News

Interview with a Tour Rep – Part Two

Published

19 years ago

Sep 17, 2007

At every tour stop, before many of the players have even turned up there will be an army of manufacturers’ representatives ready to fulfil players’ equipments desires. On the European Tour, one of these is Paul Constantine, the Tour rep for T.P.Mills putters. Here is the second half of our exclusive Golfwrx interview.

Golfwrx: How do you make yourself different from the other putter manufacturers?

Paul: We like to emphasis the quality of our product and that that every putter has passed through David Mill’s hands. We don’t have some massive production line, this is still a hand made and hand crafted product and this is true for all our putters. What you see the pros play is exactly what you can buy from us. Amongst other achievements we were the first to make the putter head black, the first to mark the sweet spot, the first to use the slant heel. This gives us a level of prestige and authority that sets us apart anyway. Because we don’t pay players to play us, we have to make the best putters to get them in play, it’s that simple. The years of knowledge and the high level components of our putters mean that we can customise a putter – bend some loft on, gooseneck it a little – to make it exactly to the player’s specifications.

Golfwrx: Do you pay much attention to the secondary market?

Paul: While you don’t often see a tour Mills putter on eBay or in BST forums, I do occasionally get emails from David saying ‘have a look here, I remember making that one’ or ‘that one is actually a rare handmade’ so he definitely does keep on top of that. Our putters are unique enough that we can do that and it’s very interesting to see how golfers value our putters, especially the older ones.

Golfwrx: So what’s your biggest satisfaction?

Paul: Knowing what the player is going to feel when they pick up a putter and try it out. That the putter is going to perform for them and then have them take it away, use it and, of course, hopefully watch them win with it. With T.P. Mills there are basically 3 types of players. The first group are the younger players and those who are new to the tour who don’t really know the brand. You see these guys get blown away by how the putters perform and they always ask how come they haven’t heard about them before. The second group are the guys who know the brand from the Spalding TPM and Mizuno days back in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and even the early 90’s when the brand was at its most commercial. The third group are the guys that have played and won with our putters: Faldo, Monty, Langer, Olazábal and others. Each of these groups reacts differently to playing our putters, some knowingly but others surprised at how balanced the putters feel. The greatest satisfaction I get is seeing them all putt well with our putter.

Golfwrx: And your biggest frustrations?

Paul: When you are competing for a spot in a players bag against others who are willing to pay to get their clubs in play. Not so much for me but when you are in a situation where you know you have a quality putter, the player knows you have a quality putter but they have signed a 14 club deal and while they love the club they just can’t use it. I had this situation not too long ago with a major winner of the last 10 years. He picked up one of our putters and just started draining everything, and I mean everything, that he hit. Eight foot, 10 foot, 12 foot and out it didn’t matter, he just couldn’t seem to miss. Because he had a 14 club deal all he could do was put the club back, smile and then walk away swearing!

I said earlier that we are pretty unusual in that we don’t pay any players to play our clubs. In fact, until recently players had to buy their clubs! We have a gallery of the cheques from famous players that paid for their putters like Phil Mickelson’s for the putter he used when he beat Tiger at the Buick in 2000. Getting our putters into players hands is easy, getting them into their bags is tough and getting them to keep them in their can be almost impossible. That’s just a fact of the competitive market.

As much as we and I’m sure the players would like, we are also limited on the amount of tour stops we make. Flying around Europe on a weekly basis is not financially viable for a privately owned company.

Golfwrx: What are the perks of your job?

Paul: I know that some people are going to think that we get access to all sorts of free gear but that’s just not true, I just wish it was! I might get the occasional free glove or dozen balls every now and then but that’s about it. There’s no sort of schoolyard swap meet going on where you swap your merchandise for someone else’s which seems to be the biggest fantasy about being a Tour Rep! The biggest perks of the job are being able to watch the greats of the game do their thing and watch it from up close.

Golfwrx: Do you make a decent wage from this job?

Paul: I can’t speak for the big OEM’s, though I would imagine that they are salaried and have expenses taken care of. Being small the Mills Co doesn’t pay a salary or expenses to any of its reps. What I am able to do is have David make me a few putters to cover expenses.

Golfwrx: Do you ever have any bizarre requests from the pros?

Paul: Funnily enough, no. The pros tend to be far less picky than your average golfer. If there’s a scratch on the bottom of the club because another pro has taken it out to test it previous or there is a slight cosmetic imperfection in the milling of the cavity, they don’t care. If they do want something different and we don’t have it to hand then it’s something we can get made up in a couple of weeks and get it to them at the next Tour stop or even have it delivered to their home.

What the pros tend to request are things that directly affect the playing characteristics of the club, say more offset or different loft or a changed grip or hosel and not just the appearance of the club. Wedges and putters are the two most individual clubs in a player’s bag so these things can make a big difference about making it acceptable to the player. Ultimately it’s all about getting it in the bag.

News

5 Things we Learned: Thursday at the U.S.. Women’s Open

Published

17 hours ago

Jun 5, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Gone are the days when the U.S. Women’s Open was held at Scenic Hills or Churchill Valley. Fine courses that they are (or were, as Churchill Valley went bankrupt a decade ago) there is something to be said for the venue. Not all Women’s Open playings need to take place on Men’s Open venues, but some should. This week in Los Angeles, the Women’s Open visits Riviera Country Club for the first time. Down the road, we will visit Inverness, Oakmont, Interlachen, Oak Hill, Chicago Golf, and Merion. That is quite the murderer’s row (1927 Yankees reference) of golf clubs.

What can we expect from the 2026 tournament? Greatness and uncertainty. Unlike the PGA Tour, which visits Riviera each February, the LPGA does not, so the women will not have nearly the body of work over the George C. Thomas layout. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe they’ll play #10 smarter than the men do. Maybe they’ll figure some things out that their male counterparts can not. For today, we’ll try to find five things to learn, and share them with you.

First, this ain’t your momma’s U.S. Open course

How do we know? Well, so far, only one previous champion currently sits inside the top thirty. That would be Minjee Lee, the 2022 winner at Southern (NC) Pines. Lee made par on her first nine holes, the inward side at Riviera. She dropped birdie putts on the first and ninth holes (ten and eighteen for her day) and tallied another seven pars, for 69. She sits three shots off Jennifer Kupcho’s opening 66. Don’t worry about Kupcho; we’ll get to her. After Lee, defending champion Maja Stark ranks T30 at even par, joined by three other, former winners.

What Minjee did, is the sort of thing that wins U.S. Open titles. She guided her ship safely past swells, and made a move when the waters calmed. The fewer the bogeys, the more likely Minjee figures in the outcome on Sunday evening in Pacific Palisades. Off the tee, Lee was unmatched. She hit 14 of 14 fairways. Her iron play was a bit loose in comparison. She putted for birdie on 12 of 18 holes, which meant that her recovery short game was on point. Lee was ten yards longer on measured driving holes than the field average, and was below the field average (a good thing) in putting.

Second, the amateurs beat a loud drum

Three of the world’s top amateur golfer posted 70, placing them four off the lead, in a tie for 14th place. Canada’s Aphrodite Deng, Spain’s Paula Francisco Llaño, and Colombia’s Maria José Marin, showed the professional world that their game is strong. Both Deng and Francisco Llaño collected five birdies on the day. Should they match that output on day two, and minimize the foozles, they’ll be the topic of conversation on Saturday morning. Marin, the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion and an NCAA team semifinalist last week, played a game similar to Minjee Lee: few mistakes and few taken risks.

The last amateur to post the low medal score for 72 holes was Jenny Chuasiriporn in 1998. She lost a playoff to Se Ri Pak, who matched her plus-six effort at Blackwolf Run. The last amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open was Catherine Lacoste in 1967. The amateurs are stronger than they’ve ever been, but the professionals have not allowed them to close the gap. A victory by one of the college set would be a cannon shot heard round the world. Could it happen? Absolutely. Is it likely? Not at all.

Third, let’s talk Kupcho

Jennifer Kupcho won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She won three times on tour in 2022, including the Chevron, a major title. She won a fourth event in 2025, but has not established the winning credentials projected on her after 2022’s marvelous coming-out.

Kupcho hails from Colorado, and spent four years in the Carolina Piedmont, at Wake Forest Universtiy. Neither of those locales cries out I’ll be at home at Riviera, but here we are, after a seven-birdie performance. Kupcho posted birdie on each of her first three holes, and added four more (against two bogeys) to assume a one-shot advantage over Korea’s Sei Young Kim.

Kupcho drove the ball decently, approached moderately well, but putted lights out on Thursday. Her 26 putts were tied for best in show on day one. There might just be something about the putting surfaces at Riviera that aligns with Kupcho’s vibe. If that is the case, just get the ball on the green, anywhere, and let the flatstick do the lifting.

Fourth, how young is Sei Young?

Sei (pronounced “So”) Young Kim won a dozen times from 2015 to 2020. She took time off from winning until 2025, shen she captured a thirteenth LPGA title. Like Kupcho, Kim has hardware from one major event, the 2020 Women’s PGA Championship. How to explain the five years away from victory? No idea. When Sei Young was in contention during the prime of her career, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

What to expect over the next three days at Riviera? Anyone’s guess. It might be the 2015-2020 Sei Young, or it could be the 2021-2025 version. Kim began her day with birdies at 10 and 11, then settled into a stretch of pars before her solitary bogey at the 4th (her 13th) hole. Kim regained her composure and reeled in three birdies to close the front nine. Her four-under performance trails Kupcho alone, and there is a real chance that Sei Young will produce a second score in the 60s and take a bit of control of the tournament.

Fifth, we’re giddy for Gaby

Although I cannot place my finger on why, it seems that each year, Gaby Lopez pops up on the U.S. Open leaderboard. She hasn’t figure out how to remain in contention, but here we are, in 2026, and Lopez is once again in the mix. The three-time champion on the LPGA circuit had a stunning first nine holes, turning in minus-five. She reached six deep at her tenth hole, but then gave three shots back coming home. Which Gaby will show up on Friday, and for how long? If back-nine Gaby can somehow channel front-nine Gaby, all outcomes are within reach. If the loose play continues, Lopez’ wiki page will add one more T41 to her majors column.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open

Published

2 days ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX Tour Photographer made the trip from the Memorial Tournament across the country to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera. Check out links to all the photos below!

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

4 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at the Memorial Tournament, with both Alistair Cameron and Tour Photographer Greg Moore on the ground in Dublin, Ohio, where a strong field is assembled to pay homage to the Golden Bear.

In addition to WITB galleries, we’ve already been treated to an in-hand look at Tommy Fleetwood’s new TaylorMade Spider putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums