High Stakes Gear Swaps
Equipment changes are rare when the prize money hits $10 million. Players usually stick to what works when the Tour Championship rolls into East Lake. But three top players decided to gamble at the season finale. Cameron Young and Tommy Fleetwood are among those who switched clubs right before the start. Min Woo Lee also made a key change to his iron shafts. These moves happened while the field fights for the biggest check of the year.
Young found himself in last place after the first round. He needed a miracle to stay in the hunt. Instead of panicking, he swapped his putter. He moved from a Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5R to a new Phantom 10.5 Xperimental model. This new club has an aluminum face and a full line on top. It worked instantly. Young shot an eight-under 62 on Friday to jump into a tie for fourth. He now ranks third in strokes gained on the greens after two rounds.
Fleetwood made a similar move with his putter. He used a TaylorMade Spider Tour last year to win the FedEx Cup. This week, he brought out a new Spider Tour V. The lines on the crown are lasered on now instead of drawn by hand. He fired a four-under 66 in the first round but struggled a bit in round two. Still, the switch shows he is willing to tweak his setup for a better result.
The Risk Pays Off for Young
Young’s turnaround was one of the best stories of the day. He started the week in last place and moved to the top of the leaderboard for much of Friday. The new putter helped him gain 3.5 shots on the field on Friday alone. He made a 40-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole to seal his charge. Young admitted the change was a gamble. “Again, it was very hesitant and very reactive on the last two weeks on why I wanted to change it, but it was a good gamble,” he said, according to Golf Monthly.
Lee took a different path by changing his iron shafts. He opted for a heavier shaft to slow down his swing speed. His coach noticed he was swinging too fast. Lee described the test as “blind” since the shafts had no labels. He just hit shots and picked the one that felt right. The change helped him lead the first round with an eight-under 62. He is now five shots back of the leaders as the weekend begins.
Leadership Battle and Injuries
Ryan Gerard and Viktor Hovland share the 36-hole lead at 10-under. Gerard knows the stakes are high beyond just the trophy. He is vying for a spot on the Presidents Cup team. “It’s hard not to think about it a little bit,” Gerard said, according to ESPN Golf. He added that a good week helps his chances. “I’m very aware that a good week this week goes a long way to help my chances. I’m playing this week for myself and to try and put up some good scores and hopefully win a trophy at the end of the week,” he told reporters.
Not everyone made it through the first round. JJ Spaun withdrew due to a shoulder injury. He felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder blade before the tournament started. “Me and my physio, we kind of worked through it and hit some balls Tuesday. It flared up pretty bad. I couldn’t play any holes after hitting balls for about 45 minutes,” Spaun explained, according to Golf Monthly. He tried to play on Wednesday but could not move his neck or head. The $40 million event is now down to 29 players.
Young’s rise puts him right in the mix with world number one Scottie Scheffler. They are paired together for the third round on Saturday. The leaderboard is tight with many players within three shots of the lead. As the weekend progresses, the equipment changes could be the difference between a trophy and a missed cut. Young proved that a new stick can fix a bad week. Now he has to keep it rolling to win the $10 million prize.
