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Where the 2026 Masters was won (and lost)

Published

4 weeks ago

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The Masters provides the drama we are looking for year after year, and it did it again this last weekend. Perfect warm, dry weather made the course very firm and fast. Mix in the patented swirling winds, and the cream rose to the top for precision ball striking, greenside shots that had to land in a thimble, and putts that had to be on the exact line to get to the bottom of the cup. This tournament was defined by the early part of the second nine on Sunday in the famed Amen Corner, and this is where I think The Masters turned for the eventual winner Rory McIlroy.

With Justin Rose making a move and in the lead by two shots at the turn, this was looking like Rose was poised to seal the deal for a green jacket. With a number of lurking players and the roars of Augusta beginning to be heard, it was looking to be Justin’s time. A brief lead-up to the turning point of the round, in my opinion: Rose birding 7, 8, and 9 was massive as momentum was building. Birding the 9th hole and walking to the 10th tee feeling 10 feet tall!

A great drive on 10 to leave 179 yards. A shot on the green to 32 feet away. From there the quick putt got rolling 4 feet away from the hole. A length demanding attention, Rose holes it. That’s a great save from four feet in that position after birding the last three holes.

11th hole

Keeping the momentum rolling, he sends a drive on 11 right down the middle, 340 yards. Another big drive to keep the momentum going as he enters Amen Corner. 

(Photo via Masters.com)

With 192 yards left in 11, this is the first crack in the armor for this momentum swing. Some indecision on the club selection and the wind. Swirling winds and decisions on club choice, mixed with contention and adrenaline. Creating our love for decisions in competition. Rose from 192 yards opted for the 6 iron for the back middle left hole location. Given the circumstances, it may seem like a lot of club, but the trajectory of a 6 iron is more favorable in the swirling winds than a 7-iron that could be taken away from the wind.

Subconsciously, he may have known the 6-iron is too much club but a safer play. Compared with choosing less club and possibly pulling it into the pond with 7-iron. 6-iron was the club, and I just got out in front of it on the downswing, creating the shot to go right of the green. A tricky up-and-down remained from 34 yards, with the green sloping away from Rose and the firm conditions. Rose hit to 15 feet and two-putted for bogey. Completely understandable with the miss to the right. Somewhat surprising with the bogey on 11 just because Rose was so locked in the last four holes. 

12th Hole

This sets up number 12, Golden Bell. Rose appeared to slightly pull his tee shot from 160 yards. He was pin high but 19 yards away to the left of the green. With players mentioning chip shots and pitches around the green into the grain of the grass, this showed here as Rose advanced the ball just a number of feet for his second shot, not reaching the green. Faced with his 3rd shot now 11 yards away, Rose putted off to the green to 5 feet away. Only a putt given to players needing an ego boost with their handicap, Rose made the 5-footer. A large putt in its own right. Bogey on 11 and bogey on 12. Deflating after such a great stretch from holes 7-10, but not a deal breaker by any means for a chance at a green jacket.

Rose hit a booming drive 305 yards on 13, down the left side, which is higher risk, but after going bogey-bogey, it was warranted. Leaving 197 yards into the par 5, it was the green light special. Rose fired his mid-iron right at the flag as it bounded by the hole, it rested 30 feet past the hole with a downhill putt remaining. The putt Rose hit had plenty of pace and too much, in fact, for a tap-in. It went eight feet by the hole with his attempt for an eagle. His attempt for birdie was a slight pull and a tap-in for par was had.

To me, this is where the wind was out of the sails for Rose. A great stretch of golf, rounding out the first 9, good two-putt par save on the 10th green, bogeying 11 and 12 in the fashion he did, followed by a three-putt par on 13. The psychology of plugging away, in the lead, and gaining ground on the field, only to sputter and then lose ground on the field. Bogey on 11 is understandable, but the bogey on 12 and three-putt par on 13 really looked to cause the damage. It was a great bounce back on 13 with the fantastic drive and second shot, but the damage was done on the putting green.

Rory McIlroy

Contrast with Rory McIlroy, with birdies on 7 and 8. Making par on 9 through 11. Then the dagger on 12. Back right hole location, taking on the pin. With a key decision waiting for the correct wind, Rory, with full commitment, started his ball on line with the right edge of the bunker on 12 with a Hogan fade landing on the green and releasing towards the hole resting 7 feet from the cup. Rory makes the putt center cut and moves onto the 13th tee. Launching his driver 350 yards to the right side of the upper fairway, he was left with 183 yards. His iron shot went long left of the green. Green side from 23 yards, he got the ball below the hole 11 feet away. In a similar place where Rose missed an 8-footer two groups prior, Rory made this 11-footer on the left side of the cup. 

Rory walks with his familiar bounce in his step to the 14th with momentum, as Rose continues the second 9 looking for a spark to get back in the mix.

It is such a fine line of a clear decision and execution of a shot, or a putt lipping in or lipping out. Amen Corner was the difference maker to me this last Sunday, with the 12th hole being the tipping point for two players in contention. Rory McIllory goes on to seal the deal, and Justin Rose finished tied for third on the doorstep of victory at Augusta once again. 

 

  • All photos via themasters.com and Augusta National’s shot tracking technology. 

 

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News

2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

1 day ago

on

May 12, 2026

By

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

By

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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