By PGA TOUR staff Chances are, you've never heard of Aerotech, but this small Washington golf company had a major impact on the 2012 PGA TOUR season. Graphite-shafted irons are still a vast minority on TOUR, but the numbers are growing, especially among some of the bigger names in the sport. Matt Kuchar was among the first to convert -- he switched a couple of years ago -- and he brought Brandt Snedeker along with him. Carl Pettersson also had a career year while playing the shafts, which have a graphite core, but reinforcing steel fiber lacing the shaft surface. Aerotech began making golf shafts in 1994, but it wasn't until Matt Kuchar's big year in 2010 that the company started to grab an important piece of the PGA TOUR market. A big reason the shafts have grown in popularity on TOUR is that they are closely matched to the extra-stiff steel shafts that have dominated for decades. Instead of a stereotypical light, whippy feel, Aerotech has produced shafts that are heavier, stiffer, and stronger than the graphite iron shafts that were seen on TOUR starting in the 1990s. Both Kuchar and Snedeker play a 95-gram SteelFiber model, which are still considerably lighter than standard extra-stiff steel shafts, which are 25-35 grams heavier. SNEDEKER KEEPS IT SIMPLE: Snedeker added the high-tech shafts to his irons, but that is about it. He won the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola -- and the FedExCup that went with it -- with years-old technology in his driver and putter. Snedeker plays Bridgestone J40 irons -- the same irons Kuchar used to win THE PLAYERS -- but the rest of his bag is a hodgepodge. Snedeker might be the most finicky player on TOUR when it comes to drivers. In short, he hates to change them. He used the TaylorMade 425 R7 long after other players upgraded, and he was using a 2008-era TaylorMade Burner Superfast TP early this season before it was damaged. He switched to a first-edition R11 (not the R11s), but eventually found a replacement for the Superfast. As for his putter, it's even older. Snedeker has used the same Odyssey White Hot XG Rossie heel-shafted mallet for years.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

ATLANTA -- Matt Kuchar used to play East Lake Golf Club frequently when he was a student at nearby Georgia Tech.

But it took the 34-year-old longer than he had hoped to return to play the legendary Bobby Jones' home track as a pro during the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. Kuchar is hoping the third time's a charm, too.

Two years ago, he came back to Atlanta ranked first in the FedExCup only to tie for 25th and fall one spot in the competition for the $10 million bonus. Kuchar entered the Playoffs finale at fifth last year and tied for 20th in the tournament, again dropping a spot in the FedExCup.

This week, Kuchar is no longer among the five who control their own destiny at East Lake. He came in 16th so all he can do is focus on winning and see where the rest of the chips fall -- and Kuchar did what he needed to do on Thursday with a 67 that left him one shot off the lead.

"My first two TOUR Championships didn't go quite as nice as I would have liked," he said. "Awfully nice to get off to a good start. Didn't hit it that well, didn't drive it that well particularly, but putted fantastic. Really had the putter going."

Kuchar made four birdies and dropped just one shot to par when he missed the fairway and the green at No. 4 and couldn't convert a 19-footer to save. He only hit five fairways and 11 greens on Thursday but those 26 putts helped him compensate on a course on which he's becoming increasing comfortable.

"I think I've learned over the years that maybe the difference between college and now is the new greens and how firm they are," Kuchar said. "There are just a lot of places where you used to be able to get up and down, and now you can't. I played smart when I was in trouble, and I was able to sneak away with a 3 under par round."

Kuchar says he has decided to embrace the distraction of family and friends this week, and he's come in more rested than in the past. He's not checking the numbers or obsessing over the scenarios, he's just trying to play his best to see where it takes him.  

"The game of golf is so fickle that I think I do a good job of not putting too much in the way of expectations on myself," Kuchar said. "I come looking to play well, but certainly not expecting it. So I don't know if the pressure was there or just the game of golf."

The top 30 in FedExCup points are headed to East Lake for the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. Here’s a look at Matt Kuchar, one of the 30 players who will contend for the FedExCup title.

SCENARIOS TO WIN FEDEXCUP: For Kuchar to win the FedExCup, he MUST win the TOUR Championship and have the following scenarios fall into place:
> Rory McIlroy (No. 1) finishes in a 3-way tie for 9th or worse
> Tiger Woods (No. 2) finishes in a 3-way tie for 4th or worse
> Nick Watney (No. 3) must finish fourth or worse
> Phil Mickelson (No. 4) finishes T-3 or worse
Brandt Snedeker (No. 5) finishes T-2 or worse
> *Tie for the FedExCup
Click here for scenarios of every player

SEASON IN REVIEW: Kuchar ended a 20-month victory drought in a big way when he came from behind to win THE PLAYERS by two strokes. The win was his first in 37 starts -- during which time he had produced 14 top-10 finishes. Two of those came in World Golf Championships, and he added another later in the year at the Bridgestone Invitational, his eighth top-10 of the season. His consistency led to a spot on his second Ryder Cup team. -- Helen Ross

PATH TO TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP: Here’s a look at Kuchar’s results in the first three events of the 2012 FedExCup Playoffs:
Click here for Playoffs Tracker of every player.

Tournament
Tournament finish	T-38	T-35	T-54th
FEC ranking after event	11th	13th	16th

PREVIOUS FEDEXCUP FINISHES: Here is how Kuchar has finished in previous Playoffs appearances:

	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007
FedExCup finish	6th	2nd	40th	115th	92nd

EAST LAKE HISTORY: Though Kuchar is from Atlanta, he’s made it to East Lake only twice, tying for 20th in 2011 and 25th the year before. He’s broken par just once in eight rounds there.

ALBERS’ QUICK TAKE: Fred Albers, on-course correspondent for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, provides a quick look at Kuchar:
Georgia Tech graduate who has lots of local knowledge at East Lake.  Has no weakness in his game, does everything well.  I think his family life is so solid, it helps his golf game as it puts everything in perspective. Kuchar has the ability to stay very emotionally level during a round of golf.

WATCH: Kuchar wins THE PLAYERS Championship

PLAYER PAGE: Click here for more on Matt Kuchar

Now it’s your turn. How do you think Kuchar will fare at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola?

The pairings have been unveiled for this week’s PGA TOUR Matchups Game on Facebook. You can check out the Matchups for the RBC Canadian Open below, or on the PGA TOUR’s Facebook page.

Participants have until 6 a.m. ET Thursday to make their picks. Log on to the PGA TOUR Facebook page and click the Matchups link to make your picks for this week, or to sign up.

GO TO FACEBOOK PAGE TO PLAY MATCHUPS GAME

Ernie Els vs. Vijay Singh	Two of the game's best over-40 players. Or best players, period.
Jim Furyk vs. Sean O'Hair	Furyk won here in 2006; O'Hair is defending champion
Matt Kuchar vs. Hunter Mahan	Mahan started the season on fire; lately, Kuchar's been hot
Brandt Snedeker vs. Scott Stallings	It's Vanderbilt (Nashville) vs. Tennessee Tech (Cookeville)
Robert Garrigus vs. Charlie Wi	FedExCup surprises in '12 -- both are on the top 30 bubble

By Fred Albers, PGATOUR.COM correspondent

CROMWELL, Conn. -- David Mathis got off to a tremendous start. He made a 22-foot birdie at the 10 ^th. He made a 49-foot birdie at the 12 ^th. In between, Mathis made an ace at the 159-yard 11 ^th. Mathis leads the tournament in Strokes Gained - Putting and in length of putts made (he sank 141 feet of putts on Thursday).

Defending champion: Fredrik Jacobson struggled with the heat. With heat index temperatures in excess of 100 degrees, he repeatedly wiped down the grips of all his clubs to maintain good contact. It worked. Jacobson hit 16 greens and notched seven birdies. His only mistake was a double bogey on the 16 ^th hole and that was almost an ace -- Jacobson’s pitch mark was just a foot from the cup.

Hot start: It was so hot during the opening round, play had to be halted on occasion for the greens to be syringed. Officials constantly monitored the bentgrass greens, which can’t tolerate extreme heat. This week certainly qualifies. The maintenance crew would hose down the greens to lower the surface temperature. That made greens more receptive but also kept the putting surfaces alive.

Putting problems: Kyle Stanley is a great player. He’s a tournament winner, is 17 ^th in FedEx Cup points and is sixth on TOUR in average driving distance. He has a weakness though and he knows what is -- putting. Stanley is ranked 180 ^th on TOUR in Strokes Gained - Putting. He had 34 putts in the opening round and his only birdies came from two putts after missing eagle putts when reaching the par 5s in two.

Happy birthday: Congratulations to Matt Kuchar -- he turned 34 on Thursday and celebrated by shooting a 3-under 67. His round included an eagle at the 13 ^th and just 24 putts.

Bubba time: What a strange round of golf for Bubba Watson. He is the longest hitter on TOUR and yet did not birdie any of the par 5s or the driveable par-4 15 ^th hole. Even with those miscues, Watson shot 66. A hole-out eagle at the 10 ^th helped offset his mistakes on the par 5s.

CROMWELL, Conn. -- Matt Kuchar turned 34 on Thursday, and he celebrated it by shooting a 3-under 67.

At one point, Kuchar really had it going at 5 under through his first 10 holes but gave three shots back with bogeys on Nos. 2, 4 and 7.

Coming off a long week at the U.S. Open, Kuchar managed to find some energy on a hot afternoon a few days after what will undoubtedly be the toughest week of the year.

“Some days feel like a letdown,” said Kuchar, whose grandparents live about an hour south of here. “You've just played a tournament where so much pressure and so many people. You can see guys being tired, being fatigued from last week.”

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

SAN FRANCISCO -- Matt Kuchar's name inevitably comes up whenever the discussion focuses on best active players without a major.

Maybe that ends this week.

Not only does Kuchar come into the U.S. Open still riding the high of the biggest win of his career -- THE PLAYERS Championship last month -- he's also feeling confident.

"My game's in great shape," he said Tuesday. "It was so exciting to have won THE PLAYERS Championship, to have beaten maybe the best field in golf on one of the toughest golf courses we play all year.

"That helps a lot with confidence, with coming to a championship like this, with coming to a course that's this difficult and a field that's this good, to know that I've kind of been there and done it."

Kuchar has good vibes about the Olympic Club. He played in the U.S. Open here in 1998, earning low amateur honors with a tie for 14th.

He also thinks if he's going to break through with a major win, the U.S. Open might be his best chance. After all, staying out of trouble plays to his strengths. He ranks 10th in greens in regulation and 25th in driving accuracy on the PGA TOUR. Oh, he also leads the TOUR in scoring average.

Should he win this week, he’ll become the first player to claim THE PLAYERS and the U.S. Open in the same year.

"I think my temperament, my game, is suited very well for a U.S. Open," he said. "I think that I drive the ball accurately. I think I'm a guy that also can manage my game well enough to make a bunch of pars and not get on bogey trains or eliminate some of the biggest holes, bigger scores.

"So I definitely like my chances. I think a U.S. Open is a good fit for me."