The story behind Aaron Wise’s long putter at the U.S. Open

Charles Howell III ended an eleven-year winless drought with a sudden-death playoff win over Patrick Rodgers at The RSM Classic. Here’s a look at the Titleist and TaylorMade equipment he had in the bag. Driver: Titleist TS3 (10.5 degrees) Fairway woods: Titleist TS2 (15 and 21 degrees) Irons: Titleist 718 T-MB (4-iron), Titleist 718 AP2 (5-7), Titleist 718 CB (8-PW) Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (52, 56 and 60 degrees) Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Red Ball: Titleist Pro V1 prototype

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Chez Reavie ... Horse for a course. Debuted at the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2008 and has gone 7-for-10 with a pair of top 10s among four top 25s. His personal best was a T3 in 2019 when he led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and par-4 scoring. The rub is that he's notoriously streaky and had only one top-25 finish in his last 10 starts of 2020 (T3, Safeway). However, not only has Waialae proven to reward experience to climb atop its leaderboard, it pays double in the context of retaining its challenge over time, so a veteran in a slump has reason to arrive with elevated expectations. C.T. Pan ... Perhaps the greatest added value of being your own boss is that you can set your own schedule. Generally speaking, as independent contractors, touring professionals can play whenever and wherever they want. Even when there are obligations, competing on courses that best fit one's skill set still is largely within the control of the PGA TOUR member. No doubt confidence everywhere is critical, but there's nothing wrong with logic having a position in the equation. That he has appeared at Waialae only once (MC, 2017) is mildly surprising. On paper, it make senses for the short knocker who ranges just five-and-a-half feet off the ground to seek out a par 70 with a pair of gettable par 5s and stretches to just 7,044 yards. Waialae doesn't comp directly to Harbour Town, site of his lone TOUR title in 2019 because that's a shot-shaper's track, but its test arguably is easier as a shot-maker's paradise. He committed this week and he's put last season's struggles behind him. He's 6-for-7 with a pair of top 15s in 2020-21, including a T7 at the Masters. Kyle Stanley ... It simple to understand why he was 7-for-7 with four top 25s at Waialae from 2011 through 2019. As a sharpshooter, he can stride to first tees cold and still split most fairways and contend for the field lead in greens hit. After missing the cut in last year's breezy conditions, the wind isn't forecasted to be as strong this week, so the course should play closer to how he's taken advantage of it in the past. In the middle of a modest string of three cuts made in the fall, he hung up a T6 at Sea Island and currently ranks eighth on TOUR in proximity to the hole. Tom Hoge ... The 31-year-had opened 2020-21 with 12 consecutive red numbers, but he had no better than a T24 (Shriners) to show for the consistency. Still, that start warranted attention as a Sleeper at THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK where he finished a pedestrian T38. After a mini-slump, he put it all together for a share of third place at Mayakoba. He currently co-leads the PGA TOUR with 23 rounds under par. His ability to step on the gas and retain control of the wheel explains how he placed third at Waialae in 2018 in the calm but also T12 in last year's challenging conditions. Henrik Norlander ... It's hard to believe that his 34th birthday is just a couple of months away (March 25) because he still carries a youthful swagger as he continues to figure out how to manage his game well enough to stay at this level where he belongs. Despite finishing the fall with a trio of missed cuts, the Swede gets the benefit of the doubt for a couple of reasons. First, COVID-19 prevented him from performing at Sea Island where he'd have been among the favorites to contend even as a non-winner. Second, in his last two trips to Waialae, he finished T20 in 2017 and T9 last year. He's a ball-striker's ball-striker by trade, but he led the wind-ridden 2020 edition in putting inside 10 feet and ranked second in Strokes Gained: Putting. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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LA QUINTA, Calif. – The American Express announced its initial wave of player commitments toward its 2023 tournament includes a foursome in reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, Long Beach native and UCLA product Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau. Together, the four American teammates from September’s victorious Presidents Cup squad, are ranked among the top 12 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking. Additionally, they will be joined at the 64th edition of The American Express by World No. 19 Sungjae Im – a two-time PGA TOUR winner, the PGA TOUR’s 2022 FedExCup Playoffs runner-up and the 2019 Arnold Palmer Award winner as the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year – and Idyllwild, Calif. native and Irvine, Calif. resident Brendan Steele, a three-time PGA TOUR winner and a 2005 graduate of UC Riverside. The American Express, featuring a record $8 million purse, will showcase 156 professional golfers and 156 amateurs playing at PGA WEST’s Stadium Course (host course) and Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, Calif. from Jan. 19-22, 2023. The American Express is the first PGA TOUR regular season event in the continental U.S. each year and kicks off the TOUR’s West Coast swing. “We are grateful and thrilled to announce such a high-profile group of players committing this early to play in The American Express tournament next month,” said Pat McCabe, Executive Director of The American Express. “Our field strength continues to grow stronger year after year. Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau have been loyal to our tournament, and welcoming Xander Schauffele back to the desert gives the tournament three of the world’s top six players. Sungjae Im showed his class in September’s FedExCup Playoffs and Presidents Cup while playing for the International Team. Brendan Steele is a hometown favorite as he may end up being the player who grew up closest to our event.” Daily ticket options for The American Express are now on sale at the tournament’s website, www.theamexgolf.com. American Express Card Members receive a 20% discount on any online ticket price (terms apply). World No. 2 Scheffler and World No. 4 Cantlay are the PGA TOUR’s past two Players of the Year. Scheffler will make his fourth consecutive start in The American Express, since graduating from the Korn Ferry Tour as its 2019 Player of the Year. It will be the third consecutive start for Cantlay, the PGA TOUR’s 2021 FedExCup champion who was The American Express’ 2021 runner-up and owns eight PGA TOUR wins. Scheffler, the PGA TOUR’s 2021-22 Player of the Year, won his first four PGA TOUR titles in a six-tournament stretch from February to April that led to his ascent to the world’s No. 1 ranking. The PGA TOUR’s 2020 Rookie of the Year also finished runner-up in four tournaments last season, including the U.S. Open and the TOUR Championship. Schauffele, a native of La Jolla, Calif. and a San Diego State product, is set to make his third start in The American Express, and his first start since 2017. The world’s No. 6-ranked player won three of his seven PGA TOUR titles last season. Finau, ranked No. 12 in the world and one of the sport’s longest hitters, has broken through as a frequent winner on the PGA TOUR, having claimed four of his five PGA TOUR titles over the past 16 months. This streak began with him winning THE NORTHERN TRUST during the 2021 FedExCup Playoffs. He will make his fourth consecutive, and sixth overall, appearance in The American Express. Annually, The American Express has become a leading entertainment staple, combining golf and music, in the Coachella Valley. The tournament earlier announced that its upcoming Concert Series, which returns for its sixth year (after debuting in 2017), will feature a pair of three-time GRAMMY Award winners with iconic Southern California native Gwen Stefani and singer/songwriter Darius Rucker on the PGA WEST Stadium Course driving range. Stefani, born and raised in Anaheim; a singer songwriter and charismatic frontwoman of No Doubt, will open The American Express’ Concert Series after the conclusion of second-round play on Friday, Jan. 20. Rucker, who first achieved musical prominence as the lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish and has since become a hugely successful Country artist, will take the stage after the tournament’s third round on Saturday, Jan. 21. The American Express also continues to be one of the desert region’s most charitable sporting events, giving back to its community. In November, The American Express announced a $1 million charitable donation to 37 local Coachella Valley organizations, bringing the event’s all-time donation to more than $64 million since its inception in 1960 as the Palm Springs Golf Classic. Follow The American Express on Facebook (www.facebook.com/theamexgolf), Twitter (@TheAmexGolf) and Instagram (@TheAmexGolf).

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