Things you may have missed, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Day 2

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DUBLIN, Ohio – Early pace-setters Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele both found form in the opening round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide after changing putters pre-tournament. Morikawa’s 6-under 66 was the best of a weather interrupted opening round with Schauffele not far behind following a 68. They needed just 27 and 28 putts respectively with their new weapons. It was a story of back to the future for Morikawa. Despite winning the 2020 Workday Charity Open (a one-off event at Muirfield Village the week before the Memorial Tournament held due to the pandemic) with a blade style putter, the 24-year-old had since switched to a mallet style FCG TaylorMade putter. The mallet, combined with a saw grip, helped him claim the World Golf Championships – Workday Championship at The Concession earlier this season. But Morikawa wanted a more comfortable mindset and switched back. “The mallet, once in a while I just have a hard time setting it up and setting it down. And the best putters they’re never fidgeting with their putter, they just put it down and they know where they’re aiming, they know what it’s doing,” Morikawa explained. “So it’s a new putter, but it’s the same blade I used actually last year at this tournament, I used it a lot coming out of college. It’s just got a SuperStroke grip on, (and) a little different loft. “Overall, it’s a putter that I’ve used before, I feel comfortable with, I just wanted to go back to a blade because I’ve putted with a blade my entire life and why not just go back and figure out the things that I’ve been working on and forget about the stroke, forget about the putter, just try and make the putt.” While Morikawa is known to tinker with his putting the change was a little more surprising coming from Schauffele who ranked ninth on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting leading into the tournament. But Schauffele made a switch none-the-less, employing an arm-lock version of his regular putter as he looks to get even more advantage on the greens. Interestingly enough the four-time TOUR winner believes the putters should be banned. “My putting coach, my whole team honestly, we’re very against change and I had to see what the craze was about. I do feel funny, obviously being a top-10 putter on TOUR, switching putters or the style of putting. (But) it’s a distinct advantage,” Schauffele said. “I am for banning the armlock putters, but if everyone else is going to use it and I feel like they have a bigger advantage, I may as well do the same.” Schauffele said he’s got his sights on being the best putter on TOUR, this season that spot is currently held by South African Louis Oosthuizen. Leading into this week Oosthuizen gained +0.996 strokes a round putting while Schauffele sat at +0.737. “I know how good it can be and I think you still have to read putts and get the speed down correctly, but I’m in a very similar setup compared to my old putter and I know I can putt with a shorter putter, so I figured if I can get an advantage on the greens and maybe get to first in putting, that would be something special. So I’m giving it a go,” he added. “It’s better, it’s easier. It’s more consistent. My coach and I work a lot in San Diego on start lines and making sure the ball’s doing what we think it’s doing. And the fact that it’s anchored to your arm, you can flinch in your hands, but you can’t flinch your entire left arm, so that’s the process behind that.” The rules of golf outlawed anchoring to the body in 2016 but Schauffele thinks the armlock style should be included in that ban. “Because it takes the stress of putting out of the game. Obviously hitting shots and chipping and all kinds of stuff are difficult, but your putts are what give you the score on the card,” he said. “And so it’s ruined people’s careers and it’s helped people’s careers. I think putting is an art in our game and when you can lock it into your arm or anchor it to your body, it kind of gets rid of that.”

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Ya hear, pards? There’s a new sheriff in town. With the revised look of the PGA TOUR schedule this season, the Valero Texas Open has assumed a new position. This week’s edition is the first of 10 straight in the week preceding the Masters. The AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio hosts for the 10th consecutive year. For more on this extreme par 72 and other nuggets of knowledge, scroll past the ranking. Corales champion Graeme McDowell, Jordan Spieth, Charley Hoffman and former VTO winners Jimmy Walker and Andrew Landry will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. For the tournament that’s never left San Antonio since it debuted in 1922, it’s not easy to present fresh perspective. And truth be told, this isn’t the first time that the Valero Texas Open has been contested on the eve of the Masters, but it’s just the second. Six years ago, in the last season before the PGA TOUR introduced the wraparound schedule, the VTO immediately preceded the Masters. The primary difference between then and now is that the 2013 field went the full 156 deep. This week’s field was limited to 144 entrants. Even at San Antonio’s latitude in early April, the limitation of daylight impacts field size. The last exemption into the Masters is reserved for the winner of the Valero Texas Open. As of midday Monday, only 17 in the field at TPC San Antonio have qualified for the season’s first major. While the opportunity to play is invaluable, the opportunity to be tested is guaranteed. TPC San Antonio is a beast of 7,435 yards. Despite the full complement of four par 5s, it’s never averaged under par. Last year’s clip of 72.367 slotted it third-hardest among par 72s in non-majors. The field averaged 4.81 on the par 5s, which have never ranked easier than fourth-hardest of any course during a PGA TOUR season. Greens average 6,400 square feet, so they’re not small targets, but they’re among the stingiest in holding for scoring opportunities. Last year’s field average of 11 greens in regulation per round ranked the course ninth-lowest all season, and that was more than half a click higher than the previous year. As a result, splitting fairways eases the challenge more than usual, but despite two-inch primary rough which is overseeded, proficiency in finding the shortest grass still isn’t a prerequisite for success. En route to his breakthrough title last year, Andrew Landry beat the field average of fairways hit by less than one percent, and then paced it in GIR. He also brought his touch around and on the targets in ranking eighth in strokes gained: putting and second in scrambling. This combination likely will define this week’s champion. The undulating putting surfaces (overseeded bermuda) are governed to run no faster than 11 feet on the Stimpmeter due to winds that are a way of life in south Texas. However, and with a note of respect for the possibility of change, breezes are forecast to be negligible throughout the entirety of the tournament. This wasn’t the case in 2013 when gusts reached 25 mph, much more in line with what’s expected in the Hill Country. With sunshine warming, daytime temperatures will rise into the mid-80s every day but Saturday when clouds and the risk of inclement weather will make it feel 10 degrees cooler. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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