Opinion & Analysis

Tweets of the week: Rare scores, Tiger’s ball, Bubba’s new irons, Rory’s repose

Published

13 years ago

Sep 17, 2013

Jim Furyk’s second-round 59 at the BMW Championship was certainly the most significant golf story of the week. That is, until Tiger Woods found himself playing a starring role in yet another rules-related drama. But really, Jim Furyk’s superlative second round, which vaulted him into the ranks of Geiberger and Duval was the centerpiece of the week that was.

On the LPGA Tour, Suzann Pettersen captured the Evian Championship for the second major victory of her career. Pettersen outlasted amateur phenom Lydia Ko, defeating the young New Zealander by two strokes. And On the Web.com Tour, Seung-Yul Noh of South Korea won the third of four Web.com Tour Finals series events convincingly to secure a PGA Tour card.

All this, plus a golfer’s 109 score on the European Challenge Tour and an appearance by Holly Sonders made this edition of Tweets of the Week.

First, a bit of levity (as long as your name isn’t Pawel Japol). Mr. Japol did not have his “A-game” all day long at the Kharkov Superior Cup, but a few holes were particularly atrocious for the 42-year-old Polish pro. The golfer carded a 13 at the par-5 13th hole and a 10 at the fifth.

Any time you hit double digits on a hole, you know you’re in for a big number at the end of the day. However, signing for a something in the three-figure range is a truly notable achievement on any professional golf tour. National Club Golfer tweeted the following as a point of comparison following Jim Furyk’s 59.

Speaking of Jim Furyk’s 59, here are the sentiments of the man who played the best golf across four rounds at Conway Farms where Jim Furyk fired golf’s magic number on Friday. Zach Johnson’s tweet gets at the heart of the rarest of golf rounds: Johnson fired 65 on Sunday, and opened with 64, so he was clearly more than capable at Conway Farms (he did win the tournament, after all).

However, even he—arguably the man who could most understand Furyk’s 59, having played so well at the very same course four days in a row—couldn’t get his head around it.

On the subject of Johnson’s win, here’s golf legend Gary Player congratulating Johnson for his win at the third leg of the FedExCup Playoffs and Johnson, class act that he is, thanking the Black Knight.

Here’s Golf World‘s tweet (and great photo) of Suzann Pettersen celebrating after her second career major win, and her first since 2007. Pettersen topped someone half her age: Lydia Ko who, as a 16-year-old amateur, has already emerged as one of the most formidable players competing in LPGA tour events.

Bubba Watson is gaming the new S55 irons, as of the BMW Championship. The left hander finally switched from Ping’s S59 irons, which he’d been using for the past several years. Because the S59’s were no longer sold by Ping, and were retailed with non-conforming grooves, the company was replicating the casting of the heads with blank faces and milling legal grooves onto them for Watson every time he needed a new set.

Watson tweeted the following photo of his new gamers.

Much has been written about Tiger Woods’ Nike One and whether it moved or merely oscillated during the second round of the BMW Championship. It was only a matter of time before someone tried to cut through the competing perspectives and offered “proof” of what happened. Golf World relayed the following from Geoff Shackelford’s site.

Tiger_Woods_oscillation_

Elsewhere, Holly Sonders had “first pitch” honors at a Tampa Bay Rays game.

And Caroline Wozniaki continued her campaign of unflattering photos of boyfriend Rory McIlroy at rest.

Opinion & Analysis

5 Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

Published

2 weeks ago

May 15, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Aronimink is not a storied club, but when Donald Ross himself proclaimed it to be as good as he can design and build, one had to take notice. Jay Sigel was the pre-eminent male amateur golfer from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He might have called any number of Philadelphia clubs home, but he chose Aronimink. It served him well. Gary Player won a PGA Championship here in 1962, and was followed by the 1993 winner … nobody. Aronimink gave that event away to Inverness, for reasons of which it is certainly not proud. So be it. We had to wait sixty-four years for the PGA to return to Newtown Square, but here we are. Aronimink has been neo-restored by Gil Hanse and team, to return Ross features with an eye toward defense against the dark arts, errrr, high-tech equipment.

Day one saw Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau dig big holes, to the tune of plus-four and plus-six, respectively. Since the first-round lead will be minus-three at worst, many shots will need to be made up for the power couple to reach contention. By nightfall, seven golfers held the day-one lead at three-under par 67. Shots and sticks caught our attention, and we are proud to present Five Things We Learned on Tech Thursday at the 2026 PGA Championship. Thanks to InsideTourGolfer, Today’s Golfer, and GolfWRX for initial equipment research.

First, meet Min Woo Lee

Min Woo Lee, aka Dr. Chipinski, has once again thrust himself into the conversation of Can he, will he, when will he? Lee has so much talent, wins not nearly as often as we believe that he should, and has no major near-misses (much less titles) on his wiki. The young Aussie is getting older and wiser, but is he able to avoid the scarring that holds the older and wiser back from breaking through? Philadelphia offers another opportunity. Min Woo signed for five birdies and two bogeys on day one, and grabbed a share of the opening-day lead at Aronimink. Winners transcend history and the moment, and Lee will need that sort of ascent to lift the Wannamaker on Sunday.

Second, meet Aldrich Potgeiter

The young South African golfer can rip driver with the best of them. Aronimink tips out at nearly 7400 yards, but beyond the fairway bunkers that ensnare only the mortals, Potgeiter can take his chances with wedge from the rough. On Thursday, he spent plenty of time in the spinach. Like Popeye, he used his muscles to gouge and thrash and dig his way out. Six birdies against three bogeys on the card brought AP in a three deep.

Third, meet Martin Kaymer

Not a major event takes place without a where’s he been throwback moment. We know that Martin Kaymer left the PGA and DP World tours for LIV golf, but the two-time (US Open and PGA) major winner has a lifetime exemption into at least one major event, and he seizes the opportunity each May. Kaymer joined the six-seven brigade with four birdies and a solitary bogey on day one. Kaymer was never a long hitter, and the years are kind to no golfer. The German champion will need to uncork every bottle of guile and strategy in his cabinet to remain in contention. For today, though, he occupies a rung on the ladder of Tour Tech.

Fourth, meet Scottie Scheffler

Let’s see, he’s the defending champion at the PGA, and he found his way back to the top tier with five birdies against two bogeys. To be a favorite and then play up to that stature and expectation is quite difficult. Just ask Rory, Bryson, and some of the other pre-tournament heartthrobs. Scheffler’s game is complete, and to knock him off the OWGR #1 pedestal, one needs to defeat him at the majors. Aronimink is the sort of course that fits Scheffler’s game. Better yet, it unfits the game of many of his challengers. Don’t expect Scheffler to go away anytime soon. Come Sunday, he’ll be around.

Fifth, meet Stephan Jaeger

Clocking in for the unheralded players shift are Ryo Hisatsune and Stephan Jaeger. Hisatsune logged seven birdies on day one, but gave most of them back with four bogeys. Still, he’s tied at the top for a time. Jaeger pitched five birdies against two bogeys, including a run of three consecutive, from holes four through six. Odds are that one of the two will hang around through 36 holes. Odds also suggest that both will be gone by Saturday evening. Still, the PGA Championship has historically been the major most likely to be won by an under-known. Both Hisatsune and Jaeger feature on that list, so good luck, lads!

Club Junkie

Club Junkie’s Titleist GTS driver fitting results!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, I head to the Titleist Performance Institute for a full driver fitting with the new Titleist GTS lineup. We dive into the fitting process, talk about what made the biggest difference in performance, and break down how the different GTS heads and shaft combinations compare on the launch monitor. If you are thinking about a new driver setup for this season, there is a lot to take away from this one.

I also get into Brooks Koepka and the gear setup he brought to the PGA Championship, including the putters that caught my eye during the week. There are some interesting equipment trends showing up at the highest level right now and we break down what stands out.

To wrap things up, I talk about reshafting a few wedges, what I learned during the process, and swapping an adaptor onto a new shaft for another build project in the shop. A gear packed episode from start to finish for anyone who loves golf equipment and club building.

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Club Junkie

Club Junkie WITB, week 16: New Titleist GTS woods!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

Excited for this week’s WITB as we get to add the new Titleist GTS woods to the bag! I was fit at Titleist’s TPI facility in Oceanside California a few weeks ago and my new clubs just showed up. I am also adding a cool set of irons that I built last year some wild custom wedges into a new golf bag. Speaking of the bag I have a new Ghost Anyday Black Ops stand bag that I will be using on my Motocaddy Remote M7 electric cart.

Driver: Titleist GTS3 (11 degrees @ 10.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6s

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD CQ-7s

5-wood: Titleist GTS (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

9-wood: Titleist GT1 (24 degress)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

Irons: Bettinardi CB24 (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (50-09 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (56-12 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (60-08 LB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Putter: Dan Carraher ZT Proto

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour

Bag: Ghost Anyday Black Ops Stand Bag