Our team has been onsite at Oak Hill Country Club taking in the sights and sounds of the 105th PGA Championship. The old school Rochester club has hosted three past PGA Championships, three U.S. Opens and the 1995 Ryder Cup - making it a fitting stage for the action to unfold in the days ahead.
Team TaylorMade brings another star-packed roster to the 2023 PGA Championship, with past winners looking to add another Wanamaker Trophy to the collection (Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa) along with contenders seeking their first (Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler).
Here are some cool moments from early in the week we wanted to share with our fellow golf nuts.
PGA Staff Bag in the Wild
The 2023 Professional Championship Staff Bag is onsite at Oak Hill. Why is it blue? The bag borrows its design cues from the waterways the surround the Rochester area.
Michael Block Driver Build
Michael Block is one the most decorated club professionals in the game and the reigning 2022 PGA Player of the Year. Here’s a step-by-step look at the Stealth 2 Plus driver we built him this week.
Tommy Dials It In
Tommy Fleetwood comes into this week playing great golf, finding himself ranked in the top-15 on TOUR in strokes gained approach. He also tied for fifth at last year’s PGA Championship, posting rounds of 69 and 67 on the weekend. He’s ninth on TOUR in strokes gained tee-to-green and strokes gained total per round, underlying numbers that promise big results on the horizon.
Building BRNR
BRNR Mini Drivers continue to be a popular ask week after week. With an interesting mix of 500-yard par 4s and shorties (the 399-yard 12th and 325-yard 14th) at Oak Hill, BRNR Mini will be an intriguing option for a number of players.
Kenny Pigman’s Headcover and Logo Combination
Kenny Pigman might have the best headcover/logo combination in the field this week.
“It’s a pig with my initials in it – pretty spot on,” says the PGA Pro from Arrowhead Country Club in California. “I coach a lot of junior golfers, and they have fun with it and want to rock it. Obviously with my name, it’s a bit of a layup.”
All Smiles
Why is Rory McIlroy smiling? He comes into the week leading the PGA TOUR in driving distance at 328.8 yards in 2022-23 with a whopping 47.7% of McIlroy’s drives traveling more than 320 yards.
STATS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Driving is critical. Since 2014, PGA Champions have gained 25.8% of their strokes against the field on shots off the tee – 7% more than the TOUR average.
- Rory McIlroy is averaging a career-high 328.2 yards off the tee in 2022-23
- 47.7% of McIlroy’s drives this season have gone more than 320 yards, the highest rate of any player.
- Scottie Scheffler that is leading the TOUR in strokes gained off-the-tee (1.022)
- Scheffler has all but eliminated the right miss, finding the right rough just 9.5% of the time. The second lowest rate on TOUR.
- Among players with 50-plus rounds on TOUR in the SG era, only Tiger Woods averages more strokes-gained-approach per round than Collin Morikawa (1.06 vs. 1.00)
- Scottie Scheffler is leading the TOUR in greens in regulation (74.4%)
- Since the beginning of 2020, Scheffler is a combined 48-under-par in the majors. Morikawa (-26) ranks third in that category, while McIlroy (-21) is tied for fourth.
- Scheffler (4.12) and McIlroy (3.91) rank one-two in birdies-or-better per major championship round in that same stretch.
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