Tour News

Mickelson claws through his putting woes

Published

12 years ago

Sep 5, 2012

Zak Kozuchowski

By Zak Kozuchowski

GolfWRX Managing Editor

If at first you don’t succeed, try something different.

That seems to be the putting mantra of PGA Tour players these days, who are accommodating new putters and putting styles at a faster rate than ever.

But even with a record number of players using unconventional putting methods, it came as a surprise when four-time major champion Phil Mickelson was seen putting with an modified claw grip on the greens at the Barclays Championship two weeks ago. Maybe even more surprising was how well Mickelson putted using the grip.

Mickelson used a belly putter for the first time during the 2011 PGA Tour Race for the FedExCup, but his results left much to be desired. This time around in 2012, however, Mickelson’s new putting style has yielded spectacular results. Using the grip last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship, he finished fourth in the Tour’s Strokes Gained-Putting statistic, moving him from 12th to sixth for the year.

“[With the new grip] His touch has been so phenomenal,” Jim “Bones” Mackay, Mickelson’s longtime caddie, said. “Not only from 15 feet and in, but his touch from 40 feet has been so good.”

With Mickelson’s new grip, his right hand is in a traditional position, but the index finger and thumb of his left hand are the only part of his left hand on the putter grip. Not surprisingly, Mickelson, who has struggled with missed short putts in the past, said he plans to continue to use the grip going forward. Time will tell if the grip is just another one of Mickelson’s experiments, or if the change will stick.

Take a look of the pictures of Mickelson’s grip below, and click here for more discussion in the “Tour Talk” forum.

Your Reaction?

LIKE1
LEGIT0
WOW0
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK0

News

Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

Published

8 hours ago

May 7, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

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

2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Monday #1

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

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

Your Reaction?

LIKE3
LEGIT0
WOW0
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK0

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Published

1 week ago

Apr 30, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).

Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.

We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.

Check out links to all our photos below.