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

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Aaron Wise wanted a fresh start on the greens at the end of last season, and thanks to an old friend, he got just that. Wise, who shot a 1-under 70 on Friday at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, began wielding a long putter at last season’s Barracuda Championship and has continued to use it through the early part of 2021-22. The putter itself (an older TaylorMade Ghost model) belonged to his University of Oregon coach, Casey Martin. Wise has kept it since college – he used it “a little bit” back then, he said – but never used it on TOUR. He admitted he was “putting bad” near the end of last season and wanted to try something different as he entered the FedExCup playoffs. “It was one of those things that I had tried before and I kind of forgot about it,” said Wise. “I thought it might be worth a shot.” Wise was 174th in Strokes Gained: Putting last season but has improved to 83rd in the same category through three events this season. He has notched top-10 finishes in his last two starts. The 25-year-old opened his week at El Camaleón Mayakoba Golf Course with an 8-under 63 – the same score he shot to close out 2020 at Mayakoba – and needed only 23 putts on Thursday. On Friday he took only 25 swipes, but said he struggled off the tee. “I just didn’t hit it quite as well off the tee (as Thursday) which hindered my iron shots,” said Wise. “But I felt like I chipped amazing, and I putted pretty well again and kept myself in it.” Wise is just five shots back of the 36-hole lead held by Matthew Wolff as he looks for another solid result to kickstart 2021-22. And, he said, his putter change is a big reason for that. “I putted bad for long enough that maybe it was getting in my head a little bit, and this was just a fresh start. I hadn’t missed any putts with it yet,” said Wise with a laugh. “I started on neutral ground, and I started to build confidence from there.”

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Note: The USGA, who owns and operates the U.S. Open, controls all digital streaming and broadcast rights to this event. For more information on how to watch this week, please visit the U.S. Open’s website. PGA TOUR LIVE coverage will resume on Thursday, June 24 at the Travelers Championship. The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced tee times for the first two rounds of the 2021 U.S. Open Championship, Thursday (June 17) and Friday (June 18). Torrey Pines South hosts for the first time since 2008, and will play at 7,652 yards as a par 71. Scroll below for the full pairings. RELATED: Nine things to know about Torrey Pines | DeChambeau and a history of ‘bomb and gouge’ Thursday, No. 1 / Friday, No. 10 (All times PT) 6:45 a.m. / 12:30 p.m. – Sahith Theegala, Chino Hills, Calif.; Edoardo Molinari, Italy; Greyson Sigg, Augusta, Ga. 6:56 a.m. / 12:41 p.m. – Chris Baker, Brownstown, Ind.; J.J. Spaun, Los Angeles, Calif.; Fabian Gomez, Argentina 7:07 a.m. / 12:52 p.m. – Patrick Rodgers, Jupiter, Fla.; Robby Shelton, Birmingham, Ala.; (a) Pierceson Coody, Plano, Texas 7:18 a.m. / 1:03 p.m. – Russell Henley, Columbus, Ga.; Mackenzie Hughes, Canada; Harris English, Sea Island, Ga. 7:29 a.m. / 1:14 p.m. – Francesco Molinari, Italy; Henrik Stenson, Sweden; Shane Lowry, Ireland 7:40 a.m. / 1:25 p.m. – Matt Fitzpatrick, England; Tyrrell Hatton, England; Viktor Hovland, Norway 7:51 a.m. / 1:36 p.m. – Martin Kaymer, Germany; Webb Simpson, Charlotte, N.C.; Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan. 8:02 a.m. / 1:47 p.m. – Tony Finau, Salt Lake City, Utah; Abraham Ancer, Mexico; Daniel Berger, Jupiter, Fla. 8:13 a.m. / 1:58 p.m. – Si Woo Kim, Republic of Korea; Kevin Na, Las Vegas, Nev.; Bernd Wiesberger, Austria 8:24 a.m. / 2:09 p.m. – Jimmy Walker, San Antonio, Texas; Ian Poulter, England; Ryan Palmer, Colleyville, Texas 8:35 a.m. / 2:20 p.m. – J.T. Poston, Sea Island, Ga.; Adam Hadwin, Canada; (a) Joe Long, England 8:46 a.m. / 2:31 p.m. – Luis Fernando Barco, Peru; Dylan Meyer, Evansville, Ind.; (a) Matthew Sharpstene, Charlotte, N.C. 8:57 a.m. / 2:42 p.m. – Mario Carmona, Mexico; Wilson Furr, Jackson, Miss.; Davis Shore, Knoxville, Tenn. 12:30 p.m. / 6:45 a.m. – Zach Zaback, Farmington, Conn.; Steve Allan, Australia; Eric Cole, Delray Beach, Fla. 12:41 p.m. / 6:56 a.m. – Hayden Buckley, Tupelo, Miss.; Taylor Montgomery, Las Vegas, Nev.; Jordan Smith, England 12:52 p.m. / 7:07 a.m. – Chez Reavie, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Richard Bland, England; Troy Merritt, Meridian, Idaho 1:03 p.m. / 7:18 a.m. – Robert MacIntyre, Scotland; Victor Perez, France; Matt Wallace, England 1:14 p.m. / 7:29 a.m. – Tyler Strafaci, Davie, Fla.; Hideki Matsuyama, Japan; Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif. 1:25 p.m. / 7:40 a.m. – Adam Scott, Australia; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Bubba Watson, Bagdad, Fla. 1:36 p.m. / 7:51 a.m. – Dustin Johnson, North Palm Beach, Fla.; Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Justin Rose, England 1:47 p.m. / 8:02 a.m. – Matt Jones, Australia; Brendan Steele, Idyllwild, Calif.; Cameron Smith, Australia 1:58 p.m. / 8:13 a.m. – Carlos Ortiz, Mexico; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Lanto Griffin, Blacksburg, Va. 2:09 p.m. / 8:24 a.m. – Sam Burns, Shreveport, La.; Chan Kim, Gilbert, Ariz.; Thomas Detry, Belgium 2:20 p.m. / 8:35 a.m. – (a) Ollie Osborne, Reno, Nev.; Peter Malnati, Knoxville, Tenn.; Brian Stuard, Jackson, Mich. 2:31 p.m. / 8:46 a.m. – John Huh, Dallas, Texas; Johannes Veerman, Houston, Texas; Zack Sucher, Birmingham, Ala. 2:42 p.m. / 8:57 a.m. – Rick Lamb, Nashville, Tenn.; Michael Johnson, Birmingham, Ala.; Carson Schaake, Omaha, Neb. Thursday, No. 10 / Friday, No. 1 (All times PT) 6:45 a.m. / 12:30 p.m. – Andy Pope, Glen Ellyn, Ill.; Brad Kennedy, Australia; Thomas Aiken, South Africa 6:56 a.m. / 12:41 p.m. – Yosuke Asaji, Japan; Marcus Armitage, England; Jhonattan Vegas, Venezuela 7:07 a.m. / 12:52 p.m. – Cameron Young, Jupiter, Fla.; Wilco Nienaber, South Africa; Guido Migliozzi, Italy 7:18 a.m. / 1:03 p.m. – Brian Harman, Sea Island, Ga.; Tommy Fleetwood, England; Matthew Wolff, Agoura Hills, Calif. 7:29 a.m. / 1:14 p.m. – Collin Morikawa, La Canada, Calif.; Justin Thomas, Louisville, Ky.; Brooks Koepka, West Palm Beach, Fla. 7:40 a.m. / 1:25 p.m. – Kevin Kisner, Aiken, S.C.; Billy Horschel, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Matt Kuchar, Sea Island, Ga. 7:51 a.m. / 1:36 p.m. – Max Homa, Valencia, Calif.; Xander Schauffele, San Diego, Calif.; Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. 8:02 a.m. / 1:47 p.m. – Jason Kokrak, Hudson, Ohio; Cameron Champ, Sacramento, Calif.; Corey Conners, Canada 8:13 a.m. / 1:58 p.m. – Paul Barjon, France; Sam Ryder, Atlantic Beach, Fla.; Ryo Ishikawa, Japan 8:24 a.m. / 2:09 p.m. – Dylan Frittelli, South Africa; Martin Laird, Scotland; K.H. Lee, Republic of Korea 8:35 a.m. / 2:20 p.m. – Rafa Cabrera Bello, Spain; Adrian Meronk, Poland; Sung Kang, Republic of Korea 8:46 a.m. / 2:31 p.m. – Akshay Bhatia, Wake Forest, N.C.; (a) Andrew Kozan, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Alvaro Ortiz, Mexico 8:57 a.m. / 2:42 p.m. – James Hervol, Hopkinton, Mass.; Hayden Springer, Trophy Club, Texas; Roy Cootes, Rolling Hills, Calif. 12:30 p.m. / 6:45 a.m. – David Coupland, England; Taylor Pendrith, Canada; Wade Ormsby, Australia 12:41 p.m. / 6:56 a.m. – Tom Hoge, Fargo, N.D.; Bo Hoag, Columbus, Ohio; (a) Joe Highsmith, Lakewood, Wash. 12:52 p.m. / 7:07 a.m. – Erik van Rooyen, South Africa; Christiaan Bezuidenhout, South Africa; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa 1:03 p.m. / 7:18 a.m. – Garrick Higgo, South Africa; (a) Cole Hammer, Houston, Texas; Joaquin Niemann, Chile 1:14 p.m. / 7:29 a.m. – Lee Westwood, England; Stewart Cink, Atlanta, Ga.; Paul Casey, England 1:25 p.m. / 7:40 a.m. – Will Zalatoris, Dallas, Texas; Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas; Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas 1:36 p.m. / 7:51 a.m. – Marc Leishman, Australia; Jon Rahm, Spain; Patrick Reed, The Woodlands, Texas 1:47 p.m. / 8:02 a.m. – Patrick Cantlay, Jupiter, Fla.; Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa; Sungjae Im, Republic of Korea 1:58 p.m. / 8:13 a.m. – Kevin Streelman, Wheaton, Ill.; Branden Grace, South Africa; Charley Hoffman, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. 2:09 p.m. / 8:24 a.m. – Sebastian Munoz, Colombia; Rikuya Hoshino, Japan; Brendon Todd, Athens, Ga. 2:20 p.m. / 8:35 a.m. – Wyndham Clark, Denver, Colo.; (a) Matthias Schmid, Germany; Matthew Southgate, England 2:31 p.m. / 8:46 a.m. – (a) Spencer Ralston, Gainesville, Ga.; Dylan Wu, Medford, Ore.; Justin Suh, Las Vegas, Nev. 2:42 p.m. / 8:57 a.m. – Luis Gagne, Costa Rica; Kyle Westmoreland, Daniel Island, S.C.; Christopher Crawford, Bensalem, Pa.

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