Six players to watch on moving day at The Open

Two weeks ago, Tiger Woods teed off at the PNC Championship with something new under his iconic Tiger headcover. We knew from photos that the new driver in the hands of the 82-time TOUR winner (and TaylorMade staffer) was a TaylorMade Stealth Plus. The club had appeared on the USGA’s list of conforming driver heads just days before Woods played the PNC alongside his son Charlie. Given the traditional January release calendar, we assumed the new line would be launched shortly. However, we didn’t have any additional details about the club or its curious red-and-black face. With the official launch of TaylorMade’s Stealth driver line today, however, we can offer some more details on the clubs Woods wielded en route to a second-place finish with son Charlie at Orlando’s Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. Woods’ driver was a TaylorMade Stealth Plus, which is one of three models in the just-announced TaylorMade Stealth lineup. The other two family members are the Stealth and Stealth HD (High Draw). The Stealth Plus features an adjustable weight track and is meant to be more workable than the Stealth. “First of all, they have moved the (center of gravity) more forward so I’m able to curve the ball more, and you guys all know that I’ve always been a player that has worked the golf ball,” Woods said at the PNC. “It’s given me the ability to hit draws and hit cuts. “I didn’t like having just only one shot. The driver setup that we had for Augusta allowed me to draw the golf ball. But when I hit the cut, it was really short. I don’t have that difference anymore. They are very similar, which is huge. “And hey, got to love the colors.” The centerpiece technology of the Stealth driver line is likely one you’ve already seen in shots of Woods’ Stealth Plus: a carbon-fiber face. In a surprising departure from industry-standard titanium, TaylorMade engineers turned to carbon. More specifically, 60 layers of strategically arranged carbon sheets to construct the face of the Stealth for better energy transfer. TaylorMade touts a thinner, lighter, larger face that features a higher COR (coefficient of restitution) and improved face geometry. “In the mid-2000s, our research team developed an understanding that the weight of the face can affect impact efficiency, more specifically, the lighter the face, the more efficient the impact and the better the ball speed,” says Brian Bazzel, TaylorMade’s Vice President Product Creation. “We realized titanium faces could only take us so far and carbon would be the face material of the future. This breakthrough design of a lightweight carbon face in Stealth, has created a whole new starting line, a new era of drivers, a new threshold of performance and a new platform for more innovation.” TaylorMade engineers took advantage of the lightweight carbon material by creating a 26-gram face, which is 40% lighter than a titanium face of equivalent size. Because of that weight savings, the face size of Stealth is 11% larger than SIM2 and SIM2 Max drivers and nearly 20% larger than the 2020 SIM driver. The weight savings and larger face size made possible by the 60X Carbon Twist Face delivered significant ball-speed increases during player testing when comparing Stealth Plus and Stealth to the 2021 SIM2 and SIM2 Max drivers at better player swing speeds. Working in conjunction with the carbon fiber face is TaylorMade’s nanotexture face technology: A thin polyurethane layer on top of the carbon fiber creates a surface that is both strong and flexible for improved launch. It’s calibrated to produce ideal friction in dry conditions and features full-face scorelines that also perform particularly well in wet conditions. “The technological innovation of our nanotexture technology brings the entire face together and was a key to making this driver a reality,” said Tomo Bystedt, Senior Director Product Creation, Carbonwood Drivers. “Without this revolutionary cover design, we could not have achieved the launch and spin performance required to extract the optimal performance in dry as well as wet conditions. Once we added the nanotexture technology to the grooves, we were able to unlock the full performance of a carbon face.” TaylorMade also worked to give the Stealth line better sound than previous carbon drivers. Instead of muted, low-energy sounds, engineers were able to create a bright and powerful sound and feel profile. The Stealth Women’s driver combines the technology of Stealth HD in a slightly lighter head weight and with a unique colorway and aesthetic. It maintains the high MOI head design for easy, high-launch with a touch of draw. TaylorMade also announced a line of Stealth fairway woods, rescue clubs and irons on Tuesday. Woods had a 15-degree Stealth Plus 3-wood in his bag at the PNC Championship. So, now we know more about Tiger’s driver. For more on the clubs he played at the PNC Championship, click here.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – In the fading light of early Sunday evening, Charles (Doc) Cunningham sat on his folding, metal carry chair and watched a man in knee pads carve letters into a sandcastle: Winner: J.T. Poston. James Tyree – Cunningham’s grandson. Someone handed Cunningham a carbonated beverage, and he took a sip and handed it back. At 85, he still regularly shoots his age or lower, and has done it so many times he no longer keeps track. The first time he did it, he was 67 and shot 66.  “I remember growing up, he just hit it – similar game to myself,â€� Poston said after shooting 62 to win the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club, his first PGA TOUR win. “Nothing flashy off the tee, but he kept it in front of him and his short game was unbelievable. That was kind of how I learned to play golf was watching him at a competitive level, learning from him.â€� Poston, 26, clearly learned well. He eagled the par-5 fifth hole, sprinkled in six birdies, and did not make a bogey for the fourth straight day. He becomes the first player to go bogey-free for 72 holes and win an individual TOUR event since Lee Trevino in 1974. Poston also becomes the fifth native North Carolinian to win the event; he’s from Hickory, a town of 40,000 about two hours away. RELATED: What’s in J.T. Poston’s bag? | FedExCup standings | Leaderboard Webb Simpson, another North Carolinian who was bidding to win the Wyndham for the second time (2011), birdied the 18th hole to shoot 65 and finish second, a shot back.  “Congrats to J.T., he played phenomenally today,â€� Simpson said. “Happy for him. He’s a young player, such a nice kid, so I’m happy for him.â€� Simpson wasn’t the only one; this was, to put it mildly, a popular victory. Poston’s mother, Cheryl, and father, Ty, were here. His brother, Bailey. His coach, John McNeely, who gave him a lesson on his takeaway just days before the tournament started that proved to be hugely helpful. Cousins. Friends.  Also over the moon were fellow players Patton Kizzire, who waited behind the green for Poston to roll in the testy 4-footer for par on 18, and Denny McCarthy, who didn’t quite get back in time.    “I’m in the middle of a laundry cycle at the hotel,â€� McCarthy said with a laugh. “And I just left my clothes in the wash right now. I wouldn’t miss this. He’s been a great friend to me the last couple years and he deserves this so much. He’s always shot me a text when I have success, or when I’m down.â€� Keith Mitchell, who won The Honda Classic earlier this season and lives with Poston as roomies at a house in St. Simons Island, Georgia, was trying to steady his breathing in front of the TV at home. Poston was there waiting for Mitchell when he won The Honda, and Mitchell so badly wanted to return the favor he said he tried to rent a plane to get to Greensboro in time to watch the back nine. Alas, he was told the weather was too poor. “We tried everything we could,â€� Mitchell texted. Poston attended Western Carolina in tiny Cullowhee, about three and a half hours away, and his mother reported seeing copious Catamounts purple at Sedgefield.  “It’s amazing how many people were out here pulling for him,â€� said McNeely, his coach. No one, though, had quite as personal a stake as Poston’s grandfather. Cunningham, who played in two U.S. Senior Amateurs and two British Senior Amateurs, used to drive Poston and his friends to junior tournaments, and before that he cut down a persimmon 5-wood, pried off the sole, and took the weight out to create the kid’s first club. Poston was 3. “I can remember as a kid following him to the range, and taking that 5-wood and just hitting balls for hours and loving every minute of it,â€� said Poston, who moved to 27th in the FedExCup and qualified for the Masters Tournament and Sentry Tournament of Champions, among other elite events. “I mean, our relationship, a lot of it has revolved around golf. … I learned from him, just from watching him and how he carried himself, when I was a kid.â€� Cunningham has had some health problems and been unable to attend many tournaments, but he walked the front nine Sunday before going in for some lunch. He came back out and did six holes of the back nine. He said Poston was 12 or 13 when he beat his grandfather for the first time. “I think he shot 76 and I shot 77,â€� Cunningham said. “It wasn’t an easy course. I’ve still got that scorecard.â€� The sand castle will not last. The rains will come, even if they mercifully held off for 72 holes, and his name will dissolve into slurry. But it will be on a plaque on the Wall of Champions behind the ninth green. That will endure, and so will the memory of winning in front of the man who started it all, the man he calls Pa Doc. “For him to be here,â€� Poston said, “that’s something that I will never, never forget.â€�

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Seamus Power has tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrawn from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He will be replaced by Zack Sucher as David Hearn’s partner for the event.

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