A three-way playoff concluded the opening tournament of 2020, with Justin Thomas prevailing. While great golf was the highlight, plenty of new gear showed up at the tournament from the likes of TaylorMade and Callaway.
The Sentry Tournament of Champions looked like Xander Schauffele’s to lose—and unfortunately that’s exactly what happened, as Schauffele missed an opportunity to close out Justin Thomas on the final hole, and fell out of a three-way playoff with Thomas and Patrick Reed on the first playoff hole. Thomas would eventually prevail in a three-hole playoff.
The Sentry Tournament of Champions, which includes winners from the 2018-19 season, kicked off 2020 in Hawaii at Kapalua, a course designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw that saw a significant overhaul since the tournament was last played. Regrassed and altered in places, the course played much tougher than in previous years.
Reed, who continues to play the role of golf’s primary villain after the debacle of grounding his club in the Hero World Challenge, followed by some questionable actions at the Presidents Cup, played one of the best rounds of the week, shooting 66 to put himself in contention and finish at 14-under. But it didn’t look like it would be enough until both Thomas and Schuaffele faltered on their final hole, leaving all three tied.
After Schauffele was knocked out, Thomas and Reed battled over two more playoff holes. Neither seemed to want to really win the tournament after that—both made average birdies on the second playoff hole, and they played a third as the sun was setting. Going for the green, Thomas hit an atrocious fat 3-wood that barely carried the hazard, leaving Reed in a spot to capitalize. But Thomas hit a wedge shot tight, forcing Reed to make a challenging finesse chip. Both hit shots tight, but after Reed blasted his birdie putt well past the hole, a heckler in the crowd yelled, “cheater.” Reed made par, but Thomas was one better, taking the title and his 12th PGA Tour win.
The year, new gear
There were plenty of great gear stories coming out of the week, with new equipment, most of which will be officially announced later this month, showing up in the hands of some of the best players.
Even before the tournament started, Dustin Johnson made some news with TaylorMade’s new SIM driver when he rattled it off a sign during a practice swing.
New year, new clubs. 🏌️♂️https://t.co/ezlV6qTW1o
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 2, 2020
Johnson played the Max version of the SIM driver, and three versions of the driver have been confirmed as on the USGA’s conforming list. He also played a version of the 3-wood and, apparently for the first time in his life, a hybrid.
“I’m playing the Max,” Johnson said. “I’ve got the Max driver and 3-wood, and I’m actually going to play a rescue club which I never thought that would happen,” Johnson confirmed on tournament eve.
“I’ve been hitting it the last few days. I hit it quite nicely. I don’t know, we’ll give it a run for a little while, see how it works.”
Pictures of Johnson’s driver showed an unusual bottom to the driver, which was announced on Jan. 6.
The driver’s unusual bottom is highlighted by what’s not there—the Max did not have a weight track that’s been typical of TaylorMade drivers.
Schauffele was witnessed using plenty of new Callaway gear, including the company’s new Mavrik driver, which Callaway has teased an announcement sometime this month.
Schauffele was also seen using a new version of the company’s Chrome Soft ball and a prototype of its Stroke Lab putter. In an interview, Schauffele praised the quality of the new ball.
“I’m using a new golf ball, Callaway’s new Chrome Soft,” he said. “I’m not even trying to solicit it. It’s just, I feel more comfortable with it. Before I was a little worried with little half shots and spin.”
With all the new equipment, one thing remains true—Titleist remains a dominant force on the PGA Tour. The company’s new SM8 wedge had 27 versions in play, six better than all of the other brands combined.