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Watching a Tour event

Published

19 years ago

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So what is it about a professional golfer that you notice first? Is it their smooth swings that launch the ball effortlessly down the centre of the fairway? Is it the phenomenal clubhead speed they generate when they do decide to hit the ball hard, leaving less a divot as a scorch mark? Is it the touch and soft hands they show executing escape shots that we wouldn’t dare to? Or are they just good golfers that got a lucky break?

The truth is, watching a professional competition close up and in the flesh is a humbling experience. These guys are just like you and me in every way (except probably in better shape and annoyingly better looking) and yet they regularly play the sort of golf shots that would have us screaming ‘Did you see that! DID YOU SEE THAT!’ at our playing partners. From the booming drive to the chip knocked stiff, this is bread and butter to the professional golfer.

Standing at the practise tee you can see players warming up, trying new or different equipment and practising the shots that they might need on the course. Warm ups are a series of perfect half and three-quarter irons, clipping the (brand new premium quality) ball off the turf. Not quite the machine-gunning of range rocks off astroturf that you see every day at your local range. Full shots suddenly show you why they are the best of the best. The trajectory a properly struck ball takes is an eye opener. The ball fires off the club face with a startling low trajectory but with so much spin it seems to fly like a small spherical frisbee, boring through the air into the distance.

The distance control is just as impressive. I watched someone that plays on both the US and European tours and is known for the accuracy of his iron play. Taking aim at a practise green 150 yards away, of the 10 shots he hit the furthest went 151 yards, the shortest went 147. Most were bang on the money and I would have taken every one if I had been playing.

While they stretch their limbs and send these shots lancing down the range, equipment reps try to tempt them with the very latest and greatest equipment. Lovingly built to their own exacting specifications, these clubs are of the sort that you and I will either never see in our local proshops or could never afford. To the equipment junkies among us, this may be the most heartbreaking things a grown man can witness – ‘You’d like this driver tipped? Why certainly. Just give me one moment to rip out and throw away this 1000 dollar shaft and put in a new one’. After all this effort, the pro might give it a couple of swishes and then turn it down! Frankly, I admire anybody that has the self-discipline to turn down a free pen let alone a free golf club. I’m fairly sure that  if I were a in their (ergonomic and highly branded) shoes, I would be living in a house where clambering over golf clubs would be the only way to move from room to room and opening cupboards would be done at your own peril.

Out on the course, the difference between us and them is only more obvious. All of us know guys who can smash the ball 300+ yards from the tee box, but how many of them can do that into a landing area 15 yards wide with trouble either side. The iron shots are either low fizzers avoiding the wind or high floating shots that land softly and cuddle up to the hole, wafting left or right through the air. Pitches and chips are almost always knocked inside the leather. Not so much par saves as genuine attempts to get the ball in the hole from a distance that you and I would regard as ridiculous.

Then there’s the putting. Putting is a great leveller in golf. Providing you can grip a putter, there are no other physical attributes (apart from having at least one eye) that will help you get the ball into the hole. Looking at the sort of greens the pros have to putt on would give most of us the heebie-jeebies. The flat expanses that we are used to are replaced with tiered and sloping greens that would give anyone pause for thought. Then there’s the speed of the greens. Putts that would have barely travelled halfway on normal courses skate past the hole.

To give you an idea of how fast they are, I have to tell you a story of one of my friends who moonlights as an equipment rep for a putter company. He got a little carried away the first time he was on the practise green. Attempting to impress the surrounding pros with a cheeky little 6 footer he promptly managed to putt the ball 15 yards, clean off the practise green and much to the amusement of all. ‘Like putting on lino’ was how he described it.

Of course there’s also you and I and all our friends in the gallery. It can be nerve racking teeing up for the monthly medal when the only audience is the fourball due off after you and the starter. How much more nerve racking must it be to tee off in front of a gallery of hundreds, with television cameras (who may be broadcasting to millions) everywhere just in case you do top/shank/fat/thin/whiff it, when you are playing for your livelihood?

And not just the first tee either. For a player how is having a good round, word gets out and his gallery suddenly swells. Rather than playing in front of merely several dozen people, hundreds now stand watch over every move. This all comes to a climax at the 18th where huge grandstands of yet more hundreds watch those all important final shots that change a good round to a great one. What sort of mental strength is required to shut out the watching gallery, the millions that might be watching at home, the expectations of sponsors and your family and friends when you stand over a breaking 5 footer that if holed, wins you a championship or even possibly a major.

All this in competition with your fellow professionals, fighting to get the best score possible for the victory, the money, the ranking points. They are a breed apart.

‘Could I ever be a professional golfer?’ is a question that everyone who has ever picked up a golf club has asked themselves. The answer, unfortunately for all but a tiny minority, is no.

Would I want to be one?

 

Yes please.

 

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Mike K.

    Sep 4, 2007 at 7:19 am

    On the money! I’ve been to several quality tour events over the past two years, and walk away each time numb. I think to myself “These guys aren’t playing the same game.”

    Simply amazing – and that goes for the LPGA as well!

    Reply Report comment

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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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