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Morning 9: Rory to return to No. 1 | What Faxon told McIlroy about putting | Feral hogs take over Texas course

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4 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt
Email me at [email protected] and find me at @benalberstadt on Instagram and golfwrxEIC on Twitter.
February 4, 2020
Good Tuesday morning, golf fans. Our Brian Knudson did a heckuva interview with Callaway’s Roger Cleveland. If you’re looking for something to watch check it out!

 
1. Rory to return to No. 1
Golfweek’s Todd Kelly…“Rory McIlroy will ascend to the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking when it gets updated next Monday, despite not playing this week.”
  • “It will also happen regardless of this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am…McIlroy is currently just .2 points back of Brooks Koepka, who is not playing this week either. Nor is World No. 3 Jon Rahm, leaving the door open for McIlroy to make the move to No. 1.”
2. …sounds off
On a number of subjects, including…”on playing with Tiger Woods in the final group on Sunday of the 2018 Tour Championship, where Woods beat McIlroy six shots (McIlroy shot 4 over in the final round)”
  • “It’s the Tour Championship and I’ve got myself into another final group and I’m playing with Tiger Woods. It’s something you dream about growing up, final round, big tournament, Tiger Woods. I didn’t know if I would ever get this opportunity. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. Brilliant. … I was never in the lead. I was always playing catch-up, but that’s beside the point. It’s the final group, Tiger, and I just want to give a really good account of myself. To take the fight to him. To make him work for it. If he wins, well, it’s not great, but it’s good for the game. And I understand the bigger picture, but I’m going to make him earn it. And I never made him earn it. That’s what bothered me. And what bothered me even more was I came away [thinking], ‘I know I can play better than that. I know I can beat him.’ But I’d made it too much about him, and not enough about me. … It was an opportunity to beat Tiger Woods and go down the stretch with him. ‘This mythical creature in the red shirt’. And I just didn’t get into the right place mentally.
  • “It’s tough. Everyone was like “Wasn’t that a great moment?” And I’m like, ‘No, it was f—— s—!’ It was terrible. I birdied the last to shoot 4 over! And I got the bigger picture that it was wonderful for golf, and I’m sure I’ll look back and think ‘That was pretty cool,’ but it hurt. It really hurt. I was probably the only one at East Lake that day that was disappointed.”
3. McIlroy’s unorthodox putting lesson from Brad Faxon (and the fruits thereof)
Golf Digest’s Alex Myers…”In the first part of McIlroy’s latest (fantastic) interview with the Independent’s Paul Kimmage, the 30-year-old describes a three-hour meeting of which the majority was spent talking over coffee. And when it was finally time to go out to the practice green, Faxon made an odd request.”
  • “He said, ‘You just have to know what to work on – bring your putter, a sand wedge and a five wood,’ McIlroy tells Kimmage. “So we went onto the putting green and he got me to putt from eight feet. I hit three putts with the putter and holed one of them; three with the sand wedge and holed two of them; and I holed three in a row with the five wood.”
  • “He says, ‘I wanted to prove something to you. A lot of putting nowadays is very technical and mechanical – you have to have the right length putter with the right lie and the right loft. That thing (the five wood) has 19 degrees (loft) and is about ten inches too long and you’ve just holed three in a row. That’s what you need to get back to. It needs to be instinctive.”
4. Webb’s power surge
Brian Wacker at Golf Digest with the story of Webb Simpson’s pursuit of more distance… “…it at least helped that Simpson could uncork a 318-yard drive down the middle on the first sudden-death playoff hole, leaving only a wedge into the 18th green at TPC Scottsdale to set up a 10-footer for birdie and the victory. Not bad for a guy who came into the week 160th on the PGA Tour in driving distance.”
  • “Three years ago, Simpson hired a trainer in an effort to try to keep up with the Joneses. Or at least guys named Brooks, Rory, Rahm, JT, DJ and Tiger. Those are the only players (mostly bombers) higher than Simpson in the Official World Golf Ranking after what was the sixth PGA Tour victory of his career and first since the 2018 Players.”
  • “We set out on a journey to get longer, but very carefully because precision, accuracy, distance control is something for me that’s always been a strength and has to be a strength for me to play well, because I don’t hit it that far,” Simpson said. “We have picked up a mile-and-a-half to two miles an hour [clubhead speed] for the last two years and so we have made jumps. But I just didn’t want to do it overnight.”
5. Banishing the broomstick and a new beginning
Golf Digest’s Alex Myers…”But the most amazing part of the 34-year-old’s resurgence is how good of a putter he’s become since snapping his old putter over his knee and framing the pieces in his trophy room. Before the breakup, Simpson was solid on the greens, averaging being ranked 36th in strokes gained putting his first six seasons.”
  • “To be honest with you guys, I’ve never putted this well in my life,” Simpson said after that Players win. “And I think if I had stayed with the belly putter, I think I maybe average 35th to 60th every year in putting. So very average.”
  • “The numbers certainly bear that out. Upon making the switch ahead of 2015, he went a dismal 174th and 177th in the all-important stat the next two seasons. But after improving to 88th in 2016-2017, Simpson, following a move to a claw grip, finished fifth in 2017-2018 and 11th last season. He’s currently No. 7 this season.”

Full piece.

6. Harding blasts Euro Tour
Guess the slow play reforms still require refinement! Golf Digest’s Joel Beall with the story of Justin Harding’s discontent…”Following his final round at the Saudi International, Harding ripped into the Old World circuit for, in his eyes, a lack of regulation on slow play.”
  • “Turtles should be monitored AT ALL TIMES [at] European Tour,” Harding wrote on Twitter. “We as players who don’t take an age should not be responsible for them. Nor should our round be affected by their inconsiderate behavior. Pretty simple really.
  • “F1 doesn’t say to [driver] Lewis Hamilton… ‘Hey pal just slow down because the guys behind can’t keep up.’ If the other 120 players in the field act properly why are we as players forced to play with these guys if they couldn’t give a ****. Week in week out same story, same guys.”

Full piece.

7. Two holes-in-one, one round
Ken Willis, The Daytona Beach News-Journal with the wild tale of Gary Choyka…”The odds are so impossible to grip mentally, accomplishing such a thing led everyone to offer Gary Choyka an obvious piece of advice.”
  • “They all said I should go play the lottery,” he said…But Choyka had already enjoyed a small windfall, plenty enough to cover rounds of drinks at LPGA International after a recent hole-in-one.
  • …”Choyka’s ace on the par-3 third hole at LPGA’s Jones Course in Daytona Beach, Florida, was matched a couple hours later with yet another hole-in-one on the par-3 14th”

Full piece.

8. Daniel Berger notched a top-10 finish with 9-year-old TaylorMade irons
Excellent stuff from our Ryan Barath…”At the Waste Management Phoenix Open, former Callaway staff member and 2015 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, Daniel Berger went back to a nine-year-old (in golf years that’s ancient) set of 2011 TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC irons-and recorded a top 10 at TPC Scottsdale.”
  • “…From pictures on the range at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the rest of Berger’s bag consisted of a Callaway Epic Flash driver and fairway woods, Callaway Apex 3-iron, Callaway MD4 wedges, and an Odyssey putter-no word on his ball of choice at this time.”
  • “It’s not uncommon to see a player go back to a comfortable set of clubs, especially irons, but to see a player go this far back is more unusual. The only other recent example would be Steve Stricker going back to a much older set of Titleist 755’s. The big difference, from what we can tell, is Berger’s set appears to be NOS (new old stock) and a recently built set, based on their condition.”
  • “When talking to those in “the know,” the 2011 TaylorMade Tour Preferred series of irons-including the MB, MC, and CB’s-were some of the best irons ever made by the Carlsbad-based OEM (I will personally admit to owning two sets of the MC’s and an MB set).”
  • “The distinct design feature of the 2011 Tour Preferred MC CB irons was the weight screw in the back of the head that kept mass centered right behind the sweet spot of each head. This feature, something we have seen before and that continues to this day from other OEMs, allows for precise controlling of head weight without altering the CG to maximize performance.”

Full piece.

9. Feral hogs overtake Texas course
Via Golfweek’s Adam Woodard…”No matter how much of a weekend hacker you may be on the golf course, you haven’t come close to damaging a property the way a “plague of pigs” (yes, you read that right) has in Texas.”
  • “According to a report from Houston’s KSAT, 35 to 50 feral hogs have wreaked havoc at Lockhart State Park, ruining the terrain and leaving nothing but muddy patches in their wake. This is nothing new for the golf course, which is still playable, but park official Austin Vieh said this year is “the worst they’ve seen so far.””
  • “Park rangers have been trapping and removing hogs with hopes of preventing the unwanted visitors from returning. Hogs may love rolling in mud, but it doesn’t make them stupid. Rangers have to move traps and come up with new tactics because the hogs have apparently become aware of the traps and are avoiding those areas.”
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News

Morning 9: McIlroy, Lowry win Zurich | Green repeats on LPGA | Steele victorious down under

Published

1 hour ago

on

Apr 29, 2024

By
By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Monday morning, golf fans, after an exciting finish in New Orleans saw Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry come out on top.

1. Two Irishman in New Orleans

AP report…”Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry received a standing ovation when they showed up at historic, creole French Quarter restaurant Arnaud’s on the eve of their final round at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event.”

  • “They also had the largest, loudest galleries at the TPC Louisiana, where the charismatic, 34-year-old McIlroy, had not previously played.
  • “He’s getting old, but he still moves the needle a little bit,” Lowry joked as McIlroy chuckled. “Rory brings a crowd and people love him and we’ve gotten a lot of love in New Orleans. We’ve had just the best week.”
  • “McIlroy and Lowry won Sunday, beating Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer with a nervy par on the first hole of a playoff.
  • “Trainer pushed a 6-foot par putt to the right of the cup to end it, with Lowry lifting a laughing McIlroy off the ground with a bear hug on the green.”
Full piece.

2. Green repeats on LPGA

AP report…”Hannah Green won the LPGA Tour’s JM Eagle LA Championship for the second straight year Sunday, holing out twice from off the greens in a pivotal back-nine stretch at challenging Wilshire Country Club.”

  • “A year after making a 25-foot birdie on the final hole of regulation and winning on the second hole of a playoff, Green — with help from Maja Stark — took the late drama out of this one for her fifth LPGA Tour victory and second of the year.
  • “It wasn’t as a eventful as the last couple days. I was nervous,” Green said. “And I’ve never been able to win having a lead into the last hole like that, so it is nice to be able to get it done earlier in the round.”
  • “Green closed with a 5-under 66 to beat Stark by three strokes. The 27-year-old Australian, also the winner early last month in Singapore, finished at 12-under 272 on the tree-lined layout with poa annua greens that become bumpy late in the day.”
Full piece.

3. DP World Tour: The local takes it

Staff report…”Yuto Katsuragawa continued a history-making season for players from Japan on the DP World Tour with a three-shot victory on home soil at the ISPS HANDA – CHAMPIONSHIP.”

  • “The local favourite entered the final day at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba Course three shots off the lead but was right in the mix at the turn as many of the leading players stumbled.”
  • “Sebastian Söderberg was the only one keeping pace with him but the 25-year-old started the back nine with five birdies in seven holes to leave the Swede in his wake and finish at 17 under after a course-record equalling 63.”
Full piece.

4. LIV: Steele Down Under

AP report…”Three-time PGA Tour winner Brendan Steele held off a fast finishing Louis Oosthuizen to win the LIV Golf Adelaide tournament at The Grange Golf Club by one stoke.”

  • “The 41-year-old Steele shot a final round 68 Sunday for a 54-hole total of 18-under 198 to earn his first victory since he won his second Safeway Open in 2017 on the PGA Tour.”
Full piece.

5. Langer set for return

Golf Channel staff report…”Three months after tearing his Achilles tendon and undergoing surgery, Bernhard Langer is scheduled to return on the PGA Tour Champions.”

  • “Langer’s injury occurred while playing pickleball on Feb 1. He had surgery the next day and had to miss what was supposed to be his final Masters appearance earlier this month.”
Full piece.

6. “Proud” Norman speaks

…Vindication is not the right word,” Norman told Australian Golf Digest before pausing.

  • “It’s the ignorance of others who simply didn’t understand what we were trying to do. I actually feel sorry for them because they now see the true value of LIV Golf and want to be a part of it.”
  • Norman was quick to pay tribute to the Australian faithful for their unconditional support of not only LIV Golf Adelaide but his own playing career. An estimated 35,000 spectators packed Grange Golf Club on Sunday, the majority sticking around to line the 18th fairway and cheer on Cam Smith and Marc Leishman in their dramatic two-hole playoff victory against South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and Dean Burmester.
  • “The support Australia gave me during my own playing career for decades was something I have never forgotten,” says Norman, bursting with pride. “It’s why I brought LIV Golf back home – I did it for them. The people have well and truly spoken. Both individual and team golf is alive and well in Australia and they deserve it. I knew they would support this event.
  • “I’m feeling extremely proud right now. With what we’ve (LIV Golf) gone through over the past 16 months, both as a league and what I’ve copped personally… the hatred… this makes it all worthwhile.”
Full piece.

7. Winning WITBs

Presented by 2nd Swing

MCILROY

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 X

Irons: TaylorMade Proto (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9)

Shaft: Project X 7.0 (4-9)

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-K @59)

Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X3

Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

Ball: 2024 TaylorMade TP5x

LOWRY

Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II (8.5 degrees)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 70 TX

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (18 degrees)

Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 X

Irons: Srixon ZX Utility (3), Srixon ZX5 Mk II (4, 5), Srixon ZX7 Mk II (6-PW)

Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X (3), KBS Tour 130 X (4-PW)

Wedges: Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack (50-10 MID, 54-10 MID), Cleveland RTX Full Face (58-8)

Shafts: KBS Tour Wedge X Black

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Z

Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol 1.0

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV
Full WITBs.
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News

Morning 9: 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour | Rory on possible return to policy board

Published

3 days ago

on

Apr 26, 2024

By
By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Friday morning, golf fans, may a bountiful weekend of golf be in store for you!

1. 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour

KFT staff report…”Frankie Capan III went crazy low Thursday on the Korn Ferry Tour. Nearly in record fashion.”

  • “Capan carded 13-under 58 in the opening round of the Veritex Bank Championship, matching the second lowest score in Korn Ferry Tour history. He fell one shy of Cristobal Del Solar’s record 57, set at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard earlier this year, but it was a heck of a show nonetheless.”
  • “The Minnesota native played an eight-hole stretch in 9-under Thursday, following an eagle at the par-5 ninth with seven straight birdies to begin the back nine at par-71 Texas Rangers Golf Club. He “cooled off” with a two-putt par at the long par-4 17th hole. He arrived at the par-5 18th hole at 13 under for the round, but he found a fairway bunker off the tee, laid up to 134 yards and missed his third shot left of the green. He chipped to 7 feet and drained the par putt to match the Korn Ferry Tour’s second-lowest score of 58, carded by Stephan Jaeger in the opening round of the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae.”
Full piece.

2. Team McIlowery starts strong

Paul Hodowanic for PGATour.com…”Late Thursday afternoon in New Orleans, Rory McIlroy rested his head on Shane Lowry’s shoulder.”

  • “It wasn’t the typical post-round moment, but this isn’t the typical event. McIlroy and Lowry teamed up for this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the PGA TOUR’s lone team event, and the all-Irish duo put on a show. Sporting matching pink-on-navy getups, McIlroy/Lowry opened in a best-ball 11-under 61 in Thursday’s Four-ball format at TPC Louisiana.”
  • “This partnership might have stemmed from a boozy brunch last fall, but their opening-round performance at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans gave the field a sobering reminder: They’ll be tough to top.”
Full piece.

3. LPGA Tour: Grace Kim in front

AP report…”Grace Kim shot a 7-under 64 at Wilshire Country Club to take the first-round lead Thursday in the LPGA Tour’s JM Eagle LA Championship.”

  • “Playing in the morning session, the 23-year-old Australian capped her bogey-free round with a chip-in birdie on the par-3 18th.”
  • “Well, I chunked my tee shot on the last hole 20 meters short and then I chipped it in it,” Kim said. “I think that’s pretty cool, in front of everyone
Full piece.

4. McIlroy on rejoining policy board

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”Rory McIlroy said Wednesday that he is willing to rejoin the PGA Tour policy board if the other player directors want him.”

  • “As first reported by the Guardian, Webb Simpson has submitted a letter stating that he’d like to resign from the board, but only if his vacant seat is filled by McIlroy, who stepped down last fall because of the toll it had taken on him professionally and personally.”
  • “Five months later, what has changed?”
  • “I think I can be helpful,” McIlroy said Wednesday ahead of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he is partnering with Shane Lowry. “I don’t think there’s been much progress made in the last eight months, and I was hopeful that there would be. I think I could be helpful to the process. But only if people want me involved, I guess.”
Full piece.

5. Charlie Woods shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier

Golfweek’s Cameron Jourdan…”Charlie Woods is going to have to wait to play in the U.S. Open.”

“The 15-year-old son of Tiger Woods played Thursday in local qualifying for the United States Golf Association’s national championship, set for June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. Charlie played at The Legacy Golf & Tennis Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and he shot 9-over 81.”

“Charlie’s round featured a bogey on his opening hole, the par-4 first. He then doubled the par-5 second. A pair of pars followed before his lone birdie on the front, but another double the next hole, the par-4 sixth, had him turn in 4-over 40.”
Full piece.

6. Photos from the Zurich Classic

GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

Check out all our photos at the link below!
Full piece.
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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Published

6 days ago

on

Apr 23, 2024

By

GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.

Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying about our photos from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in the forums.

 

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WITB

Whats in the Bag18 hours ago

Team McIlowry (Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry) winning WITBs: 2024 Zurich Classic

Rory McIlroy WITB Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25) Buy here. Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X (45 inches) 3-wood:...
Whats in the Bag3 days ago

Steve Stricker WITB 2024 (April)

Steve Stricker WITB accurate as of the Zurich Classic. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, C4...
Whats in the Bag3 days ago

Alex Fitzpatrick WITB 2024 (April)

Alex Fitzpatrick what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.  Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura...
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Alejandro Tosti WITB 2024 (April)

Alejandro Tosti what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees...

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