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GolfWRX Morning 9: Bellerive’s greens will be a story | Tiger’s life-changing drive | JT’s game-changing driver

Published

6 years ago

Aug 7, 2018

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

August 7, 2018

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans.

1. Bellerive’s greens will be a story

Oh, good. But really, it has to be tough to get it right in St. Louis in August, and the PGA is doing everything in its power.

According to Golfweek’s Forecaddie, “The Forecaddie has been hearing about the struggles with Bellerive’s greens for nearly two years and finally got a first-hand look Monday. In a nutshell, the 2018 PGA Championship course will feature slow and tender greens that by Sunday may resemble a war zone.”

“Adding to Bellerive’s issues: Recently resodded zoysiagrass collars transition briefly to dirt on most greens before plunging down huge and healthy short-grass areas. The various stages of struggling turf leads The Man Out Front to comfortably declare that Bellerive is no putters’ paradise. Scoring, however, should be excellent given the softness of greens, immaculate fairways and dense zoysiagrass short-grass surrounds conducive to spinning lob-wedge recoveries.”

Full article

2. The solo car trip that changed Tiger’s life

Tiger Woods, as most know, made the 1,000-mile drive home to Florida after the 2001 WGC event at Bellrive was cancelled due to the September 11 attacks. Famously, it was during this drive that Woods decided to reconfigure his foundation and develop learning centers.

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall filed an excellent look at this moment in time

“Tiger Woods wasn’t sleeping because no one could. The country had been sucker-punched, and it was dazed, disoriented. So instead of enjoying the comforts of a bed before a World Golf Championship at Bellerive Country Club, Woods found himself at a gas station in the dark of night on Sept. 12, 2001, hours away from St. Louis, civilization and cell phone service. He had set off for Isleworth, his home, welcoming the 1,000-mile drive-against the horrific reality that was setting in-as a distraction.”

“Only it wasn’t. The road, as it can often be, was cathartic. And Woods didn’t like what it revealed. “I just felt that if I was the one in one of those buildings or on one of the planes, what would be left behind?” Woods said about the experience, years later. “And I basically thought I hadn’t done anything. Yeah, I can hit a golf ball wherever it may be, but that’s entertainment. I hadn’t done anything impacting.”

Full article.

3. Dialing in his driver was key to Justin Thomas’ dominant Firestone performance

It’s always interesting to see how players transition into new equipment; even more when they do so to massive success.

Titleist Tour Rep J.J. VanWezenbeeck had this to say about Justin Thomas’ move to the new TS3 driver.

“During a fitting in May prior to The PLAYERS, we found the TS3 9.5 gave him better ball speeds, with excellent launch to spin ratio, and preferred sound, feel, and look. He practiced with it over the next few weeks and put in at the US Open, the first week it was available for competition. At the Open Championship, Justin had his shaft shortened an 1/8″ to help with centering the hit and maximizing control with the higher ball speeds seen with TS.”

Thomas said this at Firestone about the process of getting dialed in…”I switched to a new driver at the U.S. Open, the new Titleist TS3. Yeah, I liked it right away. It was a little bit faster, which everybody likes. For me, my struggles with the driver’s always been strike, hitting a toe ball because I like to cut the ball with the driver. So when you’re setting up for a cut and you toe it and it goes left, that’s never good. So we’ve really been working hard trying to figure out why that is.”

“We got together with the (Titleist) guys at the French Open and we were talking and then again at the British. It doesn’t make any sense, but it worked, by making the shaft an eighth of an inch shorter. And we obviously had to change the weight a little bit. It’s made a huge difference.”

According to Golf Digest’s E. Michael Johnson, “The numbers were so good Thomas even gave the driver its own code name, playing off the TS designation. Thomas referred to the driver as “The S**t,” which in golf slang is high praise, indeed.”

4. Speeder Evolution V spotting

On Monday at the 2018 PGA Championship, GolfWRX spotted a new Fujikura Speeder 757 Evolution V shaft – the fifth generation Speeder Evolution.

But more than just photos, we also spotted a full spec sheet with a description of the shaft.

“All Evolution models incorporate a Multiaxial Reinforced Mid-Section, 90 Ton Carbon Fiber, Maximum Fiber Content, MCT, and Phantium finish. EVO V utilizes T1100G and Outer Bias Technology for superior feel and control. EVO IV will be the lowest launching and spinning, EVO 3 will launch slightly higher with similar spin, and EVO 5 will launch the highest with slightly increased spin.”

Does this mean the Evolution 5 is actually the replacement for the Evolution 2? It seems the wording of the spec sheet implies that, but we will have to see when Fujikura releases its press materials regarding the new shaft.

5. Is Tiger running out of gas?

Rex Hoggard begs the question: “Just how much gas does Woods have left in the tank?”

“At the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, at one of his personal playgrounds, at a tournament he desperately wanted to win, Woods looked lethargic. In many ways, that’s understandable. He’s nearing the end of a long season. He played poorly Saturday and plummeted down the leaderboard, dashing any hopes of title No. 9. And he’s 42, with a brittle body that last year underwent a Hail Mary back fusion to prolong his career.”

“Statistics backed up the fatigue factor, as his measured swing speed continues to decrease:

* 122.6 mph (Quail Hollow)

* 119.4 mph (Players)

* 118.5 mph (Memorial)

* 118.0 mph (Quicken Loans)

* Sunday at Firestone, he clocked in at 117.7 mph

6. Smylie on social

Smylie Kaufman, once one of the most active and revealing pros on social media, has had enough amidst a terrible season.

“Social media doesn’t help,” Kaufman told Golf Digest. “That place sucks. It was so great for me for so long, but it was never anything good the last six months. When I go to Twitter, it’s like reading the newspaper for me. Well, I don’t wanna see Tom or Joe telling me how bad I suck when I read the newspaper.”

7. ZJ x 2

Here’s an interesting (or perhaps not) bit of trivia ahead of the PGA Championship: there will be two Zach Johnsons in the field…creating the opportunity for you to wager on the low Zach Johnson (probably not).

AP report…”The other? Well, he’s not quite a household name. He’s Zach Johnson of Farmington, Utah, who works as the assistant pro at Davis Park Golf Course in the suburbs of Salt Lake City. He’s one of 20 club pros who qualified into the 156-man field, and will be, for at least two days, on the same playing field with Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and, yes, Zach Johnson.”

“Tournament organizers called the club pro recently and asked him if it was OK for him to go by ”Zach J. Johnson” for the week to eliminate confusion. “I don’t think they called and asked him first,” Zach J. said of his namesake. ”It was more like: ‘Here’s what you’re going by. Hopefully you’ll like it.”’

8. The cricketer and the golf mishap

England bowler James Anderson saw his shot cannon into a tree root and hits him in the face. Indeed, he saw it up close.

And of course there’s video. Glad he’s OK.

9. Who wears (short) shorts?

Blasphemous as the site of male professional golfers’ legs may be to some, they were on full display at Bellerive, as the PGA permits shorts in practice rounds.

Here’s a shorts-wearing Jordan Spieth, below. A quick glance at the shots of the players who elected to bare their lower legs revealed what it always does: longer, looser shorts look sloppier on the golf course (for fit/average body types) than something along the lines of what Mr. Spieth donned.

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SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips

Published

12 hours ago

May 6, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

SuperStroke announced today its purchase of 100-year-old grip maker Lamkin Grips, citing the company’s “heritage of innovation and quality.”

“It is with pride and great gratitude that we announce Lamkin, a golf club grip brand with a 100-year history of breakthrough design and trusted products, is now a part of the SuperStroke brand,” says SuperStroke CEO Dean Dingman. “We have always had the utmost respect for how the Lamkin family has put the needs and benefits of the golfer first in their grip designs. If there is a grip company that is most aligned with SuperStroke’s commitment to uncompromised research, design, and development to put the most useful performance tools in the hands of golfers, Lamkin has been that brand. It is an honor to bring Lamkin’s wealth of product innovation into the SuperStroke family.”

Elver B. Lamkin founded the company in 1925 and produced golf’s first leather grips. The company had been family-owned and operated since that point, producing a wide array of styles, such as the iconic Crossline.

According to a press release, “The acquisition of Lamkin grows and diversifies SuperStroke’s proven and popular array of grip offerings with technology grounded in providing golfers optimal feel and performance through cutting-edge design and use of materials, surface texture and shape.”

CEO Bob Lamkin will stay on as a board member and will continue to be involved with the company.

“SuperStroke has become one of the most proven, well-operated, and pioneering brands in golf grips and we could not be more confident that the Lamkin legacy, brand, and technology is in the best of hands to continue to innovate and lead under the guidance of Dean Dingman and his remarkably capable team,” Lamkin said.

Related: Check out our 2014 conversation with Bob Lamkin, here: Bob Lamkin on the wrap grip reborn, 90 years of history

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Tour Rundown: Pendrith, Otaegui, Longbella, and Dunlap soar

Published

12 hours ago

May 6, 2024

Ronald Montesano

Take it from a fellow who coaches high school golf in metro Toronto: there’s plenty of great golf played in the land of the maple leaf. All the greats have designed courses over the USA border: Colt, Whitman, Ross, Coore, Mackenzie, Doak, as well as the greatest of the land, Stanley Thompson. I’m partial to him, because he wore my middle name with grandeur. Enough about the architecture, because this week’s Tour Rundown begins with a newly-minted, Canadian champion on the PGA Tour. Something else that the great white north is known for, is weather. It impacted play on three of the world’s tours, forcing final-round cancellations on two of them.

It was an odd week in the golf world. The LPGA and the Korn Ferry were on a break, and only 13/15 of the rounds slated, were played. In the end, we have four champions to recognize, so let’s not delay any longer with minutiae about the game that we love. Let’s run it all down with this week’s Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour: TP takes TS at Byron’s place

The 1980s was a decade when a Canadian emergence was anticipated on the PGA Tour. It failed to materialize, but a path was carved for the next generation. Mike Weir captured the Masters in 2003, but no other countrymen joined him in his quest for PGA Tour conquest. 2024 may herald the long-awaited arrival of a Canadian squad of tour winners. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Nick Taylor break the fifty-plus year dearth of homebred champions at the Canadian Open, and players like Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Adam Svennson, and Mackenzie Hughes have etched their names into the PGA Tour’s annals of winners.

This week, Taylor Pendrith joined his mates with a one-shot win at TPC Craig Ranch, the home of the Byron Nelson Classic. Pendrith took a lead into the final round and, while the USA’s Jake Knapp faltered, held on for the slimmest of victories. Sweden’s Alex Noren posted six-under 65 on Sunday to move into third position, at 21-under par. Ben Kohles, a Texan, looked to break through for his first win in his home state. He took the lead from Pendrith at the 71st hole, on the strength of a second-consecutive birdie.

With victory in site, Kohles found a way to make bogey at the last, without submerging in the fronting water. His second shot was greenside, but he could not move his third to the putting surface. His fourth was five feet from par and a playoff, but his fifth failed to drop. Meanwhile, Pendrith was on the froghair in two, and calmly took two putts from 40 feet, for birdie. When Kohles missed for par, Pendrith had, at last, a PGA Tour title.

360° and in!

A nervy par save by @TaylorPendrith to remain one back as he seeks his first PGA TOUR victory @CJByronNelson. pic.twitter.com/LVFXUSidSg

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 5, 2024

DP World Tour: China Open in Otaegui’s hands after canceled day four

It wasn’t the fourth round that was canceled in Shenzhen, but the third. Rains came on Saturday to Hidden Grace Golf Club, ensuring that momentum would cease. Sunday would instead be akin to a motorsports restart, with no sense of who might claim victory. Sebastian Soderberg, the hottest golfer on the Asian Swing, held the lead, but he would slip to a 72 on Sunday, and tie for third with Paul Waring and Joel Girrbach. Italy’s Guido Migliozzi completed play in 67 strokes on day three, moving one shot past the triumvirate, to 17-under par.

It was Spain’s Adrian Otaegui who persevered the best and played the purest. Otaegui was clean on the day, with seven birdies for 65. Even when Migliozzi ceased the lead at the 10th, Otaegui remained calm. With everything on the line, Migliozzi made bogey at the par-five 17th, as his principal competitor finished in birdie. To the Italian’s credit, he bounced back with birdie at the last, to claim solo second. The victory was Otaegui’s fifth on the DP World Tour, and first since October of 2022.

.@adrianotaegui birdies the 16th to tie the lead at -17 ?#VolvoChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/p4tfE5DRJa

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 5, 2024

PGA Tour Americas: Quito’s rains gift title to Longbella

Across the world, superintendents and their staffs will do anything to prepare a course for play. Even after fierce, nightime rains, the Quito TG Club greeted the first four groups on Sunday. The rains worsened after 7 am, however, and the tour was forced to abort the final round of play. With scores reverting to Saturday’s numbers, Thomas Longbella’s one-shot advantage over Gunn Yang turned into a Tour Americas victory.

64 held the opening-day lead, and Longbella was not far off, with 66. Yang jumped to the top on day two, following a67 with 66. He posted 68 on day three, and anticipated a fierce, final-round duel for the title. As for Longbella, he fought off a ninth-hole bogey on Saturday with six birdies and a 17th-hole eagle. That rare bird proved to be the winning stroke, allowing Longbella to edge past Yang, and secure ultimate victory.

.@TBalla21 eagles 17, shoots 65 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the KIA Open. pic.twitter.com/TTOL2LxSdh

— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) May 4, 2024

PGA Tour Champions: Dunlap survives Saturday stumble for win

Scott Dunlap did not finish Saturday as well as he might have liked. After beginning play near Houston with 65, Dunlap made two bogeys in his final found holes on day two, to finish at nine-under par. Hot on his heels was Joe Durant, owner of a March 2024 win on PGA Tour Champions. Just behind Durant was Stuart Appleby, perhaps vibing from his Sunday 59 at Greenbrier on this day in 2010. Neither would have a chance to track Dunlap down.

The rains that have forced emergency responders into action, to save hundreds of lives in the metro Houston area, ended hopes for a third day of play at The Woodlands. Dunlap had won once previously on Tour Champions, in 2014 in Washington state. Ten years later, Dunlap was the fortunate recipient of a canceled final round, and his two days of play were enough to earn him TC victory number two.

Off the green? No worries for @ScottDu12500063

8-under solo leader @InsperityInvtnl pic.twitter.com/hoj5OujL5C

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 4, 2024

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News

Morning 9: Pendrith’s maiden Tour win | Morikawa back with former coach | Brooks victorious

Published

14 hours ago

May 6, 2024

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Monday morning, golf fans, as the PGA Tour gives us yet another breakthrough winner.

1. Pendrith wins first PGA Tour title

AP Report…”Taylor Pendrith took advantage of Ben Kohles’ final-hole meltdown to win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title.”

“Kohles overtook Pendrith with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 for a one-shot lead then bogeyed the 18th after hitting his second shot into greenside rough. After having to chip twice from the rough and already looking stunned, Kohles missed a 6-foot putt that would have forced a playoff.”

“Pendrith two-putted for birdie on the 18th, holing a 3-footer for a 4-under 67 and 23-under 261 total at the TPC Craig Ranch. The 32-year-old Canadian won in his 74th career PGA Tour start.”

Full piece.

2. Koepka takes LIV title in Singapore

S.I.’s Bob Harig…”Brooks Koepka became the first player to win four times as part of the LIV Golf League, shooting a final-round 68 at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore on Sunday to beat Cam Smith and Marc Leishman by two strokes.”

“His timing wasn’t bad, either.”

“A few days after offering concern about his game in light of a poor Masters performance, Koepka stepped up and won the LIV Golf Singapore even to give himself a boost heading into the defense of his PGA Championship title in two weeks.”

“The year’s second major begins on May 16.”

Full piece.

3. Otaegui wins Volvo China

AP report…”Adrian Otaegui overturned a five-shot deficit to win the Volvo China Open on Sunday, the Spaniard’s fifth tour title.”

“Otaegui had been trailing the in-form Sebastian Söderberg after Friday’s round – Saturday’s was cancelled because of thunder and lightning – and he shot 7-under 65 in his final round to win by one shot from Guido Migliozzi, who finished runner up with a 67.”

Full piece.

4. ICYMI: Teen Kim makes the cut

Guardian report…”English teenager Kris Kim became the youngest player to make the cut on the PGA Tour in 11 years after a birdie at the last saw him get through to the weekend of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas with a shot to spare.”

“Amateur Kim, the son of former LPGA player Ji-Hyun Suh, made a second-round four-under-par 67, which included a run of five birdies and one bogey over his front nine.”

“At 16 years and seven months he became the youngest player to make the cut on tour since 14-year-old Guan Tianlang at the 2013 Masters, and, according to the PGA Tour, the fifth youngest in history.”

Full piece.

5. Winner in a rainout

AP report…”Scott Dunlap was declared the 36-hole winner of the Insperity Invitational when rain washed the final round Sunday, giving Dunlap his first PGA Tour Champions title in nearly 10 years.”

“Devastating rain in the Houston area previously washed out the opening round Friday. Players managed to play 36 holes on Saturday, and Dunlap posted a 2-under 70 to take a one-shot lead over Joe Durant and Stuart Appleby.”

“That proved to be the winning score when rain soaked The Woodlands Country Club. It was the second 36-hole event in the last three weeks on the PGA Tour Champions because of weather. The other was in the Dallas area.”