Tiger posts 4-under 68 to open Arnold Palmer

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Ever since Nike left the hard goods industry, Patrick Reed — a former Nike staffer and current equipment free agent — has been no stranger to testing and using different equipment from different companies all throughout his bag. Over the last couple weeks, however, Reed made two especially eye-popping changes. First, he switched into a Srixon Z-Star golf ball for the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard after testing it during practice sessions at the event. For his next three rounds, however, Reed switched back into a Titleist Pro V1 golf ball – actually, it’s a Pro V1 left dot prototype — that he started using at the 2018 World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship and used to win the 2018 Masters. Then, on Tuesday just ahead of THE PLAYERS Championship, Reed switched from a mixed set of Callaway MB-1 and Razr X MB irons into a Titleist 718 CB 4-iron and Titleist 718 MB irons (5-PW). As for the shafts, he uses a True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT X100 in his 4-iron, and the standard Tour Issue X100 shafts in the rest of his irons (more on that later). Certainly, these are major switches to make during and directly before big events. To learn more about his process and reasoning for the changes, PGATOUR.COM caught up with Reed on Monday ahead of the Valspar Championship. Why the big iron switch on the week of THE PLAYERS? “I needed a new set because my irons were getting worn out. When I talked to the Titleist guys, I was fortunate enough that they were able to help me out and work with me to get a new fresh set of irons into play. After they built them, I absolutely loved the way they I hit ‘em and how they were performing. From that point on, I felt like I had to get them battle-tested and put them under-the-gun, and I was able to do that last week…I actually got them that week (of THE PLAYERS). I was looking for new irons already because, my Callaways were great, they were just worn out. The grooves were gone. For me, (I just had to) make sure (the Titleist irons) had the right weight and the right swing weight, because they looked the same and felt the same going through the turf (as the Callaway irons). For me, it was just making sure they were fresh. I knew I needed a fresh set leading into this stretch [of tournaments]. When I tested [the new Titleist irons] on the range, they were unbelievable on Tuesday, and Wednesday when I played on the course they were just as well. I felt like… I hit them great on the golf course, I just needed to dial in distances a little bit. “They feel great. I look forward to continue playing with them.â€� Did you apply all that lead tape yourself? Was it strictly for weight purposes, or ball flight characteristics, too? “Well actually (Titleist) did. I just gave them my specs and told them what weight and swing weight that I wanted. I asked them if there’s any way they could do lead tape rather than slugs in the shaft. And they said, ‘Yeah, no problem.’ They’ve done it with plenty of other guys before. So they figured out how much lead tape to put on each club to get it to the correct weight. It’s strictly to get it to swing weight and to make sure the weight was throughout the whole head and not just the heel (shaft slugs tend to put weight more in the heel). So they put lead tape on the back of them, and yeah it had nothing to do with actual flight, just strictly to make sure I was comparing apples to apples rather than different-weighted clubs than what I’ve been playing.â€� Why the True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT X100 in your 4-iron, rather than standard Tour Issue X100s as with the rest of your irons? “I’ve always used an AMT in my 4-iron because it’s always been a little strong. So just to get a little bit more height and a bit more speed.â€� On the one-round switch to Srixon… “It was in play for a round. They make an absolutely amazing golf ball; a lot of these companies do. And it was just one of those things I felt like I didn’t have enough time at home to test, and I felt like going into this stretch I had to have some kind of constant. I couldn’t have everything change. My Pro V1 has been battle tested. I won Augusta with it. I’ve played a lot of great golf with it. So, I decided to stick with that ball to make sure everything else is tight before I try to venture out onto golf balls. I’ve been playing the (Pro V1 left dot) since Mexico last year.â€� Why Titleist Vokey SM5 wedges, and not a newer version? “Honestly, for me I just like the way the weight is, and with how much work Titleist does on the grinding on my wedges, for me it’s just… my 61 (degree)… it’s always been the one I’ve loved. It’s very interesting how superstitious golfers really are. Because once you win with something, it’s hard to change. When I won Augusta I won with a 60 (degree) SM5, so it’s one of those things that every time I move [into a new wedge], I try to get an SM5.â€� Reed says he’s “99-percentâ€� sure the setup he has for this week’s Valspar Championship will be his gamer set for the foreseeable future. With Reed’s propensity for equipment changes, however, who really knows? Click here for more equipment changes at THE PLAYERS. Click here for more equipment photos from THE PLAYERS.

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PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Shane Lowry has a tournament-best 63 and a four-shot lead going into the last round of The Open Championship. The Irishman broke out of a four-way tie late on the front nine with a birdie on No. 9, and then the putts started pouring in. He ran off three straight birdies late in the round and narrowly missed one final birdie that would have tied the major championship record. All that matters to Lowry is one round standing in the way of a claret jug at Royal Portrush. Tommy Fleetwood shot 66 and lost ground. He was four behind. This is the second time Lowry has had a 54-hole lead in a major. He was four shots ahead at Oakmont in the 2016 U.S. Open, which Dustin Johnson rallied to win.

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Tony Finau heard Bill Patterson before he ever saw him. “And it’s something that I don’t want to ever hopefully hear again,â€� Finau recalls, his voice suddenly turning solemn. “An older gentleman yelling for his life. That’s what it sounded like.â€� Patterson was crumpled under a golf cart, screaming as he was dragged across the range at TPC Scottsdale. Finau, who was the last player on the range after the Wednesday pro-am at the 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open, had just finished hitting balls when he heard the frantic cries for help. “You could see the skid marks all the way, and he was underneath the cart the whole time,â€� Finau says. Finau, his uncle and his coach, Boyd Summerhays, sprinted toward Patterson and lifted the golf cart off him. A nearby police officer radioed for help, and the EMTs arrived within minutes. Patterson was taken to a trauma center and later moved to the Barrow Neurological Center for more specialized care. The diagnosis? Well, Patterson had two broken vertebrae, 12 broken ribs, two shoulder lacerations and significant cuts on his arm. Doctors ended up breaking two more ribs in order to do the spinal fusion surgery where two 12-inch titanium rods with 16 screws were inserted in his back. Patterson, who was in what is called a neck-to-waist “turtleâ€� body cast for two months – “It was a joy the day I got rid of that thing, I’ll tell you,â€� he says — didn’t find out it was Finau who helped lift the golf cart off his battered body until weeks later when he was in rehab. Now, he describes himself as the pro’s No. 1 fan. The accident happened as Patterson, who has worked part-time at TPC Scottsdale for 13 years and was overseeing the driving range during the tournament, collected the last of the remaining magnetic A-frame boards used to identify the pros. He put two in his golf cart and had just picked up a third as he walked around the front of the vehicle to get in the driver’s side. “The third A-frame must have hit the golf cart,â€� Patterson recalls. “And one of those A-frames fell on the gas pedal and I was directly in front of it, so it ran me over and then pulled me underneath and then drug me about 50 feet. “I was awake through the entire thing, but I wasn’t sure what had just happened. All I know as I’m looking up, I see what I think is the undercarriage of a golf cart and I’m screaming. “I’m just so lucky and so fortunate that it didn’t land one of the wheels on my throat or on my head.â€� And that Finau and company were there. “That was a blessing,â€� Finau says. “… I finished, and we were just for some odd reasons, just talking in the back of the range for five, 10 minutes. “If we would’ve left right away when I was done with my range session, I think a lot of further damage could have been done, but I was happy just to kind of be there and, and be able to rush over to him and take that cart off in.â€� In the weeks after the accident, Finau quietly checked with TOUR officials and TPC staff to see how Patterson was doing. Patterson, in turn, tried to get in touch with the PGA TOUR veteran to say thank you, as well, but the email address he was given didn’t work. Patterson, who had gone back to as a starter at TPC Scottsdale last November, finally had an opportunity to talk with Finau earlier this year at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Patterson was back at his usual spot on the driving range. Finau had chipped and putted and was making his way over to hit some balls. “Once I found out he was there, I was on my way over to see him and he was getting ready to walk over to the long range,â€� Patterson recalls. “We shook and embraced. And I said, Tony, I can’t tell you how much, it means to me for what you did for me. “And he says, well, I’m just so glad to see you and see that everything has been the way it turned out for you as compared to the way it could’ve been.â€� After months of rehabilitation for his back and his shoulder, Patterson was able to start playing golf again. The first time he teed it up, he shot 42 on the front nine of the Champions Course at TPC Scottsdale. “I shot light’s out. I couldn’t believe it,â€� Patterson recalls with a broad smile. “I was so methodical cause I was so afraid to bend or twist or pull and I shot a great nine hole round the golf and I was just thrilled. I had no pain. “So, I think there was a lot to be said for that slow and deliberate. Don’t try to kill the ball as they say.â€� Now that he’s able to play 18 holes again, Patterson admits some of his “old habitsâ€� have crept back into his game. But he’s happy just to be able to be playing again and beyond grateful to the TOUR pro who helped make it possible.

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