News

Hot Start In Paradise For 2011 PGA Tour

Published

15 years ago

Jan 10, 2011

By Scott MacLeod, via www.flagstick.com

One of the greatest bonuses for being a winner on the PGA Tour is the opportunity to get a head start on your competition the following year.

The winners-only Hyundai Tournament of Champions provides that prospect and it was Jonathan Byrd who took advantage – jumping to the top of the PGA Tour standings.

It was a promising launch to the 2011 season and the folks at PGA Tour Headquarters had to be pretty pleased to see a showdown in paradise take place with a playoff between two very likeable players. Especially with a prime-time television slot. What better way to get fans fired up for the year ahead?

A missed birdie putt to reach 25 under and win outright forced Byrd into a playoff with big-bombing Robert Garrigus who had whiffed a chance of his own (his putt was for eagle)on his final hole that would have nabbed him the win.

Byrd looked mis-matched in the playoff, giving up a huge length advantage to Garrigus in the playoff but his steady formed paid off in the end. After both making pars on the 1^st extra hole each played conservatively to the putting surface on the next hole.

Byrd cozied up his birdie approach, tapping it in for par while his competitor rushed his attempt to win outright just a little too far past the hole. His hurried putt caught little more than the edge of the hole and with that the first PGA Tour winner of 2011 was declared.

Garrigus, who was solid all week on the greens with his unusually short, 28” putter, admitted he made a critical mistake on his last stroke. “I just hit it too hard” he said in his post round television interview. “I wanted to take the break out of it. I played it inside right. I should’ve played it a little straighter.”

As for Byrd, he was elated with the victory, the 5^th of his career on the PGA Tour, and a guaranteed spot in the field of the same event for 2012.

“I felt good out there all day, “said the 32 year-old Anderson, South Carolina native. “I just kept giving myself opportunities.”

That strategy continues to work for Byrd who had a lot of momentum coming into this year. After a slow start in 2010 he capped off his Fall with a stupendous playoff victory at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital For Children Open where he made an ace on the 1^st extra hole to earn his spot in the field this week.

This victory not only earns him $1.12 million but also gives him the lead in the FedEx Cup Points with 500. He also bolsters his chances of representing the United States in the President’s Cup this Fall. With this early thrust he sets himself up for what could be his record season. His best year financially on the Tour was 2007 when he won just over $1.8 million.

Weather conditions were perfect at Maui’s Kapalua Plantation and more than a few players made a charge for the 1st win of the PGA Tour season as a result.

Graeme McDowell made the greatest advance on the field on Sunday. His 11 birdies added up to a record tying round of 62, good enough for third place. A missed short on the 18^th was all that kept him out of joining Byrd and Garrigus in the playoff but apparently a 12^th birdie was too much to ask for.

“I knew the guys were going to go low today. I just tried to keep my head down out there,” said McDowell of his incredible advance.

It was pretty impressive play from a guy who had just made an equipment sponsor switch from Callaway to Srixon. That said, he did have maintain two of the most critical clubs in his bag, the Callaway FT-Tour driver and Odyssey putter that he carried over from his old mix of sticks.

European Tour: Louis Louis!

While many of the world’s top players were enjoying the Hawaiian sunshine, another impressive cadre of players was tipping it up in the Africa Open in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa

2010 British Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen returned to form to win a three-way playoff with Chris Wood and Manuel Quiros.

Oosthuizen converted an 8 foot putt on the 1^st extra hole to earn his third European Tour victory and 158,000 Euro.

This report provided to GolfWRX.com by Canada’s Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick.com)

Tour Photo Galleries

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

Published

19 hours 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

3 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

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News

Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

3 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Around the world, the golf wheel spun this final week in May of 2026. From New Jersey to Austria, with stops in Korea, Texas, and North Carolina (don’t let me route your next trip) the world’s finest put their golf games on display. There were three playoffs, some known commodities and some new talent. It was the sort of week that we hope to have at this point in the seasons. June and July afford double-digit major events, and perhaps, one of this week’s champions will use this success as a springboard to new heights. Time to run it all down, tech style, in this week’s Tour Tech Rundown.

Thanks to WITBHub, Today’s Golfer, GolfWRX, and Inside Tour Golf for initial research into equipment.

PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge: Heroic Henley denies Cole

Eric Cole did nearly everything that a fellow can do, to secure a first PGA Tour title. He stayed one shot clear of Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin. He kept US Open champion Gary Woodland and wunderkind Michael Brennan two shots distant. He posted 70 on day four to reach twelve under par. And then, Russell Henley revealed his Dr. Strange cloak. Henley made 47 feet of birdie putts on holes 16, 17, and 18, to jump from minus-nine to twelve-deep, and secured a spot in a playoff with Cole. The duo returned to the final tee, and put on a stripe show.

Both golfers found the fairway off the tee, and Henley improved on his regulation play with an approach to four feet. Cole did himself proud, tucking an iron to a dozen feet, but he was unable to convert the putt for three. Henley is one of the best putters on tour, and he proved it once more by draining a putt for a fourth consecutive birdie, and a sixth PGA Tour title. For Eric Cole, that first victory should come, and soon. He has done everything necessary to earn the chalice lift.

Henley’s Suitcase

Driver: Titleist TSi3 at 10 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
Metal: Titleist TS3 at 16.5 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
Iron: Titleist T250 4-iron. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 5-6 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 48 and 50 degrees. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 54 and 60 degrees. Shaft: rue Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron T5 Tour Prototype

LPGA @ Shoprite LPGA: Welcome back, Celine!

Soo Bin Joo had her eyes on a maiden LPGA title. She held the lead after two rounds, then hit a red light at the intersection of can-I and how-To. Joo posted plus-two on day three in New Jersey, and dropped to a T4 finish, which was still a career-best for the young Korean golfer. Instead of a new face, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium.

Celine Boutier was the It Girl in 2023. She collected four victories, including a major title at Evian. Boutier reached world number one status, then simply faded into the background. No wins came her way over the next 30 months. On Sunday, she collected LPGA victory number seven, at the same trace as LPGA victory number two.

Day three saw Boutier manage the windswept Seaview Bay course with six birdies and a bogey. She was challenged in the end by Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who signed for a 66 of her own. Yubol came up one shot shy of the top ladder rung. Finishing in third place at -7, two back of the winner, was Ireland’s Lauren Walsh.

Celine’s Suitcase

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 at 9 degrees. Shaft: Graphite Design AD IZ-5
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops at 19 and 22 degrees. Shaft: KBS Hybrid Prototype
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Gen5.
Iron: PXG 0311 P Gen 4 5-9 irons
Wedge: PXG 0311 T Gen 4 PW
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II at 50, 54, 58 degrees
Putter: Bettinardi Studio Stock 3 DASS

DP World Tour @ Austrian Alpine: KK? KK!

Kota Kaneko has a rhythmic name. It has strong vowels and a run of voiceless stops in its crunchy K sounds. On Sunday in Austria, Kaneko put a stop to a challenge from Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and everyone else, and claimed a first-ever title on the DP World Tour. Gouveia did well to reach 16-under par over four days, but Kaneko held firm, two shots in the clear.

Davis Bryant of the USA also forged a strong challenge for the win. He ended in a tie with Gouveia for second place. Kaneko began and finished his final round in a bit of a malaise, but he caught fire midway through. Birdies at 10, 12, and 13 provided the necessary cushion to cruise to the finish line without breaking a serious sweat.

Kaneko’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping Max G440
Metals: TaylorMade Qi4D at 15, 16.5, 21, and 24 degrees
Irons: TaylorMade P760 5 and 6 irons
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW 7-9 irons
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design at 46, 52, 56, and 60 degrees
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Cruiser Arm Lock #7

Korn Ferry Tour @ UNC Health Championship: Improbably Alvaro

Alvaro Ortiz may have had a bit of scare on the outward nine on Sunday, but he came through in clutch fashion in the end. Ortiz began the day bogey-double, and added another double bogey at the 11th hole. He was mired in a downward trend, spiraling away from the top of the leader’s board. Ortiz found hope at the 14th, where his first birdie of the day tumbled home. Inspired, he closed with birdies and 17 and 18 to catch Ross Steelman at 10-under par, and the duo returned to the 18th deck for overtime.

The extra session concluded in brief time. Ortiz, buoyed by his newly-retrieved confidence, hit the fairway with driver, then approached to six feet and drained the putt. Gobsmacked, Steelman could do little more than smile and applaud, as his run at the top came to a close. The victory was the first for Ortiz on the KFT, and will implant him squarely in the chase for a PGA Tour promotion.

Alvaro’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping G430 MAX driver at 9 degrees loft
Metal: Ping G430 MAX 3W
Iron: Ping iDi Driving Iron
Irons: Ping Blueprint S irons
Wedges
Putter: Scottsdale TR Piper C

A party on the green!

Alvaro’s time comes in Raleigh with his first win @UNCHealthChamp ? pic.twitter.com/2dmtZdbSzk

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2026

LIV @ Korea: Me llamo Joaquin

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had been away from the LIV winner’s circle throughout all of 2026. This week in Korea, he reminded us that he is still a force to consider. Niemann chased down Taylor Gooch over the closing holes at Asiad Country Club, then claimed victory with a hole-one birdie in extra time. Bryson DeChambeau claimed solo third, one shot in arrears at minus-eleven. Dustin Johnson finished on fourth, one putt farther back.

Niemann’s Suitcase