First Round PLAYERS Leaders Share These Two Pieces of Gear in Common

The PLAYERS and TPC Sawgrass reward precision and patience, and after the first round, Lucas Glover, Camilo Villegas, and J.J Spaun all shared that lead. But their round one score wasn't the only thing they had in common. All three men are all using Srixon’s ZX series irons and a LAB Golf putter.

For most people at home, LAB Golf putters are easy to identify thanks to their unique geometry. Notably, Adam Scott's been gaming an electric blue LAB putter that you can't miss.

To further add fuel to the coincidence fire, on Wednesday afternoon at the Creator Classic, the winner of the second edition, which was held on holes 10-17 at TPC Sawgrass, was won by Grant Horvat, who also recently switched to a LAB Golf long putter.

Even with their ever-expanding popularity, it’s starting to feel like the PLAYERS could be LAB Golf’s true coming out party with so many of their users being in or close to the lead after round one.

On the flip side when it comes to Srixon's irons, they have been a mainstay on the PGA TOUR for years, and have become a very popular option for players not contracted to any equipment manufacturer aka gear free agents like Camilo.

The defining feature of thier irons, which I'm willing to say has caused other manufacturers to take notice, is their distinctive Tour-V sole, which combines a thin to medium sole width with a very high-bounce towards the leading edge of the iron to improve ground interaction.

Again - it could simply be coincidence, but considering the overseeded turf conditions at TPC Sawgrass, and the heavy rain that started the week and left the course in softer conditions, there is certainly a greater than zero chance that this sole design offered at least a small advantage to the players who were leading after the first round.

As round two gets underway, following these players and their stats on iron play and putting will be a fun story to watch - at least for a gearhead like me. So we will continue to follow this story and more as we head towards the weekend at the PLAYERS.