Tour News
5 Things We Learned from Day 2 of the Olympics
Yesterday we hinted in this column at the potential for low scores on the Olympic course in Rio. On Day 1, we saw a 63 and a bucket of 66s and 67s. Day 2 brought a 65 and 66 as the two low scores. However, a quick look at the metrics of each hole reveals how the course can be had, and how one of those recent Tour 58s (or something near it) is within reach.
Let’s begin five things we learned on Day 2 with a look at those important numbers.
Half the holes in Rio are playing under par
All four par-5 holes can be called birdie holes, but golfers aren’t likely to make eagle. The long holes have yielded 88 birdies but 0 eagles. The four eagles have been counted on two par-4 holes (Nos. 3 and 16) and Justin Rose’s 1st-round ace. Interestingly, three of the five short holes are averaging below three strokes per hole, rare for par-3’s. As for the two-shot holes, Nos. 9 and 16 are victims of Olympian expertise.
If someone gets hot and takes advantage of those nine holes, he could be off to the start needed to go super-low. This is important, because Days 1 and 2 have also revealed…
Rio’s Trio can ruin your day mid-round
The 11th, 12th and 13th holes are all playing at least one-quarter shot above par. That’s quite a stretch. The holes have been responsible for 51 bogeys and 7 doubles, plus one other (the bad type.) Ten birdies have been scored on the holes, so they aren’t impenetrable. If that same someone from No. 5 could navigate Rio’s Trio at par or better, watch out.
At the same time, if a leader stumbles just past the turn, those in pursuit have renewed hope.
Team USA began to dig itself out of its first-round hole
Matt Kuchar shot under par again, but not low enough to make a move up the board higher than a tie for 14th. Bubba Watson was good for 67, moving into 18th place. Patrick Reed was also under par, coming in at 22nd at the halfway post.
As for Rickie Fowler, well, he shot par and hung out with Matthew McConaughey. Fowler won’t win a medal, but his circle of acquaintances might be worth something to those who care about trendy dudes.
The Olympic men’s golf competition is an international affair
The first 14 golfers belong to 14 different countries. You have to count down to Emiliano Grillo (Argentina) and Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) at a tie for 14th to have your first country repeat. It’s probable that the organizers and proponents of the competition were hoping to increase the popularity of the game throughout the world. The sight of Chinese Taipei and Norway in the top-10 suggest that baby steps are being taken.
My halfway pick to wear the golf medal is…
3 birdies on the last 3 holes for @Thomas_Pieters to card 66: https://t.co/pgNm9CkUyE #Rio2016 #Golf pic.twitter.com/h3BYDlBaVY
— Olympic Golf (@OlympicGolf) August 12, 2016
Thomas Pieters. Not a real reach, as the Belgian sits one back of Marcus Fraser (10-under), who maintained his tenuous lead with a 69 on Friday. Pieters has the talent to win the big one, and the Olympics would certainly qualify as one of those. Despite the presence of Open champion Henrik Stenson at 8-under and Justin Rose at 6-under, we like Pieters to break through on the Olympic stage of Rio 2016. The University of Illinois graduate had seven birdies in his day-low round and looks to be on solid, spectacular form.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Players Championship
On the heels of Scottie Scheffler’s dominant victory at Bay Hill, the PGA Tour heads a little farther north in Florida to TPC Sawgrass this week for The Players Championship. And of course, GolfWRX is on site to get a look at what the players are playing.
We’ve already spotted a new Titleist mini driver this week, and there’s plenty more.
Check out our photos below!
Pullout Albums
- New Titleist 2 wood – 2024 The Players Championship
- Cam Young testing Titleist’s new 2-wood – 2024 THE PLAYERS Championship
- Hole Nos. 17 and 18 – 2024 THE PLAYERS Championship
- Toulon Small Batch Texas putter – 2024 The Players Championship
- Swag Golf custom headcovers – 2024 The Players Championship
- New Ping PLD staff bags – 2024 The Players Championship
- SuperStroke St. Patrick’s Day putter grip – 2024 The Players Championship
- Taylor Montgomery using PuttView X training goggles – 2024 The Players Championship
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
GolfWRX is on the ground in Orlando ahead of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
We’re assembling our usual collection of WITB photos, general galleries, and of course, gear inspired by the King himself.
We’ll continue to add to the photos below as more flow in from Florida.
General Albums
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #1
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #2
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #3
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #1 (thanks, bvmagic!)
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #3 (bvmagic)
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #2 (bvmagic)
WITB Albums
- Matt (LFG) Every – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Sahith Theegala – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Scottie Scheffler – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Luke List – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Adam Schenk – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Taylor Moore – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- David Ford – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
Pullout Albums
- New Cameron putters (and new “LD” grip) – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- New Bettinardi MB & CB irons – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Custom Bettinardi API putter cover – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Custom Swag API covers – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- New Golf Pride Reverse Taper grips – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- New PXG putters – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Scottie Scheffler putter change – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Sepp Straka – shaft change to new Ventus blue – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Rickie Fowler’s new Cobra Darkspeed X driver and Denali shaft (and Radspeed 3-wood) – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Justin Rose testing Srixon Z Forged II irons – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Cognizant Classic
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Cognizant Classic —FKA the Honda Classic.
The first leg of the PGA Tour’s traditional “Florida swing,” the Cognizant Classic continues to be contested at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, host course of the 1983 Ryder Cup and 1987 PGA Championship. The course is known for its famed “Bear Trap,” a three-hole stretch of holes that take their name from Jack “The Golden Bear” Nicklaus, who redesigned the course in 2002.
The Bear Trap includes No. 15 (a par 3), No. 16 (a par 4), and No. 17 (a par 4). All three holes involve water and have led to several big numbers from Tour players over the years.
Check out an assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums below.
We’ll continue to update the galleries as more photos flow in from Florida!
General Albums
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Monday #3
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Monday #4
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Tuesday #1
WITB Albums
- Brandt Snedeker – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Max Greyserman – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Eric Cole – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Carl Yuan – WITb – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Russell Henley – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Justin Suh – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Alex Noren – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Shane Lowry – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Taylor Montgomery – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Jake Knapp (KnappTime_ltd) – WITB – – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Sam Ryder – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Maverick McNealy – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Tua Tagovailoa mini WITB (NFL QB, Miami Dolphins) – 2024 Cognizant Classic
Pullout Albums
- New Super Stoke Pistol Lock 1.0 & 2.0 grips – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- LA Golf new insert putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- New Garsen Quad Tour 15 grip – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- New Swag covers – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Jacob Bridgeman’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Bud Cauley’s custom Cameron putters – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Ryo Hisatsune’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Chris Kirk – new black Callaway Apex CB irons and a few Odyssey putters
- Alejandro Tosti’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Joohyung Tom Kim’s “new” center-shafted Scotty Cameron putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Erik
Aug 13, 2016 at 2:37 pm
Course is really fun to watch. Being olympics, race for precious medals and not money is great for a change.
I miss Day, Something, Scott and DJ. Since mosquitoes are absent and they fact they are not pregnant women, they must regret their decision not to participate.
Ezra
Aug 13, 2016 at 1:49 pm
I picture you as a fat guy with very little mobility, eating junk food in front of his PC all day long. Do you have a cat?
ooffa
Aug 13, 2016 at 3:07 pm
Olympic Golf is great but it’s certainly not as fun to watch as the Air Rifle competition.
You know Olympic golf is a failure when people would rather be watching freakin archery.
It’s a bust. End it now. Reformat it and try again in a country where a fly won’t mutate a fetus and where they can at least keep the swimming pools from turning green.
Ronald Montesano
Aug 13, 2016 at 10:06 am
Astute and salient observations on the golf. With all the other sports, did IOC have no time to promote golf? Did IGF and other supporting bodies not step up to lend a hand? To promote golf tourism?
These may be the two worst locations for golf to debut as an Olympic sport. Brasil has had a run of bad fortune (fiscal news, Zika, security forces) and Japan may be a challenge as far as how many spectators can be accommodated at the host club. If golf had debuted, say, in Beijing in 2008 and been followed by London 2012, we might be on different terms of discussion here.
jd
Aug 13, 2016 at 2:43 am
How low are you gonna go Smiz?
James
Aug 13, 2016 at 4:16 am
Depends on how much Extenze he’s had
Tom
Aug 13, 2016 at 12:33 pm
His phycologist recommends his participation on this thread for treatment of anxiety
Ronald Montesano
Aug 12, 2016 at 9:52 pm
Brian on Facebook above.
You are correct. I’m going to have to check those statistics again. They may be more than one hole off. They were purported to be official ones, but clearly something is missing.
RM
Short Limbs McConaughey
Aug 12, 2016 at 7:57 pm
Alright alright alright
Christosterone
Aug 13, 2016 at 1:36 am
Lol +1