No two golfers have identical swings. Why, then, would we assume (or be led to assume) that any two golfers would require exactly the same thing from their equipment?

It’s our mission to understand what equipment best serves each unique golfer. The desire to capture more data is why our 2020 Most Wanted Driver Test consisted of 35 real humans and captured more than 15,540 shots. The more we know about the performance of each of the 37 drivers in our test, the better we can help narrow your choices.

It’s tempting to watch the PGA TOUR and assume the same drivers that work for the pros will also serve you. The data say otherwise. Once again, we’re segmenting our data for 2020 to provide more meaningful information to the individual golfer. We’ve broken down our driver test results into three different swing speed categories. For this breakdown, we’re focusing on mid swing speeds (95 to 105 miles per hour).

While overall results for the Most Wanted Driver test yielded small differences, the mid swing speed group showed a significant difference between the longest and shortest drivers. The mid swing speed group is the middle of the bell curve and encompasses the greatest number of golfers so likely you’ll find information here that applies to you.

No two golfers have identical swings. Why, then, would we assume (or be led to assume) that any two golfers would require exactly the same thing from their equipment?

It’s our mission to understand what equipment best serves each unique golfer. The desire to capture more data is why our 2020 Most Wanted Driver Test consisted of 35 real humans and captured more than 15,540 shots. The more we know about the performance of each of the 37 drivers in our test, the better we can help narrow your choices.

It’s tempting to watch the PGA TOUR and assume the same drivers that work for the pros will also serve you. Data say otherwise. Once again, we’re segmenting our data for 2020 to provide more meaningful information to the individual golfer. We’ve broken down our driver test results into three different swing speed categories. For this breakdown, we’re focusing on high swing speeds (greater than 105 miles per hour).  

Whether you’re an off-the-rack buyer, someone who’s constantly tweaking your gear or a golfer who is going to take the time to get fitted by a knowledgeable professional, we’re here to help you.

This year's U.S. Open at Winged Foot in New York will be broadcast on NBC after Fox Sports asked to end its 12-year contract with the USGA, multiple people told The Associated Press.

Nick Pietruszkiewicz of ESPN.com was one of the select media members on site at the Travelers Championship and summed up the PGA Tour’s third week back:

• There were positive tests, of players and caddies.

• There was the sudden arrival of the PGA Tour commissioner and the possibility of another shutdown.

• There was one major champion leaving and one playing a round all by himself.

So yes, the stark reality of all this was evident all across the property, every day of the week.

He goes on to detail the whirlwind events and while drawing no conclusions, the new normal outlined in the story sounds like something that will be tough to sustain. And this was all before yet another positive test was announced (more later).

But if things continue at this pace of positive tests, contact trace-based WD’s and daily guideline changes and is juxtaposed against nationwide outbreaks, golf’s importance may pale.

The good news?

AP’s Doug Ferguson reports that Fox Sports has “asked to end” its 12-year USGA contract and, over the last two weeks, a deal was ironed out.

Andrew Marchand of the News Corp-owned New York Post, confirmed the news in a Tweet. An announcement is expected Monday.

From Ferguson’s story, the pandemic appears to have played a role:

One person said NBC would pay for just under half of the rights fee through the rest of the contract.

Two other people said the deal began to take shape this month, especially with the U.S. Open being moved to September during the opening month of the NFL.

One person said Fox was contemplating moving the U.S. Open to FS1, an idea that was rebuffed by Mike Davis, the CEO of the USGA. That led to deeper conversations about the contract and how it could be resolved.

Dylan Frittelli became the fourth PGA Tour player to test positive for the coronavirus and had to withdraw from Rocket Mortgage Classic next week in Detroit.

Dustin Johnson ended a 15-month drought and extended his career-long season victory streak to 13 by winning the Travelers Championship.

Things had gone smoothly the first two weeks. That changed this week at the Travelers Championship, where golf's return endured positive tests, needs for adjustments and plenty of resilience.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fourteen-minute Oak Hill restoration video and narrated by Rich Lerner. It gets downright emotional at a point when almost all of Donald Ross’s original Postage Stamp 15th is restored.

Bradley Klein kindly called the asinine Fazio-addition “ridiculous” in previewing the 2013 PGA, and if you feel confident in your digestion system, you should get one last look at it in that story. It really is one of the great architectural acts of vandalism.

Mericfully, the club and architect Andrew Green have brought back the original, minus the right bunker included in Ross’ original plan. The finished product looks like it’ll (re)join the list of tournament golf’s iconic short par-3s when the club hosts the 2023 PGA Championship and, as announced last week, the 2027 U.S. Amateur.

The video:

The best news from Saturday’s Travelers Championship came when Cameron Champ revealed he’s tested negative for COVID-19 three times since Tuesday’s positive test and can return home.

Also, the first player to test positive on the PGA Tour, Nick Watney is feeling ok and tells GolfDigest.com’s Tod Leonard how he awoke last Friday to Whoop readings that made him realize he had a problem.

The bad news is for Champ. Home for him is one of America’s hottest spots and his positive test/WD from the event will inevitably raise concerns about the efficacy of Sanford Health’s testing.

After this week’s much ballyhood adjustments to the PGA Tour’s tournament guidelines related to COVID-19, they made a meaningful adjustment Saturday after both Champ and Watney stepped on grounds potentially with the virus.

Joel Beall reports on the bubble fix that should have been either implemented sooner, or enforced more closely in the form of daily checks instead of, as regulations said, regular checks.

Heading into the Travelers final at TPC River Highlands, Brendon Todd (-18) leads Dustin Johnson (-16) by two.

Now, we know the players eating all those brussel sprouts, listening to their teams and planking for ten minutes at a time explains their distance gains. But whenever folks try to downplay actual distance numbers, we hear how scoring has not budged.

Yet one interesting twist of this “Return to Golf”, with its oversized fields, is the difficulty to protecting par. With bloated fields and warmer weather, we’ve seen softer conditions and easier setups to move players around.

The result: absurd distances (mostly carry) and low scoring. Through 54 at TPC River Highlands and courtesy of the PGA Tour:

Brendon Todd seeks to become the first three-time winner this season

I share this for the country club set of the world who need a story to know that no matter how much bickering, infighting and overall first world wackiness their club might be experiencing, there is always the latest from Bel-Air to top it.

According to TMZ, actress Lori Loughlin and husband/GFore creator/designer Mossimo Giannulli are resigning from Bel-Air as a result of their guilty pleas in the Rick Singer college admissions scandal. Things did not go smoothly.

Brendon Todd and Dustin Johnson each shot career-low 61s at the Travelers Championship on Saturday, leaving Todd with a 2-stroke lead over the 2016 U.S. Open champion.

Phil Mickelson didn't have his best day Saturday at the Travelers Championship. Did that cost him a chance for a win on Sunday?

Beginning at next week's Rocket Mortgage Classic, all those considered "inside the bubble" by the PGA Tour -- players, caddies, instructors, physios and staff -- will need a negative result before being permitted on the grounds at Detroit Golf Club.

Jason Day's third-round tee time was moved back at the Travelers Championship after he requested a COVID-19 test Saturday morning.

Friday’s Travelers Championship included the PGA Tour’s first case of a fully confirmed symptomatic player who—bless Denny McCarthy—woke up in the night feeling bad and it seems, got tested, did not get near his fellow PGA Tour peers, and unfortunately must try to recuperate away from home.

We have progress on one front: McCarthy is the first of the three players on the PGA Tour to test positive for COVID-19 and not expose any other players by taking a property tour or having a good physio session while awaiting test results.

The news of McCarthy’s illness also led to Bud Cauley pull out of the Travelers. He played with McCarthy in round one, and at least based on this Joel Beall report from the grounds, felt symptoms but tested negative and nobly stepped aside. Either way, they did the prudent thing for all involved and got a supportive statement from the Commissioner.

For those counting at home: twelve players have WD’d from this week’s Travelers, with seven of those virus related.

Beall also reported on the bizarre sight of Matt Wallace, who played round one with Cauley and McCarthy, to play by himself in round two.

What an incredible of life-saving by Ana Paula Valdes and reporting by the Northwest Arkansas Gazette’s Chip Souza, who documents an incredible story reminiscent of Mary Bea Porter-King saving a drowning boy a 1988 qualifier.

In a nutshell, Valdes, playing in a Women’s All Pro Tour event, saved someone from drowning.

Please hit the link and read it all, but a snippet:

Valdes said she looked out into the lake and saw a person floating face down about 30 feet from shore. Kathy King said the momentum of the cart traveling down the embankment, then slamming into a tree likely caused the woman to be propelled through the front of the golf cart and into the lake.

“I said, ‘Oh my god, that’s the lady,’ ” Valdes said. “So I jumped in the water and started swimming her way. I finally got to her and I tried putting her face up against my chest. I was swimming because I could not touch the bottom. It was deeper than I could stand.

“So I was swimming, trying to keep her face out of the water. I was trying to wake her up because she was unconscious. I kept saying, ‘you’re OK, you’re OK.’ ”

Phil Mickelson, who turned 50 earlier this month, shot a 7-under 63 on Friday in the Travelers Championship to take a one-stroke lead into the weekend.

One of his playing partners tested positive for COVID-19. The other didn't feel well and pulled out. But Matt Wallace, a little scared, a little lonely, played on.