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GolfWRX Morning 9: Huge FedEx Cup changes coming | Tiger’s Trump tap dance | L’Artiste!

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6 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

August 28, 2018

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans.
1. Cup changes ahead
Staggered starting scores at the Tour Championship?!
Per an AP Report…”The PGA Tour is putting the final touches on a revamped FedEx Cup structure that would award a cash bonus to the leading player from the regular season, followed by a new scoring format for the Tour Championship to decide the FedEx Cup champion, The Associated Press has learned.”
  • “Five people aware of the discussions say FedEx Cup points will not be involved in the final playoff event at East Lake. Instead, the No. 1 player would start the Tour Championship at 10-under par, with scores to par staggered depending on the 30 players’ position in the standings.”
  • “The winner will be the FedEx Cup champion, and the bonus is expected to be more than the current $10 million prize…That means whoever gets the 30th spot at East Lake would have four rounds to make up as many as 10 shots. The change eliminates the awkward moment – and divided attention – of one player winning the Tour Championship and another winning the FedEx Cup, which happened last year for the second time.”
2. Appreciate the art of the scientist
Golf Digest’s Joel Beall penned a quality piece on enjoying the single-length maestro, Bryson DeChambeau.
  • A few morsels…:DeChambeau’s third PGA Tour victory in 13 months-more tournaments than Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler have won combined in that span-and a win that ostensibly locks up a Ryder Cup spot. Only Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas have more top-10 finishes this season than DeChambeau’s eight, and the 24-year-old ranks fifth in strokes gained and 14th in scoring.”
  • “But with Bryson DeChambeau, it’s never been about the game. It’s about about how that game is conceptualized, executed, questioned, achieved. While those prisms should create a greater appreciation for the end product, it’s done the opposite.”
  • “By now you know DeChambeau is a different duck. The Hogan cap, naming his clubs, writing his name backwards with his opposite hand, dabbling in stippling-not the usual repertoire of an aspiring tour pro. By themselves, they’re each fun tidbits and ideal content for a player’s media guide profile. Yet it’s Bryson’s drive that really separates him. And we do mean drive. While many golfers strive for perfection, DeChambeau’s pursuit takes him down some peculiar avenues. One-length clubs, a slave to statistical analysis, battles with the USGA, a tryst with side-saddling putting. Coupled with the aforementioned oddities, he stands out in the tour’s cookie-cutter crowd.”
  • “Amusingly, one of the reasons fans have struggled to connect with Brooks Koepka is that Brooks, admittedly, is not really into golf. DeChambeau resides on the other end of that spectrum, devouring tomes like The Golfing Machine and Vector Putting as a kid. There’s an unbridled enthusiasm when he talks about the game and finds joy in the work. Hell, he even flew himself to the 2016 Ryder Cup because he wanted to take it in as a spectator.”

Full piece.

3. Who doesn’t love a good power ranking?
While I usually steer clear of all things fantasy and DFS, I’m tossing in best-in-the-biz Rob Bolton’ top 5 for the upcoming Dell Technologies Championship.
5. Tony Finau…Fulfilling one projection after another all season, if not exceeding even elevated expectations. Solo second at Ridgewood; led field in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Fourth start at TPC Boston.
4. Jason Day...He’s a workhorse from every perspective. Perfect at TPC Boston since 2008 with three top 10s among eight top 25s. Five straight top 20s upon arrival. Tops on TOUR in strokes gained: putting.
3. Dustin Johnson...Can’t complain much about a T11 at Ridgewood except maybe for a third-round 7…Saved erratic iron play with strong putting. Perfect in eight trips to TPC Boston with four top 20s.
2. Brooks Koepka...Coming off a T8 at THE NORTHERN TRUST where he co-led at the midpoint and led the field in distance of all drives, strokes gained: off-the-tee and par-5 scoring. T18 at TPC Boston in 2017.

1. Justin Thomas…Seeking to become the first back-to-back champ in tournament history. Since winning at Firestone, he’s added a T6 (PGA) and T8 (NORTHERN TRUST) to regain consistency that he’s sought.

4. Lessons from Cam Smith’s prep
Nick Randall, who has trained Cam Smith since Smith was 16, penned an interesting piece for GolfWRX on Smith’s physical preparations–and the application for your golfing life.
“Cam Smith, who just finished T3 at The Northern Trust, has made a lot of progress from when we first started working together. Not only is he now top 50 in the world, he has progressed from a scrawny teen into a well rounded golf athlete. At age 16 he was weak, tight, had some alarming postural adaptations from golf and was in pain and discomfort in a number of areas.”
  • “I would like to share with you what I consider to be the 5 areas that the competitive club golfer can learn from Cam’s approach to physical preparation. If implemented properly these will not help your golf but benefit your long-term musculo-skeletal health too.”
  • “Cam’s approach is particularly relatable and applicable to the club golfer because he isn’t the biggest guy, or the most gifted athlete, or the hardest worker. Cam likes to keep things simple and use practice and training approaches that can be completed in a short amount of time with the minimum of fuss (leaving more time for messing around on the range apparently!)”
  • STICK TO THE PLAN…Cam doesn’t wander from the prescribed plan; this is for three main reasons. Firstly he wants to avoid the excessive post exercise soreness that prohibits him from practicing and performing effectively. Sticking to familiar exercises and loads helps ensure this. Secondly, performing the same exercises allows him time to get familiar and comfortable with the technique, ensuring absolute best form and resultant outcome. Lastly, golf is a tough mental sport especially at the very elite level. Being able to go into the gym and carry out a familiar routine means that there is no excess mental energy being used up unnecessarily.”
5. Tiger & Trump
Sam Weinman at Golf Digest says (rightly) that Tiger Woods responses to questions about race and Donald Trump are exactly what were to be expected.
  • “What to make of Tiger Woods’ brief utterances about President Trump following his final round in the Northern Trust? It has all the makings of a juicy story-the world’s most popular athlete, its most polarizing leader. Depending on which side of the political spectrum you occupy, it could be chopped up and digested any number of different ways, as the president himself has already proven.”
  • “The full exchange, with a New York Times reporter, was barely a minute long. Asked about his relationship with Trump, Woods reflected on their history playing together (including most recently last Thanksgiving weekend): “We’ve played golf together. We’ve had dinner together. I’ve known him pre-presidency and obviously during his presidency.”
  • “Then Woods was asked about whether his relationship with Trump was an implicit endorsement of Trump’s policies toward immigrants and people of color? Treading cautiously, Woods said he felt compelled to respect the office. “He’s the President of the United States. You have to respect the office,” he said. “No matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office.”
  • “It’s worth debating whether that’s understandable or regrettable given Woods’ stature and influence. Woods has indeed emerged as a more sympathetic and approachable figure in this latest chapter of his career. But to have expected anything else from his answer Sunday is to not have been paying attention.”
6. New company: New Level Golf
I spoke with Eric Burch, founder and CEO of the upstart New Level Golf.
The broad strokes of Burch’s career take us from his time as an assistant pro in the 90s, through his founding of Parfection Golf, the Professional Clubmakers Society recognized as the top retail shop in the country in 2004, through his development of the legendary (in club building and fitting circles, anyway) Club-Conex Uni-Fit system. True Spec, as GolfWRX readers know, purchased Club-Conex in 2015, and after stints as Executive VP for Miura and a high-level position at Pure Grips, Burch decided to hang a shingle, knowing it was something he always wanted to make a go of.
  • New Level’s current offerings consist of three iron models and a wedge. Burch was kind enough to give a thumbnail sketch of each of the models.
  • Here’s what Burch had to say about the company’s most popular offering: the 1031 iron.
  • EB: “Then we have the 1031, which fits right in the middle of the three. That’s a slightly longer blade length than the 902. There’s a consistent offset throughout the set. It starts at about 4.5 millimeters…there’s good continuity throughout the set. Same topline as the 902…all the toplines are exactly the same. I did that so you’d have the ability to mix and match.
  • “The 1031 has a lot of meat low and behind the center of the club. In my opinion, it’s the most forgiving from heel to toe. It tends to launch just a shade higher [than the 902]. In terms of materials…everything that we do at this point is 1020 carbon. The initial finish is all satin. The 1031 is now available in limited quantities in the black PVD finish. It’s our all-around, one-size-fits all iron…it’s our best-selling iron.”

Full piece.

7. Malbon x Puma
Interesting stuff as capsules and collaboration continue to come to golfwear.
From the folks at GD…”Since opening in 2017, Malbon Golf has been making big waves in golf. The skate-culture inspired golf shop on the trendy Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles has become a hangout for both professional golfers and Hollywood celebrities alike. Hats, gloves, apparel and other accessories with the company’s “Buckets” logo-a golf ball with a hat on-have been selling out almost instantly. It seems like every brand wants to collaborate with Malbon Golf, from ECCO shoes to Jones Golf Bags to Dormie Workshop, and the Malbon touch ups the cool factor on just about everything. The latest collaboration with Puma is one of the more exciting drops.”
  • “Working with [Stephen] Malbon and his team was a natural fit from day one,” Grant Knudson, Head of Footwear & Accessories at Puma Golf, said. “This uninhibited, outside-the-box approach resulted in a collection that anyone passionate about style and golf will appreciate-it’s a perfect mix where you can stand out without making a scene.”…The eight-piece collection including both apparel and accessories in a mainly navy-and-red color theme, is available now.”
  • “The Malbon 110 Snapback Cap ($42) will likely be the most popular item in the collection. It’s got a 3D Malbon embroidered buckets logo on the front and throwback Puma text on the bill that reads “One Step Ahead With Puma, For Puma Does It The Quality Way.” This street-style hat is unlike most golf hats out there style-wise, but with the moisture wicking sweatband, it will still perform well on the course.”
8. Your McCormack Medal winner is…
…Braden Thornberry.
  • Golfweek’s Brentley Romine writes…:As if Braden Thornberry needed any further validation that his homemade, unorthodox golf swing works, the Ole Miss senior just added another accomplishment to his impressive amateur resume.”
  • “Thornberry was awarded with the Mark H. McCormack Medal on Monday. The award goes to the top-ranked golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking following the U.S. Amateur each year.
9. Pepperell’s giveaway
Scene: last week’s Czech Masters...Keeley Levins writes…”The 27-year-old Englishman said that the fan earned the wedge by being the only guy on the property out there actively rooting for Pepperell. Take note, golf fans, every cheer matters.”
  • “If he’s still around he can have the other 13 maybe,” said Pepperell after his round. “He gave me a clap for my shot and he’s the only one I heard clapping, so I said here you go, you can have my lob wedge.”

 

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Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

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9 hours ago

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May 7, 2024

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GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.

From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.

Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.

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SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips

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1 day ago

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May 6, 2024

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SuperStroke announced today its purchase of 100-year-old grip maker Lamkin Grips, citing the company’s “heritage of innovation and quality.”

“It is with pride and great gratitude that we announce Lamkin, a golf club grip brand with a 100-year history of breakthrough design and trusted products, is now a part of the SuperStroke brand,” says SuperStroke CEO Dean Dingman. “We have always had the utmost respect for how the Lamkin family has put the needs and benefits of the golfer first in their grip designs. If there is a grip company that is most aligned with SuperStroke’s commitment to uncompromised research, design, and development to put the most useful performance tools in the hands of golfers, Lamkin has been that brand. It is an honor to bring Lamkin’s wealth of product innovation into the SuperStroke family.”

Elver B. Lamkin founded the company in 1925 and produced golf’s first leather grips. The company had been family-owned and operated since that point, producing a wide array of styles, such as the iconic Crossline.

According to a press release, “The acquisition of Lamkin grows and diversifies SuperStroke’s proven and popular array of grip offerings with technology grounded in providing golfers optimal feel and performance through cutting-edge design and use of materials, surface texture and shape.”

CEO Bob Lamkin will stay on as a board member and will continue to be involved with the company.

“SuperStroke has become one of the most proven, well-operated, and pioneering brands in golf grips and we could not be more confident that the Lamkin legacy, brand, and technology is in the best of hands to continue to innovate and lead under the guidance of Dean Dingman and his remarkably capable team,” Lamkin said.

Related: Check out our 2014 conversation with Bob Lamkin, here: Bob Lamkin on the wrap grip reborn, 90 years of history

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Tour Rundown: Pendrith, Otaegui, Longbella, and Dunlap soar

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1 day ago

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May 6, 2024

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Take it from a fellow who coaches high school golf in metro Toronto: there’s plenty of great golf played in the land of the maple leaf. All the greats have designed courses over the USA border: Colt, Whitman, Ross, Coore, Mackenzie, Doak, as well as the greatest of the land, Stanley Thompson. I’m partial to him, because he wore my middle name with grandeur. Enough about the architecture, because this week’s Tour Rundown begins with a newly-minted, Canadian champion on the PGA Tour. Something else that the great white north is known for, is weather. It impacted play on three of the world’s tours, forcing final-round cancellations on two of them.

It was an odd week in the golf world. The LPGA and the Korn Ferry were on a break, and only 13/15 of the rounds slated, were played. In the end, we have four champions to recognize, so let’s not delay any longer with minutiae about the game that we love. Let’s run it all down with this week’s Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour: TP takes TS at Byron’s place

The 1980s was a decade when a Canadian emergence was anticipated on the PGA Tour. It failed to materialize, but a path was carved for the next generation. Mike Weir captured the Masters in 2003, but no other countrymen joined him in his quest for PGA Tour conquest. 2024 may herald the long-awaited arrival of a Canadian squad of tour winners. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Nick Taylor break the fifty-plus year dearth of homebred champions at the Canadian Open, and players like Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Adam Svennson, and Mackenzie Hughes have etched their names into the PGA Tour’s annals of winners.

This week, Taylor Pendrith joined his mates with a one-shot win at TPC Craig Ranch, the home of the Byron Nelson Classic. Pendrith took a lead into the final round and, while the USA’s Jake Knapp faltered, held on for the slimmest of victories. Sweden’s Alex Noren posted six-under 65 on Sunday to move into third position, at 21-under par. Ben Kohles, a Texan, looked to break through for his first win in his home state. He took the lead from Pendrith at the 71st hole, on the strength of a second-consecutive birdie.

With victory in site, Kohles found a way to make bogey at the last, without submerging in the fronting water. His second shot was greenside, but he could not move his third to the putting surface. His fourth was five feet from par and a playoff, but his fifth failed to drop. Meanwhile, Pendrith was on the froghair in two, and calmly took two putts from 40 feet, for birdie. When Kohles missed for par, Pendrith had, at last, a PGA Tour title.

DP World Tour: China Open in Otaegui’s hands after canceled day four

It wasn’t the fourth round that was canceled in Shenzhen, but the third. Rains came on Saturday to Hidden Grace Golf Club, ensuring that momentum would cease. Sunday would instead be akin to a motorsports restart, with no sense of who might claim victory. Sebastian Soderberg, the hottest golfer on the Asian Swing, held the lead, but he would slip to a 72 on Sunday, and tie for third with Paul Waring and Joel Girrbach. Italy’s Guido Migliozzi completed play in 67 strokes on day three, moving one shot past the triumvirate, to 17-under par.

It was Spain’s Adrian Otaegui who persevered the best and played the purest. Otaegui was clean on the day, with seven birdies for 65. Even when Migliozzi ceased the lead at the 10th, Otaegui remained calm. With everything on the line, Migliozzi made bogey at the par-five 17th, as his principal competitor finished in birdie. To the Italian’s credit, he bounced back with birdie at the last, to claim solo second. The victory was Otaegui’s fifth on the DP World Tour, and first since October of 2022.

PGA Tour Americas: Quito’s rains gift title to Longbella

Across the world, superintendents and their staffs will do anything to prepare a course for play. Even after fierce, nightime rains, the Quito TG Club greeted the first four groups on Sunday. The rains worsened after 7 am, however, and the tour was forced to abort the final round of play. With scores reverting to Saturday’s numbers, Thomas Longbella’s one-shot advantage over Gunn Yang turned into a Tour Americas victory.

64 held the opening-day lead, and Longbella was not far off, with 66. Yang jumped to the top on day two, following a67 with 66. He posted 68 on day three, and anticipated a fierce, final-round duel for the title. As for Longbella, he fought off a ninth-hole bogey on Saturday with six birdies and a 17th-hole eagle. That rare bird proved to be the winning stroke, allowing Longbella to edge past Yang, and secure ultimate victory.

PGA Tour Champions: Dunlap survives Saturday stumble for win

Scott Dunlap did not finish Saturday as well as he might have liked. After beginning play near Houston with 65, Dunlap made two bogeys in his final found holes on day two, to finish at nine-under par. Hot on his heels was Joe Durant, owner of a March 2024 win on PGA Tour Champions. Just behind Durant was Stuart Appleby, perhaps vibing from his Sunday 59 at Greenbrier on this day in 2010. Neither would have a chance to track Dunlap down.

The rains that have forced emergency responders into action, to save hundreds of lives in the metro Houston area, ended hopes for a third day of play at The Woodlands. Dunlap had won once previously on Tour Champions, in 2014 in Washington state. Ten years later, Dunlap was the fortunate recipient of a canceled final round, and his two days of play were enough to earn him TC victory number two.

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