Tour News
Monday Tour Mash: Paddy’s return to the winner’s circle
Hurricane Honda Brings Early St. Padraig’s Day
With the winter weather the rest of the country has managed, should the PGA Tour complain about delays, water blisters on greens, floating scoreboards and a Monday finish?
It came 15 days too early (St. Patrick’s Day is March 17), but Padraig (Harrington) and Patrick (Reed) battled down the stretch at the Honda Classic after (O’)Danny Berger torched the course with a final-round 64 to move to 6-under par. Then Reed went 4-over in three holes and Padraig doubled No. 17 — but birdied No. 18 — to get himself to 6-under. Whew! PLAYOFF!
After pars on No. 18, the duo went to No. 17, where Berger’s tee ball got wet and Harrington’s stayed dry for the win.
Coincidence of the week? James Hahn was ranked No. 297 in the Official World Golf Rankings before his win last week at Riviera. Guess who replaced him at that number? Yep, St. Padraig.
Winning WITB: See the clubs Harrington used to win
Crate Those Caddies!
Two weeks ago, I was tempted to write about the caddie lawsuit against the PGA Tour. Now, I have no alternative.
A question for you: On Saturday, with lightning delays from morning until evening, the caddies were offered refuge in:
- The clubhouse
- Another secure building
- An oversized metal crate with no door
If you chose the third option, you might be called as a witness once the trial begins. It might have been a vindictive play by someone who thought “We’ll show those serfs!” It could have been another oversight in what the caddies allege is “second-class treatment” by the PGA Tour. Or, it might have been the result of some other nexus of notions and decisions.
It doesn’t look good and the Tour is fortunate that no one was injured in the box.
Further Reading: Caddie frustrations continue after shelter incident at the Honda Classic
You Can’t Handle The Pressure! (Or can you?)
Most of us can’t. Are we comforted by the knowledge that PGA Tour pros can’t either?
A study was released in February that attempted to quantify one reason — the amount of money that’s on the line on a 72nd-hole putt from 6-to-10 feet — why even the golfers of the PGA Tour are not immune to pressure.
Regardless of the preparation, drills to handle pressure and the psychological training that precede events, it all comes down to the moment. What the study admittedly doesn’t cover is the myriad situations that also get filed under pressure: holding a final-round lead; executing up and downs… you get the idea.
There’s a lot of pressure, so don’t stress over your putts this season. Oh, and this leads us to…
Ko Handles Homeland Pressure, Lewis Fades In Thailand
Two highly-ranked female golfers had very different results this weekend when faced with the pressures of winning important tournaments. No. 1-ranked Lydia Ko, who is 17 years old, posted a ridiculous 61 in Saturday’s second round and threw another three birdies at her challengers in the first six holes on Sunday on her way to winning the Women’s New Zealand, her nation’s national championship.
In direct contrast, Stacy Lewis (No. 3 in the world) has stolen glances at title opportunities twice this season, but has yet to steal a victory. Poor final rounds have done her in, so the answers to her questions remain elusive. While eventual Honda Thailand winner Amy Yang more than erased her two Sunday bogeys with five birdies, Lewis was undone by a late double bogey and relegated to yet another close, but no cigar result.
In case you think that pressure management is a young thing, it isn’t. Charley Hull (18) of England has struggled with chances at victory each of the last two weeks, as has Ariya Jutanugarn (19) of Thailand. Each of the young women continue to stumble to a 76ish score at some point, something that young Lydia is not known to do.
What Ko has can’t be quantified, amalgamated or synthesized in any laboratory. We last saw it from 1996 to 2009 in Tiger Woods and if we’re fortunate, we’ll have another opportunity to observe its magic.
Further Reading: Ko now has more wins than Lexi Thompson and Michelle Wie combined
Ben Crenshaw Final Masters 2015
Every golfing generation looks to an old soul for direction. The golfer represents things that are recognized as bygone, yet still valued (perhaps even more than before) to this day. When those golfers leave the game, either by choice or other means, there occurs an extended moment of reflection and tribute.
Come the 2015 Masters, a mammoth-sized salute will be offered to Ben Daniel Crenshaw. The two-time Masters champion announced last week that he will compete in his 44th Augusta Spring Invitational (as it was once called by Bobby Jones) and will then slip into the tournament shadows, returning for fellowship and as host of the Tuesday-evening Past Champions dinner.
When you think of Crenshaw, you might recall his putting stroke, his 1995 Masters victory the same week his mentor and coach, Harvey Penick, was laid to rest, or the unwavering belief in fate and his U.S. Team at the 1999 Ryder Cup matches.
If you are a student of golf course architecture, you might have played Streamsong Red or Sand Hills, Bandon Trails or The Lost Farm, or any of the other 15 courses that Crenshaw and his design partner, Bill Coore, have created over the past 30 years. Never did a PGA Tour golfer hitch his design wagon to so talented an architect.
Crenshaw and his other partner, Carl Jackson (his Augusta National caddie) will make one final appearance on golf’s greatest stage, so grab some Kleenex and brush up on your Crenshaw biography.
Missed The Cut
- Brooks Koepka’s Attitude
Bounce-Back Brooks, you could call him (if you were a cheeseball announcer, which you’re not.) After opening with a 78 at PGA National, Koepka returned Friday with a vengeance. He slogged through the foul weather and signed for a mere 64 strokes, elevating him from early hotel check-out to let’s stick around for the weekend.
- Tiger Tiger Burning Bluejack and Kid Rock’s Advice
You can’t keep a good man down, nor can you keep Tiger Woods out of the golf news cycle. This week, his presence is due to a media tour of Bluejack National, his redo of a Coore-Crenshaw (sacrilege!) Texas layout. Oh, and the profound advice proffered by Kid Rock, telling Tiger to “loosen up, man!”
Oh, and the fact that Tiger is more interested in being a dad these days than practicing. For the moment, competitive Tiger is on the blocks, awaiting a tune-up. Will the siren call of Augusta National alter that outlook?
- Smiling Assassin Version 2K15
Not since Shigeki Maruyama made his name and teeth known to golfdom has a grinner the likes of Andy Sullivan made the scene.
Sullivan crafted an exquisite 66 to overtake a number of staunch challengers and win a second European Tour title in three months. Sullivan’s first tour triumph came in January at the South African Open. A return to the soil did the Englishman well, as he captured the Joburg Open by two strokes. In addition to the victory, Sullivan earned a spot in the 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews in July.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tom Duckworth
Mar 2, 2015 at 5:46 pm
Happy for Harrington glad to see him winning. Also good to see Wilson irons in the winners circle again.
Ronald Montesano
Mar 2, 2015 at 6:29 pm
Absolutely accurate on both counts, Tom. One of the great brands. I recall my 1980s era Wilson Staffs fondly.
Golfraven
Mar 2, 2015 at 3:55 pm
Congrats to Paddy, am sure Guinness will be flowing in Dublin now.