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The experimental 2-wood rose again at Valhalla, this time in Max Homa’s toolbox.
The Titleist TSR 2-wood prototype that Cameron Young introduced during the Players Championship in March has gained proponents, including the world No. 9 player.
Homa finished T3 at the Masters and T8 in the Wells Fargo Championship before arriving at Valhalla still searching for a breakthrough major-championship win. In the latter, he added the Titleist TSR 2-wood prototype to his bag to help him shape the ball better off the tee at Quail Hollow when needed.
It was the same reason Young worked with Titleist to design the club for his use during the Players at TPC Sawgrass, giving him a club with a little more volume than a 3-wood but a little more versatility than the driver. Among the players to check out the prototype have been Justin Thomas, Webb Simpson and Homa.
Simpson told GolfWRX.com at Quail Hollow that the 2-wood “has grooves like a 3-wood, spin is perfect, and it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number: trajectory, spin, carry, all of it.”
Homa said Monday at the PGA Championship that the club “helps me draw it a little bit better,” complementing his flatter cut shot with the driver while giving him more carry off the tee than his 3-wood.
The added option off the tee seemed to pay off in the short term for Homa at Valhalla, where a big 7,600-yard course shrouded in thick, juicy rough put a premium on finding fairways. He came into the week ranked 106th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee (-0.064) and 88th in driving accuracy (62.64 percent). During an opening-round 68, Homa ranked 44th in the field in strokes gained off the tee (0.690) and 40th in driving accuracy (71.43 percent).
Scott Michaux