Welcome back to another edition of the Sunday Swing presented by 2nd Swing Golf. With the PGA Championship looming, the Tour’s best returned to the site of last year's PGA for the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow.
Prior to the past month or so, not many people knew who Kristoffer Reitan was. The 28-year-old from Norway played his way onto the PGA Tour last season thanks to a top-10 finish in the race to Dubai on the DP World Tour. Reitan got off to a somewhat slow start on the PGA Tour, missing three of his first seven cuts. Dating back to early April, Reitan has posted three top-15 finishes, including last week's Cadillac Championship, and his best finish of T2 at the Zurich Classic the week before. In fact, the T2 at the Zurich actually propelled him into his first signature event at the Cadillac Championship, and then his solid performance there earned him a place at the Truist. And boy, did he take advantage of that opportunity.
Reitan carried over the momentum right away, opening with rounds of 66 and 70. He hit the gas pedal on moving day, posting an impressive bogey-free 64 on the difficult George Cobb design. Despite a jam-packed leaderboard throughout Sunday’s final round, Reitan remained locked in as things heated up. Birdies on the 14th and 15th holes put Reitan on top of the leaderboard, where he was briefly tied with three other players (A. Fitzpatrick, R. Fowler, and N. Hojgaard). As those players began to make mistakes in the closing holes known as the “green mile”, Reitan hit solid shots and was able to make par on the final three holes. In doing so, he claimed his first PGA Tour victory by two shots over Fowler and Hojgaard. He also made history in becoming just the second Norwegian player to win on the PGA Tour, joining his fellow countryman Viktor Hovland.
Winner’s Bag - Kristoffer Reitan
PING staffer Kristoffer Reitan became a PGA Tour winner on Sunday at the Truist Championship. The 28-year-old was stellar from tee-to-green this week on his way to taking down one of the strongest fields in golf. Reitan’s bag is stocked full of all of PING’s latest equipment.
DRIVER - PING G440 K: Reitan is one of the faster players on tour, and he showed it this week on a course that demands both distance and accuracy. His PING G440 K driver is built with a Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX shaft, clearly a combination he’s comfortable with. He was fifth in strokes gained: off the tee this week, including top-15 in driving distance with a 319-yard average.
FAIRWAY WOODS - PING G440 Max (15, 21 degrees): Reitan carries two fairway woods, both the G440 Max model including a 3-wood (15 degrees) and 7-wood (21 degrees) The 3-wood is equipped with a heavier Tensei 1K White 80 TX shaft, while the 7-wood includes a Tensei 1K Black 85 X shaft. Reitan is among the many tour players opting for the added launch and spin of a high-lofted wood.
IRONS - PING Blueprint S: It takes more than just tee shots to win at Quail Hollow. Reitan was also top-10 in strokes gained: approach this week using a set of PING Blueprint S irons (4-9) with KBS Tour X shafts. He also finished fourth for the week in greens in regulation.
WEDGES – PING s259: Around the greens, Reitan carries four wedges. All four wedges are the latest S259 model (46, 50, 54, 58 degrees) and all contain the Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shaft. Also of note, Reitan’s wedges all feature the S grind, unique compared to most players on tour. Nonetheless, it’s a winning formula. Reitan was 10th in scrambling and converted 9 of 11 sand saves.
PUTTER – PING PLD Ally Blue H: Reitan’s strongest statistical category this week was his putting. Reitan was second in strokes gained: putting on the week and he’s currently gaming a PING PLD Custom Ally Blue H, which appears very similar to the new PING Scottsdale Tec Ally Blue. The putter is played at a longer than standard length, giving him some of the benefits of a counter-balanced putter.