Age: 27 | Lives: Knoxville, Tenn. | Story: Won the Sanderson Farms Championship in November for his first PGA Tour win.
Equipment
What's In My Bag: Peter Malnati
January 20, 2016
#Unfinishedbusiness
When the Kansas City Royals got to the World Series in 2014 but didn’t win, it coincided with me not retaining my PGA Tour card. Then what happened? I got my card back for this season, then won an event eight days after the Royals won it all. I really couldn’t have scripted it any better.
Photo By: Michael Cohen/Getty Images
Tour-Level Scribe
A blogging tour pro? Yeah, I’m not exactly typical. But I’ve kept it going. Check it out here: petermalnati.blogspot.com
DRIVER
Specs: Titleist 915D2, 8.5˚, 45 inches, Graphite Design Tour AD MJ 6 shaft, X-flex, D-3 swingweight. I like the control of a low, penetrating trajectory. As a low swing-speed guy, I want my tee shots to land hot.
FAIRWAY WOOD
Specs: Titleist 915F, 15˚, Matrix Velox shaft, S-flex, 43 inches, D-3. Finding a wood that I can easily launch in the air is crucial. The ball flight of this club comes off in that same, low window as my driver.
HYBRID
Specs: Titleist 816H1 (19˚, Aldila Tour Blue 85 shaft, X-flex) and 816H2 (23˚, Aerotech Steelfiber i110 shaft, X-flex). Call me a senior citizen. But I can flight these hybrids any way I need to.
IRONS
Specs: Titleist 716 T-MB (5-iron through pitching wedge), Aerotech 110 shafts, S-flex, Iomic Sticky 2.3 grips. These have a players-iron look, but give me a little forgiveness and distance. Game-changer.
WEDGES
Specs: Titleist Vokey SM6 prototypes (50˚, 55˚and 60˚), Aerotech Steelfiber i110 shafts. These wedges went in as soon as we got to try them in Vegas. The smaller head appealed to me.
PUTTER
Specs: Titleist/Scotty Cameron Select Newport 1.5 Fastback, 34 inches, 4˚ loft, 72˚ lie angle. Dustin Johnson makes his money with his driver. Me? It’s all about my putter. Always been my go-to. I made every putt I looked at when I won.
Kaleidoscope balls
Almost every player on tour uses a simple dot. Not me. My Titleist Pro V1x gets all kinds of shapes and colors.
Feeling royal
I got to throw out the first pitch at the Royals game this year. I wore a Royals hat in practice rounds after they won!
Photo By: Vleisides Photo Studio
When you go viral
You might’ve seen this video on ESPN’s SportsCenter. I tried to hit a flop out of the water and failed at a Web.com event in August. So many people reached out to me after that!
Photo By: Steve Dykes/Getty Images
Making a real impact
I’ve always kept golf in perspective. But after meeting 12-year-old cancer survivor Madeline Richardson at a junior clinic, I’ve found a new friend who keeps me grounded.
Photo By: Courtesy of Peter Malnati
Fuel
I’ll always keep a couple KIND bars in my bag. Nutrition is really important to me, as I’ve learned over the last few years playing professionally. If you don’t feel good, you’re decreasing your chances of playing good. With these KIND bars, I have great options to fuel up on the course.