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19th Hole

18-year-old Wes Burton creates eye-catching headcovers for TaylorMade staffers

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At last week’s WGC-FedEx St.Jude Invitational, TaylorMade staffers had the luxury of finding a custom-made individual headcover in their locker courtesy of 18-year-old Wes Burton.

While Burton and his business, Wes Custom Kicks, mostly tailor to clientele from the world of Baseball, the 18-year-old is an avid golf fan with a 6.4 index, and he set about making unique metal wood and putter headcovers for the brand’s members: Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Jason Day, after TaylorMade sought his impressive skills on the project.

Burton handed the items off to the TaylorMade Tour Truck last week, but he had the opportunity to present three-time winner on the PGA Tour, Jon Rahm, with his cover, an experience which will live long in his memory.

“Meeting Jon was a great experience. It’s always exhilarating to deliver my work to pro athletes and see their reactions. My favorite part of a delivery, particularly one that was a surprise like this one, is seeing what really speaks to them or what their favorite aspect of a piece is.”

The 18-year-old’s creative process begins by researching each golfer’s background, career and personality, and then scuffing the leather on each TaylorMade headcover with acetone to remove the factory finish. Burton then paints the cover either by hand or with airbrush which according to the man himself can take anywhere from five to 20 hours per piece depending on the design.

Here’s a look at the covers Burton created for TaylorMade’s Staffers last week in Memphis (all photos via TM).

Jon Rahm

Featuring the Spaniard’s nickname “Rahmbo”, the putter cover also contains the colors of Arizona State University.

Tiger Woods

Though he wasn’t in action last week, the 15-time major champion has a Stanford red fairway headcover waiting for him.

Rory McIlroy

One of Burton’s favorite pieces which he created, the putter cover pays homage to when Mcilroy would chip balls into a washing machine for practice as a kid. The driver cover features a lone rock amongst grass – the entrance to Holywood Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

Dustin Johnson

An ode to DJ’s love of boats, with his driver cover containing the names of his two children.

Jason Day

Driver cover featuring the names of his wife and three children, while the putter cover contains an Ohio license plate.

 

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Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

19th Hole

Report: Tiger Woods voted against Rory McIlroy returning to policy board; Will be the only player negotiating directly with Saudis

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According to a report from The Telegraph, the relationship between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy has soured.

Last week, reports surfaced that McIlroy, who was a member of the PGA Tour policy board during most of the past few years, was looking to rejoin the board, presumably taking Webb Simpson’s seat.

However, on Wednesday, McIlroy revealed that he will not be rejoining the policy board, due to people on the board being “uncomfortable” with that “for some reason.”

The Telegraph has reported that Tiger Woods was among the players who voted against McIlroy returning to the policy board.

The divide is apparently due to McIlroy pushing for the game of golf to unify, whereas Woods, reportedly, believes the PGA Tour is in a fine position where it currently stands.

The Associated Press added another wrinkle to the situation, reporting that Woods is the only player who will be negotiating directly with the Saudis.

The other members of the committee are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, board chairman Joe Gorder, John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group, and Joe Ogilvie, who was a former PGA Tour player.

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19th Hole

Phil Mickelson reveals he won’t be pursuing broadcasting career when he retires from golf

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On Tuesday, Chris McKee, a Toronto writer and radio host, wondered aloud on his X account if Phil Mickelson will be a commentator after his playing days are over.

“The second Phil Mickelson retires he’ll instantly become the most sought after TV analyst in golf. Would any PGA Tour broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, NBC or Sky) bring him in or would he have to stick to LIV broadcasts? #LIVGolf”

Mickelson saw the post and responded, saying he’s not interested in moving from the course to the broadcast booth.

“Thank you for the kind words. However, just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it. Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9 hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality video but it’ll be fun for me to do and fun to watch I think too.”

While I believe many fans would like to see Phil in the booth, his idea of “Pro’s vs Schmo’s” could certainly be intriguing.

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19th Hole

PGA Tour pro sounds off on ‘unfair’ PGA Championship invites

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This week, the PGA of America made some surprising announcements regarding the field of next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.

The event now will feature 16 LIV players with Talor Gooch, Dean Burmester, David Puig, Adrian Meronk and Patrick Reed receiving special exemptions.

PGA Tour player, Dylan Wu, took issue with how the exemptions were used and went to X to share his thoughts.

“Why is there never “real” qualifications for the PGA Championship? You have a points list and World ranking invite. Usually just outside top 100 in OWGR gets in. Chan Kim ranked 104th in OWGR doesn’t get in. SH Kim at 107th isn’t in.”

“Jesper Svennson ranked 108th gets in. Tim Widing 120th gets in. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald gets a spot. A bunch of guys get leapfrogged even though they’re ranked higher than others. Seems like they just invite whoever they want. Unfair to the guys on the edge like Chan and SH”

“Just seems like the world of professional golf is in a weird spot and I love that the tournament invited a handful of great LIV players but figure out a correct system for a major championship where guys know they’ll be in or not. ????”

Fans who replied to Wu seemed to agree that a more definitive ranking system for the PGA Championship should be established.

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