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NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOLF PRIDE, THE #1 GRIP ON TOUR
Behind the scenes of Phil Mickelson’s magical week at the PGA Championship, two meaningful gear stories emerged.
Lefty found success with a 6-degree Callaway Epic Speed Triple Diamond driver featuring a 47.93-inch Fujikura Ventus Black 6X shaft, which is just barely shy of the 48-inch limit that Bryson DeChambeau and others have been entertaining. The driver has a 188-gram clubhead, some 10 grams lighter than PGA Tour average, and had been months in the making as Callaway reps worked furiously retooling the clubhead to match the longer shaft.
Mickelson had switched into the longer shaft at the Valero Texas Open but didn’t feel comfortable enough to employ the latest edition of the clubhead until this week. The move worked as Lefty gained a combined three strokes off-the-tee through the first two rounds.
The other equipment story was less welcomed. The face on Mickelson's TaylorMade Original One Mini Driver caved in 15 minutes before his tee time Sunday, which necessitated him putting his back-up version of the club into play.
Major weeks are rarely a time for a player to switch brands, but Sergio García surprised many when he announced a reunion with TaylorMade two days before the PGA Championship.
García had been a leading figure in the TaylorMade stable from 2003 to 2018 before a brief stint with Callaway that preceded the Spaniard becoming a free agent the past two seasons.
"Excited to re-join TaylorMade Golf,” García tweeted. “I’ve always been comfortable with their team, their approach to the game and their equipment, especially their TP5X golf ball. Happy to be back."
The 41-year-old was the first player to use a 2021 TP5x ball on the PGA Tour earlier this year, and now he has a full TaylorMade bag with the exception of Titleist wedges and a Scotty Cameron putter. Reportedly, he is testing a Spider Ex putter that could replace his Phantom X 11.5, and his 9-degree SIM driver could eventually be replaced by a SIM2 Max.
Other than García, players were busy making more minor adjustments to combat Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course. In particular, long irons were the flavor of the week given the windy conditions and length of several holes that required approach shots from longer than 200 yards into a steady breeze.
Xander Schauffele almost never employs a 2-iron, but he made the switch this week out of necessity. He was far from the only player to do it.
“It’s a club that hasn’t been in my bag in a really long time,” Schauffele said. “It kind of seemed like a no-brainer. I would much rather hit an iron into a 240-yard hole than a 7-wood. You catch a 7-wood at the bottom of the face, it’s going to go 50 yards short into this wind. It is a new club in my bag. I’ve been trying to work on it a little bit more. I just know it’s probably the right way to go with it being windier.”
Before the AT&T Byron Nelson, Daniel Berger spotted a Titleist TS3 driver in his garage and decided to put it in play. He was third in strokes gained off the tee that week, also buoyed by putting in a new 15-degree TaylorMade SIM2 fairway wood.
Rickie Fowler arrived at Kiawah ranked No. 178 in strokes gained putting, a category he has dominated in recent years. He returned to his trusty Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS and opened with a 1-under 71.
Titleist is the most played driver on the PGA Tour this season, coming into the PGA Championship at 1,210 for the year.
Sean Fairholm