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Woods Finds Magic Wins Memorial

“I knew I could do this,” Woods said after collecting his 67th career victory with a score of 12-under 276. “It’s just a matter of give me a little bit of time. I just came off a pretty extended break, and I was close to winning, but the game wasn’t quite there when I really needed it on Sunday. I rectified that.” This may be the understatement of all time. “I just came off a pretty extended break”… oh and yes not only did he take a bunch of time off, but also added a family member, have a knee reconstructed, not swing a club for months. Nothing that screams “BIG DEAL”. Grain of salt and all that stiff upper lip pablum. Follow that up with three words: I rectified that. Simple statement. On the surface it would appear impossible to hide the number of hours of work the man had to put into his game to get to a level of play mere mortals have difficulty even dreaming of attaining. i don’t think he spent a lot of time watching Spongebob with the kids. Changing to a new driver with more loft, 10.5* is what I have been told, was certainly not an off the cuff decision made on the spur of the moment. I wonder how many balls he had to hit to get the results he put up during this tournament? More than twelve I bet.

Published

17 years ago

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“I knew I could do this,” Woods said after collecting his 67th career victory with a score of 12-under 276. “It’s just a matter of give me a little bit of time. I just came off a pretty extended break, and I was close to winning, but the game wasn’t quite there when I really needed it on Sunday. I rectified that.”  This may be the understatement of all time.  "I just came off a pretty extended break"… oh and yes not only did he take a bunch of time off, but also added a family member, have a knee reconstructed, not swing a club for months.  Nothing that screams "BIG DEAL".  Grain of salt and all that stiff upper lip pablum.  Follow that up with three words: I rectified that.  Simple statement.  On the surface it would appear impossible to hide the number of hours of work the man had to put into his game to get to a level of play mere mortals have difficulty even dreaming of attaining.  i don’t think he spent a lot of time watching Spongebob with the kids.  Changing to a new driver with more loft, 10.5* is what I have been told, was certainly not an off the cuff decision made on the spur of the moment.  I wonder how many balls he had to hit to get the results he put up during this tournament?  More than twelve I bet. 

Sunday Mr. Woods hit 14 of 14 fairways (what say you to that oh legions of doubters who thought he should dump his Nike driver?) and 18 in a row going  back to Saturday’s round.  When Jack Nicklaus says "you found your swing", and "it may be his best driving tournament" in years the golf world listens.  As well it should. 

Mr. Woods began the day 4 shots off the lead held by Mark Wilson and Matt Bettencourt, two names most doubted would still be there at the end.  Give both players credit, Mr. Wilson finished tied for third and Mr. Bettancourt tied for fifth, admirable showings in a big time event from players not familiar with the spotlight.  Their finishes while expected, were not the collapse that other, larger names, experienced on the back nine after Mr. Woods got into contention.  Davis Love was at 10 under par after the 16th hole, needed a pair of birdies to tie the lead.  Bogey, triple bogey leads one to wonder how dry the mouth was and how hard the throat closed when things mattered.  Then there was Geoff Ogilvy whose 63 on Saturday launched him right up the leaderboard.  He was nine under par and very much in the middle of everything when he began the toughest hole on the course, the short par 4 14th.  Eight shots later (5 of them putts) Mr. Ogilvy was done.  Jonathan Byrd hit a wedge into the hole on the par 5 seventh hole for an eagle and a two shot lead, then doubled the 14th and missed a four foot birdie on the 17th hole which would have left him within one shot of the lead.  The only player to not fall back was Jim Furyk, whose final round 69 left him a stroke short of Mr. Woods. But what a stroke.

 

Four birdies on the front nine moved Mr. Woods from four back to three back of then leader Jonathan Byrd when he got to the par 5 eleventh hole.  Hit a driver 329yds, then a 5 wood 253yds through the green into the deep stuff behind the green.  “I didn’t see the lie but it had to be terrible,” said playing partner Michael Letzig, awed by Woods’ play and the circus surrounding him. “He had some wild, one-handed follow-through. I saw that out of the corner of my eye and then I saw how the ball was tracking. I just told my brother (Darren, his caddie) who was standing there, ‘Oh, my god!’ It was nuts.”  Nuts indeed as the ball rolled into the hole for an eagle three.  Follow that up with three birdies on the final four holes.  Solid indicators that the Tiger Woods of lore is back and ready to marvel the world with his play. 

On the 18th hole, with the lead, 186 yds from the hole, 7 iron in hand, Mr. Woods hit a high shot that, when it finally landed after what seemed like a commercial break, was 14 inches from the hole.  Tap in.  Welcome to the one stroke Mr. Furyk could not make up.  And the victory in front of the man who’s major tournament record he is chasing.  Fitting stuff. 

In two weeks the show moves to New York and Bethpage Black.  I have a suggestion for the rest of the field, work on your mental game.  Try and forget the guy who wears the red shirt on Sunday, play your own game.  Do I sound like a head doctor?  Maybe.  Anyhow, here’s a realist statement:  Good luck with all that.

 

 

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2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Mark Lipton

    Jun 13, 2009 at 7:03 am

    I’d like to know more about the driver set up. Higher lofted head, with a low, mid or high launching shaft? Did he change the static weight or the swing weight? How did it affect distance? Inquiring minds would like to know!

    Reply Report comment

  2. 8thehardway

    Jun 10, 2009 at 11:32 am

    Tiger’s the Marlboro Man of golf, a flinty-eyed Clint Eastwood playing ‘The man with no name,’ in the golfing adaptation of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” starring Rory and a “Tiger Who?” hat as the Bad, and the collapsing games of front runners as the Ugly.

    My viewing time is limited so I just listen for the broadcast booth to play “The Ecstasy of Gold” soundtrack as Tiger starts his final run; that’s my cue to grab some popcorn and watch those classic closeups of the terrified eyes and sweating brows of the current leaders and their caddies.

    Reply Report comment

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2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

1 day ago

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May 12, 2026

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Scottie Scheffler leads the betting ahead of the second major championship of the year, with the World Number One a +345 favorite to get his hands on a second PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy who won the Masters back in April is a +800 shot to complete half of the calendar slam at Aronimink Golf Club this week, while Jordan Spieth can be backed at +5900 to become a career grand slam winner.

Here is the full betting board for the 2026 PGA Championship courtesy of DraftKings.

Scottie Scheffler +345 – (Check 0ut his WITB here)

Rory McIlroy +800 – (Check out his WITB here)

  • Jon Rahm +1300 
  • Cameron Young +1500
  • Bryson DeChambeau +1700
  • Xander Schauffele +1850
  • Matt Fitzpatrick +1950
  • Ludvig Aberg +2000
  • Tommy Fleetwood +2600
  • Collin Morikawa +3500
  • Brooks Koepka +3900
  • Justin Rose +4300
  • Russell Henley +4600
  • Si Woo Kim +4700
  • Justin Thomas +4800
  • Robert MacIntyre +5300
  • Patrick Cantlay +5300
  • Viktor Hovland +5400
  • Tyrrell Hatton +5500
  • Jordan Spieth +5900
  • Sam Burns +6000
  • Hideki Matsuyama +6200
  • Adam Scott +6400
  • Rickie Fowler +7000
  • Chris Gotterup +7400
  • Patrick Reed +7400
  • Min Woo Lee +7800
  • Ben Griffin +8000
  • Sepp Straka +8400
  • Shane Lowry +9000
  • Akshay Bhatia +9200
  • Maverick McNealy +9200
  • Joaquin Niemann +9200
  • Jake Knapp +9200
  • Jason Day +9600
  • Kurt Kitayama +10000
  • J.J. Spaun +10000
  • Harris English +10500
  • Nicolai Hojgaard +11000
  • Gary Woodland +11000
  • David Puig +11000
  • Michael Thorbjornsen +12000
  • Jacob Bridgeman +12000
  • Keegan Bradley +12500
  • Corey Conners +14000
  • Alex Fitzpatrick +15000
  • Sungjae Im +15500
  • Sahith Theegala +15500
  • Harry Hall +15500
  • Alex Noren +16000
  • Thomas Detry +16500
  • Marco Penge +16500
  • Kristoffer Reitan +17000
  • Alex Smalley +17000
  • Wyndham Clark +17500
  • Sam Stevens +17500
  • Keith Mitchell +17500
  • Daniel Berger +18500
  • Ryan Gerard +20000
  • Nick Taylor +20000
  • Rasmus Hojgaard +21000
  • Dustin Johnson +21000
  • Pierceson Coody +23000
  • Aaron Rai +24000
  • Jordan Smith +24000
  • Angel Ayora +24000
  • Bud Cauley +25000
  • Matt McCarty +26000
  • Jayden Schaper +26000
  • Brian Harman +27000
  • Taylor Pendrith +27000
  • Ryan Fox +27000
  • J.T. Poston +27000
  • Cameron Smith +29000
  • Ryo Hisatsune +29000
  • Michael Kim +29000
  • Max Homa +29000
  • Denny McCarthy +29000
  • Tom McKibbin +30000
  • Rico Hoey +32000
  • Matt Wallace +32500
  • Ricky Castillo +33000
  • Haotong Li +33000
  • Michael Brennan +34000
  • Max Greyserman +36000
  • Stephan Jaeger +37500
  • Christiaan Bezuidenhout +37500
  • Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +39000
  • Aldrich Potgieter +40000
  • Andrew Novak +42000
  • Patrick Rodgers +42500
  • Daniel Hillier +42500
  • Max McGreevy +46000
  • Billy Horschel +48000
  • Chris Kirk +48000
  • Ian Holt +49000
  • Casey Jarvis +49000
  • William Mouw +50000
  • Steven Fisk +50000
  • John Parry +50000
  • Nico Echavarria +52500
  • Garrick Higgo +52500
  • John Keefer+55000
  • Matthias Schmid +57500
  • Austin Smotherman +57500
  • Sami Valimaki +60000
  • Andrew Putnam +60000
  • Lucas Glover +62500
  • Daniel Brown +62500
  • Jhonattan Vegas +75000
  • Emiliano Grillo +80000
  • Mikael Lindberg +85000
  • Adrien Saddier +100000
  • Bernd Wiesberger +100000
  • Elvis Smylie +110000
  • Stewart Cink +130000
  • Kota Kaneko +130000
  • David Lipsky +150000
  • Chandler Blanchet +150000
  • Andy Sullivan +150000
  • Joe Highsmith +180000
  • Adam Schenk +200000
  • Travis Smyth +200000
  • Davis Riley +225000
  • Martin Kaymer +400000
  • Brian Campbell +400000
  • Padraig Harrington +450000
  • Kazuki Higa +450000
  • Jordan Gumberg +450000
  • Ryan Vermeer +500000
  • Austin Hurt +500000
  • Tyler Collet +500000
  • Timothy Wiseman +500000
  • Shaun Micheel +500000
  • Y.E. Yang +500000
  • Michael Block+500000
  • Mark Geddes+500000
  • Luke Donald+500000
  • Bryce Fisher+500000
  • Jimmy Walker +500000
  • Jason Dufner +500000
  • Jesse Droemer +500000
  • Jared Jones +500000
  • Garrett Sapp +500000
  • Francisco Bide +500000
  • Zach Haynes +500000
  • Paul McClure+500000
  • Derek Berg +500000
  • Chris Gabriele +500000
  • Braden Shattuck +500000
  • Ben Polland +500000
  • Ben Kern +50000

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Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

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GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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How much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

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Kristoffer Reitan held his nerve at Quail Hollow on Sunday to claim his first PGA Tour victory and the $3.6 million winner’s check that came with it. The Norwegian fended off a packed leaderboard on a dramatic final day, with Rickie Fowler and Nicolai Højgaard both taking home $1.76 million for their runner-up finishes.

With a total prize purse of $20 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship.

1: Kristoffer Reitan, $3,600,000

T2: Rickie Fowler, $1,760,000

T2: Nicolai Hojgaard, -$1,760,000

4: Alex Fitzpatrick, $960,000

T5: Tommy Fleetwood, $730,000

T5: Sungjae Im, $730,000

T5: J.J. Spaun, $730,000

T8: Ludvig Aberg, $600,000

T8: Harry Hall, $600,000

T10: Patrick Cantlay, $500,000

T10: Matt McCarty, $500,000

T10: Cameron Young, $500,000

13: Justin Thomas, $420,000

T14: Min Woo Lee, $360,000

T14: Chris Gotterup, $360,000

T14: Nick Taylor, $360,000

T17: Alex Smalley, $310,000

T17: Gary Woodland, $310,000

T19: Austin Smotherman, $242,100

T19: Rory McIlroy, $242,100

T19: Keegan Bradley, $242,100

T19: Sudarshan Yellamaraju, $242,100

T19: Kurt Kitayama, $242,100

T24: Patrick Rodgers, $156,643

T24: Pierceson Coody, $156,643

T24: Adam Scott, $156,643

T24: Andrew Novak, $156,643

T24: Harris English, $156,643

T24: J.T. Poston, $156,643

T24: David Lipsky, $156,643

T31: Brian Harman, $114,416.67

T31: Viktor Hovland, $114,416.67

T31: Alex Noren, $114,416.67

T31: Tony Finau, $114,416.67

T31: Nico Echavarria, $114,416.67

T31: Corey Conners, $114,416.67

T37: Sam Burns, $82,187.50

T37: Maverick McNealy, $82,187.50

T37: Akshay Bhatia, $82,187.50

T37: Taylor Pendrith, $82,187.50

T37: Matt Wallace, $82,187.50

T37: Andrew Putnam, $82,187.50

T37: Bud Cauley, $82,187.50

T37: Lucas Glover, $82,187.50

T45: Justin Rose, $60,000

T45: Daniel Berger, $60,000

T45: Ryo Hisatsune, $60,000

T48: Denny McCarthy, $50,000

T48: Aldrich Potgieter, $50,000

T48: Webb Simpson, $50,000

T48: Michael Kim, $50,000

T52: Mackenzie Hughes, $45,187.50

T52: Max Homa, $45,187.50

T52: Brian Campbell, $45,187.50

T52: Jhonattan Vegas, $45,187.50

T52: Matt Fitzpatrick, $45,187.50

T52: Chandler Blanchet, $45,187.50

T52: Jordan Spieth, $45,187.50

T52: Jacob Bridgeman, $45,187.50

T60: Xander Schauffele, $42,500

T60: Robert MacIntyre, $42,500

T60: Ricky Castillo, $42,500

T63: Ben Griffin, $41,250

T63: Sepp Straka, $41,250

T65: Ryan Gerard, $40,250

T65: Si Woo Kim, $40,250

67: Ryan Fox, $39,500

68: Jason Day, $39,000

69: Sahith Theegala, $38,000

70: Sam Stevens, $37,500

71: Hideki Matsuyama, $37,000

72: Tom Hoge, $36,000

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