News
Tiger’s driver: Major outlets report what you probably already knew
If you take a look at the golf news today, there are reports from almost every major outlet (thanks largely to the dissemination of an AP piece by Doug Ferguson) that Tiger Woods was using his prototype Nike Covert from last year in the third round at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
I guess Doug Ferguson and writers from the major outlets don’t read the GolfWRX forums.
Swopes30 started a thread July 31 at 1:34 p.m. titled “Tiger back to Covert 1 in practice round” and posted photos supporting the claim.
That’s right, Tiger has been using his driver from last year all week and no major outlet said anything until today. Yet a GolfWRXer posted about it Thursday.
And Ferguson, in his AP piece, seems to claim Woods just put the driver in the bag for the third round. If the photos readily available to all on Getty Images are to be believed, he used it in the first and second rounds as well.
I’m tempted to rant about the laziness of the mainstream golf media and their contentment in passing around the same half-baked stories from one outlet to another like a lukewarm potato.
Instead, here are photos of the two drivers.
The Covert prototype from last year Woods put back in the bag this week, below.
Tiger’s Covert 2.0 prototype from this year, below.
How’s it working? Not very well: Woods hit six fairways Saturday (42 percent).
And why the decision? As Woods said:
“I figured the lighter shaft should help me out a little bit, get some speed back, because I’m just not quite as explosive as I need to be. I haven’t done any explosive lifting. I haven’t done any of my fast-twitch stuff yet. As soon as I start doing my fast-twitch stuff, I can get my speed back up and then I can go back to my old driver.”
As for the shaft change, we spotted Woods with a Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Blue Board 93X the week of his return to competitive golf at the Quicken Loans National, and he is using a Diamana White Board 73X shaft that is 20 grams lighter this week at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
With the second major of 2026 now behind us, the PGA Tour arrives in Texas for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
GolfWRX Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, is on site at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, and he’s already captured several WITBs and a look at some new colorways of just-spotted L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i putters.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #3
WITB Albums
- Brennan Little (Gary Woodland’s caddy) – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adam Svensson – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Martin Laird – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Lee Hodges – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Aaron Wise – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Dylan Wu – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- AJ Ewart – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- New Graphite Design Tour AD shafts – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i putters (new colors) – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
Aaron Rai upset the odds to win his first major championship on Sunday at Aronimink, firing a final round of 5-under par to see off his competitors and claim the winner’s check for $3,690,000.
Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley were the best of the chasing pack, with both men sharing runner-up spot which was good enough for each to receive a check for $1,804,000.
With a total prize purse of $20.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 PGA Championship.
Players who missed the PGA Championship cut each received $4,300 each.
1: Aaron Rai, $3,690,000
T2 : Jon Rahm, $1,804,000
T2 : Alex Smalley, $1,804,000
T4: Justin Thomas, $843,866
T4: Ludvig Aberg, $843,866
T4: Matti Schmid, $843,866
T7: Cameron Smith, $637,050
T7: Rory McIlroy, $637,050
T7: Xander Schauffele, $637,050
T10: Kurt Kitayama, $496,707
T10: Chris Gotterup, $496,707
T10: Justin Rose, $496,707
T10: Patrick Reed, $496,707
T14: Matt Fitzpatrick, $364,762
T14: Scottie Scheffler, $364,762
T14: Max Greyserman, $364,762
T14: Ben Griffin, $364,762
T18: Maverick McNealy, $229,128
T18: Jordan Spieth, $229,128
T18: Stephan Jaeger, $229,128
T18: Padraigh Harrington, $229,128
T18: David Puig, $229,128
T18: Harris English, $229,128
T18: Min Woo Lee, $229,128
T18: Joaquin Niemann, $229,128
T26: Nick Taylor, $125,523
T26: Alex Noren, $125,523
T26: Cameron Young, $125,523
T26: Andrew Novak, $125,523
T-26: Daniel Hiller, $125,523
T26: Tom Hoge, $125,523
T26: Sam Burns, $125,523
T26: Hideki Matsuyama, $125,523
T26: Bud Cauley, $125,523
T35: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, $78,805
T35: Patrick Cantlay, $78,805
T35: Ryo Hisatsune, $78,805
T35: Daniel Berger, $78,805
T35: Ryan Fox, $78,805
T35: Haotong Li, $78,805
T35: Aldrich Potgieter, $78,805
T35: Si Woo Kim, $78,805
T35: Martin Kaymer, $78,805
T44: Chris Kirk, $53,743
T44: Matt Wallace, $53,743
T44: Shane Lowry, $53,743
T44: Jhonattan Vegas, $53,743
T44: Denny McCarthy, $53,743
T44: Chandler Blachet, $53,743
T44: Taylor Pendrith, $53,743
T44: Dustin Johnson, $53,743
T44: Nicolai Hojgaard, $53,743
T44: Michael Kim, $53,743
T44: Kristoffer Reitan, $53,743
T55: Collin Morikawa, $34,186
T55: Corey Conners, $34,186
T55: Andrew Putnam, $34,186
T55: Brooks Koepka, $34,186
T55: Mikael Lindberg, $34,186
T60: Sami Valimaki, $29,218
T60: Sahith Theegala, $29,218
T60: Rico Hoey, $29,218
T60: Rickie Fowler, $29,218
T60: Brian Harman, $29,218
T65: Casey Jarvis, $26,900
T65: Jason Day, $26,900
T65: Rasmus Hojgaard, $26,900
T65: Keith Mitchell, $26,900
T65: Sam Stevens, $26,900
Justin Rose WITB 2026 (April): Full WITB breakdown with new McLaren irons
RBC Heritage Tour Report: More minis, course-specific setups, Spider & GTS launches
What’s the story behind Webb Simpson’s custom-stamped irons?
Cadillac Championship Tour Report: Spieth’s sizable changes, McLaren Golf launches, and more
Kristoffer Reitan’s winning WITB: 2026 Truist Championship
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2026 Cadillac Championship
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
Nelly Korda WITB 2026 (April)
Justin Rose on the switch to McLaren Golf, learnings from previous equipment moves
Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship
Patrick Reed WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Titleist GT3 (9 degrees) Buy here. Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 130 M.S.I. 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (15 degrees)...
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
Driver: TaylorMade M6 (9 degrees) Shaft: Aldilda Synergy Blue 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue...
Michael Block WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black VeloCore+ 5 X 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees @14.25) Shaft: Mitsubishi...
Bryson DeChambeau WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Krank Formula Fire Pro (6 degrees) Shaft: Project X Prototype 3-wood: Krank Formula Fire (10 degrees) Shaft: LA Golf BAD...
-
Whats in the Bag3 weeks agoKristoffer Reitan’s winning WITB: 2026 Truist Championship
-
Whats in the Bag2 weeks ago
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
-
Tour Photo Galleries3 weeks agoPhotos from the 2026 PGA Championship
-
Equipment2 weeks agoGolfWRX Launch Report: 2026 Titleist GTS drivers
-
Equipment2 weeks agoPGA Championship Tour Report: Fitzpatrick, Koepka among big-name putter switches for Aronimink
-
News2 weeks agoWITB Time Machine: Phil Mickelson’s winning WITB, 2021 PGA Championship
-
Equipment2 weeks agoWhich of Tiger’s major winning irons are your favorite? – GolfWRXers discuss
-
Equipment2 weeks agoLead Tape Report: Adjusting the swingweight of the Wanamaker Trophy
Painter33
Mar 27, 2024 at 10:51 am
Being from tge future, I have a prediction: Nike will leave the clubmaking industry to pursue more time with its family…and because Tiger and Paul Casey are the only ones using their metal stuff. Their clothes, however, will continue to be overpriced.
gunmetal
Aug 4, 2014 at 11:39 am
Why not reshaft the Covert 2.0?
James
Aug 4, 2014 at 10:59 am
Why is this a big deal? if drivers added 15 yards each year we would be at 400+ by now…these companies are making a ton of money off the same shiny toy just made to look different
I can go back 15 years and hit those drivers just as far as i hit the new ones today
dot dot
Aug 3, 2014 at 12:59 pm
Yea, you scooped the mainstream media in the sport you specialize in exclusively reporting on. You don’t get kudo’s for doing your job. The mainstream media is supposed to turn to you little specialized guys for info that they then bring in a watered down version to a wider audience. Learn your place in the world GWRX.
ThinSoul
Aug 3, 2014 at 11:00 am
Does anyone know if Tiger’s driver is still around 44″? If so a 73g shaft is definitely on the light side. I think driver should stick to the short and heavy driver. Even if he loses 20 yards he can make it up hitting 5-8 irons in for sure.
ThinSoul
Aug 3, 2014 at 11:02 am
My phone made Tiger driver. Should read ‘I think Tiger should…’
Jericho
Aug 3, 2014 at 2:03 am
Ok just googled pedantic.. gonna be throwin this one around for sure ..lol
Jericho
Aug 3, 2014 at 1:54 am
..pedantic ..hmm ..better google that
db
Aug 2, 2014 at 9:07 pm
Considering Rory is absolutely BOMBING the 2.0 it definitely is the driver.
MHendon
Aug 2, 2014 at 8:09 pm
Hell the fact he’s had two prototype Coverts is news to me. I just wish they’d release the bonded hosel version to retail without that big swoosh on the crown, then I’d be interested.
kloyd0306
Aug 2, 2014 at 7:02 pm
Is it the driver, or is it Tiger?
If it’s the driver, the “oven” boys can’t figure it out.
Tiger drove it straighter when using a DG S300 in his King Cobra SS model.
Maybe it is still in the garage too?
MHendon
Aug 2, 2014 at 8:10 pm
It ain’t the driver!
Lukas
Aug 2, 2014 at 6:24 pm
Go easy on the mainstream media. Take them for what they are. The “main stream” doesn’t know what a Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Blue Board 93X is, nor do they care. Matter of fact I’d bet the majority would stop reading by the time they hit the second “i” in Mitsubishi.
Nick
Aug 2, 2014 at 6:13 pm
This article is unnecessarily pedantic.
Jwowzer
Aug 2, 2014 at 7:02 pm
I agree, shallow and pedantic.
MHendon
Aug 2, 2014 at 8:06 pm
Thanks Nick you just improved my vocabulary! Pedantic, lol?
Mj Martin
Aug 2, 2014 at 6:04 pm
Probably the same media whores that have reported that Dusti was suspended by the PGA.