Thomas keeps on winning, adds CJ Cup to haul

Driver: Callaway Rogue Sub Zero (9 degrees) Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 65 grams 6.5-flex 3 Wood: Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero (13.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Fubuki J 80X Irons: Callaway X Forged UT (3 iron), Callaway Epic Pro (4), Callaway X Forged 2018 (5), and Callaway Apex MB (6-PW) Shafts: KBS Tour V 125 Wedges: Callaway PM Grind 2.0 (54, 60 and 64 degrees) Shafts: KBS Tour V 125 Putter: Odyssey Versa No. 9 Golf Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft X with Triple Track PGA TOUR SUPERSTORE: Buy equipment here.

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Would you like some cheese with your whine? It’s only week three of the 2019-20 season, but gamers are already grumbling as the TOUR has already crowned a pair of first-time winners in the first two events. It’s back to Bent/Poa and hilly terrain this week, as the North Course at Silverado Resort & Spa in Napa Valley hosts for the sixth year running, so we’ll have an angle on past performance. This will be the first time in six years that the TOUR is not kicking off the new season in Wine Country, so gamers will have a better point of reference with two previous events to analyze. A full field of 156 will have a chance to cash 500 FedExCup points (winner) and grab part of the $6.6 million purse ($1.188 winner). Silverado’s North Course was redesigned by Johnny Miller (yep, that one) after his purchase in 2010. This track has played host since calendar 2014, so any results from previous host tracks are irrevelant this week. Stretching to just 7,166 yards and playing to Par-72 (36-36), the North Course plays almost 50 yards shorter than it did during the inaugural visit. The Bent/Poa greens, which are usually in perfect condition, will run just below 12 feet on the Stimpmeter. Bluegrass and ryegrass combine to make a thick, healthy rough, but it will only stand at two-and-a-half inches. Recent Winners 2018-19: Kevin Tway (-14, 274) The 30-year-old rallied from a three-shot deficit in the final group with Brandt Snedeker to force and win a three-man playoff which also included Ryan Moore. … Became the fifth consecutive winner to rank in the top three in bogey avoidance (T1) and top seven in scrambling (No. 1). … Ranked third in Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green – the fourth-worst ranking out of five winners! Notables: Ricky Barnes matched the course record with 61 in Round 2, but didn’t break 75 in his other three rounds (T69). … Sepp Straka posted 63 for the first round lead. … Sungjae Im made his first TOUR start and played in the penultimate group on Sunday (T4). … Snedeker led the field with 23 birdies. … Phil Mickelson, who was T2 after 36 holes, circled 21 and cashed T17. … There were only nine rounds above par from the top 24 players. … For the third consecutive year, the cut was 141 (-3). 2017-18: Brendan Steele (-15, 273) Only man to defend and the only man to raise the barrel twice since the move to Silverado, as he made up a two-shot deficit on Sunday by posting 69 (-3) to win by two. … Dominant performance as he was top four in fairways, GIR, SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach-the-Green, SG: Tee-to-Green, bogey avoidance, Par-4 and Par-5 scoring. Notables: Chesson Hadley (T3) set the new course record with 61 in Round 2. … Rookie Tyler Duncan (T5) co-led after 18 and had the solo lead after 36 and 54 holes. … Hadley and Mickelson led the field with 23 birdies. … Massive wind gusts allowed for only nine rounds in the 60s on Sunday. 2016-17: Brendan Steele (-18, 270) Posting the co-low round of the day, 65, Steele chased down a tournament record four-shot lead and posted a tournament record of 18-under to win by a shot. … His ball-striking wasn’t as clinical as his 2017-18 edition but his timely putting was the difference. … Only winner to finish in the top 10 in Birdie-or-Better conversion percentage (No. 1). … Only winner to finish in the top 10 SG: Putting (6th). Notables: Scott Piercy (T3) opened with 62 and led after 18 and 36 holes. … Patton Kizzire (2nd) held the 54-hole lead over Piercy and carded 64 to open. … Mickelson (T8) and Mackenzie Hughes (T13) only two players with all four rounds in the 60s. … Justin Thomas (T8), in his last visit, played his final 54 holes in 17-under-par. Cool, rainy conditions made for optimum scoring conditions. Key stat leaders Golfers around the top 30 or so in each statistic on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week.  * – previous top 10 finish here Bogey Avoidance  3  Patrick Cantlay  4  Charles Howell III  7  *Scott Piercy  8  Jim Furyk  9  Lucas Glover 10 Vaughn Taylor 13 Matt Jones 14 *Sungjae Im 14 *Hideki Matsuyama 16 *Justin Thomas 17 *Bud Cauley 19 Denny McCarthy 20 Cameron Tringale 22 *Aaron Baddeley 26 *Sam Ryder 27 Nate Lashley SG: Tee-to-Green  2  *Justin Thomas  3  *Hideki Matsuyama  4  Adam Scott (first appearance)  5  Patrick Cantlay  7  Byeong-Hun An  9  Corey Conners 15 *Emiliano Grillo (2016 winner) 19 Kevin Streelman 25 Lucas Glover 26 Jim Furyk 27 *Jhonattan Vegas (T10, 2016) 28 *Ryan Moore 29 Chez Reavie Par-5 Scoring (of five winners, three co-led the field)  1  *Justin Thomas  2  Wyndham Clark  2  Adam Scott  6  *Sungjae Im 10 Denny McCarthy 12 Bryson DeChambeau 12 Matt Jones 12 *Troy Merritt 17 Patrick Cantlay 17 *Jhonattan Vegas 23 *Hideki Matsuyama 23 *Martin Laird 23 *Kevin Tway Sommeliers Brendan Steele: The only man in the field this week with three top-10 paydays and multiple victories at Silverado. He’s 53-under over 20 rounds, including a 76 and 75. Four of his five paydays are T21 or better. Justin Thomas: Getting better with age, Thomas MC in his first trip in 2015, but is 28-under in his last two visits (T8, T3). Phil Mickelson: 34-under in his last three visits have collected T17, T3 and T8 riches. This will be his fourth consecutive season-opener here. Ryan Moore: Playing three of the last four here, the Washington native is 32-under with three rounds of par-or-worse and has a pair of top-10 paychecks for his trouble (P2 and T10 ’16). Kevin Na: He was on track for three straight top-10 checks before a 77 derailed his last visit to T37 in 2017-18 season. He was 30-under in his previous two visits. including a playoff defeat to Grillo and a solo seventh in 2017. Fermenting Brandt Snedeker: Spot the trend: T57, T17 and P2 in his last three visits. Martin Laird: Never missed in five tries and owns a pair of top-10 results in addition to a T17. Sungjae Im: Seems like he’s in this discussion every week he’s in the field. Luke List: 26-under the last three seasons. All inside T37, with T4 last year the big highlight.

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Justin Thomas is slow to change his equipment, adopting an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy to his gear. “I don’t change just to change,” Thomas said from this week’s World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. “If it’s working, just keep using it.” Thomas’ irons most definitely have been working for him. He’s one of the top players on TOUR in that area of the game, having ranked no worse than sixth in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green in each of the five previous TOUR seasons, including three consecutive seasons ranked in the top three. That’s why intrigue abounded when the former FedExCup champion arrived at last month’s CJ CUP @ SUMMIT with a new set in the bag. The new irons are very similar to the Titleist 620 MB blades he’d had in the bag since 2019, but they bore a unique stamp with Thomas’ initials, signifying that these were built specifically for the reigning THE PLAYERS champion. Similar to Adam Scott’s 681.AS irons — which shared much in common with his beloved Forged 680 blades — Thomas’ 621.JT irons are, at a glance, very similar to his previous gamers. This week, he shed a little light on the irons that bear his initials. Now, “a little” is key here. The maker of the clubs, Titleist, hasn’t announced any future release possibilities of the prototype irons. Conversely, the company hasn’t said the clubs are one-offs just for Thomas. “Feedback from the best players in the world is a cornerstone of the Titleist R&D process, and these prototype irons (621.JT and 681.AS) have been developed in collaboration with each player to better understand some key design variables such as shaping, sole design and (center of gravity) placement – that ultimately may find their way into future Titleist iron development,” a Titleist spokesperson said. “We look forward to sharing additional updates on these prototypes as we gain feedback and learn more from each player’s experience.” So, while we wait for additional updates regarding the future of 621.JT (and 681.AS irons), we can at least learn a little more about the irons from JT himself. Thomas said he is just one of several players that Titleist approached, asking if their clubs needed any subtle changes to better suit their preferences. Thomas famously likes very little offset in his irons. The term refers to how far the leading edge of the club sits behind the hosel at address. More offset gives players more time to square the club at impact. Amateurs’ clubs often have a lot of offset to lessen their dreaded slice. As a general rule, better players prefer less offset, but few go so far as “zero offset,” which Thomas does. In working with Titleist engineers, Thomas also was keen to dial in the sound and feel of the new irons to complement the “clean look” he likes. “They came to me and said let’s create (a set of irons), anything that you want to change,” Thomas said. “Obviously I loved it, everything about (my irons) already, but the changes are so minor. … It just was about getting the best feeling iron, the best sounding iron. It’s one of those clubs that obviously you have to hit it properly for it to be that way, but one of those ones where you kind of hear it and you turn around like, what is that, you know what I mean?” Thomas indicated engineers experimented with sole grinds and milling techniques and “stuff that’s way, way past my pay grade” in order to produce his dream irons. The result? “They look awesome,” he said.

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