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Morning 9: Did the USGA botch the new drop rule? | Feinstein on Mike Davis | Wie back to practicing

Published

7 years ago

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

January 8, 2019

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans.
1. We didn’t really think about that…
That seems to be essentially the link of thinking from the USGA in response to players, such as Bryson DeChambeau, viewing putting with the flag in as an advantage…despite the data supporting that belief.
  • Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”Of particular interest to Pagel was DeChambeau’s choice to putt with the flagstick in the vast majority of time.”
  • “I’m using it to my advantage,” DeChambeau said following his second-round 68 in Maui.
  • “Pagel explained that the intent of the flag rule was to speed up play, not to give players a competitive advantage.”
  • “We said, ‘If you make a long putt and you happen to hit the flagstick, is there really a need for a penalty?’ The ball might go in. It might not,” Pagel said. “We didn’t look at the data. It was not a data-driven decision. At the end of the day, we thought it might help players, but it also might hurt players.”
2. Putting new drivers in play
Golf Digest’s E. Michael Johnson...”TaylorMade’s new M5 and M6 line of woods was formally introduced to the public this week, and also saw a great deal of early adoption at the Sentry TOC. Three of the company’s heavyweights-Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm-all put the new M5 driver in play (with Rahm also adding the M6 3-wood). The club, which uses a technology in which the faces are made to be beyond the USGA limit for springlike effect then brought back just into conformance, also boasts a weight track that runs both front to back and along the outer perimeter.”
  • “Johnson, who frequently puts weight out on the toe of his driver, actually had his in the neutral position (one front and one back), as did Rahm. McIlroy, however, had one weight back and one toward the heel to promote a slight draw bias, his preferred ball flight. McIlroy also used the company’s new prototype bronze-colored Spider Tour putter.”
  • “Callaway also recently unveiled its latest in metalwoods and irons, and saw some of its tour staff have some early success, not the least of which was tournament winner Xander Schauffele, who had Callaway’s new Epic Flash Sub Zero driver (9 degrees) and Apex Pro 19 irons in play. Two other prominent names also put the Epic Flash Sub Zero into competition in Marc Leishman and, somewhat surprisingly, 2018 British Open champion Francesco Molinari who had a bag full of Callaway clubs including the Epic Flash 3-wood. Leishman also put the company’s new Apex Pro 19 irons in play. The Epic Flash driver utilized artificial intelligence in its design of a face structure that is rippled on the inside-a high-tech version of variable face thickness technology that provides faster ball speeds across more of the face.”
3. Poulter’s gesture   
In violation for not competing in an event he was compelled to under the Tour’s participation policy, Ian Poulter went above and beyond…showing off his Ferraris to fans!
The AP’s Doug Ferguson…”Along with adding two tournaments he had not played in the last four years – one of them, happily, was the winners-only field at Kapalua – Poulter hosted eight tournament guests for a round of golf at his home club in Florida, lunch and a tour of the house where he keeps his Ferraris and Ryder Cup memorabilia.”
  • “The violation was failing to play a tournament where he had not been in the last four years.”
  • “The PGA Tour has a policy that players who don’t compete in 25 events must play a tournament where they haven’t been in the last four years. Life members (20 or more tour victories) and veterans (45 years or older) are exempt. Poulter is neither.”
4. Feinstein on Davis quitting course setup
The eminent sportswriter believes Davis has planned to step away for years, and that it’s painful for him to do so.
  • “Cynics will cry that this is all a likely story, but I believe Davis. I’ve known him for 25 years, having worked closely with him during my research for the book Open, which chronicled the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage. I have no doubt he thought long and hard about the time that goes into set-up-not so much the week of the event as in the years leading up to it-and whether he could still be CEO and the man in charge of Open set-ups.”
  • “What I also believe is that the decision was a painful one for Davis, regardless of what led to it and not for the reasons you might think. The former Pennsylvania Junior champion is very good with people. He’s very smart, and he was the perfect choice to lead the USGA when David Fay retired at the end of 2010. But the 55-year-old’s real passion is golf course architecture. He loves nothing more than figuring out how to create a golf course that can produce a memorable championship-for the right reasons.”
  • “I’ve seen Davis’ eyes light up when he talks about ongoing changes to a future Open venue. He will happily go on for hours about hole locations, the width of fairways, the height of the rough and moving tee boxes forward and backwards.”
5. Michelle Wie back to practicing
Golfweek’s Bill Speros…”LPGA pro Michelle Wie has returned to practicing longer shots as her rehab from wrist surgery continues.”
  • From Wie’s Instagram….”Let’s just say….the competitive juices are realllllly starting to brew inside. Getting antsy to come back but I also realize that I need to be patient with my body.” she posted on Instagram over weekend. “Yesterday was the first time hitting putts longer than 4 ft and I have to say it felt REALLY good to make some clutch putts against @erikanderslang @brodiesmith21 in our little putting contest. “
  • Wie later posted a clip of herself working on chip shots with the caption: “First day chipping!! Woohooo! I still remember how to hit a chip shot! ????.”.
6. Bubba & Ted
Dave Shedloski on the apparently great relationship between Bubba Watson and his caddie, Ted Scott.
  • “They survive everything. Watson and Scott are entering their 13th year together, one of the most prominent duos still intact. Among major winners, Lucas Glover and Don Cooper are believed to be the most enduring team, approaching 17 years, but their recognition level doesn’t approach Watson and Scott. Meanwhile, consider some of the high-profile pairings that have dissolved in recent years: Phil Mickelson and Jim (Bones) Mackay, Jason Day and Col Swatton and, most recently, Zach Johnson and Damon Green.”
  • “You think of perfect teams, and Bubba and Teddy are like that. They are fabulous together,” said Paul Tesori, who has caddied for former U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson for eight years.
  • “Stan Badz/PGA TourWatson at first was just looking for Scott to carry his bag, but over the years the two-time major winner has learned to trust his looper with so much more. Watson and Scott connected via Ben Crane. Watson was looking for a like-minded Christian, and Crane, one of Watson’s Bible-study companions, recommended Scott, who tried professional golf as a player briefly without success but who was a world champion in professional foosball.”
7. Big money
The Tour lauded its own considerable charitable facilitation in a piece…
  • “Impacting the lives of Tasaka and hundreds of thousands of others, the PGA TOUR and its tournaments generated a record $190 million for more than 3,000 charitable causes in 2018, announced today from this week’s event, the Sentry Tournament of Champions. The charitable total, which brings the all-time total to $2.84 billion, includes donations made by tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Series-China.”
  • “Through the world of golf, the PGA TOUR and its tournaments, backed by its network of volunteers, drive positive impact at unprecedented levels to support and improve local communities,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “By supporting a PGA TOUR event, you make an impact on countless philanthropic organizations in your community. As remarkable as our nearly $3 billion in donations is, what really matters are the remarkable stories like Sets’ that every tournament has. It’s a credit to our partners – host organizations, title sponsors, volunteers, the fans in the communities in which we play, as well as our players, who are relentlessly supportive of the impact the TOUR makes on so many lives.”
8. Is Rory McIlroy bad under pressure?
That’s the case Shane Ryan makes in a piece for Golf Digest following the Ulsterman’s latest failure to seize victory with an opportunity to do so.
  • “Blur the specifics a little, and you could be talking about any number of recent events. The one that stands out, of course, is the 2018 Masters, when he shot a painful Sunday 74 in the final group to cede the tournament to Patrick Reed. But the list goes on: the Tour Championship, in which he stumbled in Tiger Woods’ shadow, again in the final group, to post a dismal 74; the BMW PGA Championship, where he shot an unimpressive 70 in the final group to finish second despite starting the day as co-leader; the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, playing (repeat after me) in the final group, and once more blundering his way around the course to fall to sixth and hand Justin Thomas a relatively stress-free victory.”
  • “Those are the most egregious examples, but they aren’t the only ones-there are plenty of other tournaments, from the Open Championship to the Dubai Desert Classic to the Dell Technologies Championship, where a good-to-great performance would have put him near victory, and where he could only muster the pedestrian. One of his best Sundays of the year came at the BMW Championship in September … unfortunately, that was because rain canceled play for the day. When the final round resumed on Monday, he stumbled in the last group, failing to erase a slim one-shot deficit as victory eluded him again. By my count, Rory has played in seven final pairings (or threesomes) in the past year, and he hasn’t captured even one of those titles.”
9. Absurd!
Geoff Shackelford is holding a poll over at his site about the new drop rule.
He took a screenshot of the current tally. 

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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.

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

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I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 29, 2025

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GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

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Jul 28, 2025

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Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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WITB

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