offerings will come stock with Mitsubishi Tensei White AM2 graphite shafts. They will sell for $175 per club ($1,399 for a set of 8) in steel and $187.50 per club in graphite ($1,499). Related: See more photos of each iron here.

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