Titleist introduces lightweight TS1 driver for “moderate swing speedsâ€

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Tommy Fleetwood is a big fan of the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. “If you like golf, you should like this golf course,â€� Fleetwood said. “It’s just about as fair as you’re going to get a test.â€� The Englishman was rarely challenged on a breezy Thursday, too, as he fired a 65 to set the early pace at THE PLAYERS Championship. When the morning wave was complete Fleetwood owned a one-stroke lead over Brian Harman and Ben An. Rory McIroy – who has finished sixth or better in his last six starts — was alone in fourth after a 67 while Brendan Steele and Rory Sabbatini were another stroke behind. Xander Schauffele, who leads the FedExCup standings, shot a first-round 70. For Fleetwood, it was his fifth straight subpar round on the Stadium Course where he tied for seventh last year. He went out in 30, closing with three straight birdies, and then added another in the 12th hole for the round of 7 under. Fleetwood came to the PGA TOUR’s signature event riding the momentum of a tie for third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. He held a share of the lead at Bay Hill through two rounds but shot a 76 on Saturday and played catch-up after that. On Thursday, the 28-year-old was dialed in tee to green. He hit 10 of 14 fairways and all but two greens in regulation while taking just 26 putts. Fleetwood said keeping the ball in play off the tee was instrumental in his success. “The course feels different then,â€� Fleetwood said. “Like if you’re in the fairway all the time, the course feels very, very different, and it’s a massive key.” “Then I just started picking a few shots up, and then you get on a run like 7, 8, 9, and it feels great after that. Just one of them would feel like a great round, so three of them is — I’ll take it.â€�

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Dylan Frittelli (+260 for a Top 20) … Relative to the competition, this is not a reach despite the fact that he hasn’t cracked a top 20 since a T8 at the Valero Texas Open in early April or rested in five weeks. He cashed in 13 of his last 14 starts, including a T28 at The Open Championship where he led the field in putting and totaled only two three-putts on the massive greens. The South African also hasn’t missed an edition of the 3M Open where he’s 2-for-3 with a T18 in 2020. His scoring average in 10 rounds at TPC Twin Cities is 69. His only PGA TOUR victory occurred a few hundred miles south at TPC Deere Run, another Midwestern stop with bentgrass greens. Nate Lashley (+333 for a Top 20) … He’s veered into the same lane as Adam Long, who is in the Power Rankings. Like his fellow one-time PGA TOUR winner five years his junior, Lashley has been trading weekends off with top 20s and top 30s. It’s a heckuva way to make a keep one’s job at this level. Obviously, it requires confidence post-cut, and Lashley has that. He’s 14th in final-round scoring average. He’s also T3 in par-4 scoring and inside the top 50 in greens in regulation, converting those chances into par breakers and Strokes Gained: Putting. In lockstep with his recent trending, he’s looking for this first cut made in three tries at TPC Twin Cities. Michael Gligic … Where you can find it, a top 30 is a better play for the native Ontarian. In the last three months, he’s 8-for-9 with a trio of top 30s to surge to 145th in the FedExCup. He’s performed his best on easier tracks, so TPC Twin Cities should keep his rally rolling. He’s chasing his third payday in as many starts on the course and playing well enough right now to better a T26 in his debut in 2020. Averaging a couple of yards longer than TOUR average in distance of all drives at 291.0 (to rank T85), he’s not a short hitter by any judgment, but it’s still impressive that he’s T40 in par-5 scoring. That can matter more at TPC Twin Cities given its set of three par 5s has carved out a spot easily within the hardest half of all courses on the PGA TOUR. Justin Lower … Other PGA TOUR rookies are hogging the attention in 2021-22, but the 33-year-old from Ohio is putting together a nice season over on a side stage, so he’s worth checking out. He’s 13-for-21 with five top 20s, including a pair in the last two weeks to rise to 135th in the FedExCup. Currently inside the top 50 in both greens hit and proximity to the hole, but he’s also tightened up his putting on the average of almost one stroke per round within the last three months, and he’s showing zero signs of easing off that throttle. Cole Hammer … The decorated collegian at the University of Texas, where he contributed to his program’s national title a few weeks ago, is making already his fifth start as a professional and second on the PGA TOUR (MC, Travelers). Until he begins building in earnest, he presents merely as one to watch as he finished fifth in the Velocity Global Ranking for PGA TOUR University. That yields Korn Ferry Tour membership this summer and an exemption into the final stage of the KFT Qualifying Tournament. He arrives in Minnesota fresh off a T7 at the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS where he co-led the field in par-3 scoring. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. For live odds, visit BetMGM.

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