Why we’re headed for a wild weekend at the U.S. Open

Although mostly known for its irons in the equipment world, Mizuno has launched two new drivers that have each gotten play on the PGA TOUR prior to this official launch. Mizuno staffers Luke Donald and Keith Mitchell have put the new ST190G and ST190 drivers in the bag, respectively. For Luke Donald, the change into Mizuno’s new, adjustable ST190G was immediate. After more than a 7-month hiatus from the PGA TOUR for health reasons, Donald returned to competition at the 2018 QBE Shootout with the ST190G driver in the bag.  For Mitchell, the change into Mizuno’s ST190 driver was unexpected. “Driving was my best category last year – I walked into testing to do ‘Cookie’ (Mizuno’s PGA TOUR Manager Jeff Cook) a favor, give him some numbers and leave,â€� Mitchell said, according to Mizuno press release. “It turned out to be the easiest change I’ve ever made – on the one club I never thought I would switch. The ST190 was faster, straighter and more forgiving than what I was playing. I’ve used it ever since and haven’t considered taking it out.â€� The ST190 and ST190G drivers are each designed with new Forged SP700 Ti faces that now have lighter “Cortechâ€� structures, which deliver higher ball speeds, according to Mizuno. Mizuno says the faces are 10 percent stronger than 6-4 Titanium faces and are made from fine grains that allow for a more complex geometry; the new heads include re-designed internal ribs behind the face that are said to help with sound qualities. A new carbon-composite crown from Mizuno weighs 12 grams, thus saving 7 grams of weight from its predecessor’s crown. The weight savings allowed Mizuno to reposition weight to increase ball speeds and lower spin rates, according to the company. Additionally, the “Amplified Wave Soleâ€� — featuring ripples in the sole behind the face — has a redesigned structure compared to previous drivers that Mizuno says helps expand the COR (coefficient of restitution) area, thus raising ball speeds across the face. Mizuno’s ST190 driver, which has a fixed 6-gram weight in the rear portion of the sole, is said to favor a “more downward angle of attack,â€� according to a Mizuno press release. The ST190G driver, on the other hand, favors golfers with a “more level angle of attack.â€� The CG-adjustable ST190G has two sliding weight tracks in the sole that house two 7-gram weights; the weights can slide back-to-front to influence spin rates by up to 200 rpm, says Mizuno, and they can be placed into one of the tracks to achieve a draw or fade bias. Put both weight in the toe track for fade bias, or put both weights in the heel track for a draw-bias. The ST190 driver (9.5 and 10.5 degrees) will sell for $400, while the ST190G driver (9 degrees) will sell for $500. Mizuno ST190 and ST190 TS (Tour Spoon) fairway woods The ST190 fairway woods also have carbon composite crown and wave technology in the soles, but instead of SP700 faces, they’re made from HT1770 Maraging steel faces. With the new crowns, Mizuno says it was able to save 4 grams of weight compared to its predecessors, allowing the company to move weight lower in the club head. Mizuno’s ST190 fairway woods have a fixed hosel (15 and 18 degrees), while the ST190 TS model is adjustable between 13-and-17 degrees. The standard fairway woods will sell for $250, and the adjustable version will sell for $300. All of the Mizuno ST190 products will be available in February 2019.

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MAMARONECK, N.Y. — Matthew Wolff might be too young to realize he’s supposed to hit fairways to have a chance to win the U.S. Open. Or maybe he’s so good it doesn’t matter. Wolff hit only two fairways Saturday and still matched the lowest score ever at Winged Foot in a major, a 5-under 65 that gave the 21-year-old Californian a two-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau going into the final round. Whether it was the first cut or the nasty rough, Wolff kept giving those hips one last swivel before blasting away and giving himself birdie chances. He made enough of them to seize control, and then let so many others crumble. Patrick Reed, tied for the lead at the turn, couldn’t find the fairway and paid dearly with a 43 on the back nine. Reed had a three-shot lead after two holes. He walked off the 18th green with a 77 and was eight shots behind. Collin Morikawa won the PGA Championship last month in his first try at age 23. Wolff is playing his first U.S. Open at age 21. Is he next? “I’m probably going to be a little antsy. It’s the U.S. Open, and I have a lead,” Wolff said. “I’m going to try to keep my nerves as calm as they can be. I put myself in a really good spot. I did everything that I could do up until this point, and tomorrow I’m going to go out there, I promise you I’m going to try my best.” He was at 5-under 205. Not since Francis Ouimet in 1913 — also the last time the U.S. Open was played in September — has a player won the U.S. Open in his debut. DeChambeau could easily have gone the same route as Reed, missing left and right, gouging his way out of the grass. But after opening with two bogeys, he kept scrambling away — 15 straight holes with nothing worse than par. He rallied with two late birdies until missing a short par putt on the 18th for a 70. He will be in the final group for the first time in a major, another quiet affair with no spectators on the course. The U.S. Open began with 21 players under par. There were six going into the weekend. Now it’s down to three, with Louis Oosthuizen efficiently putting together a 68 to finish at 1-under 209. Hideki Matsuyama (70), Xander Schauffele (70) and Harris English (72) were at even-par 210. Another shot back was Rory McIlroy, who posted his 68 some three hours before the leaders finished. “It doesn’t take much around here … and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things,” McIlroy said. “No matter where I am at the end of the day, I feel like I’ve got a pretty good shot.” It all depends on Wolff, an NCAA champion at Oklahoma State who won on the PGA TOUR in his third event as a pro last summer in the 3M Open in Minnesota. From the first cut of rough on the opening hole, he hit it to right level of the contoured green for a 15-foot birdie. From the right rough on No. 4, he wound up with another 15-foot birdie putt. And then he really poured it on. He drove next to the green on the short par-4 sixth, getting up-and-down from a bunker for birdie. He holed a 12-foot birdie on the par-3 seventh. And when he finally hit his first fairway on No. 8, he missed a 6-foot birdie attempt. His lone bogey came on the 16th when he was in such a bad lie in the rough he couldn’t reach the green. And he finished with a most fortuitous hop. His iron off the tee hopped into the thick rough and back out to the first cut. He ripped 7-iron to 10 feet for one last birdie. “If I don’t hit fairways tomorrow, I know I can play well,” Wolff said with a smile. “Even when I was in the rough, I had a bunch of good numbers and a bunch of good lies.” And he played a lot of good golf, so good that even at his age, he looked to be a daunting figure to catch. “I don’t think there’s any `chasing’ out here,” Schauffele said, adding that if Wolff had another good round Sunday it would be “impossible to catch him.” DeChambeau gave himself hope, among five players within five of the lead on a course where anything goes. Think back to the last U.S. Open at Winged Foot in 2006, when Geoff Ogilvy hit a superb pitch to 6 feet for par that he thought was only good for second place until Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie closed with double bogeys. “I feel like I’m ready to win out here and win a major,” Wolff said. “It is a major. It’s really important and yes, it is really early in my career. But I feel like I have the game to win. Collin won at 23. I’m 21. And I’m not saying that it’s going to happen. But I put myself in a really good spot, and obviously I’m feeling really good with my game.”

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