Seen on tour
Bryson DeChambeau's mid-tourney driver switch and a pair of notable putter changes at the 2021 Genesis Invitational
Steph Chambers
Bryson DeChambeau is one of the most notable tinkerers on the PGA Tour. But even for him, his mid-tournament driver switch was a notable move at Riviera. Bryson's swap was one of a handful of notable changes we saw last week at the Genesis Invitational just outside Los Angeles.
Bryson goes back to Speedzone driver mid-tournament
After just two fairways during a opening-round 75 at the Genesis Invitational with his Cobra Radspeed driver, Bryson DeChambeau not only practiced late into the night at Riviera but also went back to a Cobra Speedzone driver for Day 2. The Speedzone is the same model DeChambeau used during his win at the U.S. Open last September at Winged Foot Golf Club, so no one could blame Bryson for looking for a little magic. The switch helped a little, as DeChambeau managed to double his fairways hit (four) during a second-round 69 that wasn’t quite enough to make the cut.
Scott shortens long putter
Icon Sportswire
Defending champion Adam Scott used a new putter at Riviera, a Scotty Cameron Futura X prototype that is not far off from the putter he had been using, with one major difference.
“It's actually two inches shorter than my other putter, that's the main difference,” said Scott after a first round in which he posted a staggering 5.074 strokes gained/putting mark. “[It’s] just something I've been experimenting with. I felt like the work I did with Paul [Vizanko] from Scotty Cameron got this putter in a place where I felt it was worth the run. I've been happy with my putting, too, so it was something to keep me entertained.”
For the week Scott picked up more than four strokes on the field on the greens in finishing T-38.
Smith a mallet man
Sean M. Haffey
Cameron Smith also made a putter change, using a Scotty Cameron by Titleist Phantom X 11.5 tour prototype—the same model Genesis champ Max Homa had in play. Cameron put the putter in the bag for the first time after testing it early week at Riviera. On Tuesday Scotty Cameron tour rep Drew Page had some of the new Phantom X models with him on the putting green when Smith asked if he could roll a few putts with the 11.5 model.
A few minutes later, Smith asked Page if he could build one up to his specs.
“The 11.5 was just very stable and swung really nice for him,” said Page. “He felt like he didn’t have to do too much with it—he just had to pull the club back and it did the rest for him.”
It did it well, too, as Smith finished fourth, ranking 14th in putts per green in regulation.