“When you bring this talent together and bring them to one place, this opportunity to train together and help each other get better, that’s really unique and one of the biggest opportunities for this program and our juniors,” said Greggain, who added that when she was a high-level amateur she would loved to have been around other elite golfers her age.
Greggain has a wealth of experience to draw from, having played on the LPGA and Symetra Tours for 10 years before becoming a coach.
“When I retired from tour, I realized pretty quickly that what I wanted to do when I grew up was to coach,” said Greggain with a laugh.
Greggain was the director of instruction at Chilliwack Golf Club, the assistant coach for the University of the Fraser Valley, and led the B.C. Summer Games Squad on numerous occasions.
First round of the @thegolfcanada Junior Selection Camp underway at Bear Mountain Resort, Victoria. ?? ? #dragonspic.twitter.com/VW46VWkGqf
In January she joined the national team program as assistant coach of the women’s amateur and young pro squads with Tristan Mullally before she transitioned into her new role.
Greggain will help guide mental performance, physiotherapy, biomechanics and nutrition for the Canada’s top golfers while she continues her studies at the University of British Columbia’s Master of High Performance and Technical Leadership program.
The junior teams – boys and girls will train together – will be based at the national training centre at Bear Mountain Golf Resort in Victoria, which going forward will have a centralized component from March through June. Athletes will stay at the national training centre during their second semester at high school.
“I really like the model of the junior program because we have this centralized component which gives you a little more consistent contact,” said Greggain.
My wife and I have played together in many events over the years but this summer we tried a new one: the RBC PGA Scramble presented by The Lincoln Motor Company.
Now in its fifth year, the national series survived myriad challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, it experienced its most successful year to date.
“There was so much uncertainty at the start of the season,” says Adam LeBrun, managing director of championships and foundation for the PGA of Canada. “The pandemic affected everything and we were reacting to new developments every day it seemed. At one point early on, we thought we would be happy if we had 3,000 participants.”
As it turned out, my wife and I were two of about 11,000 participants who signed up to play in one of the team scramble’s 140 local qualifiers. We might not have won to advance to the regional final (OK, so we finished second last) but we had a great day and were impressed by the meticulous organizational framework.
“Unexpectedly, golf as a whole boomed this season,” LeBrun says. “As a result, our participation increased by about 40 per cent over 2019 and we had more venues sign up, many for the first time.”
That’s not to say it was all good news. For the past three years, the national final has taken place at renowned Cabot Links on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. In August, due to travel restrictions imposed in response to COVID-19, that was cancelled. (A return to Cabot is in the plans for 2021, COVID-dependent, of course.)
To compensate, the regional events were enhanced with more than $150,000 worth of gifting and prizing. The second- and third-place teams won a pro shop gift certificate at their regional venue.
The overall winning team was announced Sept. 21. Cole Bryant, Lee Bryant, Mike Hughston, Joe Saunders and PGA of Canada professional Nathan Grieve from Talking Rock Golf Course in Chase, B.C., edged Team Crimson Ridge from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., by a mere 0.91 score differential.*
In recognition of their accomplishment, the Talking Rock team was awarded a VIP experience at next year’s RBC Canadian Open at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Etobicoke, Ont., including airfare, accommodations and tickets.
As well, a charitable donation option resulted in $4,350 being contributed to The Frontline Fund which supports Canadian healthcare workers in the fight against COVID-19.
The RBC PGA Scramble is nothing if not inclusive. Female participation grew 73 per cent year-over-year thanks to the creation of an all-female spot at each regional final. LeBrun says the age of participants ranged from 20 to 80 and the handicaps varied from the plus side to the mid-30s. “We even had one new golfer with the maximum Handicap Index of 54.”
But one demographic is not welcome. Sandbaggers need not apply and, if they do, they get booted out. With prejudice.
Again due to the pandemic, the usual format of eightsomes was not practicable so foursomes were the norm this time around, thus potentially opening the door for unscrupulous, unethical players.
“We had some instances,” says LeBrun, “but we reached out to Golf Canada in order to check scoring record details and it’s pretty easy to determine if something is fishy.
“In order to maintain the integrity and credibility of the program, we handed out a few suspensions and, as a committee, decided to make them pretty substantial.” That means a five-year ban from the event plus the miscreant’s home club and provincial association are notified.
“We designed the program with the intention of creating a fun, professional-like competition accessible to golfers of all skill levels,” the PGA of Canada emphasizes.
If the experience my wife and I had is any indication of what occurred nationally, they achieved that goal. We’ll try again next year. Who knows? Maybe third-last is possible…
*Score differentials were used to compare results across 11 regional finals and calculated using the following formula: (113/course Slope) x (net score – course rating).
Canadian-born Jason Kokrak wins CJ Cup to get PGA Tour title in 233rd try
LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 18: Jason Kokrak smiles with the tournament trophy following his victory in the final round of THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK at Shadow Creek Golf Course on October 18, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
Canadian Press with files from Golf Canada
LAS VEGAS – In his 10th season, in his 233rd tournament, Jason Kokrak can finally call himself a PGA Tour winner.
Kokrak earned every bit of it Sunday in the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek. He matched the best round of the tournament with an 8-under 64 to overcome a three-shot deficit at the start and win a duel on the back nine with Xander Schauffele.
“Couldn’t be happier,” said Kokrak, who was born in North Bay, Ont.
The timing couldn’t be better. The CJ Cup moved from South Korea this year to Shadow Creek because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kokrak is an ambassador for MGM Resorts, which owns the prestigious Tom Fazio design.
“It feels like home,” Kokrak said. “I’ve played this golf course enough that I should know it by now.”
Kokrak began to pull away with four straight birdies on the front nine, and birdie putts from 20 feet and 18 feet to start the back nine stretched his lead to two shots.
Schauffele answered with three straight birdies, the last one a 45-footer by using his putter from the thick collar of the 13th green to catch him. Then, it was a matter of who blinked first.
That turned out to be Schauffele on the par-5 16th, when he only managed to advance his shot from deep rough left of the fairway some 85 yards into more rough. Swinging with all his might, his third shot peeled off to the right into more rough well below the green, and he made his only bogey in his round of 66.
Kokrak also was in the left rough, hacked out to the right rough and put his third shot in the bunker. But he splashed it out to just inside 4 feet and made par for a one-shot lead, and Schauffele couldn’t catch up.
Kokrak, a 35-year-old from Ohio, all but clinched it when he drilled his drive into the fairway on the par-5 18th, leaving only a short iron to 25 feet. He two-putted for his final birdie of a round he won’t soon forget.
Russell Henley, who began the final round with a three-shot lead, never got anything going early and fell behind when he bogeyed the par-5 seventh and Kokrak was on his early run of birdies.
Henley’s hopes ended on the reachable par-4 11th when he drove over the green into thick rough and, facing a downhill chip, left it in the rough short of the green and made bogey on the second-easiest scoring hole at Shadow Creek. That put him four shots behind, and a late push of birdies was never going to be enough.
He closed with a 70 and tied for third with Tyrrell Hatton, who was coming off a victory last week in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Hatton closed with a 65.
Kokrak played bogey-free on a course where trouble was never too far away. Justin Thomas, within five shots of the lead, has two straight bogeys on the front nine and three more in a four-hole stretch on the back for a 74. Rory McIlroy was at least headed for a good finish until he had a pair of bogeys and two double bogeys over the last five holes for a 74.
Making it even tougher on Kokrak and Schauffele was Jason Day, the third in their group, withdrew with a neck injury on the second hole. That meant a twosome amidst a course filled with threesomes, and a lot of waiting. They still played at the highest level, with Kokrak delivering all the key putts.
Kokrak earned a spot in the Masters next month from reaching the Tour Championship a year ago in August. Now he can plan on two trips to Augusta National, qualifying for the 2021 tournament by winning.
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. finished in a tie for 28th place with a score of 5-under. He shot a 2-under 70 in final round Sunday. Another Abbotsford native, Nick Taylor finished in a three-way tie for 61st place with Nick Taylor of Listowel, Ont., and American Andrew Landry at 3-over.
Weir settles for second as Mickelson wins to go 2 for 2 on senior tour
MIke Weir (Getty Images)
RICHMOND, Va. – Phil Mickelson likes to play aggressively and found the PGA Tour Champions’ stop at The Country Club of Virginia the perfect place to begin his preparations for the Masters.
Bombing drives like he will have to do against the younger set on the PGA Tour, Mickelson shot a 7-under 65 and became the third player – and second this year – to win his first two starts on the tour for players 50 and older. He slammed the door on Canada’s Mike Weir with a back-nine surge Sunday in the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.
“It’s fun for me to come out here and play well and this is a good start for me as I try to build a little bit of momentum heading to Augusta in about a month,” Mickelson said.
He finished at 17-under 199, one off the event record set by Miguel Angel Jimenez last year.
“I put a new driver into play this week, trying to get a little more pop, a little more carry. It was a little wayward at times, but it was also effective in allowing me to play this course the way I wanted to, which was aggressively,” Mickelson said.
Mickelson beat fellow left-hander and second-round leader Weir, from Brights Grove, Ont., by three strokes. The fellow rookie closed with a 71 and said he would have contended had he putted better.
“I haven’t been in this position in a while, but I felt very confident,” Weir said. “I hit one poor tee shot on No. 7. Outside of that, I played really well and just didn’t get anything really out of it.”
The winner in late August at Ozarks National in Missouri in his first start on the tour, Mickelson joined Bruce Fleischer and Jim Furyk as the only players to win in their first two senior events. Fleischer accomplished the feat in 1999 and Furyk did it this year with victories at The Ally Challenge and Pure Insurance Championship.
Mickelson said earlier in the week he came to Virginia to work on accurate driving and competitive fitness, and was hoping to still be in contention for the closing holes.
“I felt like the last six holes I had an opportunity with the two short par 4s and two par 5s to make something happen,” he said, noting the advantage of his length. “… I was able to have two putt birdies on three of those holes and that was very helpful.”
He got the lead when Weir three-putted the par-3 14th green, doubled his edge with a birdie on the next hole, then highlighted his distance advantage over the 2003 Masters champion by driving the green on the 274-yard, par-4 15th. He two-putted from 30 feet, then reached the par-5 16th in two and made birdie, cancelling out Weir’s birdie.
Mickelson’s chance to work on his competitive side came right away. He erased a three-shot deficit with birdies on three of the first six holes while Weir made a string of pars, but it was on the back nine that he was really tested, and delighted with his response.
After going a shot behind on the 12th hole, he pulled even at No. 13 and kept pushing.
Mickelson, who hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since early 2019 at Pebble Beach, plans to return to the PGA Tour next week for the Zozo Championship in California. After a week off, he’ll play in the Houston Open as his final preparation for the Masters on Nov. 12-15.
Weir three-putted the par-5 18th, but still hung on to beat Paul Goydos (65) by a shot. Bernhard Langer (67) and Brandt Jobe (68) shared fifth, five behind Mickelson.
It was Weir’s third top-10 finish in eight starts on the tour.
“I was low right hander this week,” Goydos quipped.
Robert Karlsson, another rookie on the tour, closed with a 64 including an albatross 2 on the final hole. The ball bounced twice, then found the bottom of the cup.
Fellow lefty Mike Weir leads Phil Mickelson in Virginia
Mike Weir (Getty Images)
RICHMOND, Va. – The other left-handed, 50-year-old former Masters champion was on top after a long Saturday at The Country Club of Virginia.
While Phil Mickelson got most of the attention going into the Dominion Energy Charity Classic as he tries to open his senior career with consecutive victories, Mike Weir was a little better on a 36-hole day after rain washed out play Friday. The Canadian shot 68-63 to reach 13 under and take a three-stroke lead over Mickelson.
“I’m super happy with the way I played today,” said Weir. “My mindset going into today knowing we had 36, I wanted to get in a nice rhythm for the day because there’s so many holes. If you get in a nice rhythm, you can kind of ride it and I did that, I got in a nice rhythm.”
Mickelson shot 68-66. He won his PGA Tour Champions debut at Ozarks National in August.
Weir won the 2003 Masters for the biggest of his eight PGA Tour titles.
Fellow major champion Retief Goosen was third at 8 under with Brandt Jobe. They each shot 68-68.
Bernhard Langer, the first-round leader after a 67, was 7 under with Wes Short Jr. (69-68) after a second-round 70.
Ernie Els, the 50-year-old former major champion coming off his second victory of the season last week in North Carolina, shot 72-66 to get to 6 under.
Jim Furyk, another 50-year-old former major champion who won in his first two senior starts, was 5 under after rounds of 71 and 68 alongside Mickelson and defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Jennifer Greggain named coach of Golf Canada’s National Junior Squads
Golf Canada
PGA of Canada member Jennifer Greggain has been named coach of the National Junior Squads by Golf Canada.
Working alongside head coach Robert Ratcliffe, Greggain will help guide mental performance, physiotherapy, biomechanics and nutrition for the Canada’s top athletes. Coaching will be based at the national training centre at Bear Mountain in Victoria, B.C., featuring a centralized component from March through June which provides accommodation and education for athletes during their high school second semester.
Greggain, a resident of Chilliwack, B.C., transitions into the role after joining the national team program as assistant coach of the Women’s Amateur and Young Pro Squads in January of 2020.
Prior to joining Golf Canada, Greggain was the director of instruction at Chilliwack Golf Club, the assistant coach for the University of the Fraser Valley, and led the B.C. Summer Games Squad on numerous occasions. Before her coaching career, she was an accomplished player for more than 10 years on the LPGA and Symetra Tours.
“Jennifer brings a strong background in competitive golf to compliment a wealth of coaching knowledge that will continue to fill the pipeline with high performance athletes,” said head coach Robert Ratcliffe.
She’s both TPI and K-Vest certified and last June she enrolled in the University of British Columbia’s Master of High Performance and Technical Leadership program. Greggain is the recipient of the 2018 PGA of Canada Jack McLaughlin Junior Leader of the Year.
Hughes pleased to set his own schedule in 2021 and prioritize big tournaments, family
Mackenzie Hughes (Getty Images)
John Chidley-Hill/ Canadian Press
Mackenzie Hughes started the 2021 PGA Tour season with the highest ranking of his career and he’s already reaping the benefits.
Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., will be in the field at this week’s CJ Cup, which has moved South Korea to Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas.
He said that getting to set his own calendar is one of the advantages of finishing last season 14th on the FedExCup standings.
“These are the kinds of tournaments and fields you want to be a part of it. It’s a reward for having a good year the prior year,” said Hughes from his home in North Carolina.
“You want to build your schedule around the biggest tournaments and you want to play the best players in the world.”
Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor, both from Abbotsford, B.C., as well as Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., are also in the 78-player field at the no-cut event.
The first three editions of the CJ Cup were played at the Nine Bridges Golf Club on Jeju Island, South Korea, but was moved to the Vegas swing of the PGA Tour schedule this year.
Hughes said that being able to set his own schedule is especially helpful as he and his wife Jenna are expecting their second son the last week of November.
He will play at next week’s ZOZO Championship at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif. – moved from Tokyo because of travel restrictions related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Houston Open and the Masters will follow but the RSM Classic on Nov. 19 is a maybe for him as Jenna’s due date approaches.
“That’s what I’ll keep doing going into next year,” said Hughes. “I’ll probably end up playing a bit less but keep my attention around the bigger tournaments and layer in some other tournaments around that to get ready for those.”
Families were not allowed to travel with golfers for most of the 2020 PGA Tour season as the top men’s golf tour tried to maintain a bubble during the pandemic. That was tough for a family man like Hughes, who skipped the Sanderson Farms Championship and the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open so he could be at home.
“I’ve enjoyed being home for a couple of weeks, I don’t get too many of those breaks,” said Hughes. “It’s nice to be with them and hang out have some fun but also provide my wife with some help, provide some support as we raise out child.”
The road to the Masters is a long way from Augusta National
Augusta National (Getty Images)
Canadian Press
This is no ordinary road to the Masters.
Instead of the tropical warmth of Florida in the spring, it starts in the hot desert air of Nevada in October.
Instead of a series of PGA Tour events some 500 miles south of Augusta National with an occasional detour into Texas, this road starts 2,000 to the west, heads out to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and then back over to Houston.
What hasn’t changed is the top players are back in action with Georgia on their minds.
It starts Thursday with the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek, typically held in South Korea and now part of an Asia swing that moved this year to the western U.S. because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Four of the top five players in the world are at Shadow Creek, with top-ranked Dustin Johnson pulling out after his positive test for the coronavirus.
It’s different, just like the entire year in just about every sport.
Rory McIlroy thinks Shadow Creek might be even better than what Florida offers because of the bentgrass greens that are fast with big slopes.
“It’s not a bad place to prepare for Augusta,” McIlroy said Wednesday. “Climate’s going to be a bit different, but it’s not bad preparation. Obviously, it’s on the other side of the country. But when you think about the courses that we play leading up to Augusta, they’re all Bermuda for the most part. It’s Florida. It’s a different test and a different setup.
“I think here this week and Sherwood next week, I think that’s going to be a lot of guys’ last event before Augusta.”
Most of them are happy to have the opportunity.
The CJ Cup (South Korea) and the Zozo Championship (Japan) likely would not have attracted top players unwilling to travel that far during a pandemic, especially with the Masters having been pushed back to November. Both tournaments have limited fields with no cuts and big money.
The Zozo Championship next week is at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California. That will be followed by the Bermuda Championship and Houston Open ahead of the Masters on Nov. 12-15.
“I think a lot of guys are really happy that they’ve got these two events to play and see where their game is,” McIlroy said. “These are obviously big events in their own right, but looking ahead for a few week’s time.”
Shadow Creek adds to the prestige as the elite club in Las Vegas, a Tom Fazio-design with a list of members that range from former U.S. presidents to Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter to actors Sylvester Stallone and Matt Damon.
The condition is mint. Justin Rose said they were the best greens he has played this side of Augusta National and Muirfield Village, home of the Memorial.
It last was seen on television two years ago when Phil Mickelson beat Tiger Woods in a $9 million winner-take-all match as golf delved into pay-per-view, which turned out to be free because of technical glitches.
“I definitely look at that as our key event this fall,” Rickie Fowler said. “With CJ bringing the tournament here to Shadow, I think is is actually a great place to have a little checkpoint of where things are leading up to Augusta. The greens could be fairly similar in areas to what we may see at Augusta.”
The CJ Cup marks the return of Brooks Koepka after two months off to heal a left hip injury, a byproduct of a knee injury he had been dealing with since last year. Several others, such as defending champion Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele, have not played since the U.S. Open.
Rose, Shane Lowery and Tommy Fleetwood are among those who were outside London last week for the European Tour flagship event, finding it well worth it to cross eight time zones to tee it up at Shadow Creek.
As much emphasis as there is on the greens, McIlroy arrived in Las Vegas talking about length _ specifically Bryson DeChambeau’s method of hitting it as far as he could on his way to winning the U.S. Open.
McIlroy isn’t about to add 40 pounds of muscle and mass. But he is trying to add speed to his swing, even if he doesn’t catch up to the 200 mph ball speed DeChambeau is approaching.
“Having length is an advantage and I’ve always been pretty long,” McIlroy said. “I think what I want to do is at least know that I have it if I need it. I’m not going to try to do it all the time, I’m not trying to get my ball speed into the 190s every time I hit a driver, but at least I know that if I need to do it, I can do it.”
DeChambeau is home in Dallas for a month working on a 48-inch driver for the Masters. McIlroy is at Shadow Creek and Sherwood the next two weeks. Both are thinking about the Masters in their own way.
Faster from the tee and turf, the new Titleist TSi fairway metals are engineered with advanced speed-tuned technologies – including Active Recoil Channel 4.0 – to drive faster ball speeds and higher inertia for longer distance with incredible accuracy.
Available in golf shops Nov. 12, with fittings beginning today at locations nationwide, the new Titleist TSi2 and TSi3 fairways are the longest, straightest, best looking and best sounding Titleist fairway metals ever – taking after the breakthrough performance of the new TSi drivers, which have quickly become the most-played driver models on the PGA Tour.
From the top of the swing, TSi’s player-tuned aerodynamics propel the clubhead fast toward the golf ball. At impact, Active Recoil Channel (ARC) 4.0 creates greater face flex, launching the ball with increased speed. High inertia properties produce an extremely stable clubhead, providing players with more consistent speed and spin across the face for longer, straighter shots:
TSi2 launches high with incredible speed and forgiveness across the face, with a deeper, lower CG to maximize distance.
TSi3 is for players looking for added workability or requiring more precise control over CG placement, with a new SureFit CG Track
Design for advanced speed-tuned performance and shot control.
“Our metalwoods engineers continue to find new ways to generate speed and distance in our fairway designs without giving up any of the performance characteristics that players demand from a Titleist golf club,” said Josh Talge, Vice President, Titleist Golf Club Marketing. “TSi fairways are faster, straighter and easier-to-hit than ever – and deliver an experience at impact that many golfers would never expect from a fairway wood.”
TSi FAIRWAY TECHNOLOGY & PERFORMANCE
The superior speed and performance of TSi fairway metals are driven by several key innovations:
Active Recoil Channel (ARC) 4.0 launches the ball off the face with high launch, low spin and more speed. The improved design of ARC 4.0 – featuring a shorter channel wall – produces greater face flexibility for higher ball speeds. The more compact geometry also provides weight savings (5 grams) that are redistributed for higher inertia properties.
“The fourth generation of Active Recoil Channel continues to drive incredible speed performance for us in our fairway designs,” said Stephanie Luttrell, Director, Titleist Metalwood Development. “It is such a key technology in fairway metals because of where the impact happens, low on the face. Typically those strikes from the turf would come off the face much slower, but ARC keeps the face flexing through impact to preserve the speed players need to reach their target.”
High-Speed VFT Face works in concert with ARC 4.0 to maximize ball speed and forgiveness across the face. A new high-contrast graphic face design highlights the face center for easy alignment at address.
Player-Tuned Aerodynamics allows the clubhead to move fast through the air – from the top of the swing to the ball – and deliver a powerful impact. The improved head shapes feature a tour-requested softer toe profile that looks square at address. TSi feels fast in a golfer’s hands and is complemented by meticulous sound engineering that manages vibrations within the club head to deliver a Tour-Quality Sound.
Optimized Weight Distribution with refined crown and face thicknesses creates a low CG for high launch and low spin. The high-MOI design delivers a powerful combination of speed and stability.
• SureFit CG Track Technology in TSi3 models offer three unique positions – Toe (T), Neutral (N) and Heel (H) – to adjust clubhead CG and fine-tune ball flight. After adjustment, the new track design disappears into the sole of the club to allow for smooth turf interaction through impact.
Both TSi2 and TSi3 feature Titleist’s patented SureFit hosel with 16 independent loft and lie settings, plus headweight adjustability (in two-gram increments, ranging from -4g to 4g) to create a more consistent and optimized ball flight through precision fitting.
TSi2
: PURE DISTANCE
For players seeking incredible speed and accuracy across the entire the surface of the face.
For players who create more consistent contact and require more precise control over CG placement.
Precision performance and dynamic forgiveness.
• Improved Active Recoil Channel 4.0
Three-setting SureFit CG track and adjustable swingweight
Mid/high launch, low spin
Improved aerodynamic traditional shape (175c)
Available lofts: RH: 13.5°, 15°, 16.5°, 18°; LH: 15°, 16.5°
FEATURED AND PREMIUM SHAFTS
The TSi shaft selection has been assembled to offer world-class options for every swing speed and profile preference. Golfers can choose from four high performance featured shafts or upgrade to one of three premium shafts available through Titleist’s new partnership with Graphite Design.
The TS fairways featured shaft lineup features four new aftermarket models – KURO KAGE Black DC (High launch, mid spin), TENSEI AV Series Blue Raw (Mid launch and spin), HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX (Low/mid launch and spin) and TENSEI AV Series White Raw (Low launch and spin) – developed by the game’s top shaft manufacturers using insights from Titleist’s industry-best motion capture and consumer testing.
Graphite Design’s premium offerings include three of the most coveted shaft models on tour and throughout the golfing world – Graphite Design Tour AD DI, Graphite Design Tour AD IZ and Graphite Design Tour AD XC (Xtra Carry) – engineered with aerospace-quality carbon-fiber materials for incredible stability, consistency and feel.
In addition, Titleist offers an industry-leading number of custom shaft choices.
INSTANT TOUR ADOPTION
More than 150 players around the world have switched to new TSi2 and TSi3 fairways since they debuted on the PGA and European Tours in September.
Top players include Ben An (TSi2), Lanto Griffin (TSi3), Charley Hoffman (TSi3), Charles Howell III (TSi2), Mark Hubbard (TSi2), Matt Jones (TSi2), Patton Kizzire (TSi2), Peter Malnati (TSi3), C.T. Pan (TSi2), Ian Poulter (TSi2), Davis Riley (TSi3), Robby Shelton (TSi3), Cameron Smith (TSi2), Jimmy Walker (TSi2) and Will Zalatoris (TSi3), among many others – several of whom play them without an agreement.
FREE TRIAL & FITTINGS
Beginning Oct. 15, golfers can experience the speed and performance of TS metals by attending a Titleist Fitting Day (including Titleist Thursdays) being held at locations across the Country. To find an event, golfers can visit https://www.titleist.ca/fitting/golf-club-fitting/experience.
AVAILABILITY
Titleist TSi fairways are available in golf shops beginning Nov. 12 at $399 CAD.
Dustin Johnson out of CJ Cup after positive coronavirus test
Dustin Johnson (Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS – Dustin Johnson became the most prominent player to test positive for the coronavirus since golf resumed in June, forcing him to withdraw Tuesday from the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek.
The PGA Tour said in a statement that Johnson notified officials he was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and was given another test that came back positive.
Johnson is the No. 1 player in the world and the reigning PGA Tour player of the year after winning the FedEx Cup for the first time. He has not played since he tied for sixth at the U.S. Open last month.
“Obviously, I am very disappointed,” Johnson said in a statement. “I was really looking forward to competing this week, but will do everything I can to return as quickly as possible. I have already had a few calls with the tour’s medical team and appreciate all the support and guidance they have given me.”
Johnson did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Johnson is the 12th player to test positive at a tournament or at home since the PGA Tour resumed its schedule on June 8. The tour said a small number of players tested positive at home and chose to keep it private.
It comes one week after Tony Finau, at No. 16 in the world, tested positive with minor symptoms and withdrew from the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.
Johnson holds the course record at Shadow Creek after its latest renovation, posting a 7-under 65 five years ago while playing with hockey great Wayne Gretzky, the father of Johnson’s partner Paulina Gretzky.
Still to be determined is whether Johnson is able to play the Zozo Championship at Sherwood next week in Thousand Oaks, California. Johnson is a member at Sherwood Country Club, where he spends a lot of time with Gretzky.
“He was really, really looking forward to these two weeks,” said David Winkle, his manager at Hambric Sports.
Winkle said Johnson came out to Las Vegas early to practice, and he received a negative test on Sunday.
“But then he started experiencing symptoms later that night,” Winkle said. “He took it easy on Monday and thought maybe he was coming down with a cold. He had a little chest congestion. He went back and was tested this morning.”
Under the protocols on the PGA Tour, which are based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Johnson is to self-isolate for 10 days dating to when he first experienced symptoms and can return if there are no other symptoms.
That would leave open the possibility of Johnson playing next week at Sherwood, provided he would want to play having gone 10 days without being able to prepare.
Most of the world’s best players are in Las Vegas and California for two weeks as part of their preparations for the Masters. Johnson is scheduled to play the Houston Open on Nov. 5-8 a week before the Masters.
Finau experienced symptoms last weekend, meaning he was eligible to be at Shadow Creek on Wednesday to start practicing. Instead, he chose to withdraw.
