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Matteson bags two TaylorMade SLDR Minis at Texas Open

Published

12 years ago

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Troy Matteson carded a respectable even-par 72 in the opening-round of the Valero Texas Open today. The score positioned him in a tie for 31st at the time he finished. Of more interest to equipment junkies, however, is this bit of trivia: the Georgia Tech alum played the opening round with two TaylorMade SLDR MiniDrivers in his bag.

Of further interest: Matteson is using one of the two Minis (the 12-degree version) from the fairway. He has been using the other SLDR Mini, a 10.5-degree model, from the tee.

Certainly, it’s a curiosity when a PGA Tour professional elects to go with the dual driver setup, as Phil Mickelson did at the 2006 Masters. However, it’s perhaps more interesting when a player decides to use what is technically a driver as his fairway wood.

Reportedly Matteson feels the 10.5-degree driver affords him as much distance as his previous gamer. Today at least, that wasn’t the case. Matteson averaged just 282.5 yards off the tee, whereas he has been averaging around 295 for the season. However, he was significantly more accurate off the tee in his opening round than he has been thus far this season. Matteson found 64 percent of fairways today. His average hit percentage entering this tournament is just 52 percent. Further, he hit just 55 percent for the 2013 season.

Obviously, there is the danger of a small sample size here and comparing driving distances from week to week doesn’t tell the whole story. Further, given the wet conditions today, Matteson’s shorter driving distance isn’t surprising. It’s unlikely, too, that the lack of roll out is the sole cause of a 12 percent uptick in driving accuracy.

Thus, we’ll have to see what Matteson does for the rest of the week.

Regarding the 12 degree: The Rockledge, Florida native feels the club gets airborne as well as a traditional fairway wood. Presumably, it carries farther as well.

Given this fact, it will be interesting to see if more TaylorMade employ the services of the MiniDriver from the fairway.

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Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

13 Comments

13 Comments

  1. stacker

    Mar 31, 2014 at 1:45 pm

    I was on the range on Saturday. Its not a 430. That pic isnt right. Its the size of a true fairway

    Reply Report comment

  2. Jonathan

    Mar 28, 2014 at 9:22 pm

    Why has nobody pointed out the obvious here? Comparing the two heads in the picture, it’s clear that the 10.5 is much larger head than the 12 degree. The 10.5 is not a “mini-SLDR”. It’s believed to be the next series of drivers from TaylorMade called SLDR S-class. You can easily see it’s anywhere from 430 – 460cc. Let’s get more pics of that 10.5!!! That’s the real story here with this picture!

    Reply Report comment

    • Bob Gomavitz

      Mar 29, 2014 at 2:55 pm

      I think you pretty much nailed it….10.5 head has the sliding weight for sure and is bigger. The 12 seems smaller and not sure about the sliding weight. Notice how the horses were not shown….glue in I bet for both and I bet the SLDR-S series is grey with a glue in shafts

      Reply Report comment

    • Chris

      Mar 29, 2014 at 3:42 pm

      His caddy is one of my best friends. I talked to him about this the night after this article was posted. The 10.5 is 275cc. He said that Troy was probably going to have the van build him one that’s between 8 and 9 degrees rather than stick with the 10.5.

      Reply Report comment

    • Jon

      Mar 29, 2014 at 5:50 pm

      Not even close to 430-460cc. If you would take the time to look at some of the post on the SLDR mini you will see the 10.5* Mini (Version 3) is Tour Only version with a longer hosel made for bending and they are all 260cc’s regardless of the loft This is straight from Brian Bazzel. You can also get the same info off USGA.ORG under the conforming club list.

      Reply Report comment

    • takeherdeep

      Mar 30, 2014 at 3:04 pm

      Surprised that no one has mentioned the fact that the way the picture is taken the 10.5* is a lot closer to the camera then the 12* so it will naturally look bigger…

      Reply Report comment

  3. ND Hickman

    Mar 28, 2014 at 8:25 am

    It’ll be interesting to see if this leads to a reduction in driver head size across the industry.

    Reply Report comment

  4. Nick

    Mar 28, 2014 at 1:47 am

    I was skeptical of the SLDR Mini Driver concept until seeing it in person yesterday. If it performs half as good as it looks, the Mini will be a staple in my bag for years to come.

    Reply Report comment

  5. RG

    Mar 27, 2014 at 10:23 pm

    It’s not a 2 wood its a “Mini-Driver”, and these aren’t the droids you’re looking for. Like my buddy with a 30 degree 7 iron.

    Reply Report comment

  6. totebagger

    Mar 27, 2014 at 6:12 pm

    #takeitdeep

    Reply Report comment

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News

2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

1 day ago

on

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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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

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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News

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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