What's in the bag: Andrew Novak won the Mexico Open with a rusted T.P. Mills putter from his closet

Andrew Novak won the VidantaWorld Mexico Open on Sunday by five shots, and he did it with a T.P. Mills blade he pulled out of his closet in August. He closed with a 2-under 69 at Vidanta Vallarta to finish at 25-under 259, a new 72-hole scoring record for the event. Steven Fisk and Kristoffer Ventura tied for second at 20 under after both shot 63.

It is Novak's second PGA Tour win and his first on his own. The other came at last season's Zurich Classic with Ben Griffin, who was waiting at 18 on Sunday taking pictures. Until Sunday, Golfweek notes, he had not won on his own in 140 career starts.

The putter

Novak, 31, told reporters he had been "truly one of the worst putters on the PGA Tour for about eight months." GolfWRX reports he ranked 155th of 159 players in Strokes Gained: Putting before the switch and had missed five of his last seven cuts heading into the Wyndham Championship. Equipment reps kept telling him his stroke tested fine on their machines, he said, and then he would go out and finish last in the field on the greens.

So he went back to an old T.P. Mills putter that had worked for him years earlier. "It's rusted out, it's old, but I know it works," he said. He told GolfWRX he doesn't know its loft or lie.

It worked this week. Per Golfweek, Novak led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting through three rounds and went 37-for-37 inside 10 feet. GolfWRX says he gained more than 10 strokes on the greens for the week. The putter went quiet early Sunday, with a three-putt bogey at 10 that cut his lead to three, then he birdied 12, 13 and 14, the last from 44 feet, to push it back to six.

What's in the bag

GolfWRX posted Novak's winning setup:

• Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees), Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green RDX 75 TX
• 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees), Project X Titan Black 80 TX
• 5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees), Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green 85 TX
• Irons: Srixon ZXi5 (4), Srixon ZXi7 (5-PW), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
• Wedges: Cleveland RTZ 2 (50, 54, 60), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
• Putter: T.P. Mills prototype, SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol 1.0 grip
• Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
• Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV

The ball is new. GolfWRX says Novak moved from the Z-Star Diamond to the Z-Star XV this week to get less spin.

What the win gets him

Golf Channel reports the win projects Novak from No. 89 into the top 60 of the FedEx Cup Fall standings. If he stays there, he is eligible for all eight signature events next season. Fisk is also projected inside the top 60, and Ventura is projected to climb from 108th to 76th, which would keep his card for 2027.

If you putt on a sim or a home mat, his fix is free to copy: go back to a putter you trusted and quit overthinking it. Novak said he might add some chalk-line work for start line, and that's about it.