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Gear On Tour: Sony Open

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

A glimpse of what players are using at the Sony Open in Hawaii

Chez Reavie's bad belly putter timing

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 22:30:00 GMT

HONOLULU -- When Chez Reavie arrived for the first round of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament last fall, he decided he was going to employ a mid-length putter, also known as a belly putter, for the first time in his career.

The date was November 28. That same day, the U.S. Golf Association and Royal & Ancient Golf Club announced a proposal to ban anchored strokes -- which usually come with the use of a belly putter or long putter.

"My timing was perfect," Reavie said Wednesday with a notably sardonic tone and a grin while stroking putts on the large practice green at Waialae CC, site of this week's Sony Open in Hawaii, the tour's first full-field event of 2013.

Indeed, Reavie is now among the ranks of tour players impacted by the proposed change to Rule 14-1b that reads, "In making a stroke, the player must not anchor the club, either 'directly' or by use of an 'anchor point.'" The proposed rule is scheduled to go into effect in 2016.

Reavie, 31, of Scottsdale, Ariz., who made it through Q-School on the number by finishing T-22, said he began using the longer putter because it helps him with technical aspects of putting. He said that he sees the line of the putt better because his eyes are inside the ball. He can make the adjustment to get the same alignment with a standard length putter, but for now he's sticking with the belly model.

Related: Our Sony Open picks and more

Winner of the 2008 RBC Canadian Open, Reavie had no complaints about the rule change. His plan is to use the longer putter until he is no longer allowed. Despite it helping him fundamentally, he doubted that anchoring provided any discernible advantage. "There are just too many different ways to miss a putt," he said.

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(Photo by Getty Images)

Equipment: Stanley's Torrid Torrey Run Began With Early Week Trip To Spin City

E. Michael Johnson — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Although the Farmers Insurance Open did not end well for long-hitting Kyle Stanley, work at Titleist's nearby test center yielded a new driver loft and beneficial RPM.

Equipment: Every's Extreme Putter Raises Old Questions About Role Of MOI

E. Michael Johnson — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Increasing a club's moment of inertia to reduce twisting at impact is a good thing, but, especially for putters, some believe there may be a point of diminishing returns.

Video: Wagner punches ticket to Augusta with win

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:33:00 GMT

Lost in the fuss surrounding Johnson Wagner's curious choice in facial hair is how he overcame an impressive collection of players to secure his second trip to the Masters. Wagner earned his first trip to Augusta National in more dramatic fashion, winning the 2008 Shell Houston Open the week prior to the Masters to lock down that year's final invite.

This time, he'll have three months to prepare -- and to reconsider his mustache. Right now, though, as the highlights below indicate, it seems to be working for him.

Colt Knost's hot streak continues in Hawaii

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:45:00 GMT

HONOLULU -- Colt Knost begins his second round Friday at the Sony Open in Hawaii three strokes off the lead set by Canada's Graeme DeLaet and still feeling like he can roll 7s and 11s and hit blackjack at will.

And who cares if today is Friday the 13th, no less?

It's a feeling born of good fortune plucked from the pit of dyspeptic despair that golfers know only too well.

Knost, 26, of Dallas, didn't even expect to get into the season's first full field event on the PGA Tour this week at Waialae CC after being among the last men to earn his tour card last month at the National Qualifying Tournament in La Quinta, Calif. The numbers fell right. They have been of late.

Photo: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Just consider the manner in which Knost secured the card. Last month at Q-School he had walked off the last green in tears after making a double-bogey on the final hole at the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West. He fell to 8 under for the tournament, right on the cut line.

The Who, What, When, Why (and how) of Waialae's "W"

Matt Ginella — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:49:00 GMT

Let’s say you’re a member of the board at a private Hawaiian club full of rich tradition. Your course is a classic design by Seth Raynor and Charles Banks that opened in 1927. You host...

His immediate future secure, Finchem looks ahead

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:14:00 GMT

HONOLULU - Tim Finchem believes potential candidates to succeed him as commissioner of the PGA Tour currently work in the organization.

"A number of them. No question," he said.

Just the same, there is no rush.

The PGA Tour Policy Board on Tuesday renewed Finchem's contract through June 2016. Finchem, 64, succeeded Deane Beman in June 1994.

"I love the job," said Finchem, who has steered the PGA Tour successfully through a sharp economic downturn the last four years. "The contract was coming up this year, and I decided I'd wait until after television to really think about it. My youngest daughter is going to college, so I figured I'd wait to talk to my wife about it, and the environment with kids gone, just talk about whether it made sense family-wise. But in terms of the job, it was kind of a no-brainer decision.

"Plus, when we got done with television, the more I thought about the runway for 10 years out I figured we could really do some good stuff long-term planning wise, and the more I thought about it, I feel like we have as much opportunity and I'm as optimistic as I've ever been; I'm really excited about the future."

Injured Glover still hopeful to play in Hawaii

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:20:00 GMT

KAHULUI, Hawaii -- Lucas Glover hasn't tried to hit a golf shot since he withdrew from the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions with a knee injury, but he is still in the 50th state and plans to try and play in this week's Sony Open in Hawaii.

"I don't know if I can play, but I'm here and we'll see," a clean-shaven Glover said Tuesday morning at Kahului Airport awaiting an inter-island flight to Oahu. The Sony Open, the first full-field event on the PGA Tour in 2012, begins Thursday at Waialae CC in Honolulu.

Glover had to pull out of the winners-only Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Resort after spraining a ligament in his right knee while paddle boarding. The former U.S. Open champion became the second straight major champion to pull out of the tournament in as many years. Two-time defending champion Geoff Ogilvy, another former U.S. Open winner, cut his finger on a piece of coral in 2011 and couldn't compete.

Glover did not have the knee wrapped, but he said it is still sore. He gave no indication when he might to try to play again if he can't make it to the first tee in Honolulu.

-- Dave Shedloski
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PGA Tour: Fantasy Fix: Sony Open

Alex Myers — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:00:00 GMT

We discuss a brutal BCS National Championship game, this week's PGA Tour stop, and make a bold prediction for Zach Johnson in 2012.