U.S. Open setting up for a historic finish

Round 4 of the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship takes place Sunday. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Live leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 2 p.m.-5 p.m. (Golf Channel), Sunday, 2:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

Click here to read the full article…

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Dustin Johnson with a rescue club. Yep, you read that right. And he won’t be alone. Johnson has been spotted at the Plantation Course at Kapalua testing the new TaylorMade SIM range of woods and expects to play the driver, 3-wood and rescue club at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. RELATED: What you need to know for Kapalua | Players to Watch: Dustin Johnson It is of course not uncommon for the first event of the new year to provide new equipment on TOUR and Johnson is likely to be joined by Jon Rahm, Matthew Wolfe and Collin Morikawa with the new gear. Johnson has been spotted with the “SIM Maxâ€� version while the others have the “SIMâ€�. “I’m playing the Max. I’ve got the Max driver and 3-wood, and I’m actually going to play a rescue club which I never thought that would happen,â€� Johnson confirmed on tournament eve. “I’ve been hitting it the last few days. I hit it quite nicely. I don’t know, we’ll give it a run for a little while, see how it works.â€� Johnson says he last played a rescue club back and forth in his early years on the PGA TOUR depending on the course but the 20-time winner might make it a more permanent switch now. “I took out the 3-iron (this week). We’ll see. I don’t know, I’m going to go hit some on TrackMan and see how far it’s going,â€� he added. The new drivers landed on the USGA’s list of conforming driver heads on Monday morning and showed the unreleased product has a redesigned sole with a raised section in the back. There are three models with the “SIMâ€� appearing to have a weight that slides in a track toward the front of the sole. The “SIM Maxâ€� does not have the weight track, nor does the “SIM Max Dâ€�. It appears the clubs will still contain the “Speed Injectionâ€� and “Twist Faceâ€� type technology introduced previously to create more speed and also assist straighter shots. More details are expected over the coming days with other TaylorMade staffers, including FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy, also likely to bring the clubs into play.

Click here to read the full article…

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — Scottie Scheffler closed with a bogey for a 9-under 62 and a one-stroke lead Thursday after the first round of the PGA TOUR’s inaugural Bermuda Championship. Scheffler played his opening nine at hilly Port Royal Golf Club in 6-under 29, making an eagle on the par-5 17th. He added birdies on Nos. 2, 4, 6 and 7. In position to birdie in for a 59, he parred the par-3 eighth and dropped the stroke on the par-4 ninth. “You think about it a little bit,” Scheffler said about a 59. “The eagle putt on seven was pretty close and then on eight, felt like I hit a pretty good putt, just misread it. I guess kind of lost a little momentum.” Port Royal was the site of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from 2009 through 2014. “It’s very hilly,” Scheffler said. “The green speeds are a little slower than what we’re used to, but that’s kind of what you have to do on a piece of property like this because if the wind picks up and the greens are too quick, then all of a sudden we can’t play golf.” The 23-year-old former University of Texas player won twice last year on the Korn Ferry Tour and earned fully exempt PGA TOUR status by leading the Korn Ferry’s combined points list for the regular season and finals. He tied for seventh in September at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier in his first start of the season and made the cuts in his other three events. “I think it’s just a lot busier out here,” Scheffler said. “The courses are maybe a little bit harder, but the golf’s not much of an adjustment. There’s just a little more activity, a lot more of you guys, more club reps, more people around. Kind of try and stay in my own place.” Wes Roach was second. He eagled the par-5 seventh, but also finished with a bogey on No. 9. “It blew some early,” Roach said. “It didn’t blow near as much today as it had the last couple days around here. The course is a little bit more gettable with the wind laid down a touch.” Rob Oppenheim, Bo Hoag and Russell Knox shot 64. Oppenheim birdied seven of the first eight holes, then parred the final 10. “It’s kind of a dream start to come out here and birdie seven of the first eight,” Oppenheim said. “Made a lot of putts. … I didn’t play much different, just the putter was hot one nine and kind of a little cold the last nine.” John Senden opened with a 65. Lanto Griffin, making his first start since winning the Houston Open three weeks ago, shot 71.

Click here to read the full article…