News

5 things we learned Friday at the Masters

Published

5 years ago

Apr 9, 2021

36 marvelous holes of a crunchy, tasty, firm, diabolical Masters tournament are in the books. 54 golfers survived the cut, and 15 of them sit within five shots of the lead, currently 7 under.

If you want excitement, watch Viktor Hovland this weekend. We don’t mention him below, but he deserves a tip of the cap for not going away. He was outside the cut line until he made birdie at 13 and eagle at 15. He’s six back, and if he can get rid of the crazies and the loonies, he might shoot 62 on Saturday or Sunday.

It’s time to learn the five things that we picked up today and position yourself for a glorious weekend. Let’s gooooo!

1. “Part humor, part roses, part thorns.” Justin Rose posts even par on Friday

Perhaps there lies a hidden connection between the lead singer of the 80s hair band Poison and the champion golfer, perhaps not. The internet attributes the quote “My life has been part humor, part roses, part thorns” to Bret Michaels, and Justin Rose certainly would agree that round the second at the 2021 Masters offered a bit of each. Rose began with bogey for a second consecutive day, and despite a birdie at the second, turned in 3 over par. Like Thursday, he found his way back to safety on the inward half, with birdies at the 13th, 14th, and 16th.

If there is a secret to winning the Masters, it is to make your mistakes early and your birdies and eagles late. Rose has played the back nine in 30 and 33 strokes over the first two days. If he can find a way to play the outward half in par on Saturday and Sunday, well, he’ll have a second major championship to go with his 2013 U.S. Open trophy.

**2. Is The Bermuda Triangle too obvious?**

If 11 through 13 represents a corner, then holes 4, 5, and 6 geometrically stand out as a three-sided polygon. Through the first two days, that three-hole sequence stands out as a place where Augusta dreams meet an early reckoning. Many golfers reached the fourth tee on the heels of two or even three birdies, only to run headfirst into a sea of mighty discontent. The trio ranked first, second, and fifth most difficult on day two, and featured the longest par 3 and the toughest par 4. A case could be made that five plays longer than 11, despite measuring 10 yards less.

There’s no telling how the ghost of Herbert Warren Wind would christen the 915-yard stretch of fairway in today’s era. Wind summoned a hymn in the middle of the previous century when he famously baptized the early part of the back nine as Amen Corner. In an era of technological onslaught, the tournament directors seem to have solved part of the puzzle by creating a second implausible stretch of golf on their wondrous course. If anyone should happen to play four through six at even par or better on the weekend, expect their names to take up residence on the first page of the leaderboard.

3. Farewell until May or next April

Sadly, there was a cut on Friday afternoon, and it came at +3 after much deliberation. The briefly-defending champion, Dustin Johnson, had a rare day of poor driving, and it cost him. Bogey at 15 and 17 put him over the limit by one slim stroke. His former workout buddy, Brooks Koepka, made every effort at a Tiger-esque recovery from recent knee surgery, but the bionic man could not make enough putts to reach the weekend. Joining DJ and BK on the sideline were the perplexing Rory McIlroy, the peripatetic Bernhard Langer, and Green Jacket-bearers Danny Willett, Mike Weir, and Sergio Garcia. Representing the geezers on the weekend is two-time Masters winner and second-low Basque, José-María Olazabal, who touched down at +2.

4. Tyrannosaurus Zalatoris is quite the story

We don’t expect the nickname to stick, but it beats Lavoris, a 1970s-era mouthwash. The young lion bided his time on the front nine, playing even-par golf until the 9th, where he went right-right and bogey. On the inward half, the rights became centers, and Zalatoris notched five birdies and four bogeys for 31 coming home and a Saturday pairing with the leader, the aforementioned Mr. Rose.

Ironic is the failure to birdie either par-5 hole on the second nine. Neither tee ball was what one might call ideal, and the Zed resisted any temptation to go for the green in two. He laid up safely, took his medicine, and made par at both holes. Anytime you shoot 68 or better at Augusta National, you’ve made your share of just about everything. Win, lose, or draw this weekend, the experience of teeing off in the last group on Saturday is a huge step for the Young Turk.

5. And our pick for the win is…

Not Justin Rose. He is a viable candidate for a suitcoat fitting, but the confidence that borders on arrogance is just not there. Not Will Zalatoris. We’d love to see the “not since Fuzzy” thing about first-year players not becoming first-time champions go away, but it isn’t happening in 2021. Not Jordan Spieth, who reached 5 under with late heroics, nor Marc Leishman, who reached 5 under with early, mid, and late-round heroics. Our prediction for the win is a bald man of Woosnam-esque stature, who swings from the side favored by Phil Mickelson, and Mike Weir, both Masters champions. He is (drumroll, please)…

Brian Harman. It’s simply his time.

News

2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

1 day ago

May 12, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

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

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

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

News

How much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

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

Equipment2 weeks ago

Justin Rose WITB 2026 (April): Full WITB breakdown with new McLaren irons

Equipment1 week ago

What’s the story behind Webb Simpson’s custom-stamped irons?

Equipment2 weeks ago

Cadillac Championship Tour Report: Spieth’s sizable changes, McLaren Golf launches, and more

Whats in the Bag3 days ago

Kristoffer Reitan’s winning WITB: 2026 Truist Championship

Whats in the Bag1 week ago

Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2026 Cadillac Championship

Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago

Nelly Korda WITB 2026 (April)

Equipment2 weeks ago

Justin Rose on the switch to McLaren Golf, learnings from previous equipment moves

Tour Photo Galleries2 weeks ago

Photos from the 2026 Cadillac Championship

GolfWRX

5 things we learned Friday at the Masters

News

5 things we learned Friday at the Masters

1. “Part humor, part roses, part thorns.” Justin Rose posts even par on Friday