TPC Sawgrass, Network of Clubs turn 40

Start with a Rubik's Cube. Twist it and crank it, make it as hopeless looking as you can, and it won't matter. Put that thing in front of a certain subset of nimble-fingered geniuses and they'll figure it out in a matter of seconds. They're just too good. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Five things about The Concession What's happening at the sun-splashed World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession, where Collin Morikawa (67) will take a two-shot lead over Billy Horschel (69) and Brooks Koepka (70) into Sunday, is essentially the golfing version of that. Whoever wins, it will be a victory for that ineffable quality known as golf IQ, that unseen but still very real attribute that separates the elite of the elite on the PGA TOUR. "I’m kind of good at resetting," Morikawa said after a round in which he reeled off eight birdies in a 10-hole stretch. "And figuring out what I did well, and just kind of pushing that forward into tomorrow and really figuring out what I didn’t do great, obviously, those last few holes and just learn from them." (After building a five-shot lead, Morikawa bogeyed two back-nine par 5s.) This marks the second time Morikawa will take at least a share of the lead into the final round. The first was the 2019 3M Open, where he tied for second. He leads the field with 23 birdies. Webb Simpson (69) will go into Sunday at 12 under, three back, while Rory McIlroy (66) and Patrick Reed (69) are by no means out of it at 11 under. Even Viktor Hovland (66, 10 under), is still in the mix. He has made 12 birdies and an eagle the last two days but showed how fast the course can bite back when he made a quadruple-bogey 8 on his last hole Friday. They've been the fastest to solve the Rubik's Cube that is The Concession. Before this week only a handful of players had ever seen the course that members call The Concussion. There's water everywhere, and sand, plus the odd alligator. Then there's the roller-coaster greens. And yet the best players in the world are figuring it out. Morikawa, who at 24 already has three TOUR wins, including a major, is an especially fast learner, and this week he's been buoyed by a chipping lesson from Concession member Paul Azinger. What's more, the young Cal graduate has built his putting stroke, which he calls "kind of the saw," with input from PGA TOUR Champions member Mark O'Meara. Here's how fast the best in the world adapt to a new course: Koepka, who has come from behind in four of his eight TOUR wins, had never seen the back nine until the first round Thursday. "I mean, Rick walked it," he said with a shrug after the first round, a reference to his longtime caddie, Ricky Elliott. "I get a yardage book, it's not too difficult." Well, it is, actually. But these guys just make it look like it isn't. "You can make this golf course as easy or as hard on yourself as you want to be," McIlroy said after vaulting up the leaderboard with a back-nine 31, including an eagle at the par-5 13th hole. "If you want to take something on and put it into sort of smaller spots to give yourself better looks, you can, or you can lay back if you’re more comfortable doing that. "A couple of tee shots on the back nine, that’s what I did, I just laid back," he continued. "I knew I was going to have over 200 into 18, but I was happy hitting 3-wood off the tee instead of hitting driver. Just keeping it in play, keeping it in front of you and going from there." High golf IQ means knowing when to back off and when to attack, your place on the scoreboard, and where others are, too. Jack and Tiger had it. Koepka, who is seeking to become the first multiple winner this season (Waste Management Phoenix Open), seems to have it. Oh, and the last time Horschel was inside the top two on the leaderboard through 54 holes on TOUR, he went on to win (2017 AT&T Byron Nelson). Morikawa, who grew up in Southern California and played collegiately in Northern California, admits he is not by nature a Florida guy. He's only played a handful of times here, but you'd never know it from his body of work at The Concession, where he was 7 under through 12 - including a career-best five straight birdies - but 2 over for the last six holes Saturday. He doesn't have the Rubik's Cube entirely figured out. But he's working on it. "There’s so many positives to take from those first 12," he said, "but I have a lot to learn from those last six. I’m not looking at it as a negative. Yeah, I didn’t play great the last six, but a lot to learn from heading into tomorrow. Just to kind of clear my head to get ready for the 18-hole grind tomorrow. It’s all a learning experience for me and if I can just kind of tighten everything up from throughout the entire round tomorrow, I think we’re going to be fine."

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This week, all eyes are on Patrick Cantlay as he returns to Muirfield Village Golf Club as the defending champion of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. A lot has happened for Cantlay since last year’s event. After winning his second Memorial, he went on to win the final two events of the 2021 season, the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship, en route to claiming the FedExCup and earning PGA TOUR Player of the Year honors. He’s also coming off a recent win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with his good friend and potential Presidents Cup partner, Xander Schauffele. Cantlay is a year older (now 30), his career victory total has swelled to seven and his bank account is surely heftier (thanks in large part to the FedExCup’s $15 million first prize). His golf club setup, however, looks quite similar at this year’s Memorial. Cantlay is an old soul who is slow to make change, preferring to stick with what works instead of chasing the latest and greatest. “I feel like I have stuck to things being pretty much the same and I think that’s part of me being so consistent,” he once said. This philosophy applies to his equipment, as well. For example, Cantlay still uses a Titleist 915F 3-wood, which is a club that became available to the public at retail back in 2014. His irons, the Titleist 718 AP2’s, were released in late 2017 and his Titleist TS3 driver was released the following year. Although his deliberate gear approach still holds true, Cantlay has made a few key changes in a year’s time. For one, he’s changed out his previous Titleist 816 H2 21-degree hybrid for a Titleist TS2 21-degree 7-wood, which is now equipped with a Mitsubishi Diamana ZF shaft that matches up with his driver and 3-wood. He’s also upgraded his 56-degree wedge from a Vokey SM7 model into a new Vokey SM9. Being that the Vokey SM9 wedges were released to retail in March 2022, his new sand wedge is clearly the most modern golf club in Cantlay’s bag. Despite being a notoriously slow switcher of gear, Cantlay has indeed shaken things up a touch in the last year. Check out the full comparisons below. Patrick Cantlay’s WITB this week Driver: Titleist TS3 (9.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60TX 3-wood: Titleist 915F (15 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 70TX 7-wood: Titleist TS2 (21 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 80TX Irons: Titleist 718 AP2 (4-9) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 Tour Issue X100 Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 (46, bent to 47 degrees, and 52 degrees), Titleist Vokey SM9 (56, bent to 57 degrees), and Titleist Vokey SM8 (60 degrees, bent to 61 degrees) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300 Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom T5 proto Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Patrick Cantlay’s winning bag from the 2021 Memorial Tournament Driver: Titleist TS3 (9.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60TX 3-wood: Titleist 915F (15 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 70TX Hybrid: Titleist 816 H2 (21 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 10TX Irons: Titleist 718 AP2 (4-9) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 Tour Issue X100 Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 (46-10F, 52-08F, 56-08M) Titleist Vokey SM8 (61 Proto) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300 Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom T5 proto Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

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