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Nelly Korda, the top-ranked female golfer in the world and the 2021 Olympic gold medalist, recently switched drivers and is competing this week at the Grant Thornton Invitational alongside partner Daniel Berger using a yet-to-be-released TaylorMade Qi35 driver.
Korda, who on Monday was named by the LPGA Tour as its Rolex Player of the Year, averaged 270 yards per tee shot last season while using a 10.5-degree TaylorMade Qi10 Max driver fitted with a Mitsubishi GT 60 S shaft. She ranked 40th in driving accuracy at 75.75 percent.
Three TaylorMade drivers were added to the USGA’s List of Conforming Driver Heads, making them legal for play, and the model Korda appears to be using this week at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, is the TaylorMade Qi35 Max. How do we know? The standard Qi35 has a circular weight in the sole positioned behind the leading edge, and the Qi35 LS has two circular weights in the sole behind the leading edge. In the photo, Korda’s driver lacks a circular weight in the sole, but it has a weight in the back of the head, and that matches the information and the photos published by the USGA.
Meanwhile, Akshay Bhatia put a Callaway Elyte driver into play last week at the Hero World Challenge and the club is still in his bag this week as he competes at the Grant Thorton Invitational with his partner, Jennifer Kupcho. The pair shot 59 in the scramble format on Friday and enter Saturday’s second round in second place.
The USGA added four Callaway drivers to its List of Conforming Driver Heads recently and the model Bhatia is using is an Elyte Triple Diamond. Callaway products that are given “Triple Diamond” in their name have historically been low-spin clubs for elite golfers. Bhatia won the Valero Texas Open using a Callaway Rogue ST MAX last April to earn a spot in the field at the 2024 Masters and he finished the 2024 PGA Tour season averaging 299.8 yards per tee shot. He ranked 34th in driving accuracy (65.5 percent).
Typically, major brands make new gear available to staff professionals and elite players several weeks before they are added to the USGA’s List of Conforming Driver Heads, and then players use events like the Hero World Challenge and the Grant Thornton Invitational to see how they perform in competition. Then, during the first days of January, companies like Callaway and TaylorMade make official announcements about new clubs and start selling them at the end of January or early in February.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Nelly Korda, Akshay Bhatia use new drivers Grant Thornton Invitational