News
Why Mickelson could be in for a very awkward surprise at this week’s LIV Golf opener
The LIV Golf series has it plastered all over their publicity – “Golf, but louder” – and it could get very loud (or indeed, quiet) if Alan Shipnuck goes ahead with his promise to travel to the Centurion Club in a day or so.
The journalist and author was the man that broke the news of Phil Mickelson’s views on the original Saudi Golf League, reporting that Lefty was using the rebel tour as ‘leverage against the PGA Tour’. That, plus Mickelson’s view on his prospective employers – “scary motherf***ers” – ended badly, with the 51-year-old taking a hiatus from the game and going nowhere near Southern Hills to defend his PGA Championship last month.
- Related: The likely reason why some LIV players are resigning their PGA Tour membership and Mickelson has not
With stories of his fading relationship with caddie ‘Bones’ Mackay, along with gambling issues and much more, the association between player and writer would seem broken.
It might also be safe to assume that the rumpus caused within the group of investors and (the now) LIV Golf Series has meant they would hardly hold their arms wide to welcome Shipnuck at any of the three-round events. But he’s still going.
Shipnuck tweeted yesterday that, “the folks at LIV haven’t responded to my credentials request” and, of course, Twitter went a tad crazy with the replies.
Strangely, the folks at LIV haven’t responded to my credential request. But I’m still gonna fly to London, buy a ticket and cover the tournament. https://t.co/Wa8rFNYfTz
— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) June 7, 2022
Many of the responses hinted at the prevalence of free tickets offered by many of the players on their social media feeds, with @darcyrossiter advising “Westwood25 for free tix, Alan. Or any players surname and 25 for that matter.”
Given the obvious circus that may surround his attendance, Shipnuck was also asked, “Why go and cover it? All that does is give them what they want, legitimacy and free publicity.”
Never short of a story for the Fire Pit Collective, the response was typically measured:
I have some misgivings but this is a monumental moment for the business of professional golf and it requires some scrutiny. https://t.co/qgWcoq0RZr
— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) June 7, 2022
That’s it in a nutshell. Golfers golf, reporters report.
Should one reporter meet a certain golfer, though, it will definitely be golf. But louder.
More from the 19th Hole
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- ‘Absolutely disgusting’ – LPGA pro blasts Augusta National for its role in major venue change
- ‘Get it out of my face, man!’ – Brooks Koepka snatches phone from fan during tense exchange
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
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 timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Spotted: Tommy Fleetwood’s TaylorMade Spider Tour X Prototype putter
Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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Equipment
Rickie Fowler’s new putter: Standard-length Odyssey Jailbird 380 in custom orange
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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Brandon
Jun 8, 2022 at 10:02 pm
Better bring like 10 bodyguards.
Tom Kay
Jun 8, 2022 at 7:05 pm
Phil looks like one of the villain’s in a John Wick movie.
Thomas
Jun 8, 2022 at 3:22 pm
Phil has signed more autographs for kids than any PGA player ever. Phil is still a fan favorite. Shupnick? He sounds like another sleazy reporter who never one anything. One thing Phil needs to cut out is the stupid gambling. Gambling is for r**eta*rds andf degenerates. On the plus side, Phil is not a serial adulterer like the PGA’s favorite.
Rick
Jun 8, 2022 at 4:36 pm
That was then. This is now. He obviously signed so many autographs for publicity. In fact he doesn’t give a rip about them.
Now he’s auditioning as a Hunter Biden body double.
Bob
Jun 8, 2022 at 12:08 pm
Phil has the Hunter Biden look going. It’s all making sense now.
PJ
Jun 8, 2022 at 5:21 pm
More like Steve Bannon.
geohogan
Jun 10, 2022 at 5:29 pm
or Jared Kushner; not yet bin laden. Phil wants sumathat Saudi cash at any cost.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/us/jared-kushner-saudi-investment-fund.html