Sanderson Farms Championship: Saturday tee times, TV/streaming info

If you think putter shafts don’t matter, don’t bother telling that to Nick Hardy. At the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba earlier this month, PGA TOUR player Nick Hardy reeled off eight birdies in a row during the final round en route to a T21 finish. The birdie run came just a week after Hardy started using a new custom Swag putter at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. For Hardy, the story of his new putter starts when he was in college at the University of Illinois. About eight years ago, Hardy said he started using a custom Bettinardi BB1 style putter, equipped with a stepless steel shaft and an orange grip. A couple years ago, however, he had to replace the original steel putter shaft, which sent him down a long road of searching. Although seemingly nothing had changed with his putter – he was still using the same exact putter head and grip – something was off with the shaft. It just wasn’t performing or feeling the same anymore. “I never believed shafts made much of a difference in putting, but I lost that feel,” Hardy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at The RSM Classic. Eventually, after a long period of exploration, Hardy tasked Nate Brown, the Director of Tour Operations for Swag Golf, to help him figure out what was wrong. Prior to working for Swag Golf, Brown was a longtime Tour rep for Bettinardi, and he worked closely with Hardy for nearly a decade on all of his putter needs. Brown was able to identify that Hardy’s original Bettinardi putter was equipped with a steel shaft that is no longer in production. Hardy couldn’t find the shaft he needed because it doesn’t exist on the current market. Brown wasn’t letting up easily, though. Motivated to find a stock of those specific shafts, Brown got in touch with one of his contacts to see if they had any of Hardy’s old stepless shafts. As it turns out, Brown’s guy had a box of them in his garage. “I would call it the box of destiny,” Brown told GolfWRX. “An old dealer had a box of the shafts in his garage room. He had no use for it, so he gave it to us.” The box of destiny is now locked away in a safe spot at Swag Golf headquarters in Northbrook, Illinois. Hardy has his old shaft back. “For a couple years, I was on a shaft witch hunt,” Hardy said. “It was like Cinderalla finding her shoe.” The reason the shaft feels and performs so differently is because it has a significantly higher frequency (frequency is calculated by the amount of times per minute that a shaft oscillates on a flex meter). Hardy’s new shaft measures nearly double the stiffness of standard steel putter shafts. In addition to the shaft, Brown also worked with Hardy to design him a new putter head that was built to his exact look, feel and performance needs. Brown initially sent Hardy a stock Swag Golf “The Handsome One” putters to try out, and afterwards they got to work on the prototyping process. Hardy says that he prefers a “squared off” style head, but he doesn’t like the putter to have “too much toe swing.” To fit Hardy’s eye, Brown worked with the Swag R&D team to dial in the look. With each new 3D-printed prototype that Swag designed, Brown would send photos to Hardy via text for his feedback. After several rounds of 3D prototypes and text messages, Brown and Hardy found the perfect look. “We changed the length of the hosel to give it less face rotation and moved the middle section of the bumpers in further. It has more of a Newport 2 look in bumpers, rather than a Newport look with rounded bumpers. And it’s different than the 009 bumpers, where they drop right down. …It’s bead-blasted, torched, and oil-quenched, and it’s made of 303 stainless steel. It’s also 360 grams, which is a heavier head than he used before.” Since switching to the putter for the first time in Bermuda, Hardy is a collective 25 under par for eight rounds, finishing in the top 25 in both Bermuda and Mayakoba. “The putter is money,” Hardy said. “The way it swings and the feel of it. It feels like home, like I’m using something that has a comfortable feel. I birdied eight straight at Mayakoba, so it’s nice that the results show.” But wait, what exactly is the shaft model that Brown found? Inquiring minds must know. “I prefer to keep it top secret,” Brown answered, with a wry smile. “They’re in a box that says ‘Nick Hardy. Don’t touch it.’” Fair enough.

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• $10 million charitable donation made to COVID-19 relief; Additional fundraising to include on-course challenges and partnership with ALL IN Challenge • Showdown of legendary Woods/Manning & Mickelson/Brady pairings; Simulcast across TNT, TBS, truTV & HLN • Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity to be hosted at prestigious Medalist Golf Club in Florida Turner Sports will present Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity, a blockbuster live golf competition headlined by golf icons Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson returning for a rematch, this time joined by Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, two of the NFL’s greatest players of all time. The premier sports event – simulcast exclusively on TNT, TBS, truTV and HLN – will be held Sunday, May 24, at 2 p.m. ET, with pre-match coverage available in the Bleacher Report app. Associated with the live telecast, WarnerMedia and the golfers will collectively make a charitable donation of $10 million to benefit COVID-19 relief. As part of the fundraising efforts, the competition will also include a partnership with the ALL IN Challenge, along with additional on-course competitive challenges for charity. Fundraising associated with Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity will support national and local beneficiaries, aiming to help make an impact on many of the communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Donations will be made to organizations working across multiple areas of need including DirectRelief.org, which equips health workers on the front lines with life-changing medical supplies; the American Red Cross, which is investing in blood treatment options and providing regional support to communities; Save Small Business, a grant-making initiative to help small business employers who are struggling due to the pandemic; and the ALL IN Challenge, an initiative that aims to eliminate food insecurity by providing food to those in need. In partnership with the ALL IN Challenge, all four participants will have donated custom experiences that will raise millions towards the cause, with viewers having the ability to enter into a live raffle for ones featuring Woods and Mickelson during the telecast as well. “The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unimaginable tragedy and heartbreak,â€� said Jeff Zucker, Chairman, WarnerMedia News and Sports. “We’re hopeful this event and platform will help raise meaningful funding for COVID-19 relief, while also providing a source of brief distraction and entertainment for all sports fans.â€� Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity, a sanctioned PGA TOUR event, will be held at the prestigious Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida. Opened in 1995, the renowned course acts as the home course to many PGA TOUR players including Tiger Woods. In preparation for the event, tournament organizers are working with state and local government and public health officials on competition and production logistics to ensure the event follows safety and health protocols. The competition will feature Woods and Manning vs. Mickelson and Brady, facing off in Team Match Play with a Four-Ball (Best Ball) format on the front nine and a Modified Alternate Shot format on the back nine, where each participant will tee off and then the team will play alternate shot from the selected drive. The unique combination of formats is aimed to provide an entertaining mix of strategy, team collaboration and consequence to nearly every shot. As part of the competitive play, there will also be a set of on-course challenges to raise additional charitable funds. Live coverage airing on TNT, TBS, truTV and HLN will feature unprecedented access with all players having open mics throughout the entire competition, including the capability to communicate directly with other golfers and the broadcast commentators. More information on the live production, including the commentator team, will be announced leading up to the event. In addition to live televised coverage, social and digital content prior to the event will be available through Bleacher Report and House of Highlights. The media agreement with WarnerMedia and Turner Sports was completed in partnership between Excel Sports Management and Lagardère Sports. Excel, which represents both Woods and Manning, and Lagardère Sports, which represents Mickelson, are also the tournament organizers. Turner Sports is proud to be working with a number of marketing partners to host Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity, in service of maximizing COVID-19 relief. Capital One is returning as title sponsor and will collaborate closely with Turner Sports on a number of social, digital and broadcast integrations leading up to and during the live event. “At Capital One, we’re committed to supporting our customers, communities and partners through this difficult time, and that is why we are proud to be the returning title sponsor of Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity. This wonderful event will bring four of the world’s best athletes together for a tremendous cause,” said Marc Mentry, Chief Brand Officer, Capital One. “Capital One knows our customers are passionate about sports, which is why we are excited to support this event and to help bring awareness to these amazing charities.” Presenting partners include Audi of America, Michelob ULTRA and Progressive Insurance. Content integration partners include Cisco and DraftKings, with AT&T, HBO Max, Callaway, Wheels Up and E-Z-GO serving as associate sponsors. Woods and Mickelson previously faced off in Capital One’s The Match in November 2018 at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas. Tied following 18 holes, Mickelson won on the fourth playoff hole.

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