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GolfWRX Morning 9: No Ryder Cup pick surprises | Thoughts on No. 12 | Bryson’s “air” problem?

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8 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt (ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com)

September 5, 2018

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans.
1 The captain’s picks you expected
No drama in the first three-fourths of Jim Furyk’s captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Bryson DeChambeau are the selections.
Golf Digest’s John Strege…”Captain Jim Furyk made it official in a drama-free televised news conference in Philadelphia in advance of the BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in nearby Newtown Square.”
  • “The fourth and final captain’s pick will be made after the BMW Championship, allowing the captain to add a player with a hot hand. Even that seems to be a foregone conclusion; the consensus choice is Tony Finau, who finished second in the Northern Trust and tied for fourth in the Dell Technologies Championship.”
  • “Tiger and I have had this conversation,” Furyk said. “What Tiger and I have decided is he will play in this Ryder Cup and we’ll name another vice captain. He’s been instrumental in helping not only the captains before, but me as well, as far as strategy, as far as planning, as far as pairings. I’m going to continue to use that knowledge and that strategy. I also want to make sure Tiger gets very focused on that. I want to free him up.”
  • Tiger Woods…”At the beginning of the year, that was one of my goals, to make this team. I got the call from Jim, and he asked if I would serve as vice captain. ‘Absolutely. Anything I can do to help you out.’ Deep down I wanted to make the team. I hadn’t really started playing golf again. But still the goal was at the end of the season to make this team. As the year progressed, I kind of gained some traction. I was somehow able to get some high finishes and lo and behold I’m part of this team. It’s incredible, to look back at the start of the year … as I said, it’s beyond special.”
2. But who will be the 12th?
Rumor has it, unimpressed with the options available to him, Jim Furyk plans to pick himself as his final captain’s pick…In all seriousness though, with three of Furyk’s picks foregone conclusions now made official, attention turns to the one pick that was always going to be a wildcard.
  • Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner...”Though Furyk was coy about the exact nature of those calls, he said that he talked to “at least” everyone through No. 15 on the points list. That suggests that Xander Schauffele (No. 12), Kevin Kisner (No. 14) and Finau (No. 15) are still in the running.”
  • “DeChambeau, Mickelson and Woods were Nos. 9-11 in the points standings, and No. 13 Matt Kuchar was named as a Ryder Cup vice captain on Tuesday.”
  • “I don’t know if I left it at: ‘If you do X, you’ll make the team,'” Furyk said, “but I just said, ‘This is the situation we’re in, and we’ll be watching.’
  • Furyk also added…”But there’s definitely a few guys that have separated themselves from the pack, for a couple of different reasons.”
  • If you do X? What about if your name starts with X. Hmm…Kidding. Finau has to be the pick.
3. Tiger returning to Old Reliable(/Recently not so Reliable)?
GolfWRX staff report…”Tiger Woods is going through some tough times on the greens lately… not just holing putts, but deciding between putters.”
  • “He played in the 2018 PGA Championship with a TaylorMade Ardmore 3 mallet putter, then he played last week with a TaylorMade Juno blade putter. Now, he’s back to testing out the Juno against the Scotty Cameron Newport 2 that he’s had in the bag for 13-of-his-14 career majors.”
  • “Woods was spotted today at the 2018 BMW Championship practice round at Aronimink in Pennsylvania testing out both putters side by side. So he’s at least considering going back to his old flame.”
4. Hunter Mahan’s triumph
An unbylined AP column looked at Hunter Mahan’s PGA Tour card clinching and what he’s been through his season.
  • “He earned $88,000, roughly the equivalent of 24th place during the FedEx Cup playoffs, and moved to No. 4 on the special money list. The top 25 get full PGA Tour cards, and with only two events remaining, Mahan clinched his card.”
  • “Mahan didn’t realize until that moment that he at least had made it back to the starting line. The scope of it didn’t really hit him until Monday morning, when he was home in Dallas waiting for his wife and three young children to return from a weekend trip to Cedar Lake.”
  • “”It’s been a crazy year,” Mahan said, his voice still cracking with emotion….He had taken a few minutes away from the phone when he first started to cry. He needed longer.”
  • “”I feel excited about golf, just moving forward,” he said. “Everything, all the work, so many people. My teacher (Chris O’Connell), my caddie (Zack Guthrie), everybody … it’s vindication for them. When I think about my family who helped me get through this year and the years before, it feels like a lot.”
5. New Mizuno drivers cometh?
The USGA Conforming Clubs list is always, always full of surprises. As of September 1, three new Mizuno Prototype drivers appear on the list.
Unfortunately, this could be a future Japan-only release, rather than made for the U.S. market. Tour Spec Golf, a company devoted to high-end JDM golf gear, has “in-hand” (on ground) photos on its Instagram account. While that doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be Japan only, it just might be best not to get your hopes up.
6. Perez, Kerr welcome children (but not together)
Double P withdrew from the third round of the Dell Technologies Championship due to the impending birth of his first child with wife Ashley. The pair welcomed Piper Perez to the world Monday afternoon.
Also on the offspring front, Cristie Kerr and her husband welcomed their second child. Beth Ann Nichols of Golfweek writes…”Baby news is all the rage on the LPGA, and Cristie Kerr and Erik Stevens added to the fun when they came home with Griffin Stevens over the Labor Day weekend. The bundle of joy, genetically theirs, was born Aug. 28 via a surrogate mother through in vitro fertilization. Griffin Stevens is the couple’s second son via a surrogate. Mason Kerr Stevens was born on Dec. 8, 2013.”
Congrats to all!
7. Rickie’s ready
Rickie Fowler is close to 100 percent and ready to go after sitting on the shelf for the past three weeks nursing a partially torn oblique.
  • “It wasn’t planned to miss, but it could end up being a good thing with the stretch we have coming up,” Fowler said. “So glad to be back. Nice to be back without pain.”
  • From an AP report...”Fowler said he spent the last three weeks at home in Florida using ice, heat, pain medication and a laser machine. He has a friend who is a spinal neurosurgeon, and Fowler says he used a laser machine two or three times a day.”
A laser machine!
8. Men’s quarters, women’s semis set at WLD
Per Golf Channel…“The men’s Open Division was whittled down to eight, while four women remain at the Volvik World Long Drive Championship….Sixteen men battled on Tuesday night for a spot in the quarterfinals at WinStar Resort and Casino in Thackerville, Okla., where an inch-and-a-half of overnight rain created a very slow grid [460 yards long, 50 yards wide], putting a premium on carry distance.”
9. Bryson’s air problem?
Geoff Shackelford, no fan of the #LiveUnderPar campaign/onslaught, spotted this yesterday…”Apparently, Bryson DeChambeau has a complicated relationship with the air he breathes.”
  • “The PGA Tour posted an incorrectly transcribed quote with the word air supplementing “error” in sharing a Bryson DeChambeau quote following Monday’s Dell Technologies win. Perhaps this was a subtle message from social media workers tired of living under water–where I hear air is limited–but multiple sources have confirmed to this website that Bryson said the word error, was understood by most who were listening to be using the word error, and has no known sensitivities to oxygen, clearing the way for him to be a Captain’s pick on the 2018 Ryder Cup team.”

Related Topics:

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.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. A. Commoner

    Sep 6, 2018 at 1:45 pm

    Concept and practice of “captain’s picks” is inherently flawed. However this time, Bjorn and Furyk have turned the flaws into a farce. For both sides, let merit rule. Set aside cronyism and mystical forces.

    Reply Report comment

  2. Carson Henry

    Sep 5, 2018 at 10:02 am

    I want to know what Tiger and Phil were cracking up about when they cut to them before the interview

    Reply Report comment

  3. Tony Dyck

    Sep 5, 2018 at 9:52 am

    Geez, nice pic. Tiger and Phil look like they were told they were playing alternate shot together.

    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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