Woods, McIlroy tech golf league to tee off in Jan.

LA QUINTA, Calif. — Sungjae Im shot a 7-under 65 on Friday at The American Express to take a one-stroke lead over first-round leader Brandon Hagy and four others. RELATED: Leaderboard | Mickelson cards 18 pars in a round for first time on TOUR Im, the 22-year-old South Korean who was the PGA TOUR’s rookie of the year in 2019, had seven birdies in the bogey-free round on the Stadium Course at PGA WEST, highlighted by three in four holes around the turn. Hagy was in position to join Im at 11 under, but he bogeyed his final hole with a tee shot into the fairway bunker to finish his 70. Canada’s Nick Taylor (66), South Korea’s Si Woo Kim (68), Tony Finau (66) and Mexico’s Abraham Ancer (65) also were 10 under. Emiliano Grillo (66), Francesco Molinari (66) and Doug Ghim (68) were two shots off the lead. The leaderboard was crowded with low scores as usual at the Palm Springs-area tournament long hosted by Bob Hope. Im, Taylor and Ancer were among 12 players who didn’t make a bogey Friday. After splitting the first two rounds over two courses, the players will all play the Stadium Course for the final two rounds. Tournament host Phil Mickelson made 18 pars for the first time in his 2,201 rounds of PGA TOUR play. The 50-year-old missed the cut at 2 over. With his drives looking sharp and his mid-range putts dropping regularly, Im is off to another strong start at a tournament in which he has already finished 10th and 12th in his short PGA TOUR career. “I’m pretty satisfied with how I played all of my shots,” said Im, who feels his putting has improved sharply this year. “Speaking of putting, I started drawing a line on the ball as I visualize my putts, and that seemed to work pretty well today.” Im also feels he might have an edge because didn’t travel home to South Korea during the holiday break due to the mandatory coronavirus quarantine required. Instead, he stayed in the house he recently purchased in Atlanta and practiced for the new season. Hagy made 10 birdies in his opening round, but got off to a rough start Friday on the Stadium Course with two early bogeys. He rallied with birdies on his 16th and 17th holes, but his errant drive on his final hole kept him one shot off the pace. Taylor, who also led the Sony Open in Hawaii after two rounds last week, shot a 66 with six birdies on the Stadium Course. He had three straight birdies on the back nine of his bogey-free round, including a 24-foot birdie putt on the 15th and an 18-footer on the island green at the 17th. Taylor appears to be rounding into impressive form as he prepares to defend his Pebble Beach title in three weeks. “My game feels really good right now, so hopefully it keeps peaking,” he said. “It was a lot of intimidating tee shots, iron shots into greens. I feel like I missed in the right places. I drove it really nice on the par-5s and gave myself pretty easy looks on a few of them.”

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As Hideki Matsuyama brushed in his winning putt at Augusta National on Sunday evening, the setting Georgia sun glistened off his 2012 Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Tour Prototype as he carried the wand with him off the famed Georgia course’s 18th green. While most viewers who have seen the Masters champion in action over the past two years likely assumed from the finish and shaping it was the same flatstick Matsuyama has been stroking putts with all season, Japan’s first men’s major winner actually only put this particular putter in play at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play two weeks ago. Matsuyama consulted with Scotty Cameron TOUR rep Drew Page and had a Lamkin Deep-Etched Cord Full Cord installed as well as a stepped putter shaft. And while Hideki’s exact specs are under lock and key, Page and company dialed in the same loft, lie, and head weight as the Newport 2 GSS Timeless Matsuyama has played since the 2020 BMW Championship. Sources indicate that, while testing multiple models, it was the feel of the grip, ultimately, that knocked Matsuyama’s long-time gamer out of the bag. Additionally, we’re told Matsuyama likes a “loud” putter that offers maximum feedback at impact, and the proto Newport 2 fit that bill. Clearly, the swap two weeks ago in Austin was a wise one as demonstrated by Matsuyama’s donning of the green jacket. A historically below-average putter, he finished 18th in strokes gained: putting at Augusta National.

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