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19th Hole

‘Stupid is as stupid does’ – Mickelson and JT tee off on USGA and R&A’s new local rule

Published

3 years ago

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On Tuesday, golf’s governing bodies introduced a local rule (MLR G-10) allowing competitive tours the choice to cap driver length at events to 46 inches. 

As expected, some tour pro’s, particularly Phil Mickelson, were not best pleased.

Being one of the few tour pros to use a driver longer than 46 inches, Lefty described the rumored new rule as “pathetic” back in August. On hearing the announcement on Tuesday, Mickelson broke out a Forrest Gump quote to slam the USGA and R&A’s decision.

Mickelson wasn’t the only tour pro to hit out at golf’s governing bodies, with Justin Thomas also taking to Twitter to have his say. The 28-year-old branded the rule as “awful” before explaining his stance to a user who accused him of whining.

Speaking to the press at this week’s CJ Cup, JT further explained his opposition to the new rule, saying

“I don’t really agree with it. I feel like there’s a lot of other things, you know, like the arm-bar putter that they should be approaching as opposed to the length of driver. I think the fact that you see only a few people using a long driver speaks for itself, that it’s not really that big of an advantage. It’s a lot harder to hit it straight.

In terms of do I think it makes the game of golf and growing the game better? No, I don’t at all, but they seem to have their kind of mind around that for a while now. … If there’s guys out here that want to have a chance to put it in play with a 47-, 48-inch driver, then power to them. I had that opportunity; I just chose not to.”

The new rule will come into effect from January 1, 2022.

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

19th Hole

Report: Greg Norman spotted following a surprise grouping on Thursday at the Masters

Published

2 days ago

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Apr 12, 2024

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Greg Norman is at this week’s Masters tournament but found himself in a situation where he had to buy himself a ticket to enter the grounds.

Speaking to the Washington Post, Norman explained why he was at Augusta National:

“I’m here because we have 13 players that won 10 Masters between them. So I’m here just to support them, do the best I can to show them, ‘Hey, you know, the boss is here rooting for you.’ ”

So who was Norman following during the opening round of this year’s Masters? Well the answer may surprise you.

Per Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig, Norman was spotted following the LIV-less grouping of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele.

We’ll find out a little later today whether Norman will make his third appearance in as many days at this year’s opening major.

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19th Hole

Collin Morikawa makes surprising late putter switch at Masters

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3 days ago

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Apr 11, 2024

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Collin Morikawa has had plenty of success with a blade in his hands over the course of his young career, but after a lean spell on the greens lately, it appears that the 27-year-old is ready to try something new.

The California-native began the year with his TaylorMade TP Soto before switching to a Logan Olson proto last month. Now at this week’s Masters, Morikawa has been spotted with a Spider Tour X, the same flatstick that Scottie Scheffler will be using at Augusta.

The move would represent a big change, but it has been a very frustrating year on the greens for Morikawa, who will hope the TaylorMade mallet can offer him a similar upturn in fortune to that of Scheffler. In 2024, Morikawa ranks 164th for Strokes Gained: Putting, and 157th for Total Putting.

We’ll keep an eye whether Morikawa puts the mallet into action on day one of the Masters.

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19th Hole

Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters

Published

4 days ago

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Apr 10, 2024

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Fresh off of winning $2.76 million on UConn’s victory over Purdue on Monday night, Barstool Sports’ founder Dave Portnoy has just placed a massive bet for this year’s Masters.

Tweeting on Wednesday morning, Portnoy revealed that he has placed $300,000 on Scottie Scheffler to win this year’s Masters at odds of +450.

Should he win, that’d be a total payout of $1.65 million.

Scheffler is one of the shortest priced favorites of recent times at the Masters, and is looking for what would be his third win in his last four events.

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WITB

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