Why Corey Conners switched drivers for the first time in five years

The fall portion of the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season wraps up next week at The RSM Classic. Tournament host Davis Love III will be in the field as he also unveils the newly-designed Plantation course at Sea Island Golf Club, a project he worked on his with his brother throughout 2019. Charles Howell III defends his title after topping Patrick Rodgers in a playoff last year. It was Howell’s third PGA TOUR win, and his first since 2007. FIELD NOTES: Presidents Cup participants Matt Kuchar and Adam Hadwin will be in the field along with International assistant KJ Choi in the last official PGA TOUR event before this year’s competition… Lanto Griffin, who currently tops the FedExCup standings, will be looking to continue his fantastic fall… Per usual, The RSM Classic field will be chock-full of local residents including Patton Kizzire, Zach Johnson, Harris English, Hudson Swafford, Jonathan Byrd and J.T. Poston, among others… Past champions Mackenzie Hughes, Robert Streb, Austin Cook, Ben Crane, and Kevin Kisner will be looking to rekindle some old magic… Sebastian Munoz and Brendon Todd join Griffin as fall winners in the field in Georgia. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Four of the nine RSM Classic winners made the event their first PGA TOUR win (Austin Cook, Mackenzie Hughes, Robert Streb, Tommy Gainey)… This is the last event for TOUR pros to earn FedExCup points prior to 2020, along with the final opportunity to earn a spot in January’s Sentry Tournament of Champions… Adam Hadwin and Matt Kuchar are using The RSM Classic as their final warm-up prior to playing in the Presidents Cup… Despite Sea Island having a plethora of PGA TOUR pros living there, no resident of Sea Island has actually won The RSM Classic. Chris Kirk lived there for nearly seven years, but moved to Atlanta prior to his win in 2013. Kevin Kisner won in 2015, but was only living in Sea Island temporarily during a re-model of his South Carolina home. COURSE: Sea Island GC (Seaside), 7,005 yards, par 70. What got its start as a nine-hole layout built in 1929 was redone by Tom Fazio in 1999. He was tasked with bringing two existing nine-hole tracks together. Davis Love III and his brother Mark redesigned the Plantation Course at Sea Island in 2019. Entrants in The RSM Classic will play one of their first two rounds on the Plantation.  72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Kevin Kisner (2015). 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Tommy Gainey (4th round, 2012). LAST TIME: Although Charles Howell III led all week long a year ago, he still needed a strong finish to notch his first TOUR title in more than a decade. Howell birdied three of his final four holes to tie Patrick Rodgers and then birdied the second playoff hole for the victory. Howell shot 31 on his final nine holes to finish at 19-under (64-64-68-67) for the week. Four players (Howell, Rodgers, Webb Simpson, and Cameron Champ) shared the lead through the back nine. Simpson finished alone in third, while Ryan Blaum and Luke List finished T4. Champ, meanwhile, bogeyed the 17th to finish alone in sixth. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:15 a.m.- 4 p.m. ET (featured groups) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The U.S. leads the International team by 3-1/2 to 1-1/2 points after Thursday’s opening day of the Presidents Cup. Here’s a look at each of the five Foursomes matches. MATCH 1: USA wins, 6 and 4 Rickie Fowler/Justin Thomas (U.S.) def. Hideki Matsuyama/Charl Schwartzel (International) Holes won: USA 9, Internationals 2 Holes led: USA 11, Internationals 1 Recap: The Internationals took the early lead when the U.S. conceded the second hole, having found trouble with Justin Thomas’ errant tee shot. After that? It was all America. The momentum switched when Fowler chipped in from 72 feet for birdie to win the third hole. Thomas then drained a 12-foot birdie to win the fourth, and the Internationals bogeyed the fifth. All the sudden, the U.S. was 2 up and kept the pressure on. The Internationals struggled, shooting 5 over on the front side. A double-bogey at No. 7 and a bogey at No. 9 put the Internationals 5 down at the turn. Schwartzel rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt to win the 10th, but the Americans responded by winning the next two holes, Thomas rolliing in a couple of birdie putts inside 10 feet. QUOTES Rickie Fowler (on his chip-in): “That was definitely a big turn of events. I feel like we were definitely on the better side of the hole when it comes to missing that green … That was kind of our whole goal going into the day was to manage our way around and put ourselves in the right spots. Felt like we did a good job of that.” Justin Thomas (on Fowler’s chip-in): “It definitely got the round going a little bit and got the momentum going our way. But we played some unbelievable golf after that, too.” Charl Schwartzel: “There was a few key moments where things changed. One was on the fourth hole. Their ball, Rickie and Justin’s ball pitched about a foot over the bunker. It looked like we might actually win that hole; end up losing it. I hit a bad shot on 7 in the water. And then you give Rickie and Justin, which are both unbelievable players, playing good golf now, you give them just a little bit of momentum, they are hard to catch.” Hideki Matsuyama: “”We really didn’t get into our game today. Just the rhythm just wasn’t there.” MATCH 2: USA wins, 1 up Dustin Johnson/Matt Kuchar (U.S.) def. Adam Scott/Jhonattan Vegas (International) Holes won: U.S. 5, Internationals 4 Holes led: U.S. 3, Internationals 6 Recap: A solid performance by both sides, who were all square through 15 holes. At the par-3 16th, Johnson’s tee shot finished seven feet from the pin to set up Kuchar’s birdie putt, while the Internationals bogeyed the hole. That gave the U.S. team its first lead of the match, and they held on from there, playing bogey-free golf for the entire match. QUOTES Matt Kuchar: “We were bogey-free today, which is amazing. In alternate-shot, in these conditions, not to make a bogey and for us to just win 1 up, that’s a heck of a battle that we had with those guys. They played some really good golf and I have a heck of a partner to ride.” Dustin Johnson: “I thought we played really, really solid. Never really got out of position. Didn’t make any bogeys. We just, you know, kept the ball in play.” MATCH 3: USA wins, 5 and 4 Patrick Reed/Jordan Spieth (U.S.) def. Si Woo Kim/Emiliano Grillo (Internationals) Holes won: U.S. 8, International 3 Holes led: U.S. 12, International 0 Recap: Spieth and Reed continued to dominate as teammates, easily defeating two Presidents Cup rookies in Thursday’s foursomes play. Spieth and Reed are now 6-1-2 overall as a team, and 2-0 in the Presidents Cup. Spieth moved to 4-0 in Presidents Cup Foursomes. The American duo never trailed Thursday, winning the par-5 second hole after Kim hit the Internationals’ second shot in the water. Spieth and Reed won Nos. 4-7 to take control of the match. The Internationals looked to be in good shape to win the 11th, but Spieth made a 33-footer and the Internationals bogeyed. Overall, the Americans shot even-par in Thursday’s windy conditions, making three birdies and three bogeys. QUOTES Jordan Spieth: “Other than the flip on 11, this was a pretty boring day for us, but boring is what we needed today. We really only hit, I want to say, two shots that we shouldn’t hit today. We both had an iron shot that we’d like over again.” Patrick Reed: “When it’s windy like this, with how comfortable we are around the greens and on the greens, it just seemed like if we got ourselves in a bad spot we were able it figure out how to get it up-and-down and save par.” MATCH 4: International wins, 3 and 1 Branden Grace/Louis Oosthuizen (Internationals) def. Daniel Berger/Brooks Koepka (U.S.) Holes won: Internationals 6, U.S. 3 Holes led: Internationals 7, U.S. 2 Recap: The South Africans remain perfect, winning three of the last five holes to break open a tight match that had been all square through 12 holes. Two years ago, Grace and Oosthuizen won all four of their matches in South Korea, and delivered yet again for Nick Price. Oosthuizen made a 19-foot birdie putt to win the 13th and grab the lead. The Americans, long-time friends and former Florida State teammates, lost the 15th with a bogey after Koepka found trouble off the tee. The Internationals closed it out with an 11-foot birdie from Oosthuizen. QUOTES Louis Oosthuizen: “In the middle, a few holes, we didn’t hit very good shots but we knew it was going to be a grind all day. Then we started really flushing the ball and really giving ourselves putts for birdies and making pars. In these conditions today, par on some holes is good enough to win.” Branden Grace: “It was nice to hit clutch shots when it mattered. We putted great. His speed was spot on. Down the stretch, we had a couple of long putts when we needed to just put pressure on the guys and did exactly that.” Brooks Koepka: “Just didn’t give ourselves any chances on the back side. We didn’t give ourselves enough chances for birdie and you have to be able to do that, especially as windy as it is today.” Daniel Berger: “We had a few stretch of holes where we lost it a little bit but Brooks played really well. I think I could have played a little bit better, and if that was the case, we may have come out with the win.” MATCH 5: Halved Jason Day/Marc Leishman (Internationals) halve with Phil Mickelson/Kevin Kisner (U.S.) Holes won: U.S. 6, Internationals 6 Holes led: U.S. 9, Internationals 4 Recap: After clawing back into the match and holding the lead through 16 holes, the Internationals could not hang on for a much-needed win. But at least they salvaged a half-point. Day missed a 20-foot par putt on the final hole, giving Mickelson a chance to win the match with a 6-1/2 foot putt, but he missed too. The Americans got off to a quick start and were 3 up through six holes. But the Internationals won four straight holes to take the lead, relying on an eagle, two birdies and a par. The Americans squared the match with a par on the 12th before a nice approach by Leishman set up Day for a birdie at the 14th.  QUOTES Phil Mickelson: “It was interesting. We played some good golf. We were 4-under through 10 in some difficult conditions and we were only 1 up. They had a stretch there where they won four holes and it was just back and forth. It’s too bad we both bogeyed the last hole because we had some good going today.” Kevin Kisner (on Mickelson): “He was my partner in my first Presidents Cup match, something I’ll always remember. He was the epitome of class and partner, and I just can’t thank him enough. He carried me around all day.” Jason Day: “They had us down a lot early in the round and then Leish had a great chip-in on 9 and got us going again. Spread that momentum our way, and you know, obviously the last few holes wasn’t the way we wanted to finish, but with that said, any point is like moving forward even if it’s a half a point.” Marc Leishman: “That’s about as intense as it gets. You have all your teammates there and all the American guys, and the match is on the line.”

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Will Zalatoris didn’t just win his first PGA TOUR title Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He also proved that sticking to a simple blueprint can breed success. Committing to the same practice routine for three years turned Zalatoris’ putting from a liability to an asset, as proven by the series of clutch putts he holed on the final holes of his victory at TPC Southwind. The most important may have been the 10-footer for par on the 72nd hole, the one that led him to exclaim, “What are they going to say now!?” and that was ultimately necessary for him to get in a playoff with Sepp Straka. Zalatoris, a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and a big Warriors fan, said his Stephen Curry-inspired retort was directed at all who have criticized his putting over the years. Zalatoris has been working with Josh Gregory, a Dallas-based performance and short-game coach, for a little more than three years. Gregory, the head coach at Augusta State when it won back-to-back NCAA men’s golf titles, develops drills and games that help his PGA TOUR clients improve around the greens. It was Gregory who devised the routine that helped Zalatoris turn his putting around. “He was in a bad place with his putting,” Gregory said, recalling their early days together. “He was lost. But all he needed was simplicity in what he was working on, and a blueprint of how to get better.” Gregory gave Zalatoris that blueprint, and together they’ve been following it ever since. The practice sessions aren’t complicated, Gregory said, and they only take between 20 minutes and one hour. Although short in duration, the sessions are efficient, focused, and maybe most importantly, consistent. They begin with short, straight putts, using a putting mirror and string line to work on his setup and to ensure his putts are starting on the proper line. They look to identify any issues with his grip, foot pressure, alignment, and shoulder line. Then they play an 18-hole putting round on the green, selecting putts of different distances and slopes, scoring the game using a Strokes Gained system. This helps to engage Zalatoris’ competitive side, while also working on crucial aspects of putting, such as speed control and green reading. “That’s why he’s persevered through all the criticism and the bad times; he does the same thing all the time,” Gregory said of Zalatoris. “We do the same drills every day. Regardless of whether he shoots 75 or 65, we’re doing the same thing.” During one of these practice sessions at the PGA Championship, Zalatoris and Gregory developed a grip trick, or checkpoint, to ensure he addresses his putts properly. Zalatoris’ putter is built specifically to fit his unique putting style and grip. He uses a 42.5-inch Scotty Cameron Circle T Phantom X T-11 proto putter, which is equipped with a long SuperStroke Traxion Tour grip. Coincidentally, the “e” in the SuperStroke logo on the grip provides the perfect reference point for Zalatoris. “(He adjusted) where his hand placement is at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills,” Gregory said. “We had done a ton of work before that and identified some areas with his setup and his tilt; we’re always trying to get him (leaning) more left because he tends to tilt back with his grip on the SuperStroke. “When he’s putting really well, you can’t see any of the ‘e’ in ‘SuperStroke.’ He covers it up with his hand. So I want his bottom finger a quarter of an inch below the ‘e.’ When he gets in trouble, his right hand gets too high on the putter, so you can see the bottom of the ‘e.” Then when his hand gets too high, he can’t control the putter face as well, and he gets too inside. The lower he gets to the ground, he can feel the weight of the putter better and feel like he’s taking it straighter back. It’s just a checkpoint we go through every day.” The PGA Championship is also where he made big strides because of the confidence-inspiring putts he made on the final two holes of regulation to get into a playoff with Justin Thomas. Zalatoris holed 8-footers on those final two holes, and even though Thomas won the playoff, those clutch makes were huge for Zalatoris. “It’s like Southern Hills was the turning point,” Gregory said. “After he made those putts on 17 and 18, he called me that night, and he goes, ‘I finally believe I’m one of the best players in the world.’ Those two putts have probably changed his putting stroke more than anything that we do.” Despite finally breaking through last week in Memphis, Zalatoris and Gregory were on the practice green Tuesday at the BMW Championship in Delaware, with a putting mirror and a string line setup at his practice station. “He’s going to do the same thing every day,” Gregory said. “Even after winning, we did the exact same drills today. We’ll do the exact same drills tomorrow. Our putting routine before and after the rounds is almost down to a ball count. It’s that exact. He’s wired like I am. I’m a super structured guy when it comes to practice. He’s the same way, that’s why we hit it off.” To be fair, the Tuesday practice session may have taken a few extra minutes than normal. Usually, Zalatoris doesn’t have fellow PGA TOUR players and caddies approaching him every few minutes for celebratory high fives and hugs after a victory. They were welcome interruptions, which Zalatoris embraced with smiles, appreciation, and a wry jab here and there to keep it light. Yet, they were interruptions nonetheless to a blueprint that Gregory and Zalatoris developed years ago.

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