News
Keegan Bradley signs apparel deal with Travis Mathew
A flat-brim hat, “Air Keegan” spikes and Travis Mathew apparel will be Keegan Bradley’s uniform for the 2014-2015 season. The company announced on Monday that Bradley has signed an apparel deal with Team Travis Mathew.
[youtube id=”3eX6j3pWdkI” width=”620″ height=”360″]
Bradley is ranked No. 28 in the Official World Golf Rankings, but he’s near the top of the fashion rankings on the PGA Tour, especially now that he’s on board Team Travis Mathew. The younger, hipper Southern-California brand should blend better with Bradley’s Air Jordan golf spikes and flat-brim hat.
“We are excited to welcome Keegan Bradley to the Travis Mathew family.” said Travis Mathew CEO Travis Brasher. “He is a perfect fit for our brand and exemplifies the Travis Mathew culture both on and off the course.”
Bradley previously wore Tommy Hilfiger apparel.
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News
Tour Rundown: Rose blooms, Rory rolls
This week last year, I found myself praying to the weather goddesses and gods that Rochester would be spared their wrath over the next seven days. The 2023 Oak Hill PGA Championship (that was slated for August when the contract was signed) was on the horizon, and I wanted my region to show well. Things turned out fine, with all four seasons making an appearance, a PGA Professional (Blockie!) stealing hearts, and a proven champion in Koepka (although I was pulling for Viktor.)
This year, no concerns. Louisville will shine this week at Valhalla, but we’ve matters to consider before we look to four days of coverage this week. Nelly did not win on the LPGA this week, so who did? The PGA Tour held two events in the Carolinas, and Tour Champions celebrated a major event in Alabama. Four noteworthy events to run down, so let’s head to RunDownTown and take care of business.
LPGA @ Founders Cup: Rose blooms
There was a sense that Rose Zhang might have a role in the 2020s version of the LPGA. After winning everything there was in amateur golf, she came out and won her first tournament as a professional. That was last May and, let’s be honest, who among us thought it would take 12 months for Zhang to win again? Rhymes with hero, I know.
This week in New Jersey, eyes were on Nelly Korda, as she made a run at a sixth consecutive win on the LPGA circuit. Korda ran out of gas on Saturday, and that was just fine. Madelene Sagstrom and Zhang had turned the soiree at Upper Montclair into a battle of birdies. Gabriela Ruffels came third at nine-under par. No one else reached double digits under par but Sagstrom and Zhang. They didn’t just reach -10…they more than doubled it.
Sagstrom had the look of a winner with five holes left to play. She was three shots clear of Zhang, at 23-under par. The Swede played her closing quintet in plus-one, finishing at 22-deep, 13 shots ahead of Ruffels. That performance we’d anticipated from Zhang? It happened on Sunday. She closed with four birdies in five holes to snatch victory number two, by two shots. Spring is a lovely time for a Rose in bloom.
Take a look back at hole No. 1… @rosezhang is living life on the edge ? pic.twitter.com/o6z6SK7TRA
— LPGA (@LPGA) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Wells Fargo: Rory the Fourth is crowned in Charlotte
Xander Schauffele is a likable lad. He has an Olympic gold medal on his shelf, and a few PGA Tour titles to his credit. Even X knows that even par won’t get much done in a final round unless conditions are brutal. They weren’t brutal at Quail Hollow on Sunday. X posted even par on day four. It kept him ahead of third-place finisher Byeong Hun An but gave him zero chance of challenging for the title.
Paired with Xander in round four was the King of Quail, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman had previously won thrice at the North Carolina track, and he was champing at the bit to gain some momentum on the road to Louisville. While Xander scored increasingly worse along the week (64-67-70-71) McIlroy saved his best round for the final round. Thanks to five birdies and two eagles, McIlroy ran away with the event, winning his fourth Wells Fargo by five over Schauffele.
HOLE-OUT EAGLE FOR RORY!!!
He now leads by SIX! pic.twitter.com/UE49lwfwNC
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Myrtle Beach Classic: a little CG won the inaugural week
It always seemed odd that the PGA Tour had zero stops along the Grand Strand each season. This week’s event seemed odd in that the golfers played the same course each day, and there were zero handicaps involved. Most events at Myrtle Beach involve hundreds of amateurs at dozens of courses, with all sorts of handicaps.
The Dunes Club is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course, down toward Pawley’s Island. It claims what used to be considered an unreachable, par-five hole, the watery 13th. Nothing is unreachable any longer, including a 22-under par total for a six-shot win. Chris Gotterup, a former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer, played sizzling golf all week and won by a sextet of shots. Gotterup opened with 66, then improved to 64 on Friday. His Saturday 65 sounded a beacon of “come get me,” and his closing 67 ensured that second place was the only thing up for grabs.
Chasing the podium’s second level were a bunch of young Americans. In the end, Alastair Docherty and Davis Thompson reached 16-deep, thanks to rounds of 64 and 68 on Sunday. They held off six golfers at 15-under par. The victory was Gotterup’s first on tour and should be enough to get him a Wikipedia page, among other plaudits.
Leader by SIX!
@ChrisGotterup | @MyrtleBeachC pic.twitter.com/TVdA6ZPYc4— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour Champions @ Regions Traditions: Vindication for Dougie
Doug Barron, if I recall correctly, was suspended by the Powers That Be, way back in 2009, for testosterone. He was naturally low in the hormone, so he took supplements. This did not sit well with certain admins, so he was put on the shelf for 18 months. Not cool.
In 2019, Barron came out on the Tour Champions. He won in August. The next year, despite the craziness of Covid, he won again. Barron hit a dry spell for a few years. He kept his card, but accrued no additional victories. In late April, Barron showed serious signs of life, with a t2 at Mitsubishi. This week in Birmingham, he jumped out to a lead, lost it, then gained it back on Saturday. With major championship glory on the line, Barron brought the train into the station with 68 on Sunday.
Stephen Alker, the man who could not lose just two years ago, gave serious chase with a closing 63. He moved up 11 slots, into solo 2nd on Sunday. He finished two shots back of the champion. Two shots ain’t much. Cough once and you drop a pair. Third place saw a three-way tie, including last year’s winner (Steve Stricker) and runner-up (Ernie Els.) Despite the intimidating presence of the game’s greats, however, Doug Barron had more than enough of everything this week, and he has a third Tour Champions title to show off.
At the @RegionsTrad, all champions receive a green bike.
Doug Barron decided to take a victory lap ? pic.twitter.com/bEzENMjZwv
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 13, 2024
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Spotted: Tommy Fleetwood’s TaylorMade Spider Tour X Prototype putter
Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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Pat M
May 16, 2015 at 9:50 pm
KB and Pepsi are idiots.
Rich
Jan 23, 2015 at 4:31 pm
Keegan Bradley is possibly the biggest dork of all time. Nothing will change that, especially not those stupid air Keegan shoes he wears.
RG
Dec 18, 2014 at 5:43 am
So in a game where grown men use stuffed animals for headcovers and put neon colors on their clubs people in this forum are commenting that flat billed hats and MJ shoes are ridiculous??!! I’ve got news for you mental defectives, Golf is ridiculous!
The Hammer
Dec 17, 2014 at 11:40 am
Its the style these days, look at 3/4 of younger golfers and they are wearing flat bills and snapbacks, its the current trend! Everyone thats saying that they look stupid are just jealous they cant get paid to wear trendy clothes and play golf for a living…bottom line. Plus the Jordans look sweet, its no different that someone wearing yellow nike shoes or any other crazy colored shoes. All these comments are just people hating that he has style and they dont. Thats it.
theFairwayMole
Dec 17, 2014 at 9:19 am
Best part of the clip: 0:07 – 0:09.
TheBrokenTee
Dec 17, 2014 at 2:04 am
Just wondering, is there any way to buy air jordans?
tom
Dec 16, 2014 at 7:51 pm
This guy is really looking for attention wearing Jordans on the golf course. Ridiculous.
Beacher50
Dec 17, 2014 at 1:22 am
Naw, he’s just being paid well to look ridiculous.
Carlos Danger
Dec 16, 2014 at 2:25 pm
Flat bill hats are the “Bluetooth” of golf.
I dont care what clothing company he signs with, a tall dorky white dude in high tops and a flat bill hat looks horrible. Maybe if he was working at one of the cell phone kiosks at the mall it would be acceptable, but not golfing.
Did someone tell Rory he looks like a character out of the Hobbit movies (more than usual) in his flat bill hat?
Beacher50
Dec 17, 2014 at 1:27 am
Everyone looks dorky in those hats, and one day they will realize it to. A young coworker wears a flat billed hat, to work even sometimes, and he has upward ambitions, I told him the first thing he needs to do is ditch the hat. Not one executive is going to take him serious when he wears a hat like that to a golf outing, much less to the office. Facts are facts, and unless you’re a rapper your not going to get far with the traditional business man when dressed like a punk.
RG
Dec 18, 2014 at 5:39 am
This comment brought to you by bias and stupidity.
Supermangolf
Dec 16, 2014 at 12:57 pm
Awesome sign for both sides! TM gets one of the greatest players in regards to raw talent and intensity, I mean we all know Keegan for his impressive Ryder Cup debut. And Keeg wins with one of the best companies in the industry, really nothing to complain about with anything TM designs. Maybe less stripes though, stay with the clean cut solid colors and bold collars, that gray hat he has on in the video looks awesome.
Brodie Hock
Dec 16, 2014 at 9:15 am
I am less likely to wear TM now…
Beacher50
Dec 16, 2014 at 12:31 am
Flat brimmed hats should be banned…and ears tucked in, talk about dorky looking.
I have to think one day (like those of use who had long hair and wore bell bottoms back in the day)that those wearing flat brims with their ears tucked in well say “what were we thinking!!!”
Billy
Dec 16, 2014 at 1:16 am
Idiotic comment. It’s just a hat.
Ben
Dec 16, 2014 at 8:15 am
Oh Beacher… stop being an old fuddy duddy. I can assure you the guys who like flat brim hats talk about you too. How can you still wear saddle shoes to play golf?
Beacher50
Dec 17, 2014 at 1:20 am
Talk to me in 10 years, even an ol fuddy duddy like me will be around yet.
RG
Dec 18, 2014 at 5:33 am
Of course they will…it’s the cycle of life. This generation is entitled to it’s own look. Let’s try and keep our underwear in our pants though.
Conservative White Guy
Dec 16, 2014 at 12:30 am
Kb is a perfect TM type and those Jordans are awesome!
RAT
Dec 15, 2014 at 9:00 pm
Keegan is not the Travis Type and the Air Jordan’s suck!
Keegan Bradley
Dec 15, 2014 at 9:57 pm
I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Michael Jordan
Dec 16, 2014 at 7:01 am
Agreed
Travis Matthew
Dec 16, 2014 at 7:02 am
I hate you guys
Tiger Woods
Dec 17, 2014 at 7:23 pm
I’d rather just wear my own shoes.
John Daly
Dec 18, 2014 at 12:37 am
I’m going drinking…
Anthony Kim
Dec 18, 2014 at 12:37 am
See you there JD.
Kasey
Dec 15, 2014 at 8:27 pm
So happy to see him join TM. What a great move for both. LOVE the Jordans too. Keegs is paving his own way, like Rickie did a few years ago. It will do nothing but good things for him. The stuffy, middle-aged may not like his clothing or shoe choices, but their opinions don’t matter much. #gokeegs
Pat
Dec 15, 2014 at 8:38 pm
LOL. And most people don’t take kids like you seriously either. The hipster look is only appealing to teenagers and kids in their early to mid 20’s which is a tiny segment of the population.
kess
Dec 15, 2014 at 10:10 pm
His look doesn’t quite qualify as hipster. I see the dirty little hipsters all over DC. But a young look is fine and appealing to the 18-34 demographic is the Mecca for marketing.
JustTrying2BAwesome
Dec 15, 2014 at 10:21 pm
And though the under 30 are a smaller segment, they also spend tons of money to look good. Old people in general could care less if they look good, or fashionable, especially on the golf course. Also, the old people are only getting older. At some point, and probably relatively soon, will stop being able to play altogether. The under 30 crowd is the future of the game, and if it’s going to thrive, there has to be an excitement to get kids into it. If flashy clothes and/or clubs do it, then flash it up kids. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.
Conservative White Guy
Dec 16, 2014 at 12:29 am
You call that hipster?!? that’s about as hipster as Arnold Palmer on a Sunday.
This signing is a perfect match and those shoes are sweet looking. MJ is as old as a goat now and yet still moves the needle.
other paul
Dec 16, 2014 at 12:08 am
Who is going to carry golf forward when old people die? Young people. The next generation of old men playing are going to look great doing it. But first we need the old people to teach us young ones to play. Best short game lesson I ever got was from an 83 year old man who couldn’t hit the ball 100 yards but chipped it inside 10′ on every hole (drove me nuts)
Beacher50
Dec 16, 2014 at 12:33 am
Young people turn into old people….yup you can’t fence time, and your thoughts on what looks good and acceptable will change as well.