RSM, Davis Love III kick off Birdies Fore Love for first 11 events of 2019-20 PGA TOUR season

Bob Parsons is the founder and owner of Parsons Extreme Golf (PXG); he’s also a billionaire entrepreneur, the founder of GoDaddy.com, a Marine and … now he’s a golf club designer, too? Well, maybe not exactly, but he did spark the idea for PXG’s new Gen2 driver technology, according to himself and the company. Due to his love of muscle cars – Dodge muscle cars, to be exact, of which he has a Demon, a Charger, a Hell Cat, and a Durango 392 SRT, among others – Parsons suggested his engineers make a driver crown to look like the hood of American muscle cars. Parsons’ idea to mimic the scoop of a muscle car on its new 0811 Gen2 X and XF drivers, which have titanium faces and bodies, led to a carbon fiber crown design that is said to raise ball speeds by keeping energy focused where it needs to be at impact. It’s called “hot rodâ€� technology, according to the company. “We went down a rabbit hole, and my god there was a rabbit there,â€� Parsons told me. So Parsons, while simply making a recommendation for an aesthetic design based on his love of American muscle vehicles, actually came up with a new engineering technology. Here’s how the story goes, straight from Parsons himself. “So I come in one day and I say guys, why don’t we try on our driver, rather than making the crown plain, making it look like a scoop on a muscle car. And they didn’t want to do it at first, but they did. And then they thought about it and they said you know what it might be fun. So we did it. And what happened was, first it acted like an alignment aid, which is what I thought it would do. And I thought it would look kind of cool, which it did. To our surprise, there were performance benefits. One of them is stiffening that crown, and having that scoop there kind of focuses the energy, or keeps the energy there from dissipating.â€� To reference My Cousin Vinny, does Parsons’ case hold water? For that answer, we turn to PXG’s engineers Mike Nicolette and Brad Schweigert for an explanation on exactly how the new technology works. “The most noticeable thing is the crown. One of the things we’ve learned, working a lot more with polymers these days is just how they interact, the things they do well, the things there’s drawbacks on … the crown geometry is made up of carbon fiber and it’s binded together with the polymer resin. That resin material, when it deflects, it bends and it dissipates energy. We figured out a way to make the crown stiffer so that you don’t lose or dissipate any energy in the crown, which yields higher ball speeds and ultimately more distance. So that’s a big part of the story.â€� Basically, with the muscle-car-inspired-scoop, the carbon-fiber crown has multi-level, variable thickness that works to reduce energy dissipation, thus increasing ball speeds across the face. Also, the multi-level design enhances aerodynamics by reducing drag, according to PXG. The crown also has a new matte paint with anti-glare to reduce distractions, according to the company. Now, for the tough question: Are these drivers special?  More specifically, will these drivers now hold the same appeal and performance as PXG’s irons? Since July 2015, when PXG launched its Gen1 0311 irons, the company has been known mostly in the equipment world for its irons, which use a special TPE (thermoplastic urethane) material behind the face to increase both feel and ball speed. But when it comes to its 0811 drivers — and the various low-spin X and higher-forgiveness XF driver launches — PXG’s drivers seem to have lacked the same level of regard as its irons from the equipment world. Schweigert takes on the difficult question: “We knew it. The irons were special. They offered the consumer everything. They had a really unique feel, they had a unique technology story. They looked amazing, they performed really, really well. So, we knew those were going to be the all stars, so to speak. The driver category in and of itself is tough, because there’s a lot of product that performs pretty well. So it’s hard to differentiate yourself. I think the difference now with this new generation of woods is that I feel like we’re on the cusp of everything that we have with the irons. Because you have this really cool unique look that differentiates it from everything else that’s in the marketplace. It feels really really good, and that differentiates it. It has a different feel from everything else in the marketplace. Performance is outstanding. There’s a fitting story there, in being able to customize it for an individual. We’re cautiously optimistic that it’s going to take a seat alongside our irons as being considered industry-leading product. That’s the expectation for us. So far, all of the feedback we’re getting reinforces that expectation. Now it’s just wait and see, to see if that comes to fruition.â€� Like its previous driver release, PXG’s Gen2 0811X drivers, will be a lower-spinning version, with forward CG positions available for even lower spin, and the Gen2 0811XF driver will be the more forgiving option. Those familiar PXG-signature weights have also been given a tweak to increase the adjustability of center of gravity (CG) – the X driver has 9 weight ports and the XF driver has 5 ports, with the silver Tungsten weights measuring 4.1 grams and the black titanium weights measuring 0.8 grams. “The way we’ve constructed those weights, we made it more intuitive for the mass movement … it’s both more intuitive and more efficient. So when you move one weight you see a bigger effect.â€� This change will help golfers better find the right setting to optimize their ball flight, and it will help fitters to dial in the consumer. Overall, PXG reports a CG below the neutral axis in its X driver, and it says the XF driver is at the MOI (moment of inertia) limit mandated by the USGA. The drivers also have PXG’s honeycomb TPE insert in the inner portions of their soles to dampen vibrations and enhance feel and acoustics. PXG reports its X driver is the lowest spinning driver on the market and has a 2 mph faster ball speed than the closest driver competitor, while the PXG XF is reported by the company as the highest MOI driver head on the market will 1 mph faster ball speed than its closest competitor on the market. Compared to its own Gen1 drivers, PXG says the Gen2 X driver has 1-2 mph faster ball speed, 300-400rpm lower spin rate, is 7-10 yards longer and has a 26 percent tighter dispersion area. The Gen2 XF driver, compared to the Gen 1 XF, has 1 mph faster ball speed, “similarâ€� spin rate, “slightlyâ€� higher launch angle, is 3-6 yards longer, and has a 34 percent tighter dispersion area, according to the company. There’s also been a drastic price decrease. PXG’s previous retail drivers sold for $850, while the new Gen 0811X drivers (9, 10.5 and 12 degrees) and the Gen2 081XF drivers (9, 10.5, 12 and 14 degrees) will sell for $575 starting on January 15. Each of the drivers have a 60-degree lie angle, measure 45 inches in length and come stock with a swing weight of D3. Parsons explains the price drop: “We priced it to take advantage of our scale now. And it’s still the most expensive driver there is, but it’s now an affordable luxury, moreso than it was. When we did our Gen 1 stuff, we’re a small company. Just getting going. You know, we’re not selling all that much so reach out and we start buying. And you don’t buy really in quantity, or you don’t know what you’re quantity is going to be. And so, you know it’s like you, when you go buy stuff and you buy just a few, you pay more than when you buy a lot. Same here. We’re always going to be a high performance brand. So we will never make a low performance product at a low price. It’s just not something we’ll do. Our stuff is always high performance period. And it will always outperform anything that we run up against. At least in our eyes it will. So from that standpoint, I don’t ever look to change that.â€� PXG fairway woods and hybrids Like the Gen2 0811 drivers, the Gen2 0341 fairway woods and Gen2 0317 hybrids also have the hot rod technology on their carbon fiber crowns to improve ball speeds. They each have anti-glare crowns, honeycomb TPE sole inserts, CG-adjustability in their soles via weight ports, and weight forward designs for lower spin. Same as the drivers, the fairway woods and hybrids have 4.1 silver tungsten weights and black 0.8-gram titanium weights for fine-tuning the soles. Compared to the Gen1 0341 fairway woods, PXG reports the Gen2 woods have 1-2 mph faster ball speeds, 300-400rpm lower spin, “similarâ€� launch angles, are 7-10 yards longer with a 3 percent tighter dispersion area. Compared to the Gen1 hybrids, PXG reports the new Gen 2 hybrids have 2-3 mph faster ball speeds, have “similarâ€� spin rates, “similarâ€� launch angles, are 4-7 yards longer with a 6 percent tighter dispersion area. The Gen2 0341 fairway woods (13, 15, 18 and 21 degrees) will sell for $425, and the Gen2 0317 hybrids (17, 19, 22, 25 and 28 degrees) will sell for $375.

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Given the year Sam Burns had, it’s no surprise that when it came time for him to purchase a home, he did so in a small town in hopes of slowing things down. “Actually, small is an understatement,� says Burns with a laugh. Indeed: Choudrant, Louisiana doesn’t even qualify as a ‘town,’ it’s actually a village. With a population of less than 1,000, one stoplight (and a Subway), Burns has bucked the trend of his fellow 20-something professionals who’ve set up in South Florida or Scottsdale, Arizona. He instead decided to buy a home in The Orchards at Squire Creek, a new housing development adjacent to Squire Creek Country Club, a private Tom Fazio design about an hour from Shreveport, Louisiana – where Burns grew up. It’s easier for him to reflect on the year-that-was there, and how much he’s looking forward to the 2018-19 PGA TOUR season. “I’ve always loved the small-town feeling,� says Burns. “Especially with what I do, it’s good for me to go there and get away.� Listening to Burns speak, you realize quickly he’s not a guy who’ll waste time waxing philosophical about life and golf. He’s polite, quick with a chuckle, and if you bring up Louisiana State University football, he’ll perk up. He counts both Nicholas Air (branded as “innovative private air travel�) and Todd Shores’ McLarty Ford, a local dealership in Texarkana, Texas – about an hour from Shreveport – as his sponsors. It’s quite the juxtaposition, but for Burns, it fits. Private planes and F-150’s from a dealership up the road are both just fine by Burns. With the year he had, it’s little wonder Burns was happy for an escape to his new small-town home before the last two events of the Web.com Tour Finals. Burns played 16 tournaments on the Web.com Tour, winning the Savannah Golf Championship and finishing second on the Regular Season money list. He finished in the top 25 of half his starts, including five top-10s. It was an impressive run for a guy who played about 10 tournaments fewer than most of his colleagues on Tour. But Burns only played so few tournaments on the Web.com Tour because he was busy teeing it up 11 times on the PGA TOUR. He played his second U.S. Open in June, and got a spot in The Honda Classic, where he finished tied for eighth after his Sunday 68 nipped playing partner Tiger Woods by two shots (and caused his phone to be bombarded with upward of 500 text messages). “He played beautifully,� said Woods at the time. Burns says playing with Woods and winning on the Web.com Tour were his two favorite moments in a year full of big ones. In January, he was on the driving range at Torrey Pines when he realized the only spot left was the one next to Woods, a larger-than-life inspiration Burns had never interacted with. “I walked up to the range and I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ I was kind of freaking out. As anyone would do, I guess,� Burns says, laughing. Little did he know that about a month later not only would he be paired with Woods, he would beat him. Burns’ home is just three doors down from his longtime swing coach, Brad Pullin, who the now 22-year-old has been working with since he was a young teenager. “He was really fired up going into that round,� says Pullin of Burns’ round with Woods. “It was the opportunity to play with one of the greatest. And he performed great.� Pullin knew immediately that Burns was a special student. They spent a lot of time working on Burns’ habits while he was younger, and tried to maintain things that were already solid. Pullin learned a lot about what Burns’ tendencies were when he was ‘off’ and how to adjust his movement patterns. When Burns went away to LSU, the two kept in touch via video messaging and kept Burns’ fundamentals tight. “Basically I tried to do everything I could do not to mess him up,� jokes Pullin. There was nothing, Pullin explains, that surprised him this year about Burns. With the string of solid finishes across two tours, the world finally got to see what Pullin has known for nearly a decade. “It’s no secret to us how special he is and what a great player he is, it’s just a matter of going out there and getting it done. He’s been able to do that. He’s handled the travel brilliantly and I’m looking for him to continue that,� he says. During the season, Burns didn’t realize how much golf he was actually playing. But now he’s crunched the numbers (he played upward of 33 events) and he’s accepted how much of a grind 2018 truly was. He says he didn’t really “know any different� in terms of a schedule. He just kept playing. “It was all new to me. Looking back on it … man, that was really difficult. There was such a different mindset too,� he admits. “Going from different tours and figuring out what was the best way to do things. That was tough.� Burns made eight cuts out of the 11 events he played on the PGA TOUR this year and earned just shy of $500,000. He didn’t earn enough Non-Member FedExCup points to earn membership for the balance of the year, but with his victory early in the Web.com Tour season (which was preceded by a tie for second two weeks prior) he had his spot in The 25 locked up early. “We knew it was going to be a challenge to start, but you have to do it because … once you’re so close to getting your card (via sponsor exemptions) you have to keep doing it if those opportunities keep presenting themselves, and they did,� says Pullin. “Once you establish that schedule a little bit better and you’re playing the same places year in and year out that makes a big difference.� The first half of the year Burns says his habits were pretty much the same. He played 15 events or so without feeling any fatigue, but in the second half of the year he realized how important it is to incorporate a rest day into his schedule. He’s been, for the most part this year, healthy. He admits he’s had some minor stuff impact his body – he withdrew from the DAP Championship – but overall he’s just excited to get out on TOUR. Burns confirms 2018 was a year of learning. Right off the bat, he says, guys who have been traveling on TOUR for as little as three years all know where to stay and where to eat. “I didn’t have that luxury, and I’m still trying to learn those things,� he says. But he did have another helpful experience in 2018 aside from teeing it up with Woods –his second U.S. Open came after winning medalist honors at his qualifying site in Memphis, Tennessee. He says there were certain things he had to manage differently for a week at a major, but he made the cut and finished tied for 41st. He says that experience is one he’ll continue to lean on moving forward, until major championship appearances become routine. He admits stepping up to a major championship can be overwhelming, especially as he was just getting his feet wet in professional golf. But Burns’ remedy, which should come as no surprise, was to just “take it slow.� So while Burns is enjoying his life that’s slowed down, there is one thing he’s done quickly: find success in professional golf. And he’s just getting started.

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Rory McIlroy, the newly minted PLAYERS champion and the 2015 winner of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Harding Park, headlines a stacked field as 64 of the best players in golf take on the fickle match play format and 7,108-yard, par-71 Austin Country Club in Texas. Bubba Watson is defending, while 2017 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play winner Dustin Johnson goes for his second straight WGC title (Mexico) in as many months, and his second Mexico City-Austin WGC double. Tiger Woods, the only three-time winner of this event, tees it up for the first time since it went to group play in lieu of a single-elimination format. Justin Rose plays here for the first time since 2016. Here’s a look at some of the Featured Groups (FedExCup ranking in parenthesis). HOW TO FOLLOW (All Times ET) TELEVISION: Wednesday-Friday, 2-8 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday- Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (GC), Saturday 2-6 p.m. (NBC), Sunday 3-7 (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Wednesday-Friday, 10:15 a.m.- 8 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 8:45 a.m.- 2 p.m. (Featured Groups). We will have a fan vote on Twitter to determine the second Featured Match on Friday; due to the nature of the event, choices will be provided later in the week. International subscribers (via GOLFTV): Wednesday-Friday, 14:15 to 00:00 GMT. Saturday, 13:45 to 18:00. RADIO: Wednesday-Friday, 2-8 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM). FEATURED GROUPS WEDNESDAY Bryson DeChambeau (14) vs. Russell Knox (75) – Although he hasn’t played in this event and is an unknown at Austin C.C., DeChambeau has four PGA TOUR wins in the last 12 months. Knox hasn’t gotten out of group play the last two years. Tee time: 10:42 a.m. Ian Poulter (52) vs. Kevin Kisner (71) – Poulter won the whole thing in 2010, while Kisner was a finalist here a year ago before getting steamrolled by Bubba Watson 7 and 6. Two gritty players who are tougher-than-average match play outs. Tee time: 11:15 a.m. We will move from the above matches to the following ones when they tee off: Phil Mickelson (12) vs. Henrik Stenson (170) – Ping Pong balls set up a rematch between the two principle combatants at The Open Championship three years ago. Stenson won this tournament in 2007, but hasn’t played it since 2015. Mickelson is already a winner this season. Tee time: 1:27 p.m. Tiger Woods (103) vs. Aaron Wise (96) – They’ve each won the NCAA championship, one for Stanford (Woods) and one for Oregon (Wise), albeit some two decades apart. A fascinating clash of youth versus experience where the awe factor just might play a part. Tee time: 2 p.m. THURSDAY Bubba Watson (48) vs. Billy Horschel (54) – Defending champ Watson was a sensation a year ago and comes to Austin on the heels of a T4 at the Valspar Championship. Former FedExCup champ Horschel has seen glimpses of his best stuff but hasn’t put it all together this season. Tee time: 11:04 a.m. Jordan Spieth (186) vs. Kevin Na (151) – Spieth is imminently comfortable in Austin, having played collegiately for Texas, but has been strangely out of sorts with his game. Na is a streaky player with experience on his side. Tee time: 11:15 a.m. We will leave the above matches as the following one tees off: Tiger Woods (103) vs. Brandt Snedeker (32) – Two former FedExCup champions and frequent playing partners on TOUR battle it out in Texas. Tee time: 12:32 p.m. ET FRIDAY Featured Matches & Fan Vote Choices TBD SATURDAY Featured Matches & Fan Vote Choices TBD

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