Sleeper picks: Charles Schwab Challenge

Although major OEMs are expected to release new golf clubs sometime soon – and equipment fans are eagerly anticipating spotting the unreleased gear on TOUR – it was unexpected equipment stories, from some unlikely names, that owned golf headlines this past week. Here’s a recap of everything noteworthy you may have missed. Iron Covers To win the Hong Kong Open, Aaron Rai used equipment typically reserved for amateur golfers at the butt-end of a joke: iron covers. Rai’s TaylorMade P770 (2 and 3) and Tour Preferred MB (4-9) irons got protection from old school TaylorMade iron covers at Hong Kong Golf Club. Sure, social media made its jokes, but it was a big win for Aaron Rai – his first European Tour victory – and a big win for iron cover nation. Additionally, Rai had a Frankenstein head cover protecting his TaylorMade M4 driver, and a putter cover that’s seen better years on his Heavy Putter BM-3. He also wears two Glenmuir MacWet gloves, on his left and right hand. A broken shaft John Senden made equipment news in the worst way at the Australian PGA Championship when his driver shaft snapped mid-swing, causing him to miss the ball entirely. Not only did the incident jam his finger and leave him without a driver with 10 more holes to play, but the rules officials said the stroke counts! With “intent to hit the ball,� according to the officials, Senden had to count the stroke and play his next shot from the teeing ground – he used an iron for his “second� shot. He went onto bogey the hole and shoot even par with 13 clubs. Bubba switches Ping drivers, but it’s not what you think With the entire equipment world waiting to see new product from major OEMs, Bubba Watson made a driver switch … from his longtime Ping G400 LST driver to a G400. In the age of chasing lower spin on drives to maximize distance, Bubba switched to a driver that offered him more backspin off the tee. I asked a Ping representative for more answers on the specs, and why Bubba made the switch. Here’s what Ping had to say: Bubba did, however, give equipment fans something new to look at it… kind of. Back in October, Bubba unveiled an unreleased Ping “Blueprint� iron to his social media followers, and he finally put those irons in play this week at the Hero. While we’ve seen the irons before, Ping has yet to speak on the designs of the new irons. Woodland plays Wilson prototypes As an equipment free agent, Woodland can test and play with any irons he chooses. This week at the Hero World Challenge, Woodland decided to play unreleased Wilson Staff prototype blade irons. Our Mike McAllister caught up with Woodland to get the full scoop on why he switched. No big switches yet Disappointingly, there were no other huge debuts or switches at the Hero World Challenge. Tiger didn’t change into a new driver. Justin Rose, amid rumors of a switch to Honma, came to the Bahamas with a bag full of TaylorMade equipment. When, if at all, will Rose make a switch? When will we see TOUR players using new OEM releases? Stay tuned.   PGA TOUR SUPERSTORE: Buy equipment here

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NAPA, Calif. — Jim Knous shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday for a share of the lead with Maverick McNealy after three rounds in the Fortinet Championship. RELATED: Leaderboard | Phil Mickelson in contention at Fortinet Championship Knous had eight birdies, five on the front nine, then held on after a bogey on No. 12 to match McNealy at 14 under. McNealy, the second-round leader, had four bogeys on the front nine, then closed with three consecutive birdies for a 70. Max Homa (65) was two strokes back with Scott Stallings (67), Mito Pereira (70), Troy Merritt (69) and Beau Hossler (70). Ten others, including Phil Mickelson (67), were four strokes back heading into the final round. On a cool, sometimes blustery day when the lead changed hands several times, Knous made up for an uneven day off the tee with steady, consistent iron play that put him in good shape on the greens. The 31-year-old needed just 22 putts covering 69 feet to maneuver his way to the front of the pack. “Putter got hot there late on the back nine,” said Knous, who is winless on thePGA TOUR since making his debut at this course in 2019. “I just tend to see the breaks pretty well out here. A lot of them have big swings and you can use your imagination and that’s kind of how I like to putt, so I was able to roll some nice ones in.” Knous made an 8-foot birdie putt from off the green on 18. “Me and my caddie had a great read,” Knous said. “It was just going to break a little bit right at the end. Put a good stroke on it, perfect speed, and there you go.” McNealy entered the day with the lead, but fell three strokes behind after struggling with his driver on the front nine. McNealy was 2 over for the round midway through the back nine when he got rolling. He made a 22-foot putt for birdie on 13, rolled another long putt in for birdie on 16, then sank two more birdie putts on the final two. “It was a crazy day,” said McNealy, who, like Knous is seeking his first TOUR win. “I remember hitting a good tee shot down the middle on the 12th with a utility iron and everything seemed to slow down and calm down for me. I started seeing my lines with the putter.” McNealy stayed in the hunt despite appearing to hurt his right wrist punching out from a tree on No. 3, the first of his four bogeys on the front nine. “(I) was really lucky that I didn’t try to hit a full swing because I chipped out sideways and a softball-sized rock came out from under the ball,” McNealy said. “I stung my wrist a little bit. I’m really glad I didn’t go after that one full because I told (my caddie) I would have been out for a year.” Mickelson had his best round of the tournament and made five consecutive birdies on the back nine. The 51-year-old PGA Championship winner immediately went to the putting green after finishing his round. “I felt like I blocked a couple putts … and I just wanted to work on that,” Mickelson said. Webb Simpson also was 10 under after a 65. The 2012 U.S. Open champion had eight birdies – three more than he had in the first two rounds combined.

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