Varner hoping to save season at hometown WGC

Frittelli clinches first European Tour title

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By his own admission, Rory McIlroy doesn’t tinker with his equipment much during the year. There were, however, a few major equipment changes that McIlroy made heading into 2019 that had a significant impact on his game. Most notably, going into 2019, McIlroy switched his driver, putter and golf ball. Clearly those changes worked out, since McIlroy had a season to remember by winning THE PLAYERS Championship in March, the RBC Canadian Open in June, and the FedExCup in August. McIlroy finished the season ranked first in Strokes Gained: Driving, first in Strokes Gained: Total, first in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, and while he’s struggled on the greens in recent years, he finished 24th in Strokes Gained: Putting. In an interview with PGATOUR.COM earlier this year, McIlroy explained the equipment changes he made heading into 2019. Enjoy his insight below! Related: McIlroy’s Winner’s Bag On switching from the TaylorMade TP5x golf ball to the TP5 … McIlroy: I played the TP5x for nearly a year and a half, and then I decided, you know what, I could use a little more spin with my irons. I ultimately went with the TP5, but it’s a very similar ball. It’s stable in the wind. It does everything I need to, but just a little lower launch and a little higher spin, which has definitely helped me improve my wedge play, and it’s helped me control my distances a little bit better. I thought it was going to take a while to go from the TP5x to the TP5 because it’s about seven compression points different, but I got used to it straight away, which was really nice. On his TaylorMade Spider X Copper putter … McIlroy: I love it. I loved it from the start. They first showed it to us at this photo shoot that we did in October in Florida, and I loved it. It’s a little bit more compact than the original Spider. I love the white channel. For me, one of my bad habits in my putting is that I would address the putter a little out at the toe. So to have that white channel right in the middle – that white channel is the exact same width as a golf ball – I can center the golf ball on that. For me, having that contrast between the white channel and the black line… I’ve never aimed the putter as well as I have with that. Without even making any changes mechanically to my stroke, my stroke has gotten better because I aim my putter correctly. I make a stroke that starts the ball on the line that I’m aiming and there are no compensations throughout the stroke at all. So the putter has actually made me stroke it better. I went to The Kingdom (TaylorMade’s performance center in Carlsbad, California) and we tested it all in February, and my stroke between last year and this year is so different, so that’s been huge. On trying multi-material putter shafts … McIlroy: I’ve never really played around with shafts in putters. I think I have a KBS shaft in my putter, but I’m not sure (laughs). I don’t know. I have no idea. I know it’s black, but it feels good, and (that’s all that matters). Why he switched from the TaylorMade M3 driver to the new M5 … McIlroy: The noise. The sound of the M5 to me is so good. That’s been something that … I really don’t like a high-pitched driver. Where you put the weights on the head makes a little bit of a difference, and I noticed it’s just a little bit spinnier, which I like. I’ve probably added 300-400 rpm in my average driver spin this year. That’s led to me hitting 13% more fairways with my driver than last year (through six events in 2019). That’s been big as well with playing the TP5 ball instead of the TP5x and having a driver profile that’s a little spinnier. I might be giving up 2-3 mph ball speed, but I’m hitting it in the fairway more often, which means I’m giving myself more chances to get it close to the pin. So that’s been a big help. On TaylorMade’s new double-decker TOUR truck, and tinkering with equipment … McIlroy: I wouldn’t be the biggest club tinkerer, so there hasn’t really been – all the way throughout my career, when I was with other manufacturers – I never spent much time on the truck. But having a space like this, it’s nice to come talk to the guys and look at a few things, and just to hang out. Maybe watch a European soccer match on the television if it’s not on in the locker room. It’s just a cool place to come and hang out.

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Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed are among the big names in the 156-player field for the AT&T Byron Nelson, which is in year two at the unique Coore/Crenshaw-designed Trinity Forest Golf Club. Eight of the top 30 in the FedExCup will tee it up in Dallas, including defending champion Aaron Wise, who at 21 years, 10 months was younger than every previous AT&T Byron Nelson winner besides Tiger Woods (21 years, 4 months in 1997). Reed will make his first start at Trinity, while FedExCup No. 8 Koepka will look to build early momentum for his PGA Championship title defense next week. This will mark Spieth’s ninth start in his hometown event; his best finish remains the T16 he recorded in his first appearance in 2010, when he was a sponsor exemption. This time around the most notable exemption is Dallas Cowboys quarterback turned CBS broadcaster Tony Romo.    Here’s a look at some of the Featured Groups (FedExCup ranking in parenthesis). Please note that there will be a fan vote on Twitter to determine the second Featured Group on Friday. We will provide the final results near the end of Thursday’s first round. HOW TO FOLLOW GOLF CHANNEL, CBS: Thursday-Friday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 12:00 to 22:30 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 14:30 to 22:00. TWITTER WINDOW: 8 a.m. to approximately 9:15 a.m. Thursday and Friday. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-6:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM). THURSDAY Keith Mitchell (21) – The Honda Classic champion is coming off a T8 at the Wells Fargo, his sixth top-25 finish this season, and may be just starting to grasp how good he is. C.T. Pan (30) – Diminutive pro broke through with maiden victory at the recent RBC Heritage, finished T32 at Trinity Forest last year. Kevin Tway (28) – It’s been a feast-or-famine season for Tway, who won the season-opening Safeway Open in Napa, Calif., but later racked up six straight missed cuts. Tee time: 8:20 a.m. ET Brooks Koepka (8) – The highest ranked player in the field, he has six top-25 finishes, including a win at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, this season. Aaron Wise (89) – Reigning Rookie of the Year has fallen off slightly in his sophomore season, with just one top-10 finish in 12 starts. Coming off a T18 at the Wells Fargo. Ryan Palmer (19) – Enjoying rare home game after recently breaking nine-year win drought with partner Jon Rahm at Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Tee time: 8:30 a.m. ET FRIDAY Jordan Spieth (153) – Some home cooking might help Spieth, whose form is a far cry from his FedExCup winning season in 2015. He’s fallen to 39th in the world, and at Trinity will play alongside Stenson, another former FedExCup winner who has slipped to 40th. Henrik Stenson (117) – The 43-year-old is coming off a T28 at the Wells Fargo Championship, and has one top-10 finish in eight starts this season. Hideki Matsuyama (43) – Has rebounded since last season, with seven top-25 finishes in 12 starts, including a T9 at the Genesis Open and T8 at THE PLAYERS Championship. Tee time: 8:30 a.m. ET Fan vote choices: Patrick Reed (62) – Has dropped off slightly on the heels of his Masters-winning season, with just one top-10 finish in 13 starts. Coming off a T28 at the Wells Fargo. Marc Leishman (13) – Opened the tournament with a sizzling 61 last year, which remains the Trinity Forest tournament course record. Already a winner this season at the CIMB Classic. Charles Howell III (10) – Enjoying a banner season at 39, Howell has racked up nine top-25 finishes, including a win at The RSM Classic. Tee time: 8:20 a.m. ET Dylan Frittelli (136) – The consummate world traveler, South Africa’s Frittelli has made nine cuts in 13 starts this season, with three top-25s. Scott Scheffler (NA) – In the midst of a solid season on the Web.com Tour with two runner-up finishes and six top-10s in 10 starts. This will be his third TOUR start of the season. Tony Romo (NA) – Sponsor exemption Romo, an amateur, will be a favorite amongst the locals after playing 14 seasons as quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Tee time: 9:30 a.m. ET

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