A Single Putter Swap Earns Clark, Yu Millions

A single putter swap turned him into a completely different player on the greens. This is the story of Wyndham Clark, who has become the most fearsome player on the PGA Tour these days.

Clark finished tied for fifth, three strokes behind the winner, at the Travelers Championship, which ended Sunday with Viktor Hovland of Norway claiming victory in a playoff.

From The CJ Cup Byron Nelson about a month ago through this tournament, his results read: 1st, 3rd, tied for 11th, 1st, tied for 5th. The money he earned during this period alone was $8,732,050 (about 13.51 billion won).

As the saying "putting is money" suggests, it is precisely his putting that has brought Clark wealth and fame. After changing his putter, he won the CJ Cup and the US Open, and also finished in the top five at the Travelers, the season's final signature event with a total purse of $20 million.

The putter that has become a magic wand for Clark is the "Ping Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset." With its onset shaft design, where the shaft is positioned ahead of the center of gravity, it simultaneously ensures maximized face control and minimized backspin, according to the explanation. While its shape is similar to a zero-torque putter, it differs in what it aims to achieve in terms of balance.

Clark applied lead tape directly to the sole (bottom) of the putter to add weight minutely. Beyond the weight itself, the greater purpose is said to be "tuning" the putter to make full contact with the ground by thickening the sole.

With this putter, Clark held his putt count to 20 on the final day of the Travelers. It was a record for fewest putts in a single round in the tournament's history. Adding up the distances of all the putts he made that day comes to about 32 meters.

Even though it came right after winning the US Open, a "war against the course" that forces players to squeeze out every last bit of strength and spirit they have, there were no aftereffects at all. It was thanks to computer-like putting. Clark, who had struggled with below-average putting skills on the PGA Tour, now crosses over to Europe as a putting master. He moves the stage of his magic to the Genesis Scottish Open and the season's final major, The Open.

On Saturday, Yu Hae-ran also won an LPGA Tour major, the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, thanks to the effect of a putter swap. When she was pushed to the brink of missing the cut in the first round, trailing the leader by 10 strokes, she made the gamble of switching putters. The sharp rebound led to victory, capturing her first career major along with 3 billion won in prize money.

What is interesting is that she is a TaylorMade-sponsored player but won with a Scotty Cameron putter from Titleist. Yu uses TaylorMade products for her driver, mini driver, hybrid, irons, wedges, and even the ball — only her putter is a Scotty Cameron.

Although she is a TaylorMade full-line player, her contract terms gave her autonomy in choosing one club out of the 14, and Yu uses that option for her putter.

Yu, who also won with TaylorMade's zero-torque putter last year, switched to the "Scotty Cameron Phantom 11R OC" in the middle of that year, returned to a TaylorMade putter early this year, and then switched back to a Scotty Cameron. Yu used the "Fastback OC," a compact mallet form, in the first round of the Women's PGA Championship, then brought out the mallet-form Phantom 11R OC from the second round and threw a birdie party. "OC" stands for onset center. A putter based on a principle similar to Clark's Ping Scottsdale has produced another big win.

Tour players agonize over how and where on the putter sole to apply lead tape weighing just a few grams, and sometimes take the risk of switching putters mid-tournament. One might think "it's just a single putter swap," but tour players sometimes regard that one putter as more than half of golf.

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