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🏌🏻5 Clubs Of The Best Wedge Players
Plus: How to create maximum clubhead speed
Good Morning! Round 3 of the FedEx St. Jude Championship is in progress and it’s heading towards a fascinating finish - catch all the live action on Golf Channel and Peacock.
And, before you head out to the golf course this weekend, don’t forget to check out our drill (Driving Range) to create maximum clubhead speed.
Today’s Trivia: Who's the most successful player in the history of the St. Jude Championship? Answer at the end of the email.
⛳ This day in history: One of the memorable conclusions to a PGA Championship was on this date in 1997. Davis Love III won his lone major, holing out on the final hole for a five-shot victory at Winged Foot West over Justin Leonard.
TOP STORY
Scheffler Set For Signature Surge @ St. Jude Championship
Photo: Getty Images | Source: PGA Tour
Scottie Scheffler is climbing up the leaderboard in Memphis and sits fourth after Round 2. We've seen so often how Scheffler manages to mount a late surge and eventually win a tournament and the stage is set after 36 holes for a repeat at the St. Jude Championship.
Scheffler is two shots off the lead at the FedEx St. Jude Championship after shooting 66-65 (-9) in the opening two rounds. He’s two behind co-leaders Denny McCarthy (66-63) and Hideki Matsuyama (65-64) and trails his roommate this week, Sam Burns (67-63), by one.
Scheffler is in the top five of both Driving Accuracy (21 of 28) and Greens In Regulation (27 of 36) this week. He’s gained approximately 1.4 strokes on the greens this week, enough to complement his strong ball striking.
📌 McCarthy Shares Lead: Denny McCarthy enjoyed a wild ride that included a pair of bogeys and nine birdies. He finished with a 63 and is in the lead, tied with Matsuyama.
The 31-year-old is still searching for his first career PGA Tour win despite some impressive performances this season. He notably finished second at the Valero Texas Open in April and had top-7 results at the John Deere Classic and Wells Fargo Championship.
🚀 Stars In Contention: Viktor Hovland had a great round and is tied for the seventh spot at the halfway stage. Xander Schauffele had a frustrating day by his standards and currently lies T-13.
Rory McIlroy looks out of contention though. His 1-over par Round 2 score means he is now 12 shots behind the leader at T-58.
🌦️ Weather Forecast: Thunderstorms are expected to strike the Memphis area early Saturday. In light of the inclement forecast, players will begin teeing off at approximately 9:45 am Saturday.
Rounds one and two featured the 70-player field teeing off in pairs every 10 minutes beginning at 7:20 am on the first tee. On Saturday, players (in groups of three) will tee off simultaneously on Nos. 1 and 10 from 9:45-11:45 am.
Leaderboard after Round 2
Watch Round 2 Highlights
TWEET
Worth Mentioning
It's anyone's game out there. 👀
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest)
7:15 PM • Aug 16, 2024
WEEKEND READING
This Is What The Best Wedge Players Use
Photo: Getty Images | Source: Golfweek
The FedEx Cup Playoffs are underway and today we break down which models each of the best wedge players on the PGA Tour use, based on Strokes Gained around the greens.
While some of the names on the list are known for their ball-striking prowess, their consistency and ability to knock it close when missing a green may surprise you.
🏌♀Hideki Matsuyama: While Matsuyama is known for his ball striking, not enough is said about his ability to chip and pitch the ball close. He leads the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained around the greens, making up nearly a full shot on the field thanks to his greenside touch.
He uses Cleveland RTX 4 Prototype wedges in lofts of 52° (10° bounce), 56° (8° bounce) and a 60° (8° bounce). While the world number 12 is known to tinker a decent amount with his putter setup, the RTX 4 wedges he plays were initially released in 2018.
🏌♀Davis Thompson: Thompson has a mixed range of brands in his bag, sporting both Titleist, Ping and an Odyssey White Hot OG #7 putter. It’s a range of Titleist Vokey wedges Thompson trusts to help him get up-and-down.
While he uses a Vokey SM10 46° and 50° in an F grind (made for full shots), Thompson uses a Vokey Wedgeworks (Titleist's custom wedge program) 54° M grind (8° bounce) and 60° T grind (4° bounce).
🏌♀Justin Thomas: Thomas uses 46°, 52°, 56° and 60° Titleist Vokey SM10 wedges that are actually bent to play at 47.5°, 52.5°, 57° and 60.5°. While his approach play and Strokes Gained around the greens are all positive, it will be on the greens where Thomas will look to sharpen up throughout the playoffs, as he currently sits 154th on Strokes Gained putting.
🏌♀Scottie Scheffler: Scheffler uses his set TaylorMade P7TW pitching wedge and then moves into two 50° and 56° Titleist Vokey SM8 wedges. He uses a 14° bounce F grind in his 56°, which is very much considered a high bounce wedge. Scheffler typically uses a 60° Wedgeworks proto K grind in softer conditions and has a 60.5 T grind for when the ground is a little firmer and less bounce is required.
🏌♀Collin Morikawa: Morikawa uses a 50° and 56° TaylorMade MG4 with the 56° in a low bounce option. Morikawa then uses the TW grind MG4 in his 60° wedge, which is a grind first designed for Tiger Woods.
This grind offers ample heel and toe relief for shot making and has 11° of bounce.
DRIVING RANGE
Create Maximum Clubhead Speed
In today's video, we demonstrate how you can generate maximum clubhead speed.
Trivia Answer: Vijay Singh (4 titles).