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Equipment Roundup: TOUR Championship

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Equipment

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 20:  Dustin Johnson of the United States lines up a putt on the 18th green during the first round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on September 20, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia.  (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 20: Dustin Johnson of the United States lines up a putt on the 18th green during the first round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on September 20, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)



    Written by Jonathan Wall @jonathanrwall

    Dustin Johnson's putter rotation continued at the TOUR Championship, where he opened the week with three putters in the bag, including a TaylorMade TP Black Copper Soto that received the nod during an opening-round 1-under 69 at East Lake Golf Club.

    Posting a round in red figures would be enough for most players to retain the services of a new putter, but Johnson chose to give the Anser-style blade a quick hook, returning to the TaylorMade Spider Tour mallet he's used going back to the 2016 BMW Championship.

    The putter switch wasn't a huge surprise for those who follow Johnson's equipment changes. What likely raised a few eyebrows was his decision to go cross-handed on the 6th hole during the third round — a putter grip Johnson had never tried in competition.

    The mid-round grip switch saw Johnson come close to winning the season-long FedExCup title when his 6-foot birdie putt dropped on the 17th hole. Johnson had a makable look at birdie from an identical distance on the last but watched as the putt hit the lip and spun out.

    With the Ryder Cup on deck, Johnson confirmed he'll continue using the cross-handed grip in Paris as the United States looks to end a winless drought on foreign soil that dates back to 1997.

    McIlroy adds 2-iron for No. 12: It's rare that one hole causes a player to make a mid-tournament equipment change. But in Rory McIlroy's case, struggles off the tee on the par-4 12th at East Lake — McIlroy went bogey-double the first two days on the hole — led him to replace the TaylorMade M3 5-wood in his bag with a P790 UDI 2-iron after the second round.

    "Took the 5-wood out of the bag and put the 2-iron in, so that was key to hitting that fairway," McIlroy said.

    McIlroy made par on the hole the next two rounds but closed with 74 to finish six shots back of Tiger Woods in seventh-place.

    SuperStroke's Ryder Cup grip: SuperStroke got Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood in the Ryder Cup spirit with custom Team Europe putter grips.

    Both players used the blue, white and yellow grip that featured "Team Europe" on one side and their name on the other during the TOUR Championship.

    Sergio's Ryder Cup putter: When Sergio Garcia asked Sean Toulon, Odyssey Golf's general manager, for a Toulon Design Atlanta mallet in the rose gold finish, he had no idea what would show up at the course.

    In addition to creating a version in Spanish color (red, yellow and gold), Toulon made a special Ryder Cup version for Garcia.

    The putter was outfitted in a blue, yellow and gold color scheme with stars stamped on each side of the putter, in recognition of Garcia's previous appearances as a participant and vice-captain during the biennial matches.

    Garcia used the putter for the first time in Portugal en route to a T7 showing in his final tune-up before the Ryder Cup.

    Notes: Scotty Cameron built Patrick Reed a Tour Rat 1 putter to test that had "Captain America" stamped on the bumpers. He stuck with his usual Odyssey White Hot Pro 3 during the TOUR Championship.

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