News

Morning 9: What does Mickelson’s win mean for his U.S. Open chances? | The modern Snead?

Published

7 years ago

Feb 12, 2019

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

February 12, 2019

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans.

1. Any U.S. Open importance?

That’s the question surrounding Phil Mickelson’s Pebble Beach win. For a man who has finished second at the U.S. Open no fewer than 700 times, it stands to reason that winning on the course where the tournament will be contested this year would be an advantage, regardless of the difference in setup and conditions.

ESPN’s Bob Harig examines…

“Undoubtedly Mickelson will be the subject of considerable conjecture when the golf world returns to Pebble Beach in June for the 119th playing of the U.S. Open, the major that defines Lefty’s bouts of futility more than anything. Six runner-up finishes, some in the most heartbreaking fashion, dot his career, the tournament keeping him from a career Grand Slam.”

“Nobody has ever won a major championship at the age Mickelson is at now, but then again, not too many players have had the confidence to play two holes essentially blindfolded — as he wanted to do to finish this off Sunday night instead of Monday morning.”

“The course will be completely different in June, with the rough taller and the greens firmer and no amateurs to take the edge off the proceedings. But that talk is for a different day.”

Full piece.

2. 6 mph!?

Here’s the quote from Phil during the course of his Pebble Beach win. Make of it what you will.

“So at the end of last year, even though I played poorly, I had something happen where it seemed like overnight…it had really been a year in the works, where my driver speed, it shot up 5, 6 miles an hour, which rarely ever happens to anybody, yet alone somebody in their late 40s.”

That’s a 15-20-yard increase in driving distance.

FWIW: Mickelson’s average clubhead speed thus far in 2019 is in excess of 120 mph. It was just over 116 last year, so the claim isn’t pure fiction…

3. Possible modern Snead?

Golf Channel’s Randall Mell on Mickelson answering a query about comparisons to one Sam Snead…

“He was asked after winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Monday if he might be the Sam Snead of the modern era, matching Snead’s ability to keep winning late in life.”

“Snead was 52 years and 311 days old when he won the Greater Greensboro Open in 1965.”

“The science is so much better nowadays than it was in his time,” Mickelson said. “The medicines, the fitness knowledge, the nutritional knowledge in all these areas, we’re able to take advantage of that and get our bodies to recover, get our bodies to perform to function much more efficiently.”

“So, there’s no reason why players of this generation could not play to a longer time period and have a longer career.”

Full piece.

4. Traveling like a Tour pro…

…sort of.

Yes, Alan Shipnuck’s meditation on a private jet flight from Pebble to LA with Branden Grace was facilitated by NetJets in more ways than one, but it’s still a solid piece.

“On Sunday evening, while taxiing at Monterey (Calif.) Airport, Branden Grace stared wistfully out the window. “Man,” he said. “There are some big jets parked here.””

“Indeed, something like a billion dollars worth of private aircraft comes and goes during the week of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Grace, the winner of eight European and one PGA Tour event, was seated in the cushy leather seat of a sweet 8-passenger private jet. By any measure he has arrived, and yet, at the sight of slightly fancier aircraft, Grace couldn’t help feel a twinge of envy. This is not uncommon. “We have had golfers who are playing really well in a tournament say, ‘Hey, I want an upgrade,'” says Patrick Gallagher, an executive vice president at NetJets. “DJ called once on a Saturday night and said, ‘Give me the big plane going home, I’m winning this thing.’ And he did.””

Full piece.

5. $5,000

There’s much, much more to Michael Bamberger’s excellent report on El Tucan breaking his silence surrounding what Matt Kuchar paid the fill-in caddie for his services last year, but here are the gritty details regarding what the caddie (says he) was awarded.

“David Giral Ortiz, the diminutive Mexican caddie who goes by El Tucan, said in a recent phone interview that after being paid $5,000 by Matt Kuchar on the Sunday evening after the golfer won the Mayakoba Golf Classic on Nov. 11, he has not received any other payment.”
“The caddie said he was offered an additional $15,000, for a total of $20,000, but that he found that unacceptable. He also said he would not want to work for Kuchar at next year’s tournament.”
Come for that information, but stay for the alleged responses from Kuchar’s agent, Mark Steinberg!

Full piece.

6. Celebrity Cup

Geoff Shackelford reports on Monday’s action at Riviera

“Team Tiger won the inaugural Celebrity Cup.”

“Of course, no one at sun-splashed Riviera cared which team of A-listers ground out net birdies as part of the Genesis Open’s Monday kickoff. The day also included the fifth annual Collegiate Showcase (won by Kentucky’s Lukas Euler) and kicks off the 2019 Genesis hosted by the TGR Foundation.”

“The inaugural event provided a rare up-close opportunity to see major celebrities and elite athletes testing their golf skills in front of captains Tiger Woods and Fred Couples. More than anything, it was Woods and his TGR Live’s most significant effort yet to put the star power back into early week activities at Riviera, where the celebrity pro-am was once arguably the tournament’s most popular day back in the 1970s when the A-listers were James Garner, Peter Falk and host Glen Campbell.”

Full piece.

7. Langer’s winning wands

The senior juggernaut’s WITB is always, well, a mixed bag, so it’s always interesting to see what he’s gaming.

Golf Digest’s E. Michael Johnson with the full details, but how about Langer’s irons and wedges?

Irons (4): Ping S55; (5): Artisan Golf; (6-8): Adams Idea Pro Black MB; (9): Artisan Golf; (PW): TaylorMade RSi TP

Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX (50, 56 degrees); Titleist Vokey prototype (60 degrees)

Full piece.

8. Smoltz ready for Champions starts

The PGA Tour Champions handed John Smoltz a three pack of exemptions, and he’s ready to use ’em.

John Davis writes…”John Smoltz used to tame batters with a blazing fastball and a wicked slider. Now he’s hoping to tame golf courses with a self-standing putter and exemptions he recently received from the PGA Tour Champions.”

“The Hall of Fame pitcher and former National League Cy Young Award winner is going to use the first of his three exemptions to tee it up March 1-3 in the Cologuard Classic at Omni Tucson National Resort.”

The Atlanta Braves legend also echoed an interesting take he’s put forth before…”I would rather be throwing a 3-2 pitch in the ninth inning, with the bases loaded and Albert Pujols at the plate, than have to hit a big golf shot when it really mattered,” Smoltz said in a press conference Monday at the resort. “But I believe in dreaming and attacking my dreams.”

Full piece.

9. USO Qualifying sites announced

Via AmateurGolf.com…”The USGA announced on Feb. 11 its list of local qualifying venues for the 2019 U.S. Open to be played at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links.”

“Local qualifying, which consists of a single 18-hole round, will take place at 110 sites in 43 states and Canada from April 29-May 13. Those players who advance out of local qualifying will join a group of exempt players in sectional qualifying, which will be conducted over 36 holes at 12 sites, nine of them in the U.S., one in England, one in Canada and one in Japan.”

See the full list here.

Tour Photo Galleries

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

Published

2 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

2 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

Pullout Albums

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