Winner’s Bag: Marc Leishman/Cameron Smith, Zurich Classic of New Orleans

The FedEx St. Jude Classic holds its qualifier on Sunday so that it doesn’t conflict with U.S. Open qualifying. Even on a different day of the week, T.J. Vogel had the same success. Vogel shot 4-under 66 on Sunday at Windyke Country Club’s East Course to qualify for a sixth event this season, and his third in a row. Here’s a closer look at the four players who played their way into the FedEx St. Jude Classic. T.J. VOGEL (66) Age: 27 Hometown: Hollywood, Florida Alma mater: USC/Florida PGA TOUR starts: 9 Best TOUR finish: T16, 2018 Valspar championship Notes: Vogel has made the cut in his last three TOUR starts. He has earned 51 non-member FedExCup points. He can qualify for the Web.com Tour Finals by earning as many points as No. 200 in the FedExCup standings. Last year, it took 82 points to qualify for the Web.com Tour Finals. He finished 10th on last season’s Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit. He also won the 2012 U.S. Amateur Public Links and played in the 2013 Masters. OMAR URESTI (66) Age: 49 Hometown: Austin, Texas Alma mater: Texas PGA TOUR starts: 362 Best PGA TOUR finish: 3rd, 1997 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and 2006 AT&T Byron Nelson Notes: Uresti, a PGA TOUR veteran member, has made 179 cuts on TOUR and is a two-time winner on the Web.com Tour. He also is the reigning PGA Professional National Champion. He made the cut in last year’s PGA Championship, and has made the cut in two of four starts this season. He’s made the cut in eight of 11 starts at the FedEx St. Jude, including a T10 in 1999. A.J. McINERNEY (66) Age: 24 Hometown: Henderson, Nevada Alma mater: UNLV PGA TOUR starts: 2 Best PGA TOUR finish: T10, 2017 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Notes: McInerney, who grew up in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, was in the headlines after surviving last year’s Las Vegas shooting. He received a sponsor exemption into the PGA TOUR event at TPC Summerlin and impressed with a T10. McInerney finished 97th on last year’s Web.com Tour money list. BEN CRANCER (66) Age: 24 Hometown: Kirkwood, Missouri Alma mater: Texas A&M PGA TOUR starts: Debut Notes: The Texas A&M alum has been competing this season on the Adams Pro Tour, where he has three top-10s in five starts. AT&T BYRON NELSON QUALIFIERS T66. T.J. Vogel, 66-71-73-69 MC. Steven Ihm, 73-70 MC. Ryan Baca, 76-69 MC. Tom Whitney, 72-74 THIS SEASON’S QUALIFIERS Qualifiers: 63 Made cut: 21 (33%) Top-10s: 3 (Scott Strohmeyer, T4 at Sanderson Farms; Trey Mullinax,T8 at Valspar; Julian Suri, T8 at Houston) Top-25s: 5 Most times qualified: T.J. Vogel (6)

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NASSAU, Bahamas – Having struck his last competitive shot and signed his last scorecard of 2018, Tiger Woods was quick to switch into reflective mode Sunday afternoon at his Hero World Challenge. It didn’t take him long to offer a proper perspective. “The entire year has been amazing,â€� he said. While this week wasn’t exactly amazing for Tiger — he finished next-to-last in the 18-man field after a 1-over 73 left him at 1 under for the tournament – 2018 will indeed go down as one of his most memorable. His return to the PGA TOUR after undergoing multiple back surgeries would’ve been enough of a comeback story. But then he started making noise on the weekend and giving himself opportunities to win again. It finally culminated at the TOUR Championship when he won for the 80th time on TOUR, but the first in five years. “I’m done competing. I’m done playing for the year,â€� said Woods, who is scheduled to fly to Australia this week to help promote the 2019 Presidents Cup, of which he is the U.S. captain. “It’s been quite an amazing year to go from where I’ve come from and now I can actually finally say I’m done playing for the year. We can sit back and really enjoy it.â€� Woods said it didn’t take him winning at East Lake to know he could win again on TOUR. He said being in contention at the Valspar Championship in March – it was just his fourth start of the season – was all the confirmation he needed. Unlike two weeks earlier at the Honda Classic, where Woods finished T-12th but was unhappy with the way he completed his rounds, Tiger was encouraged with his share of second behind winner Paul Casey. “Once I put myself in position to win at Tampa four tournaments into it, I knew I could win,â€� Woods said. “Now, could I play consistently week-in, week-out? That’s a totally different matter.â€� Woods produced six more top-10 finishes after Valspar, but he also missed his second cut of the season at the U.S. Open and was a non-factor in the first two events of the FedExCup Playoffs. Those are some of the consistency issues that he will try to clean up in 2019. Part of that solution will resolve itself as Woods reduces his playing schedule. His 19 worldwide starts in 2018 matches his total from five years. Woods didn’t anticipate playing that many, but with his body holding up and by gaining qualification in certain events – like the late-season World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational after he moved inside the top 50 in the world rankings — the starts kept adding up. Down the stretch, he played seven times in nine weeks. Only once since 2006 has Woods played more events in a year than 19 – the 22 starts he made in 2012. He was still in his late 30s back then. Later this month, he turns 43 and Woods promises not to subject his aging body to the rigors of that many starts moving forward. He and his team will soon get together and try to figure out. His only confirmed starts for now is the Genesis Open, which is run by his foundation, and the four majors. “We’re going to sit back after I’m done with Australia and really get back into the gym and build up my body, get it stronger and get some weight on me and see where I want to start the year and see how many events that I should play,â€� Woods said. “I’m not going to play as many as I did this year. I played in too many this year, and that was from adding an event because I missed the cut at L.A. to qualifying to get into Akron. Who knew that I could make it through all the Playoffs events? So all those events told a lot. “I won’t be playing as much as I did last year. … That was just too much for my body to handle and I was not physically prepared for it. I hadn’t trained for that, so we’re going to make some adjustments for next year.â€� For now, he will not only take time to reflect but will also start the off-season testing on his equipment. He did not change his equipment in 2018 but is looking forward to whatever TaylorMade may have in store for him. Plus, as he mentioned, he’ll hit the gym in hopes of adding another measure of consistency. At some point early in 2019 – he’s not yet ruled out the Sentry Tournament of Champions, although he hasn’t played the tournament since 2005 – we’ll see Tiger back on the course. Unlike a year ago, the expectations will be different. Much higher. “I know that I can win because obviously I just proved it,â€� Woods said. “It’s just a matter of getting everything kind of peaking at the right time. … The will and the want and the desire hasn’t changed; it’s just a matter of is the body willing to do it. “There are days or weeks that they don’t cooperate, so that’s just part of the injuries I’ve gone through and aging. The older athletes just don’t perform as consistently as they once did. I’ve been out here for 20-some odd years.â€� Luckily for the golf world, it now appears he’ll be out for a few more years.

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SEA ISLAND, Ga. – Ahead of the 2019 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, Bryson DeChambeau made headlines by switching into a new Bridgestone Tour B X prototype golf ball. While Bridgestone has remained quiet on the new design, DeChambeau reportedly picked up 750 rpm worth of spin with the new ball around the greens, compared to the older Tour B X golf ball he had been using since 2018, and he saw a more consistent launch. Fellow Bridgestone golf ball staffer Matt Kuchar, who has used the company’s golf balls since 2005, also recently switched to the new Bridgestone Tour B X prototype golf ball before his T14 finish at the 2019 Mayakoba Golf Classic. Like DeChambeau, Kuchar saw an increase in performance around the greens compared to his older Tour B X model, but Kuchar also told PGATOUR.COM that he added distance, too. Bridgestone is remaining tight-lipped about the design of the new prototype golf ball, or any retail possibilities, but in talking with PGATOUR.COM ahead of The RSM Classic, Kuchar revealed a bit of information about the golf ball and a “reactive cover.â€� He also explained how he goes about testing new golf balls and exactly how much distance he’s picked up. As we wait for Bridgestone to make an announcement about retail, enjoy the full conversation between Kuchar and PGATOUR.COM regarding the new Tour B X golf ball prototype! PGATOUR.COM: What was it that you saw in the initial testing with this new prototype that made you want to switch into it for competition? MATT KUCHAR: The guys from Bridgestone came down a couple months ago, and we did some testing. It’s interesting, you get on Trackman and it validates a lot, but I like to do my own validation. The Trackman numbers certainly showed higher ball speed off the driver, the chip shots had more bite, but I had to put the ball through my own proving ground. I took it out on the course. It’s amazing to be able to combine the wants that everybody wants; you want the driver to go further and you want the chip shots to spin more. To be able to do that seems impossible, but I think Bridgestone has been able to do that, in large part due to this new reactive cover. It gets higher ball speed off the driver — sure does — both off Trackman and in my testing. Then the wedge shots are probably the most important thing to me; having that control around the greens is so crucial, and I love the old ball, but this ball is even better around the greens, which is really the big bonus for me. PGATOUR.COM: Do you get deep into the numbers at all? Bryson plays this prototype golf ball as well, and you know he dives deep into spin numbers and ball speed, but it seems you’re more of an eye-test guy. KUCHAR: Don’t compare me and Bryson (laughs). No, I’m pretty simple. There’s ball speed off the driver, chipping/wedging, and then there’s the land angle with the irons, which is important. Those are the three things where I’ll check out the numbers, but then, for me, it’s a bit visual. And more than visual, it’s going out and hitting five drives off the tee with one ball, then five drives off the tee with the other, and comparing. Then chip shots around the green and comparing. I guess I’d be a bit more trial-and-error than going strictly off the numbers. But the beauty about what we do today is you can do it all. PGATOUR.COM: Would you recommend that process to amateurs who are going through ball testing themselves; hit five drives with one ball and five with the other and comparing? KUCHAR: Yes, absolutely. Trial and error. You’re going to end up seeing one that’s definitely better for you. It’s kind of fun to go out and have two different balls marked up, and try them. Everybody loves that extra 5-10 yards off the tee. If you get that, and you can actually physically see it, that’s a big bonus. PGATOUR.COM: Do you feel you’ve picked up 5-10 yards, or what kind of distance gains have you seen? KUCHAR: What I’m seeing is 3-4 yards, but that’s a bonus combined with some extra feel around the greens. It’s a win-win.

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