Yang, 34, wins Women’s PGA for first major title

TORONTO, Ont. – Mackenzie Hughes was a golf-obsessed youngster in when he watched Mike Weir win the 2003 Masters, and he thought he could do that one day too. The following year, Hughes caddied in the RBC Canadian Open pro-am and was drawn into the same group as his hero. He was thrilled. The only problem that day, he recalls, is that he latched a little too tightly to the green jacket winner. “I just did a horrendous job caddying that day because I was so intrigued by just being close to Mike and trying to ask him a question here and there and just kind of hearing the stories he was telling,” said Hughes. “Then my player would be over (in) the rough and I’m like, ‘Oh sorry.’ Just nowhere near him. “But it was a really cool day.” Eighteen years later, Hughes teed it up alongside Weir – and fellow countryman Adam Hadwin – for the first two rounds of their national open. “I think that any time you get to play with Mike, it’s an honor,” said Hughes. “He’s basically my biggest golfing hero. “I know playing with Mike you draw in a few extra people. It was a really fun day.” Hughes’ opening-round 66 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club had him near the lead through most of the day. He was also the top Canadian through the majority of Thursday. There are plenty of reasons why this week is important for Hughes – who played in front of dozens of friends and family Thursday, a number that is expected to increase exponentially through the weekend – including the extended face time with Weir, who is once again an assistant captain for this year’s International Presidents Cup team. Weir said Hughes, who sits 12th on the International Team standings, “had a great day.” Corey Conners, who shot a 1-over 71, is No. 8 in the standings. Hadwin, who has played in two Presidents Cups, is 16th. Hadwin shot 1 under while Weir was 2 over. The group was greeted by a good contingent of Canadians, even at 7 a.m. and in the rain. “It was fantastic,” said Hughes, “and you felt it all the way around.” Hughes had as solid a day as he could have asked for Thursday. He birdied his opening hole and then made an eagle on the par-5 11th. “I felt like I played well enough to maybe get one or two more, which selfishly, you always want a couple more,” said Hughes, who was near the top of the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee on Thursday. “With where I drove it … I drove the ball really nicely today, and that’s not normally a strength of mine, but today it was a strength. “When I do that, I feel like I give myself a lot of chances. The day feels a little more stress-free.” Hughes is from Dundas, Ontario, about 40 miles from St. George’s and has continued to embrace teeing it up in front of the hometown crowds. He made his PGA TOUR debut at the 2012 RBC Canadian Open in Hamilton and earned Low Canadian honors in 2017. His opening 66 was just two shots off the lowest first-round total by a Canadian in tournament history. A Canadian hasn’t won the Canadian Open since 1954. The closest a Canadian has come to winning their national open in the last half-century was Weir in 2004, when he lost in a playoff to Vijay Singh. “Someone said no one’s seen someone so disappointed to win a tournament than Vijay that week,” said RBC Canadian Open defending champion Rory McIlroy, who matched Hughes’ 4-under 66 Thursday, with a laugh. Hughes was, of course, there in 2004. He had a fun memory from before the tournament began, and a sour one come Sunday night like many of his countrymen. Now he’s keen to make his own exciting memory at the RBC Canadian Open, in front of a big-time group of enthusiastic supporters – including Weir. “Obviously every week you go on the PGA TOUR, you want to play well, but playing well in front of the home fans and your friends and family, it’s hard to describe how good that feels,” said Hughes. “When you’re out there and you’re making birdies and having a good round, it just feels that much better.”

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FORT WORTH, Texas — News and notes from Thursday’s opening round of the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational, with Derek Fathauer, Kelly Kraft and J.T. Poston each shooting 5-under 65 to share the lead by one stroke. Click here for more from Colonial Country Club. KRAFT’S LAST COLONIAL APPEARANCE Kelly Kraft’s first appearance at Colonial in 2012 was memorable for several reasons. It was his first made cut after turning pro just a few weeks earlier. He shot a front-nine 29 in the third round; just 14 players in tournament history have gone that low or lower. “I made everything; it was a lot of fun,â€� he said. He finished the third round with a 64 to start the final round among the leaders … and then crash-landed with a 10-over 80 that taught him some valuable lessons. “Definitely learned a lot since then and had some good tournaments this year,â€� said the Dallas resident. “Whenever I’m up there, I know I can hang.â€� He’s up there again now as one of the co-leaders. It’s the first time he’s been a leader/co-leader after any round on TOUR. He has two top-10 finishes – including a T-3 with Kevin tway in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event – in his 17 starts. He’s also missed nine cuts. “It’s been a little bit of everywhere,â€� Kraft said of his season. “Some really good, some not so good. But I felt like whenever I’ve played well, I’ve been up there and kind of in the hunt.â€� DUSTING OFF AN OLD PUTTER To describe the cord grip on his old Scotty Cameron putter, the one he used in high school and college, Derek Fathauer uses words such as “rustedâ€� and “crackingâ€� and “peeling.â€� There’s a reason the putter is in that condition – it’s been sitting in his closet for more than eight years. But this week, that putter has a more prominent spot – inside Fathauer’s bag. “It was ready to come out,â€� he said. It certainly paid quick dividends. Fathauer’s 5-under 65 in the morning wave Thursday at Colonial set the early pace, and the score was his lowest in three months. On the greens, Fathauer rolled in four putts from outside 11 feet, including a 31-1/2 footer at the par-4 10th. Fathauer had entered this week tied for 64th on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting. That’s not bad, but it’s not to his previous standards in which he’s ranked inside the top 40 in that category. Thus, he felt a club change was needed. He put away the mallet putter he had been using and went back to his old, old blade. “The putting has been a little stale the last couple of months,â€� Fathauer explained. “Just cleaning out my downstairs room and just brought it out.â€� The new/old putter seems to be part of a reset process for Fathauer, whose results have been lacking for awhile now. He tied for third in his second start of the season back in October at the CIMB Classic. But in his ensuring 15 starts, he’s missed the cut nine times and has not finished inside the top 20. During his last tournament, a missed cut at THE PLAYERS Championship, Fathauer visited with sports psychologist Bob Rotella for the first time. Rotella told him to get back to the basics and not compare his tournament prep work to others. “You can walk up and down the range, see guys with Trackman and swing coaches and gadgets and stuff,â€� Fathauer said. “That’s not how I learned to play golf. Just hit the ball, go find it, hit it again … “I’m not far off. I just complicated things. I was working on my swing [but] I don’t need to work on my swing. Just go play golf.â€� Fathauer also has his twin brother Daryl on the bag this week, a partnership that’s happened a few times in his pro career. As for the putter … well, there are no plans to replace the grip with a new one. Fathauer will stick to what he has – cracked and rusted and peeling. Or, as Fathauer put it, “It’s got a little character.â€� G-MAC FINALLY MAKES IT TO COLONIAL Many years ago, someone told Graeme McDowell that Colonial Country Club – much like Harbour Town, site of his 2013 TOUR win — would be perfect for his game. That he would appreciate playing a shot-maker’s course that can’t be dominated by big hitters. Others kept telling him the same thing. But the Northern Irishman is usually in England this time of year, playing the European Tour event at Wentworth. That prevented him from playing Colonial as well as Muirfield Village, site of next week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. This year, G-Mac decided to pursue FedExCup points in a non-Ryder Cup year, so he added the DEAN & DELUCA to his schedule. His 4-under 66 is an early confirmation that Colonial is a good fit for him. “I’ve had guys that I look to for schedule hints and tips, guys like Jim Furyk, (Brandt) Snedeker, Zach Johnson – guys that I would sort of put my game on a similar statistical level,â€� McDowell said. “Guys like that have been telling me for years and year I would love this place.â€� McDowell is missing the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth for just the second time since 2003 (the first time happened when he was wife was pregnant). McDowell’s bogey-free round Thursday made it easier to accept his decision. “I don’t want to have to answer the question, did I make the right decision to come here or should I be in Wentworth?â€� McDowell said. “Looking at the sunny skies in London this morning and watching a little bit of the golf on TV, yeah, looked beautiful there. “But I’m here for all the right reasons and not really here to prove anything to anybody … I’m here because I want to be here and I want to chase some FedExCup points.â€� It doesn’t sound like this will be a one-time appearance. “Let’s be honest – going forward, this really is where my focus is,â€� he said. “My family are here (in Florida). I love the product that’s the PGA TOUR and the FedExCup. It’s hard not to play a lot of your golf over here at the moment. “Of course, I will keep my European Tour card and continue to play some back there, but the FedExCup is so lucrative, and I’ve never made it to Atlanta [for the TOUR Championship]. I would like to make it there sometime.â€� BAD END OF A DRAW – AGAIN A year ago, Jordan Spieth was on the wrong end of the draw at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. It didn’t matter. He still won. He’s facing the same challenge this week. Spieth shot an even-par 70 in the much windier afternoon conditions Thursday. The afternoon scoring average was 72.67 – more than two strokes higher than the morning wave (70.49). “We knew ahead of time we were going to get the kind of raw end of the deal this week,â€� Spieth said. “It happens. It evens out over time. It’s a bit of a bummer when it happens. … It doesn’t mean you can’t come through.â€� Spieth’s round was certainly a rollercoaster one – six birdies, four bogeys and one double. After dropping three shots at holes 15 and 16, he bounced back with two birdies to end his round and get back to even par. He’ll start Friday tied for 34th. “A great finish,â€� he said. “Kept me in the tournament. If I was a couple over, you know, in the back of my mind I would be wondering about the cut line.â€� But he’ll need to make a push Friday. “I’ve got to be inside of five shots going into the weekend, I think, to have a chance,â€� he said. CALL OF THE DAY RAHM INSPIRED BY ASU WOMEN A four-time All-American at Arizona State – and a two-time winner of the Ben Hogan Award that recognizes the outstanding amateur and collegiate golfer of the year – Jon Rahm is a proud Sun Devil alum, having graduated a year ago with a degree in communications. So he was ecstatic to see the Arizona State women’s team win the NCAA golf title this week, the eighth in school history. ASU’s Monica Vaughn also took the individual title. “That’s the closest I’ll ever be to experiencing something like that,â€� Rahm said. “I’m happy for them. The cool thing is from now on to the rest of their days, they’re going to wake up [as] National Champions. Nobody can take that away from them. “It’s something I’m jealous about but extremely happy and proud to be a Sun Devil.â€� Rahm, the emerging superstar from Spain, celebrated in his own fashion Thursday – shooting a 4-under 66 in which he used his driver 12 times in 14 opportunities. The day before during his practice round, he struggled off the tee, but on Thursday, he hit a respectable eight fairways. He said the Sun Devils’ victory helped fire him up. “To be honest, that energy and positivity helped me today,â€� he said. “If they could do what they did, why couldn’t I play good today?â€� ODDS AND ENDS Two-time winner Phil Mickelson, making his first appearance at this event since 2010, ended his round with three consecutive birdies to shoot a 3-under 67. His last birdie putt was from 33 feet. He got a good read from playing partner Matt Kuchar. “That was thoughtful of him to hit his ball just behind mine. I appreciated that,â€� said Mickelson, who put a new grip on his putter this week. … Rookie J.T. Poston hit 15 of 18 greens en route to his 65. “This is honestly one of the first rounds I feel like my ball-striking was the way it can be and should be,â€� said Poston, who – like Kraft – has a co-lead for the first time at a TOUR event. … Scott Brown was 6 under through 17 holes and had the solo lead. But after finding the fairway with his drive at 18, his approach landed in the greenside bunker – he said the wind changed on him mid-swing — and it took two shots to get out. The double bogey left him with a 66. “Unfortunately that’s kind of what happens in this game,â€� Brown said. “Won’t be the last, but hopefully not one for awhile.â€�… G-Mac said he planned to visit the Hogan Room in the Colonial clubhouse and check out the memorabilia of the club’s most famous member. “I was a big Hogan fan; read his biographies,â€� McDowell said. “It’s tough not to be pretty intrigued by the man.â€� SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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To help fit his golf swing, Rahm prefers to have a bit more loft on his clubs. For example, his 10.5-degree Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond LS driver head has 11.2 degrees of actual measured loft, which is much higher than most of his contemporaries. When it comes to his fairway woods, Rahm uses Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond “T” prototype heads (16.5 and 18 degrees) that have slightly deeper faces and more rounded soles to help Rahm find more consistent turf interaction on his relatively steep impact conditions. The higher-lofted fairway woods help Rahm achieve the necessary height and spin to hold greens on his approach shots into par 5s. When he isn’t relying on his 5-wood, Rahm keeps a custom Callaway X Forged UT raw driving iron (22 degrees) around for different course setups and conditions. If he needs an option that flies a bit lower to penetrate the wind, the driving iron comes in handy versus a 5-wood, which flies a bit higher with more spin. Also, according to a recent WITB video with Callaway Golf, Rahm uses Apex TCB irons with relatively weak lofts. This allows Rahm to “deloft” the head through impact when he desires, and he doesn’t need to worry about hitting the ball too low, or long. Another interesting way that Rahm keeps his ball striking consistent from year-to-year is that he doesn’t often change up his golf shafts. For example, Rahm has been using the same Aldila Tour Green shafts in his driver and 3-wood since around 2013, and Project X 6.5 steel iron shafts for more than a decade. This allows Rahm to eliminate variables, so even when he switches to a new head, he already has a level of familiarity with how the club performs. As for his flatstick, Rahm has been using an Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie putter with no sightlines on the crown (although he did switch it out briefly in 2022). According to Rahm, he prefers no alignment lines or dots because he says he aligns it better that way “99 percent of the time,” per Callaway’s WITB video. Below, we take a look at all the clubs in Rahm’s bag. It should be noted that Rahm carries 15 clubs, and he decides between his custom Callaway X Forged UT driving iron and Rogue ST Triple Diamond T 5-wood, depending on course conditions and layout. Look out for Rahm in this week’s Mexico Open at Vidanta, where he’s the top-ranked player in the field. Driver: Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees, 11.2 degrees of actual loft) Shaft: Aldilda Tour Green 75TX (45.25 inches, tipped 1 inch) 3-wood: Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond T HL (16.5 degrees, 15.2 degrees of actual loft) Shaft: Aldila Tour Green 85TX (43.25 inches, tipped 1.5 inches) 5-wood: Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond T (18 degrees, 17.9 degrees of actual loft) Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD-DI Black 8X (42 inches, tipped 2 inches) Irons: Callaway X Forged UT 2021 (22 degrees, 20.5 degrees of actual loft), Callaway Apex TCB (4-PW) Shafts: Project X 6.5 Wedges: Callaway Jaws Forged (52, 56 and 60 degrees) Shafts: Project X 6.5 Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie S (37 inches) Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft X Jon Rahm, a six-time PGA TOUR winner and the reigning U.S. Open champion, is one of the premier ball strikers in the game. The second-ranked player in the world, Rahm leads the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Greens in Regulation (73.5%), is second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and 11th in Driving Distance (313.9 yards). What separates Rahm from the competition is his uniquely short, consistent and powerful golf swing that’s partly the result of a physical limitation. He also swings the club with a bowed left wrist, which results in a slightly lower ball flight than other PGA TOUR players.

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