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Morning 9: McIlroy questions Euro pros who stayed home | Tour tests COVID-19 free again | Diversity in golf | Does Rory have a “Sunday problem?”

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6 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt
Email me at [email protected]
June 18, 2020
Good Thursday morning, golf fans.
 
I’m thrilled to announce GolfWRX’s partnership with Golf Avenue. A great place for new equipment with top-trade in value, I particularly love the best-in-the-business selection of pre-owned equipment-some deep cuts from the past and great values. Check out the partnership details here. 
1. McIlroy: Players who care about their careers should be here
BBC report…”Rory McIlroy says the European players who opted not to travel to the United States for the PGA Tour’s restart last week should not complain about losing out on world ranking points.”
  • …”I mean if you really care about your career and care about moving forward you should be here,” said McIlroy.
  • …”Look, personally, if I were in their shoes and I was asked to come over to the States and shelter in place or quarantine for two weeks before these tournaments, I would have done that,” said McIlroy, 31.”
  • “I get there’s different variables and families and stuff involved, but we all have the means to rent a very nice house in a gated community in Florida and… you know, it’s not a hardship for two weeks to come over and quarantine.”
2. No positive tests on PGA Tour
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”The Tour administered 369 on-site tests this week at the RBC Heritage and 98 tests following the third round of the Charles Schwab Challenge for players and caddies scheduled to travel to this week’s event on the circuit’s charter flight.”
  • “Also for the second consecutive week there were positive tests on the Korn Ferry Tour. There were 408 on-site tests issued this week at the event in St. Augustine, Fla., with two positives from caddies. Last week there were four positive tests, three caddies and a player, at TPC Sawgrass.”
3. DL3 on captains picks: “Let’s just take the top 12 and be done with it”
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”Stricker seemed to embrace the chance to pick half his team, the move isn’t for everyone.”
  • “No. I was in the Jack Nicklaus category. Let’s just take the top 12 and be done with it,” said two-time captain Davis Love III, when asked if he would have wanted six picks.
  • “Love explained that the captain’s picks are the toughest part of the job and adding two more selections to the process will only intensify the decision.”
  • …”It’s the guys you don’t pick. You have to call them, and I’ve seen Bubba Watson, talked to him three times already this week, about this year’s Ryder Cup,” Love said. “It’s still awkward with guys that you didn’t pick or that you did pick and felt like they didn’t help. So it’s terrible.”
4. How to speed up diversity? 
Cameron Morfit at PGATour.com talking with former PGA Tour pro, Adrian Stills…”From my perspective there has been some progress,” says Stills, who is now is the General Manager and teaching pro at Osceola. “The unfortunate part of it all is it’s just been so slow.”
  • …”Stills hopes we’re moving beyond the era when he was mysteriously denied entry into an elite junior tournament that still exists. Later, his almost entirely black golf team at South Carolina State was denied entry at certain hotels. Still, the struggle continues.”
  • “I’ve stopped using the word change,” Stills says, “but I’m emphasizing the word grow. People have to learn to grow. You may not change, but you should never stop growing. You should be able to process and come to different conclusions. And even if you don’t, you should at least have some opportunity to interact with people you don’t know. Golf is a good catalyst for that.”
5. APGA’s seven-tournament schedule
PGATour.com staff report…”The Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA), professional golf’s newly-prominent tour promoting diversity in the sport, will launch a seven-tournament schedule in June highlighted by events in the major markets of Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles.”
  • “The APGA burst into the pro sports spotlight in January when the Farmers Insurance Open hosted a tournament during the annual PGA TOUR stop at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California, including the APGA Tour players and officials in operations, hospitality, and media operations throughout the week.”
  • “The 27-hole APGA Tour at the Farmers Insurance Open competition, organized in collaboration with the PGA TOUR, Farmers and The Century Club of San Diego, took place on the Torrey Pines North golf course while the best players in the world were competing in the third round of the Open on Torrey Pines South. The exposure resulted in major print, digital, and TV media coverage about the 11-year-old tour and its mission of bringing diversity to the highest levels of professional golf in conjunction with the PGA TOUR, Farmers Insurance, Lexus and other supporting organizations.”
6. McIlroy on Bryson’s distance: “Holy sh*t”
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”The 31-year-old has always ranked among the Tour’s longest players off the tee, but even he was impressed with Bryson DeChambeau’s performance last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge.”
  • “He hit a couple drives on Sunday that [caddie Harry Diamond] and I just looked at each other, and we’re like, holy sh*t, that was unbelievable,” said McIlroy, who was paired with DeChambeau on Sunday at Colonial. “He hit one into the wind on 11. I hit a really good one and probably hit it like 315, 320. He must have flew my ball by 40 yards. He hit it like 370, 375 into the wind. It was crazy. It was nuts. It’s unbelievable.”
7. U.S. Am adjustments
Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…“The field for the U.S. Amateur, usually 312 competitors deep, will be reduced to 264 for the Aug. 10-16 championship at Bandon Dunes, which will still utilize two courses for stroke play, Bandon Dunes and Bandon Trails. The U.S. Women’s Amateur, set for Aug. 3-9 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland, will now have a 132-player field instead of 156 players.”
  • …”For the U.S. Amateur, all match-play qualifiers from the 2019 championship at Pinehurst will be eligible to compete, as will winners/runner(s)-up of this summer’s Western Amateur, North and South Amateur, Sunnehanna Amateur and Southern Amateur. The field will also include several top performers from the U.S. Mid-Amateur, U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Senior Amateur: last four champions, last two runners-up and, for all but the senior event, last year’s quarterfinalists…The top 225 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking as of June 24 will also be exempt.”
  • …As for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, the exemption changes are similar, though it will only exempt the Round of 32 qualifiers from last year’s championship while taking fewer exempt players via the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. While the past four winners and past two runners-up from all three events are eligible, only last year’s Girls’ Junior Round of 16 qualifiers and last year’s Mid-Amateur semifinalists will also be extended invites.”
8. How tour life has changed
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard polled the pros for the most substantial changes to their workdays in the COVID-19 era…
  • …The absence of fans has been the most-talked-about difference since the Tour returned from a 91-day hiatus, and those who found themselves in quiet contention last week certainly felt the difference.
  • …For many players, it’s the simple things that have changed because of the COVID-19 restrictions, like how you interact with your caddie.
  • …For most players, traveling from city to city has become second nature and routines have been refined over the years – what hotel to stay at, where to eat, what airport to fly into. There are now designated and “highly suggested” places to stay and attend.
9. Rory’s “Sunday problem” 
The NY Post’s Mark Cannizzaro…”when Rory McIlroy, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, is at or near the top of a leaderboard in the final round of a golf tournament, there are expectations. And those expectations are that he should win the tournament.”
  • “…McIlroy entered the final round of last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge three shots out of the lead held by Xander Schauffele at Colonial Country Club.”
  • “And on Sunday, while most of the players around him either made a charge up the leaderboard or at least kept within touch of the lead, McIlroy went backward, shooting an eye-opening 6-over-par 41 on the front nine and finishing with a 74 that left him in a tie for 32nd.”

 

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Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

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Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

51 mins ago

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Jun 1, 2026

By

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

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

  • Driver: Ping 440 LST
  • Metal: Ping G440 Max at 15 degrees
  • Metal: Ping G425 Max at 21 degrees
  • Hybrid: Ping G430 at 25 degrees
  • Irons: Ping Blueprint S 5 through PW
  • Wedges: Ping S159 at 52, 56, and 60 degrees
  • Putter: Ping PLD Anser

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Russell Henley’s winning WITB: 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge

Published

15 hours ago

on

May 31, 2026

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Driver: Titleist TSi3 (10 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70 6.5 TX

3-wood: Titleist TS3 (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX

7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Project X Denali Black 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T250 (4), Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (7-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F @47, 50-08F @51, 54-10S @55, 60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48), S400 (47)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X5 Tour Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

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Charles Schwab Challenge Tour Report: MacIntyre, Åberg and Spaun all switch putters, TaylorMade launches new Spider

Published

3 days ago

on

May 29, 2026

By

There must be something in the water. Or potentially on the greens. A whole host of big-time players decided that the Charles Schwab Challenge was the perfect place to test out new putters.

With the 2026 U.S. Open just around the corner, defending champion J.J. Spaun made a surprising switch away from his center-shafted Df3 and into L.A.B. Golf’s OZ.1i HS – the heel-shafted mallet putter.

“Just something I kind of wanted to change the way the putter was looking, just a completely different look than the DF3 that I’ve been using for the last year and a half,” Spaun told GolfWRX about the swap. “So it’s just easier to line up for me with less onset looking design, and it’s just something I felt like switching it up and seeing how it goes.”

You can find more about the putter and the reasoning behind Spaun’s change here.

Robert MacIntyre also decided to change the flatstick at Colonial Country Club. He’s using a custom Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5R. The Scotty team created a specially-milled face featuring horizontal grooves and shortened the plumber’s neck to increase toe hang.

Another custom feature of the build is the welded wings added to the rear of the putter, similar to those found on the Phantom 11 head.

It’s potentially part of a major overhaul to his bag. The Scot has recently switched from the Titleist Pro V1 to the Pro V1x golf ball, added the new GTS2 driver, and is currently testing a GTS 3-wood that could replace his ancient TaylorMade AeroBurner 3-wood.

Ludvig Åberg joined the trio of superstars making alterations on the greens. He’s added a Scotty Cameron Phantom 3.2.

It’s not Åberg’s first putter switch of the season. He had been using different versions of his usual Odyssey Versa #1 head to try to get better speed control on the greens.

Currently, a Tour-only offering, the Phantom 3 head is a half-moon mallet shape. Like the previous version that GolfWRX captured at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which Åberg never put in play, the current version appears to feature the Studio Carbon Steel face insert and chain-link face milling. Instead of the all-black version one, Åberg’s current flatstick is in the metal finish.

Rico Hoey’s make-shift Jailbird

Some of the best builds on Tour have a certain Frankenstein theme to them.

Odyssey decided to do this when breeding a turtle and a bird together. The result, Rico Hoey’s latest broomstick.

The custom Jailbird S2S Tri-Hot head includes an aluminium-milled insert from the unreleased TRTL head, which the team machined down to fit the face of the Jailbird after removing the usual Ai-Dual insert.

The team also filled the wings of the putter with epoxy to redistribute mass away from the face, with the metal insert weighing more than the original.

Hoey was also spotted with a custom Damascus Milled Jailbird Mini broomstick. Check out the full gallery here.

Brant Snedeker’s full WITB 

Arguably, the PGA Tour’s feel-good story of the year so far was 45-year-old Brandt Snedeker returning to the winner’s circle for the first time in nearly 8 years.

His victory didn’t come without some equipment updates, either. The Presidents Cup Captain added the 2016 M2 driver equipped with a Fujikura Speeder Evolution 661. It’s a shaft that’s even older than the driver.

The historic driver setup might have been added because Snedeker was missing some antique vibes. He recently switched out his 2-decade-old Odyssey Rossie White Hot XG for a TaylorMade Spider Tour X.

He first put the Spider in play at the Cognizant Classic. Still, at the Valspar Championship, he tested TaylorMade’s True Path Alignment versus without, and preferred the added aim benefits he was getting. In previous testing, the biggest thing Snedeker noticed was the launch and how quickly the ball got to true roll from the Spider and its Pure Roll insert compared to anything else he had tried.

Check out Snedeker’s full what’s in the bag during this week’s episode of “Inside the Ropes” from Colonial.

 

Everything’s bigger in Texas

TaylorMade Golf chose the second stop of a Texas two-step in Dallas as the spot to launch the tour’s latest Spider putter.

On-site Monday at Colonial Country Club, GolfWRX’s Tour Photographer Greg Moore captured the new Spider ZT Max putter ahead of the Charles Schwab Challenge.

The Max version of TaylorMade’s zero-torque putter style has a larger footprint than the original ZT, which will likely lead to a higher MOI thanks to wider perimeter weighting.

The original ZT is made of high-density 303 stainless steel at the front, and then a lower-density 6061 aerospace aluminum on the back to create a high-MOI foundation, with a center shaft featuring slight forward shaft lean and 25mm onset behind the leading edge.

The Spider ZT Max also appears to use the ZT cambered sole, which is also seen on the recently Tour-launched Spider Tour, Tour X, F and V models, which were first spotted at the RBC Heritage.

Brian Harman gamed the original Spider ZT for his victory last year at the 2025 Valero Texas Open, and the putter also saw victory on the DP World Tour in the hands of Michael Kim for his FedEx Open de France win.

Check out the full gallery here.

Odds and Ends

Project X officially Tour launched the Titan Yellow shaft, just a few days after Wyndham Clark played it for the first time and won The CJ Cup Byron Nelson. The shaft features a smoother feel in the handle compared to past Project X wood shafts, along with a firm midsection and firm tip. The Synex Technology allows a player to feel more load in transition without losing the feel of the clubhead. Titleist launched the GTS300 back at Quail Hollow, and just a few weeks later, it’s in the bag of Justin Thomas. Could this be a test run for Shinnecock?

 

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