Sebastián Muñoz gets first TOUR win in playoff at Sanderson Farms Championship

TOKYO – Justin Thomas never questioned whether he wanted to play in the Olympics’ golf competition. The Games were a goal “as soon as they announced it was in the Olympics,” he said Wednesday in his pre-tournament press conference from Kasumigaseki Country Club. Thomas has embraced the Olympic experience, or as much as one can in these COVID-19 times. He went to the Olympic Village for a workout and spent time with the U.S. basketball team. He’s proud to be associated with the best athletes in a wide variety of sports. Walking into his hotel room and seeing all the red, white and blue apparel emblazoned brought a smile to his face. “It might be the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. “There’s not very often where you get so excited about just being part of a tournament.” Wearing his new clothes doesn’t just bring a sense of pride, however. It serves another purpose. “If I walk around in my normal clothes, they probably wouldn’t think I’m an athlete playing in the Olympics, just because of my stature,” Thomas said. He joked on Twitter that no one in the Olympic Village was fighting him for the 20-pound dumbbells. No one will confuse him for a shot putter, but he’s one of the favorites to medal in this week’s men’s competition. The same can be said for the rest of his fellow Americans this week. The U.S. is the only country that qualified four players for this week’s field. Three of the Americans are in the top five of the Official World Golf Ranking. Calling them the Dream Team may be a bit of a stretch, especially when they’re competing in what is still an individual, and highly unpredictable, sport, but the Americans are the clear favorites this week. Jon Rahm’s WD after a positive COVID-19 test left the United States with the three highest-ranked players in the field. Collin Morikawa, making his first start since winning his second major, is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3. The fourth-ranked Thomas is trying to add a gold medal to the gold statue he won at THE PLAYERS in March. And, while Xander Schauffele has not won on TOUR since 2019, his incredible consistency has him ranked fifth in the world. Since 2019, Thomas and Schauffele both have 13 top-three finishes in individual stroke-play events on TOUR. That’s three more than anyone else in that span. This week, that would earn them a place on the podium. The U.S. squad could be even stronger but sixth-ranked Bryson DeChambeau also had to withdraw because of COVID-19. His replacement, Patrick Reed, is one of just a handful of players in the field making a second Olympics appearance. He gladly made the 11th-hour trip from Minnesota, where he played the 3M Open (T34), to Tokyo, saying it was a “duty of mine to go out and play for our country … whenever I get the call.” Morikawa and Schauffele both have ties to Japan. Schauffele’s mother grew up in Japan and Xander’s grandparents live in Tokyo. His pro debut came on the Japan Tour. Morikawa is half-Japanese. This week’s venue, Kasumigaseki Country Club’s East Course, reminds the Americans of home, as well. While many courses on this densely-populated island nation are shorter and narrower than American courses, Kasumigaseki is what’s often referred to as a “big ballpark.” The course is more than 7,400 yards long. Combine it with Japan’s emphasis on immaculate conditioning, and players praised this week’s venue. “You’ll see some low scores, for sure, but you could kind of see a big disparity depending upon how the golf course is set up,” Thomas said. There is a lot of the room off the tee, with no water coming into play and ample space between the tree lines. The main trouble is fairway bunkers that Morikawa called “perfectly placed, at least for me to them right in it.” Thomas said the ball sits down a bit in the sand, making it difficult to make clean contact. The Zoysia rough and fairways reminds Thomas of East Lake, the annual site of the TOUR Championship, and other courses in the southeastern United States. That grass gives players clean lies in the fairway while providing difficult rough. The bentgrass greens are large, but divided into smaller sections. Slopes can feed good shots closer to the hole or leave players with difficult two-putts if their approach shot is off-line. That plays to Team USA’s strengths. Morikawa and Thomas are two of the best iron players on TOUR. Morikawa is gaining 1.5 strokes per round with his approach play, on pace to have the best single-season performance in that statistic, which began in 2004, by a player not named Tiger Woods. Thomas led the TOUR in that statistic last year (with Morikawa finishing second). In other words, their irons could be worth gold this week.

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OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — From back-to-back eagles to back-to-back shots in the water, Bryson DeChambeau had a little bit of everything Saturday in the BMW Championship, a wild ride at Caves Valley that ended with him tied for the lead with Patrick Cantlay. RELATED: Full leaderboard | FedExCup update: Rory McIlroy keeps FedExCup and BMW Championship dreams alive Right went it looked as though DeChambeau would use sheer power and a remarkable touch with the putter to run away from the field, his blunders on the back nine made him settle for a 5-under 67 and still looking like the player to beat. Cantlay’s classic style worked just fine, too. He didn’t drop a shot until a tee shot into deep rough on the 18th that led to bogey and a 66. The action at the top was so furious that DeChambeau went from a one-shot deficit to a three-shot lead in two holes on the front nine, and Cantlay went from a four-shot deficit to a one-shot lead in two holes on the back nine. Cantlay ran off three straight birdies early on the back nine that allowed to make up so much ground so quickly, mostly due to DeChambeau hitting into the water on the par-5 12th (bogey) and the par-3 13th (double bogey). They were at 21-under 195, and Sunday had the trappings of a two-man race. Sungjae Im birdied his last two holes for a 66 and was three shots behind. The group four shots back included Rory McIlroy, who had a bogey-free 65 and only made up two shots on the lead. Crisp-hitting Abraham Ancer of Mexico (66), Sam Burns (65) and Sergio Garcia (67) also were in the group four shots behind. The biggest disappointment belonged to Jon Rahm, the world’s No. 1 player, who had three bogeys and no birdies over the last six holes and shot 70. He fell five shots behind. That’s not typically a massive deficit, it just seems like one on a course where birdies are available to everyone at any time. Rahm was doing his best to keep up, three shots behind, when he missed the 13th green to the left for bogey, missed the fairway to the right on the 14th for another bogey and had to settle for par on the par-5 16th. He closed with a bogey from the fairway bunker. On this course, on this day, that meant losing ground quickly. Then again, momentum and position changed without notice. Cantlay was one shot ahead early and all it took was two holes for him to fall three behind without doing anything wrong. This was all about DeChambeau, who charged up the sun-baked gallery with a 25-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fourth hole and then drove onto the front of the green on the 322-yard fifth and made a 55-foot putt that looked good when it was halfway to the hole. At that point, it looked like a runaway on a Caves Valley course suited perfectly to him with soft conditions and wide fairways. Even the errant shots turned out well. He hit one drive so far left down the hill at No. 8 that DeChambeau had to walk some 30 yards back to the fairway because he couldn’t find a sprinkler with a yardage on it. He hit that to 30 feet and made the birdie, stretching his lead to four shots. And then it all changed. The mud on his ball contributed to a wild shot to the right and into the water, turning certain birdie on No. 12 into bogey and a two-shot swing when Cantlay got up-and-down from just off the green for birdie. DeChambeau’s tee shot on the par-3 13th found the water, which led to double bogey and a three-shot swing when Cantlay holed a 35-foot birdie putt. Sunday has more than just the trophy at stake. The top 30 in the FedExCup advance to the final event at the TOUR Championship next week. Garcia was poised to moved into the top 30 with Hudson Swafford and Erik van Rooyen among those lurking. Patrick Reed was home in Houston recovering from bilateral pneumonia. He needed a lot to go right to stay in the top 30 and has a more reasonable chance than at the start of the week. As for the Ryder Cup, Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele dropped out of the top 30 at Caves Valley, and Cantlay could grab the sixth and final automatic spot only if he were to win.

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Throughout this year, GolfWRX.com has been hard at work on the Equipment Report, keeping PGATOUR.com readers informed on the latest equipment releases, player staff deals, “What’s in the Bag?” (WITB) changes, custom Tour designs, and the stories behind them all. Here are the top 10 gear and equipment stories on TOUR in 2022. 1. Tiger Woods makes big equipment changes in 2022 Woods teed it up just three times on TOUR, including the Masters, PGA Championship and The 150th Open. In every appearance he made, however, Woods made headlines in the equipment world. At the Masters, Woods showed up with essentially the same club setup he used when playing in the 2021 PNC Championship, but he shocked the world with a change to his footwear. For decades, Woods has been the face of Nike Golf shoes, but due to his prior injuries and surgical repair, he wore FootJoys at the Masters instead. He explained the surprising switch-up in a press conference: “I have very limited mobility now,” he said. “Just with the rods and plates and screws that are in my leg, I needed something different, something that allowed me to be more stable. That’s what I’ve gone to. Nike’s been fantastic over the years of providing me with equipment … and … we’ve been working on trying to find something to allow me to do this and swing again. We’re still going to continue doing it, and hopefully we’ll have something soon.” At the PGA, Woods arrived with new irons and wedges in the bag. He started Thursday using two new TaylorMade P770 driving irons (2 and 3), each with True Temper’s new Dynamic Gold MID Tour Issue X100 shafts. The MID shaft was launched in 2022 and is designed for slightly higher spin and launch angles compared to the True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts he uses in his TaylorMade P-7TW irons (4-PW). During rounds two and three at Southern Hills, though, Woods played with just one of the P770 driving irons, opting to put his usual TaylorMade M3 5-wood back in the bag. He was also using two new TaylorMade MG3 Raw wedges (56 and 60 degrees), which were newer models compared to the MG2 wedges he used at the Masters. Then, at The 150th Open at St. Andrews, Woods made four changes to his bag setup: 1) He changed into a Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X shaft in his TaylorMade Stealth Plus 9-degree driver. 2) He switched into a True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shaft in his TaylorMade P770 3-iron. 3) He continued using an MG3 Raw 60-degree wedge, but switched back into an MG2 56-degree wedge. 4) He added lead tape to the back cavity of his Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS putter. Check out Woods’ full WITB from The Open Championship at St. Andrews: Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X 3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Titanium (15 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70T X 5-wood: TaylorMade M3 (19 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3-iron), TaylorMade P-7TW (4-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 (56 degrees), TaylorMade MG3 Raw (60 degrees) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS prototype Ball: 2022 Bridgestone Tour B XS Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord Here are changes he made for the PNC Championship, a 36-hole scramble alongside son Charlie; the duo finished T8. 2. J.R. Smith’s show-stopping purple Bettinardi putter After retiring from the NBA, basketball star J.R. Smith enrolled at North Carolina A&T and joined the school’s golf team. In August, Smith played in the BMW Championship Pro-Am, and he dropped jaws with his custom purple Bettinardi Inovai 6.0 putter with star engravings on the face, and a wild hosel construction. “I’ve been fortunate to be in a situation where people want to help me, and help my golf game get better,” Smith said. “So it worked out. One of my boys who took me (to Bettinardi), he had a purple (putter). Then it was like, alright, I gotta outdo him, or we gotta match a little bit. So we both went with the purple.” Speaking with Tom Sopic from Bettinardi’s Hive Team, GolfWRX learned that Smith visited the company’s custom fitting studio in Tinley Park, Illinois to get dialed into his 38-inch putter. “He’s obsessed with the game of golf, and it has become a major passion in his life,” Sopic said. “He hit seven putts in a row on Quintic (a putting analysis system) that had perfect numbers in all categories right after he got his new putter. The iconic Stinger Bees on the sole are a staple within the Bettinardi brand, and a major symbol of The Hive. “His putter is a one-of-one, with a star-engraved 1.5-degree face piece, fitting for the superstar that is J.R. Smith.” Read the full story here 3. Scottie Scheffler signs with TaylorMade, dumps his longtime Nike fairway wood Scheffler had an unbelievably hot start to the year, winning two PGA TOUR events before March (2022 WM Phoenix Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational). At the time, Scheffler was an equipment free agent, so he could play any clubs he wanted. The week of THE PLAYERS Championship, however, Scheffler announced that he signed an equipment deal with TaylorMade. While the timing seemed odd, Scheffler justified the decision by notching two more wins at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and The Masters Tournament. He explained the TaylorMade decision to GolfWRX’s Two Guys Talking Golf podcast following his Masters victory: “I would say first and foremost [the reason] would be the driver,” Scheffler said. “I already used the (TaylorMade P-7TW) irons for a while. I like the irons. But the (TaylorMade Stealth Plus) driver, when we did testing over the winter, I saw some pretty nice gains. It was one of those things, like, I know I’m going to use this driver, I know I’m going to use the irons, so maybe let’s see if we can work something out. Just because having consistency with their brand, obviously I trust what they do. To be part of the family and be part of the team was pretty cool for me, and so we wanted to work something out with them, and we were able to get it done. I’m happy to be part of the team.” Scheffler made a noteworthy fairway wood switch before the Masters, too. Prior to signing with TaylorMade, he’d been using a Nike VR Pro Limited 13-degree fairway wood for years, but he switched into a new TaylorMade Stealth HL 16.5-degree. “One of the things I’ve struggled with was actually hitting 3-woods too far, and also just not seeing all my shots,” Scheffler told GolfWRX. “These guys did something to the (Fujikura Ventus) shaft, honestly I can’t even remember what they did, but it was something with the tipping. They may have tipped it a couple extra inches and moved some weight around the head, and then started with a higher loft and bent it down…and it was a pretty seamless transition. I saw the shots I wanted to see. My mishits were more accurate with the TaylorMade than they were than my Nike.” We spoke to Scheffler in-depth about his equipment, and what it was like to have a green jacket for the first time. Check out that full story here 4. Justin Thomas puts (another) 1-of-1 Scotty Cameron putter in play Thomas won the PGA Championship in May with a custom Scotty Cameron T5 prototype with a “knuckle neck,” but he put an all-new Scotty Cameron T5 prototype in play at the BMW Championship. Aside from the obvious aesthetic customizations – which include his personal “JT” logo – the new putter was built a half-inch shorter than his previous putter to let his arms hang more naturally. “For me, a tendency I have with my putting is to get a little bit this way (left shoulder up) and open,” Thomas said. “I’ve … been playing a lot of golf with Patrick Cantlay. He obviously has very long arms and his putter is very short. (I was noticing) just how naturally his arms go on the club, and I felt like that wasn’t the case for me … and I think that has something to do with my bad tendencies. “If I can be a little bit more comfortable at setup, then that’s obviously one less factor I have to worry about.” Unbeknownst to the public, the new “JT” putter had been in the works since February. Click the link here to read the full story After all the putter switches and custom builds throughout the year, however, Thomas ended up right back into the Scotty Cameron X5 Tour mallet putter that he started the year with. He played in the Hero World Challenge, The Match and the PNC Championship using his trusty X5 Tour putter. As the new year approaches, Thomas’ putter decisions will be interesting to follow. Will he commit to his old flame, will he find comfort in one of the new prototypes he tested in 2022, or he will he bring out some all-new 2023 prototypes? 5. Tiger Slam irons up for auction The clubs purportedly used by Tiger Woods during the Tiger Slam (his wins at the 2000 U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship, 2001 PLAYERS and Masters) went up for auction in March. The clubs were first bought in 2010 by Houston businessman Todd Brock, who publicly acknowledged for the first time that he was the owner of the clubs. He kept them in a frame in his office after purchasing them. Why sell them now? He wants someone else to enjoy them. “I got to enjoy them for 11-12 years,” Brock told PGATOUR.COM. “I live a boring life. I don’t entertain a whole lot, so they weren’t getting the eyes on them that they deserve.” Click here for the full story. 6. Custom iron trend 2022 was undoubtedly the year of new custom “personal” player irons on the PGA TOUR. Adam Scott debuted his mysterious personal-logoed Miura irons at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. Justin Rose unveiled his “JR” Miura irons on Halloween, and he provided further context at the Cadence Bank Houston Open. Later on, Webb Simpson revealed his Titleist 682.WS irons at The RSM Classic. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Collin Morikawa – one of the best iron players on the PGA TOUR throughout his career – switched into TaylorMade P7CM custom irons at the Hero World Challenge. The new prototypes replaced his previous TaylorMade P-730 short irons, which he had in the bag for over four years. “They’re brand new,” Morikawa said in the Bahamas. “I’ve been using them for probably two weeks now. They’re not too far off from the P730s that I’ve been using pretty much since I turned pro. I was fortunate enough to do some iron testing with TaylorMade – which I’ve never done – and go into the whole sole pattern, and bounce, and width of an iron. There’s nothing wrong with 730s, I … love them, that’s why I played them for probably four-and-a-half years now. But there’s just certain shots here and there that come out of nowhere.” It seems the trend of PGA TOUR players switching into ultra-custom irons isn’t slowing down as 2023 approaches. Which player joins the custom wave next? Stay tuned. 7. Scottie Scheffler’s putter saga Scheffler kept the equipment world on its toes in 2022 by signing with TaylorMade and making several impactful gear switches early in the year. His putter switch-ups late in the year kept things entertaining, as well. At the beginning of 2022, Scheffler switched into a Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Tourtype GSS prototype blade putter, and it stayed in the bag for each of his four PGA TOUR victories. A cold stretch with the putter in the middle of the year, however, ultimately culminated in Scheffler debuting a new Scotty Cameron T-5.5 Proto mallet putter at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina” “I typically don’t like changing equipment at all, but I’ve been using (the new putter) now for probably two, three weeks,” Scheffler said at THE CJ CUP. “Late in the year I putted what felt like to me pretty poorly, I was really streaky. I was trying a few different things and that’s not really a way to improve when … felt like I was kind of blindly throwing darts just trying to find something. Sometimes I was lining the ball up, sometimes I wasn’t.” The switch didn’t last long, though, and Scheffler switched back into the Special Select Timeless blade before his weekend rounds at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, which he concluded with rounds of 68-62. “It never goes too far away,” said Scheffler following his 9-under 62 with his familiar putter. “It’s probably something I’ll continue to fiddle around with, but I went back to something I’m really comfortable with and I putted well the last two days.” Scheffler finished T3 in Mexico, T9 at the Cadence Bank Houston Open and runner-up at the Hero World Challenge to finish up his year. Don’t be surprised if the four-time winning Special Select Timeless has a solidified place in Scheffler’s bag throughout 2023. 8. Inside John Daly’s wild golf bag and recent gear changes Wedges covered with lead tape? Just another day at the office for John Daly. Click here for the full story. Daly’s son John II isn’t afraid to experiment with his setup either. Click here for more on his wild 3-iron utilized at the PNC Championship. 9. Tony Finau heartwarming, hilarious ball markings While some players use dots or lines to give their balls a unique appearance, Finau marks his kids’ initials on his Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot ball. They have to earn their way onto daddy’s ball, however. He doesn’t put all five sets of initials on each ball. He starts with one set, then cycles through the roster based on performance. He’ll use his wife’s initials, as well. Click here for the full story. 10. Tom Hoge wins with one-of-a-kind putter North Dakota native Tom Hoge earned his first career TOUR title at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, utilizing a custom putter with a long line and plumber’s neck, the likes of which are not commonly seen on TOUR. His caddie played a part as well. Click here for the full story.

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