Just how well does this equipment perform? Well take a look at what Tyler Duncan was able to pull off on Friday morning during the second round of the PGA Tour’s Corales Puntacana Championship.

Standing the 15th tee at Puntacana Resort & Club in the Dominican Republic, Duncan was six-under on the day and just two shots off the lead, hoping to stay aggressive as he made his way to the clubhouse. And then this happened:

You never know what you’ll see on TOUR ? @TDuncGolf broke his driver head on impact and still hit the fairway @CoralesChamp. pic.twitter.com/niGbY0WsiT

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 24, 2023

Exactly what caused the clubhead to snap from the shaft is unclear. It wouldn’t seem to be caused by a ‘hosel rocket’ however considering the ball travelled straight and true, landing in the centre of the fairway and leaving Duncan a short iron into the green.

You can see Duncan was thrown by what happened with his initial reaction to the clubhead flying itself a good 30 yards.

Impressively, Duncan didn’t let the mishap rattle him, though, as he then hit his approach to roughly 10 feet. He then rolled in the putt for birdie.

… and still makes birdie ? pic.twitter.com/kOrRVbrlEs

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 24, 2023

It’s unclear whether Duncan putt a new driver into his bag for the last three holes, which he parred to card a seven-under 65. Under the Rules of Golf, Duncan is entitled to replace his driver with a new club because the club was broken by an outside influence or natural forces (Rule 4.1).

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Instead, Duncan wound up playing nine of the best holes of his life. The 30-year-old Indiana native—who earned back his PGA Tour card in the Korn Ferry Tour Final Series in September—shot a four-under 31 that included birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, the latter of which came from 24 feet. That got him into a playoff with Simpson, who made a clutch five-foot par save on the final hole to tie Duncan at 19 under.

After they each made par on the first playoff hole, Duncan finished Simpson off with a birdie, giving him his first career PGA Tour win in his 68th start. Prior to this week, he had finished inside the top 10 only once in his last 48 tournaments. The $1.188 million first-place check nearly doubles Duncan’s career earnings on tour prior to the win.

Simpson’s sixth career win will have to wait, but he continues to come close. He’s now had three runner ups in his last seven starts.

Todd, who was going for his third straight victory on Sunday, finished with a two-over 72, dropping him to solo fourth.

The post Tyler Duncan defeats Webb Simpson in a playoff to win the RSM Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

But when they do go in, you can put together a magical round like Duncan did on Friday at the RSM Classic. The 30-year-old Indiana native made everything he saw on Sea Island’s Seaside Course, shooting a nine-under 61 to vault to the top of the leader board. At 14-under 128, he leads by two heading into the weekend.

“I made a lot of putts, a lot of straight-ish putts, which I struggled with a little bit and we’ve been working on that a ton,” said Duncan, who has gained 3.869 strokes on the green over the first two rounds, which ranks fourth in the field. He’s also gone bogey-free, something he can’t recall ever doing in his career.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had back-to-back rounds with no bogeys, so I’m happy to have that, for sure. And 61 I think is probably my lowest in competition, so very happy with that as well.”

The Seaside Course yielded a ton of low scores on Friday, with the field averaging 67.711. Sebastian Munoz and Rhein Gibson, who are tied for second at 12 under, shot 63 and 64, respectively, on the Seaside.

Also at 12 under is D.J. Trahan, whose nine-under 63 came on the Plantation Course. Brendon Todd, in search of a third victory in as many starts, shot a six-under 66 on Plantation, putting him in a tie for seventh at 10 under.

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By Joel Beall
Tyler Duncan made just one bogey in his second-round 66 at the rain-delayed AT&T Byron Nelson. Unfortunately for the 29-year-old, the bogey cost him more than a shot on the scorecard.

Duncan’s approach at the par-4 13th at Trinity Forest sailed to the right of the green on Friday and hit a spectator. A spectator that Duncan holds close to his heart.

“Today I hit my wife in the head on that hole,” he told reporters after Round 2. “Took a big bounce and hit her, I guess.”

Duncan said he was not aware that it was his wife until after the round, meaning he can’t use the incident as an excuse for failing to get up-and-down on the hole. “I had a little mud on the ball, little unfortunate timing there and shot out to the right,” he explained.

The craziest part? This wasn’t Maria’s first golf-related accident.

“Not long after we started dating, she actually got hit in the head by another ball, a random ball from the driving range,” Duncan said. “She’s dodged two hits to the head. I’m sure most people can’t say that.”

Luckily, Duncan said Maria wasn’t hurt. Duncan, who tees off at 6:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, is currently in a tie for second place. His best career finish is a T-5 at the Safeway Open, and a win would double his career earnings. Just spitballin,’ but he might want to set aside some of that cash for an apology gift.

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By Christopher Powers
For the second straight year, Brendan Steele entered the final round of the Safeway Open lurking a few shots off the lead, needing a low round to contend. Last season, he delivered with a seven-under 65 that erased a four-shot deficit for his second PGA Tour victory.

On Sunday at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, Calif., he didn’t need a 65, but his final-round three-under 69 was good enough to come back from two shots and defend his title with a 72-hole total of 15-under 273 to begin the 2017-’18 PGA Tour season.

Steele, 34, cruised on the front nine, going out in three-under 33. After dropping shots at the 12th and 14th, his lead shrunk to just one shot, with Phil Mickelson and Tony Finau making a charge. But Steele finished strong, making birdies at the par-5 16th and par-5 18th to win by two shots for the third victory of his career. He’s the first player in the Safeway Open’s 11-year history to win back-to-back.

After making eagle at the par-5 fifth and birdies at the ninth and 13th, Finau found himself just one off Steele’s lead. But his drive at the 14th was way off line, leading to a double-bogey 6. His final-round three-under 69 earned him a solo second finish at 13-under 275.

Mickelson, 47, also got within a shot of the lead after making birdie at the par-5 16th, and hilariously mocking himself in the process. But he made his third bogey of the day at the following hole, and finished with a two-under 70 to tie for third at 12-under 276.

Also finishing at 12 under was Chesson Hadley, who carded a final round one-over 73. It’s his fourth top-five finish in 46 starts on the PGA Tour.

Graham DeLaet and PGA Tour rookie Tyler Duncan, the leader after 54 holes, finished in a tie for fifth at 11-under 277.

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By Christopher Powers

The post PGA Tour rookie Tyler Duncan takes one-shot lead into final round of Safeway Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers

The post Chesson Hadley shoots 61, trails leader Tyler Duncan by two shots at the Safeway Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.