Brooks Koepka switches driver for TPC Harding Park

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 20:38:03 +0000

Tom Pennington

By Mike Stachura
Brooks Koepka made the case that driving would be vital this week at the PGA Championship, where TPC Harding Park’s thick, wet rough and cool, damp conditions place a premium on accurate power.

“If you put the ball in the fairway out here, you’re going to do — there’s a lot of long irons into these par 4s, and like today, I think I hit — played nine holes and hit three long irons in the back nine in the flags and obviously it’s a little cooler, a little windy,” Koepka said in his pre-tournament press conference. “But still at the same time in you’re in that rough, there’s no chance you’re hitting 4- or 5-iron into these greens. You have to drive it well and put it into the fairway.”

So Koepka, who came into the week ranked 19th in strokes gained off the tee and 18th in distance but 185thin driving accuracy, made a switch back to the driver he used to win last year’s PGA Championship.

Koepka, who had been playing Callaway’s Mavrik Sub Zero throughout this season, put last year’s TaylorMade M5 back in the bag for the first round of the PGA Championship. Koepka has used TaylorMade drivers in all four of his major championship victories.

Last year, Koepka ranked 21st in strokes gained off the tee, 10th in driving distance and 102nd in driving accuracy. At last year’s PGA Championship, played at a similarly setup, thick rough Black Course at Bethpage State Park in New York, Koepka finished the week 2nd in strokes gained off the tee, 10th in driving distance and 44th in driving accuracy.

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The Open 2019: Tiger Woods says his driver passed R&A test

Golf Digest Middle East — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 05:10:56 +0000

Woods tees off during a practice round prior to the 148th Open Championship held on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 15, 2019 in Portrush, United Kingdom. (Photo by Warren Little/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

By Ryan Herrington
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — All’s well that ends well for Tiger Woods, who on Tuesday said the R&A had given his TaylorMade M5 driver the seal of approval ahead of this week’s Open Championship.

As it did a year ago at Carnoustie, the governing body decided to test the drivers of a handful of players, Woods included, after their practice rounds at Royal Portrush. Officials were checking that the clubs passed a Characteristic Time (CT) test, which measures the rebound off of a driver’s clubface using a spring-loaded pendulum. A failed test would lead to a possible ruling that the driver is “too hot” and does not conform to the Rules of Golf.

RELATED: Tiger is thinking big picture with light playing schedule

Golf.com first reported that Woods was among the players whose clubs the R&A checked on Monday. After he finished his round with Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler, he submitted the club for testing on the Portrush driving range. R&A officials had yet to state specifically how many clubs have been tested this week and whether any failed to past the test.

All 30 clubs selected for testing in 2018 were found to conform.

Tiger has been playing the M5 since the Farmers Insurance Open in January.

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Brooks Koepka switches driver for TPC Harding Park

The Open 2019: Tiger Woods says his driver passed R&A test