Connect with us

News

GolfWRX Morning 9: Daly continues USGA roast | New data: We’re not very good at buying the right clubs I Woodsian putter switch?

Published

6 years ago

on

Good morning, GolfWRX members. As most of you are signed up for our newsletters, you likely already know that I’ve been sending this little Morning 9 roundup of nine items of note.

In case you’ve missed it, or you prefer to read on site rather than in your email, we’re including it here. Check out today’s Morning 9 below.

If you’re not signed up for our newsletters, you can subscribe here.
By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])
Good Wednesday morning, golf fans.
1. Stop the golf equipment presses! A new wand for Woods…maybe
The golf equipment world was in a tizzy yesterday when Tiger Woods showed up to the practice green at TPC Potomacwith a TaylorMade TP Black Copper Ardmore 3. He put the club in the bag during his Tuesday practice round, leading many to speculate he could, perhaps, make the switch from his vaunted Excalibur.
  • Woods told reporters he began practicing with the putter recently.
  • “I’ve been down in the Bahamas the last week, so I’m really gonna give it a good test today and tomorrow because it’s not Bermuda (greens). I’ve been playing Bermuda the entire week. So this is very different and I just want to see how it rolls out here. Put it through its paces.”
  • Could this really happen? Could he shelve his legendary Scotty Cameron Newport 2?
  • “I’m trying something out. The way I’ve been putting, I wanted to look for a change. That’s all it is. It rolls good. You never know.”
You never know, indeed. I put the odds at 3/1 that he actually puts the Ardmore in play. Do you take that bet?

 

2. The fitters speak!
Between manufacturers and consumers is/can be/should be an important entity: club fitters. They know equipment better than you. Often, they know what will suit your golf swing better than you (with appropriate testing and data). So, it’s interesting (vital, even) to hear what they have to say.

 

Fortunately, GolfWRX conducted a survey of top fitters to get the answers to some important questions.

 

Here are a few.
  • 56% of players need more loft on their driver
  • 50% of golfers play a shaft that is too stiff
  • 65% of golfers need to play irons that are more forgiving
  • 67% of golfers have their adjustable drivers set up incorrectly
PSA: This is why you need to get fit!

 

 

3. Daly doubles down
Not content to merely lambaste the USGA for its decision regarding his desire to use a golf cart at the U.S. Senior Open, John Daly is hitting Mike Davis and company where it hurts: in the Shinnecock…Hills.
  • “The USGA just seems to defend themselves after the fact,” Daly said, adding that “the greens seem to get away from them like Saturday at Shinnecock Hills. It just seems like something happens every year they host an event that looks bad on them. They just never seem to learn from their mistakes.”

 

4. That ridiculous story about Ernie Els beating the crap out of Steve Marino? It’s true.
Oh boy. This is a good one. The long-time rumor was further substantiated earlier this month when a friend of a friend to Marino, retired hockey player Mike Commodore, appearedon Barstool Sports’ Spittin Chiclets podcast and said this.
  • “They get on the plane. It’s just the two of them. They’re crushing beers. They take off. Have some food. This and that. They’re having a blast. Marino’s like, ‘This is the greatest time of my life! I’m flying private. I’m crushing beers!’
  • “They’re standing kind of in the aisle or whatever and Ernie Els comes up to him and says something like, ‘Are you having a good time?’…and Els is like, ‘Now we fight!’ and straight-up headbutts him..hard…Ernie starts throwing him around all over the place, and the co-pilot comes back screaming.”
  • Els essentially confirmed the story was true on the No Laying Up podcast earlier this week.
5. Feherty
It must be difficult to have to make people laugh when you yourself want to cry. Add to this David Feherty’s demons, and the difficulty of the period of time since his son’s passing has to be unthinkably difficult for Feherty.
  • Bill Speros profiles the commentator/host/comedian…”Feherty has battled drug and alcohol addition for many years but found that he could not say “no” to his own son’s request for money, even though he believed in his head that money would likely fuel his son’s drug habit.”
  • “On Shey’s 29th birthday-July 29, 2017- Feherty got a call from his son, Rory, saying that Shey died earlier in the day. His death was ruled by a coroner to be the result of a mixture of alcohol and cocaine.”
  • ‘”The truth is, I’d broken down on several occasions and given him money again. He was so sweet, and I couldn’t say no to him. Plus, like all of us addicts, he was a very good liar. He convinced me the money wasn’t for drugs. I’m sure I knew deep down he was lying, but I wanted to believe he was really on the way to coming out on the other side,” he told Golf Digest.”

 

6. Woods working toward a more level educational playing field
USA Today’s Steve Dimeglio does a heck of job profiling some of the good work being done by the Tiger Woods Foundation. Beyond platitudes and big money donations, the Foundation takes a sensible, result-orientated approach that’s continually refined…which Woods himself is very much a part of.
  • Dimeglio writes…”Opened in 2006, the Learning Lab is the backbone of Woods’ goal to provide kids a safe place to learn, explore and grow. The Lab offers students from low-income households and underfunded schools a variety of classes in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).”
  • “Hitting a golf shot isn’t going to make anything better,” said Woods, the headliner in this week’s Quicken Loans National at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in Bethesda, Maryland. “What we’re going to do, beyond our lifetimes, is lead education into the future. And that to me is far more important than anything I have ever won.

Read it.

7. To play, or not to play?
Scheduling, for the high-level professional golfer, is a ballet of moving parts, competing interests, compromises, and ultimately, sacrifices.
  • Graham Parker examines the conundrums in an excellent piece for the New York Times.
  • “For players and managers there’s a calculus at play when deciding which tournaments to play each summer – one that is informed not just by the travel logistics of juggling between European and PGA Tour events, but by a player’s performance, tour standings and (in Ryder Cup years) the chance to get a preview of tournament venues.”
  • “It can make for difficult decisions. Francesco Molinari, who is fourth in the European Ryder Cup rankings and is 15th in the world rankings, has spoken in the past of how he “loves” Le Golf National, which is just outside of Paris. The Italian is a three-time runner-up at the Open de France, and had he competed this week would have been arriving on a rare streak of playing well.”

 

8. Kaymer: I don’t need to prove myself
The German will likely be reliant on a captain’s pick from Thomas Bjorn if he’s to make the European Ryder Cup squad. He has a pair of top-10 finishes recently, giving some cause for optimism.
  • “I don’t think I need to prove myself that I’m good enough for the team,” Kaymer said. “I’ve done it in the past that I’m good enough but right now my results don’t really show what I’m capable of, and I have only two months’ time.”
  • “So I will put everything into the next couple months that I have. I’m going to play a lot. I play all the Rolex Series Events just to gain points. I would hate to miss out. But in the end of the day, you need to be realistic.
9. Dottie & the bear

During the the third round of the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., 10 years ago, Dottie Pepper–commentating for NBC–came closer to a black bear than she’d ever like to.

  • Golf Digest’s John Strege writes...”I look up, and thank God we were in commercial break,” she said. “Here he comes full tilt, and he’s coming right at me. ‘It’s the bear! It’s the bear!’ He has making a dead beat for me.”
  • “She dropped her yardage book and tentatively began to run. “Then I remembered, you’re not supposed to run,” she said….The bear eventually passed by and then through the fans on the left-hand side of the fairway-“they split like the Red Sea,” she said-and eventually made its way through the West Course and back into the wilderness.” (USGA’s photo below)
Your Reaction?
  • 4
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL1
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK2

Related Topics:

GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. ogo

    Jun 27, 2018 at 12:47 pm

    If Tiger rejects the TaylorMade TP Black Copper Ardmore 3 and reverts back to his trusty Scotty, that will destroy the marketability of the TM putter. Seems he will have to play the Ardmore to support his sponsor – TM.

    Reply Report comment

    • JThunder

      Jun 28, 2018 at 4:12 pm

      That doesn’t make much sense, if you consider that TW didn’t seem to improve the marketability of Nike Equipment during his tenure – so much so that the most famous golfer ever couldn’t keep that dept of Nike in business. There are tons of TM putters on tour, and only Golfwrx-types likely know the “unbranded” putter TW plays otherwise. (Casual fans will just see TM logos…)

      Reply Report comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

News

Five Things We Learned: Friday at the PGA Championship

Published

20 hours ago

on

May 18, 2024

By

Early on Friday morning, a vendor working for the PGA Championship was struck and killed by a tournament shuttle bus. Nearly at the same time, as he arrived for his second round of tournament play, Scottie Scheffler attempted to detour around the scene, and was arrested, booked, then released. Somehow, Scheffler returned to Valhalla and played his second round of the tournament. Despite the jokes and memes of some in the golf industry, the tournament took a back seat to life and humanity on Friday morning. Our prayers are with the family and friends of the vendor, as well as with all involved.

Day two of Valhalla’s fourth PGA Championship did not see a repeat of the record-setting 62 posted by first-day leader, Xander Schauffele. The low card of 65 was returned by five golfers, when play was suspended by darkness. Five golfers still on the course, were on the positive side of the expected cut line of one-under par, while 12 more either had work to do, or knew that their week had come to an end.

The best 70 golfers and ties would advance to the weekend. 64 golfers figured at minus-two on Friday evening, with another 15 at one-under par. The most likely scenario saw those at even par, headed home. The formula was simple: finish under par and stick around. Play resumed at 7:15 on Saturday, to sort through the last six threesomes. Before the night turned over, we learned five important things to set us up for a weekend of excitement and excellence. It’s a pleasure to share them with you.

1. The 65s

On Thursday, three golfers etched 65 into the final box on their card of play. On Friday, nearly twice that number finished at six-under par for the round. Collin Morikawa moved from top-five into a spot in the final pairing. The 2020 PGA Champion at Harding Park teed off at the tenth hole, and turned in minus-two. He then ran off five consecutive birdies from the fourth tee to the eighth green, before finding trouble at the ninth, his last hole of the day. Bogey at nine dropped him from -12 to -11.

The same score moved Bryson DeChambeau from 11th spot to T4. Joining the pair with 65s on day two were Matt Wallace and Hideki Matsuyama (each with 70-65 for T11) and Lee Hodges (71-65 for T16.) Morikawa, Matsuyama, and DeChambeau have major championship wins in their names, while Wallace has been on the when to break through list his entire career. Hodges epitomizes the term journeyman, bu the PGA Championship is the one major of them all when lesser-known challegers find a way to break through.

2. The Corebridge team of PGA Professionals

Last year’s Cinderella story, Michael Block, did not repeat his Oak Hill success. Block missed the cut by a fair amount. Of the other 19, however, two were poised to conclude play and reach the weekend’s play. Braden Shattuck had finished at one-under par, while Jeremy Wells (-2) and Ben Polland (-1) were inside the glory line, each with two holes to play.

With three holes to play on the front nine, Kyle Mendoza sits at even par. His task is simple: play the final triumvirate in one-under par or better. If Mendoza can pull off that feat, and if the aforementioned triumvirate can hold steady, the club professional segment of the tournament will have four representatives in play over the weekend.

3. Scottie Scheffler

In his post-round interview, Scheffler admitted that his second round, following the surreal nature of the early morning’s events, was made possible by the support he received from patrons and fellow competitors. The new father expressed his great sadness for the loss of life, and also praised some of the first responders that had accompanied him in the journey from course to jail cell. Yes, jail cell. Scheffler spoke of beginning his warm-up routine with jail-house stretches.

Once he returned to Valhalla, Scheffler found a way to a two-under, opening nine holes. He began birdie-bogey-birdie on holes ten through twelve, then eased into a stretch of pars, before making birdie at the par-five 18th. His second nine holes featured three birdies and six pars, allowing him to improve by one shot from day one. Scheffler found himself in a fourth-place tie with Thomas Detry, and third-round tee time in the third-last pairing. Scheffler’s poise illustrated grace under pressure, which is the only way that he could have reached this status through 36 holes.

4. Sahith!

It’s a little bit funny that the fellow who followed 65 with 67, is nowhere to be found on the video highlight reels. He’s not alone in that respect, as Thomas Detry (T4) was also ignored by the cameras. Theegala has won on tour, and has the game to win again. The Californian turned in four-under par on Friday, then made an excruciating bogey at the par-five tenth. He redeemed himself two holes later, with birdie at the twelfth hole.

Theegala is an unproven commodity in major events. He has one top-ten finish: the 2023 Masters saw him finish 9th. He did tie for 40th in 2023, in this event, at Oak Hill. Is he likely to be around on Sunday? Yes. Will he be inside the top ten? If he is, he has a shot on Sunday. If Saturday is not a 67 or better, Theegala will not figure in the outcome of the 2024 championship.

5. X Man!!

After the fireworks of day one, Xander Schauffele preserved his lead at the 2024 PGA Championship. He holds a one-shot advantage and will tee off in the final pairing on Saturday, with Collin Morikawa. Eleven holes into round two, Schauffele made his first bogey of the week. The stumble stalled his momentum, as he had played the first ten holes in minus-four. Will the run of seven pars at the end signal a negative turn in the tide of play for Schauffele? We’ll find out on day three. One thing is for sure: minus twelve will not win this tournament. Schauffele will likely need to reach twenty under par over the next two days, to win his first major title.

 

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK1

Continue Reading

News

Scottie Scheffler arrested, charged, and released after traffic incident at Valhalla

Published

2 days ago

on

May 17, 2024

By

As first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police on the way to Valhalla Golf Club this morning due to a traffic misunderstanding.

“Breaking News: World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police in handcuffs after a misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club. The police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car, and Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla. The police officer then began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car.

“When Scheffler exited the vehicle, the officer shoved Scheffler against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. He is now being detained in the back of a police car.”

Darlington also posted a video of the dramatic moment which you can view below:

There was an unrelated accident at around 5am, which is what may have caused some of the misunderstanding of which traffic was moving.

Speaking on ESPN, Darlington broke down exactly what he witnessed in full detail:

“Entering Valhalla Golf Club this morning, we witness a car pull around us that was Scottie Scheffler. Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police officers, placed in the back of a police vehicle in handcuffs after he tried to pull around what he believed to be security, ended up being police officers.

“They told him to stop, when he didn’t stop, the police officer attached himself to the vehicle, and Scheffler then travelled another 10 yards before stopping the car.”

“The police officer then grabbed at his arm, attempting to pull him out of the car, before Scheffler eventually opened the door, at which point the police officer pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. Scheffler was then walked over to the police car, placed in the back in handcuffs.

“Very stunned about what was happening, he looked towards me as he was in those handcuffs and said ‘please help me’. He very clearly didn’t know what was happening in the situation.”

“It moved very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively. He was detained in that police vehicle for approximately 20 minutes. The police officers at that point did not understand that Scottie Scheffler was a golfer in the tournament, nor of course that he is the number one player in the world.”

Due to the accident, play has been delayed this morning. Scheffler’s current tee time for the second round of the PGA Championship is 10:08 a.m.

Scheffler’s mugshot following the incident:

*Update*

Scheffler has been charged with 2nd Degree assault of a police officer, criminal mischief 3rd degree, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.

*Update*

According to ESPN+, Scottie Scheffler has been released and is now on his way to the golf course.

*Update*

Scottie Scheffler arrives at Valhalla ahead of his 10:08 a.m second round tee time.

*Update*

The PGA of America released this statement regarding the fatal accident, which diverted traffic at Valhalla this morning.

“This morning we were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club. This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones.” 

Per the PGA Tour, Scheffler released the following statement.

We will update this developing story as more information on the situation is revealed.

More from the 19th Hole

Your Reaction?
  • 26
  • LEGIT5
  • WOW22
  • LOL8
  • IDHT1
  • FLOP1
  • OB3
  • SHANK17

Continue Reading

News

Five Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

Published

3 days ago

on

May 16, 2024

By

It was a year ago that we the north, found ourselves with toes and fingers crossed. The Oak Hill PGA Championship of 2023 finished on schedule, despite the iffiness of weather in upstate New York. It’s 75 degrees today across the Niagara Frontier, which makes it two out of three (2022 was the same way) for sultry, unseasonal weather.

Louisville is, let’s be honest, a much better bet for a May PGA Championship, and Valhalla is an exciting venue for the year’s second major championship on the men’s circuit. Brooks Koepka came in as the defending champion, and Rory McIlroy arrived as the last golfer to win a major at the Nicklaus-designed course. That was a decade ago, and lord, have things changed in the world and golf.

Day one at Valhalla offered walk-in eagles, buckets of birdies, and potential for a record-low, winner’s score. We’ll get right to the meat of the matter, with five things that we learned. After all, if you can make par from the muck, anything’s possible in the land of the horses.

1. X marks this spot

Xander Schauffele went head-to-head last Sunday with Rory McIlroy, at least on the practice green. By the end of the round, Rors had won for a fourth time at Charlotte, while the X Man sat scratching his head, wondering what went wrong. Fortunately for us, Xander didn’t sulk.

The San Diego State alumnus absolutely torched Jack’s track with 62. Four birdies on the front nine, were followed by five more on the inward side. Schauffele never looked as if bogey was a consideration, and he might have gone even lower. Despite winning the Covid-delayed Gold medal at the Japan Olympics (I consider it a major, btdubs) Schauffele continues to chase an initial men’s major, and the validation that it brings. If 62 doesn’t get you over the hump, who knows what will.

2. Scottie starts strong? Aye.

Last month, Mr. Scheffler won a second green jacket at Augusta National. Last year in Rochester, Mr. Scheffler tied for second in this event. Mr. Scheffler began play today with a walk-in eagle, a one-hop affair that never looked as if it might go anywhere but to its home. Scheffler had a few rough holes, but that’s to be expected from a new dad. Each time he made bogey, he bounced back with birdie, so he has that short memory that winners crave. Surprisingly, Scheffler failed to manage one last birdie at the reachable 18th. Perhaps that miss will motivate him in round two.

3. LIV Check-In

It’s good to check in on the departed from time to time, to ensure that the fellows formerly known as PGA Tour members are doing well. It’s safe to say that some of them can still play. Defending champion Brooks Koepka posted 67 on the day, He had an eagle and three birdies on the day, with only a stumble at the 17th. He’s tied for 7th. Bryson DeChambeau made an eagle of his own, but also had a bogey, at the 12th hole. He cohabits eleventh position with Cameron Smith, who ALSO had a bogey on his card. They are one shot behind Koepka, and a fistful more behind the leader.

4. Sahith and Tony at Schauffele’s heels

Both Finau and Theegala represent a special sort of athletic golfer. Their power and their charisma blend to draw golf fans to their groups. Let’s be honest, too, and say that they don’t look like the traditional professional golfer. As much as Tiger Woods did in the 1990s, they have the power to bring greater diversity to the sport.

In terms of their play today, well, only Xander was better. Finau had a clean card, with six birdies and twelve pars. Theegala had seven birdies, ten pars, and one bogey. Each combined power and finesse to insert themselves squarely in contention, ahead of round two. How will they, and Xander as well, manage the afternoon putting surface on Friday? That’s the great unknown!

5. All those other guys are here!

Rory, Tom Kim, Collin, and Viktor are all at minus-three or lower. Valhalla may not be a traditional golf course, but it is the type of course that the world’s best play well. McIlroy currently sits at minus-five, tied with Robert MacIntyre, Kim, and three others in fourth position.  Maverick McNealy finished fast to reach the same figure, as did Tom Hoge. Morikawa closed with birdie to join the sextet at five below. Both Scheffler and Morikawa finished their rounds late on Thursday, meaning they should see smoother greens on Friday morning. If someone is a betting soul, wiser wagers could not be placed on better names than those two, two-time, major champions. Rory will tee off in Friday’s afternoon wave but, hey, he’s Rory, and he won going away last week at Quail Hollow, a course not unlike Valhalla.

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

WITB

Whats in the Bag2 days ago

Xander Schauffele WITB 2024 (May)

Xander Schauffele what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship.  Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5...
Whats in the Bag2 days ago

Cam Smith WITB 2024 (May)

Cam Smith what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. More photos from the event here.  Driver: Titleist...
Whats in the Bag3 days ago

Patrick Reed WITB 2024 (May)

Patrick Reed what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. More photos from the event here.  Driver: Ping...
Whats in the Bag3 days ago

Club Junkie WITB, league night week 5: Another L.A.B. putter arises

We will be one quarter of the way through Thursday night men’s league season after this week. BK played much...

Facebook

Trending