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Morning 9: Mickelson and the Premier Golf League | Monahan: Us or them | Bryson on slow play warning

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By Ben Alberstadt
Email me at [email protected] and find me at @benalberstadt on Instagram and golfwrxEIC on Twitter.
January 30, 2020
Good Thursday morning, golf fans. Who will get the most cheers at the 16th at the WMPO today?

 

1. Phil & the PGL folks
Not totally surprising for a man for whom money is “No. 1, 2, 3, and 4” (per John Feinstein).
  • Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”Phil Mickelson said at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open that the idea of the Premier Golf League, an upstart rival circuit to the PGA Tour, was “intriguing.” However, Mickelson couched his remarks, noting he didn’t know much outside the general concept.”
  • “On Wednesday, Mickelson sounded more enlightened after reportedly playing in the Saudi International pro-am with the backers of the PGL.”
  • “I had the chance to spend time with and play with the gentlemen in charge of trying to start a new premier league,” Mickelson told a group of reporters at Royal Greens Golf Club in King Abdullah Economic City, according to the Scotsman. “It was fascinating to talk with them and ask some questions and see what their plans are-where they started, how they started, why-and just got their background, which was very interesting.”
  • “I haven’t had the chance to put it all together and think about what I want to say about it publicly, but I do think it was an informative day for me to have the chance to spend time with them.”
2. “Us or them”
Further reporting on Commissioner Monahan’s Monday letter to PGA Tour players, via Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…
  • Procedural challenges for players wanting to compete on the PGL: “Players are limited to three conflicting event “releases” under the Tour’s current regulations and the letter references “strict enforcement of the Conflicting Event and Media Rights/Release rules.” The letter also warns players that under Tour regulations “a member cannot have a financial interest in another player,” which is one of the fundamental features of the Premier Golf League’s team ownership concept.”
  • And strong words from the commish: “If the Team Golf Concept or another iteration of this structure becomes a reality in 2022 or at any time before or after, our members will have to decide whether they want to continue to be a member of the PGA Tour or play on a new series,”
3. I got this
Josh Weinfuss at ESPN…”Amy Bockerstette returned to the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale Wednesday, about a year after she made a par on the famous hole that catapulted her to instant celebrity, and walked off the green with a donation that’ll help kick-start her foundation.”
  • “Bockerstette, a disabilities advocate with Down syndrome, received a $25,000 check from the Thunderbirds, the civic organization that hosts the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and Waste Management for her I Got This Foundation, in a ceremony alongside PGA Tour golfer Gary Woodland, with whom she played the hole with last year.”
4. JT targeting Olympic gold
Golf Digest’s Brian Wacker…”Earlier this week, World No. 1 Brooks Koepka and former No. 1 Dustin Johnson expressed a certain amount of ambivalence when the topic of playing in the Olympics came up during the European Tour’s Saudi International.”
  • “Justin Thomas? He had a different response when asked about the possibility of competing for the United States in Tokyo this summer.”
  • “There’s no scenario for me [to skip it],” Thomas said on Wednesday from the Waste Management Phoenix Open. “It’s just different. It’s once in every four years, and you have the opportunity to do it.”

 

5. Bryson: Slow play warning had “no impact”
“Hell no,” he said when asked whether the slow play warning prompted his closing run of bogeys…
  • Via Golf Channel’s Will Gray…”DeChambeau was looking to successfully defend his title in Dubai, and he held a share of the lead with four holes to go. But he closed with bogeys on each of his final four holes to finish in a tie for eighth, four shots out of a playoff.”
  • “Television cameras caught DeChambeau receiving a slow play warning from officials during the closing stretch, and the American told GolfChannel.com on Wednesday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open that the warning stemmed from a slow time on the greens.”
  • “They let me know on 12, I think, that it took me 86 seconds to hit a putt,” DeChambeau said. “But we were in position, so there was no reason for me – I mean, we would have waited on the next tee had I gone 15 seconds faster. We were pretty much almost waiting on the next tee anyway.”
6. Rahm to No. 1?-doesn’t seem to matter much to him
Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch…”Being No. 1 in the world, it’s a consequence of good golf,” Rahm said with a shrug, which might explain why he’s focused less on how the ranking will look on Monday than on how the leaderboard appears Sunday night. “I got to take care of business this week and it’s not going to change my mindset. Obviously, it’s a goal in every player’s mind to be No. 1 in the world, and it is a goal of mine at some point, but I still got things to do to, take care of every day and make the right putts and hit the right shots for that to really happen. So I’m just going to focus on what I have to do starting tomorrow.”
7. LPGA cancels China event
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…”The LPGA’s spring Asia swing will be one tournament short in 2020. The upcoming Blue Bay LPGA, held on China’s Hainan Island, has been canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the situation, who spoke to Golfweek on the condition of anonymity because it hasn’t been officially announced.”
  • “The event was scheduled to take place March 5-8, immediately following the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore. The tournament was not held in 2019 due to the transition of moving it on the calendar from the fall to the spring. The event had a $2.1 million purse. Gaby Lopez won the title in 2018.”

Full piece.

8. Woodland on Bryant
Via Golf Digest’s Brian Wacker…”It’s been an emotional week,” Woodland said. “When I think of Kobe now, I think of the images of him with his daughter, with Gigi, on the basketball court, talking to her, getting back into the game because of her and the love she had for it.”
  • “I’ve looked up to Kobe my whole life. I grew up in that generation with him dominating, so I’ve always wanted to be him, the way he worked on the basketball court, I wanted his work ethic. … Looking at him the last couple years, I want to be like him as a father. I want to be able to spend time with my kids.”
  • “Which is why on Tuesday Woodland brought his son onto the golf course with him for the first time during his practice round. Bryant’s passing was a cruel reminder of the fragility of life.”

Full piece.

9. The Gear Dive: Brandel Chamblee
I’d like to call your attention to the latest installment of The Gear Dive, wherein our Johnny Wunder sat down for an hour-long conversation with the singular Brandel Chamblee.

 

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GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Caroline

    Jan 30, 2020 at 12:01 pm

    Yes, it figures Mickelson will follow the dollar. After missing the last two cuts and shooting off his mouth about how good he is playing maybe building a tour he can compete on makes sense to him…Champions tour is to much of a gamble for him at 50, you know those older guys may make him look stupid, loosing to the younger guys gives him an alibi for his lack of skill now. Good Idea may be for him to dump Callaway and find a club company that can fit his erratic swing and let him find the fairway once in awhile…..

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Equipment

Rickie Fowler’s new putter: Standard-length Odyssey Jailbird 380 in custom orange

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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article. 

…The Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.

Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.

Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.

Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.

According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.

He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.

Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.

Head over to PGATour.com for the full article. 

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Equipment

Details on Justin Thomas’ driver switch at the Wells Fargo Championship

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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article. 

So, with a couple of weeks off following his latest start at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Thomas sought to re-address his driver setup with the remote help of Titleist Tour fitting expert J.J. Van Wezenbeeck. About two weeks ago, Thomas and Van Wezenbeeck reviewed his recent driver stats, and discussed via phone call some possible driver and shaft combinations for him to try.

After receiving Van Wezenbeeck’s personalized shipment of product options while at home, Thomas found significant performance improvements with Titleist’s TSR2 head, equipped with Thomas’ familiar Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60 TX shaft.

Compared to Thomas’ longtime TSR3 model, the TSR2 has a larger footprint and offers slightly higher spin and launch characteristics.

According to Van Wezenbeeck, Thomas has picked up about 2-3 mph of ball speed, to go along with 1.5 degrees higher launch and more predictable mishits.

“I’d say I’d been driving it fine, not driving it great, so I just wanted to, honestly, just test or try some stuff,” Thomas said on Tuesday in an interview with GolfWRX.com at Quail Hollow Club. “I had used that style of head a couple years ago (Thomas used a TSi2 driver around 2021); I know it’s supposed to have a little more spin. Obviously, yeah, I’d love to hit it further, but if I can get a little more spin and have my mishits be a little more consistent, I felt like obviously that’d be better for my driving…

“This (TSR2) has been great. I’ve really, really driven it well the week I’ve used it. Just hitting it more solid, I don’t know if it’s the look of it or what it is, but just a little bit more consistent with the spin numbers. Less knuckle-ball curves. It has been fast. Maybe just a little faster than what I was using. Maybe it could be something with the bigger head, maybe mentally it looks more forgiving.”

Head over to PGATour.com for the full article. 

 

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News

5 fall golf trip destinations you should book right now

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The 2024 golf season is in full swing with the warm weather settling in and those long summer days right around the corner, but what if we told you that you should be thinking about golf this fall? While it may seem to be a ways away, now is the perfect time to start putting together your end-of-season fall golf trip

Courses are in great shape, the weather is more enjoyable as temps cool off, and your golf game is in peak condition after playing all summer! The best part about fall golf trips is that there are some great deals to be found at golf destinations across the country! Additionally, you can get away to the Caribbean on an all-inclusive trip or travel across the pond for some links golf in the UK or Ireland before the end of their golf season in October. 

If you are happy to stay stateside this fall, here are the best golf destinations you should book for your fall trip.

Myrtle Beach, SC 

Commonly known as the “Golf Capital of the World”, this coastal destination is home to over 200 golf courses making it the ideal location for a golf trip! If you’re looking for golf and accommodation onsite, choose from a wide range of resorts including favorites like Barefoot and Legends. Alternatively, you could rent a house or stay by the beach and play top tracks like Caledonia, Grande Dunes, Pine Lakes, True Blue, TPC Myrtle Beach and many more! With a plethora of options, you will be able to customize your trip to stay within budget! Fall in South Carolina is a golfer’s paradise with minimal rain, sunny skies, and temperatures in the low 80s (dipping into the 70s in later fall with lower humidity), the perfect combination for a golf trip.

Scottsdale, AZ 

If you’ve never played golf in the desert, fall is the best time to do so and there is no better selection of desert layouts than Scottsdale. With a wide variety of golf resorts, courses, and attractions, it is easy to see why many professional golfers call this place home. Enjoy a golf and city trip with a stay close to the nightlife in Old Town and a tour of the local courses like Raven, McCormick Ranch, and Ocotillo. Head north of the city with a resort stay at The Westin Kierland or Hyatt Regency and play some Championship courses like TPC Scottsdale, Troon North, or Grayhawk. Or head out to the fabulous We-Ko-Pa Resort  and Golf Club and indulge in the ultimate desert golf experience. The weather in Scottsdale will be very warm (mid to high 80s), with cloudless skies and green grass contrasting the desert landscape.

Orlando, FL 

The golf mecca in the state of Florida, Orlando is a great golf destination any time of the year, but fall is really where it flourishes. Course conditions are impeccable, the weather is warm with fading humidity, and there are a multitude of off-course activities for the whole family. Stay & play at some of the best golf resorts like Reunion and Omni Championsgate or tick off a bucket list course when you visit Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill. A few other reasons this destination is so popular is the wide variety of rental houses throughout the area, perfect for a large group and the quality courses to choose from including Waldorf Astoria, Celebration, Shingle Creek, and the three Disney courses! With easy accessibility through the MCO Airport, Orlando is a no-brainer for a fall golf trip.

Las Vegas, NV 

PAIUTE GOLF RESORT – LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

A destination often overlooked when it comes to golf, Las Vegas in the fall is a wonderful treat! A stay on the iconic Las Vegas Strip gives you a wide range of 3 to 5-star hotel options within walking distance to the city’s biggest entertainment venues, casinos, restaurants, and more! For golf options, you will need to travel outside of the city (roughly 20 mins) to play some incredible desert layouts like Rio Secco, Revere, Cascata, and the trio of courses at Paiute Golf Resort. If you fancy a longer day trip, you can always take the hour-long drive up to Mesquite and play Wolf Creek and Conestoga for a pure desert golf experience. 

Alabama – Robert Trent Jones Trail 

If you’re a golf nerd (like me) and you’re looking for something a little different for your trip, look no further than the incredible RTJ Trail in Alabama. The Trail spans 11 different locations across the state with over 400 holes of golf all designed by legendary course designer Robert Trent Jones, Sr. The more popular courses on the trail are in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Auburn, making it perfect for an extended trip. Some of the best courses on the trail include Ross Bridge, Grand National (2 courses) and Capitol Hill (3 courses).Weather-wise, fall is the best time to hit the trail with average temps hovering around 80s (dipping into the 70s as fall goes on) with a limited amount of rainfall. The summer months are usually where the pricing is the highest so you can find the best deals in the fall with courses still in good condition. 

There has already been a huge uptick in fall golf trip bookings, so make sure to start planning now to get the travel dates and tee times you want for your group! 

Editor’s note: This article is presented in partnership with Golfbreaks. When you make a purchase through links in this article, GolfWRX may earn an affiliate commission. 

RELATED: 7 PGA TOUR courses you need to play

  

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