Equipment
The putter change that gave Harold Varner III his best finish of 2018
Sam Saunders, who used his late grandfather Arnold Palmer’s Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball putter, wasn’t the only player changing things up on the greens at the Greenbrier. A number of other players also opted for new flat sticks, including Harold Varner III and Jason Kokrak, who both finished in the top 10 at the Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, and John Peterson, who finished just outside the top 10 in what might have been the last start of his PGA Tour career.
Michael Owens
It had been an up-and-down season for Harold Varner III, with just one top-10 finish in 22 starts prior to teeing it up at The Greenbrier. So Varner, who stood 152nd in strokes gained/putting coming into the event, did what many players do—he changed putters. Varner went with a Odyssey O-Works R-Line mallet, but with a White Hot Pro insert instead of the Microhinge insert that is on the production model. The club gets its name from a single red line that stretches from front to back in the rear cavity. The club seemed to work for Varner, who finished T-5 while ranking 33rd in strokes gained/putting.
Michael Owens
The Scotty Cameron by Titleist Timeless that Jason Kokrak changed to at Old White TPC is a tour-only milled Newport-style head made from soft German stainless steel. Although the Timeless can come in several finishes, Kokrak’s putter features the popular black version.
Rob Carr
John Peterson was one of the storylines last week at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, but perhaps overlooked in what he says is his last round as a professional golfer is that he switched putters, putting a TaylorMade Spider Tour in play. Peterson, who was in the last event before his medical exemption ran out, narrowly missed earning conditional status despite a solid T-13 finish thanks to a final-round 66.