News

Morning 9: Tiger in town to win | Box office grouping | Riviera photos

Published

3 years ago

Feb 15, 2023

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco and Matthew Vincenzi.

For comments: [email protected]

February 15, 2023

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we inch closer to Tiger’s return.

1. Here to win

Ben Everill for PGATour.com…“Woods, who returns for his first official TOUR event since The Open Championship last July, is adamant he’s not here to make up numbers, or to play a ceremonial golfer role for the event he hosts.”

“If I’m playing, I play to win” Tiger Woods before Genesis

“I’m excited to go out there and compete and play with these guys. And I would not have put myself out here if I didn’t think I could beat these guys and win the event. That’s my mentality,” Woods said Tuesday from Riviera.

“If I’m playing, I play to win. I know that players have played and they are ambassadors of the game and try to grow the game… I can’t wrap my mind around that as a competitor. If I’m playing in the event I’m going to try and beat you… I don’t understand that making the cut’s a great thing. If I entered the event, it’s always to get a W.”

Full piece.

2. Woods, McIlroy, Thomas grouped together

PGATour.com staff…”Tiger Woods will tee off with two familiar faces in his return to the PGA TOUR.”

“The 82-time TOUR winner will play alongside Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy in the first two rounds of The Genesis Invitational at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. They will tee off at 3:04 p.m. ET Thursday and 10:24 a.m. ET in Friday’s second round.”

Full piece.

3. Former “sportwashing” critic reverses course

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…”Three years ago, Meghan MacLaren took a rare and bold stance against playing in the first women’s professional golf event ever held in Saudi Arabia, saying that competing in the Kingdom didn’t fit with her values. The 28-year-old Englishwoman withdrew over concerns that the country was “sportswashing” its human rights record.”

“As the presence of Saudi Arabia money continues to grow in women’s golf, however, MacLaren’s stance has evolved.”

…[said MacLaren]: “At some point, you have to reconcile,” said MacLaren. “This is my competitive nature and my profession versus how do I want to live my life? What do I want to stand up for?

“You have a voice to a certain point, but also, the better golfer I am and the more recognizable golfer I am, the louder I can use that voice.”

Full piece.

4. Scott PAC chair

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”Entering his 22nd season on the PGA Tour, Adam Scott will enjoy a first in his career this year as the newly elected chairman of the 16-member Player Advisory Council.”

“Scott was elected chair by the Tour’s membership over Maverick McNealy and Kevin Streelman and will join the policy board for a three-year term starting next season.”

“We have the ability to put the people in [charge at the Tour] who should be able to do the job. I think it’s getting to the point in our game where it’s getting maybe easy to see that there needs to be some accountability for all of this stuff all of a sudden across the game of golf,” Scott said last month at the Sony Open. “I think over my career there has probably been less of that because there hasn’t been a consequence for error, is the feeling as a player looking at the ecosystem of the game.”

Full piece.

5. LIV team rosters cometh

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard…”By the end of the week the full 2023 rosters for all 12 teams in the LIV Golf League will be revealed.”

“LIV officials will announce the rosters of four teams per day, Wednesday, Feb. 15 to Friday, Feb. 17, as momentum builds to the first event of the season at Mayakoba’s El Camaleón Golf Course in Mexico, Feb. 24-26.”

Full piece.

6. LIV making the Tour younger?

Garry Smits, Florida Times-Union…”Take a look at the field for the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational this week in Los Angeles.”

“Then glance at last year’s results at the Riviera Country Club.”

“More than any other tournament so far on the 2022-23 Tour schedule, the impact of more than 20 former Tour players who are now playing on the LIV Golf League and are under suspension from the PGA Tour will be felt at the Genesis. It’s an impact that has been lessened with Tiger Woods’ announcement that he will play in the event he hosts, making his first start of the season.”

Full Piece.

7. Rose, Schauffele commit to TGL

Cameron Jourdan for Golfweek…”The latest commits to the new tech-focused golf league are bringing some gold with them.”

“The last two Olympic gold medalists, Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose, are joining the TGL, the primetime golf league in partnership with the PGA Tour. It will begin play in 2024. Schauffele and Rose make it 11 players committed of the 18 spots, joining Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who are leading the league, and Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Adam Scott, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick, Max Homa and Billy Horschel.”

Full Piece.

8. DP World Tour COO calls for LIV truce

Matt Smith for Golf Digest Middle East…”DP World Chief Communications Officer Danny van Otterdijk has called for a truce between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf, as the former European Tour seeks a resolution to its drawn-out feud and seeks to block players who have signed up for the new series from competing in its events.”

“The PGA Tour has already banned the likes of Phil Mickelson and Brookes Koepka from teeing up in its competitions, but a UK arbitration hearing is ongoing, with LIV Golfers such as Patrick Reed and Ian Poulter continuing to contend in events such as the recent Hero Dubai Desert Classic in the UAE.”

“Van Otterdijk insists communication is ongoing between DP World and LIV Golf, and he is optimistic of a peaceful resolution.”

“Our friends at LIV Golf, we have great contact with them as the game grows in the region,” Van Otterdijk told Golf Digest Middle East at the recent Desert Classic, where world No. 1 Rory McIlroy edged out rival Reed for the crown during a stormy competition.”

Full Piece.

9. Photos from Riv

Check out all of our galleries from this week’s event!

Full Piece.

News

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

Published

9 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Alistair Cameron

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.

? Ludvig Åberg is using a new putter! He’s playing a @ScottyCameron Phantom 3 head. First major putter switch, although he has been changing loft and heads in the Odyssey #1 style this season.
Here’s a Phantom 3 built for him earlier in the season https://t.co/oGrNk6p0hz pic.twitter.com/edRbpk22m4

— Alistair Cameron (@ACameronWRX) May 28, 2026

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?

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the ShopRite LPGA

Published

1 day ago

May 28, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX Tour Photographer Greg Moore was on site in Galloway, New Jersey, ahead of the ShopRite LPGA powered by Wakefern to snap some WITB photos and more.

Check out links to all the photos below!

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

Odyssey putters – 2026 ShopRite(LPGA)

News

Club Junkie WITB, week 18: Driver still needs a grip!

Published

2 days ago

May 27, 2026

Brian Knudson

Back again for week 18 with another new bag for this week’s league night! Last week I played well but lost so hoping to get back on the winning side of things. I am pretty excited to get this driver out on the course as I think it is a legit sleeper in the category. It is also time to break out some newly built irons from JP Golf that look awesome and hopefully play just as good! Here is what is in the bag this week.

Driver: PXG Lighting Tour-Mid (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Red 6s

4-wood: Wilson Dynapwr Carbon (16.5 degrees @ 16)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

Hybrid: Callaway Apex Ti Super Hybrid (21 degrees @ 20)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Red 9x

Utility: Mizuno JPX One (22 degrees @ 23)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black 85s

Irons: JP Prime (5-PW)
Shafts: UST Mamiya Dart V 105 F5

Wedge: Cleveland RTZ (50-10 MID)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 s

Wedge: Cleveland RTZ (56-10 MID)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 s

Wedge: Cleveland RTZ (50-8 ADAPT)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 s

Putter: Mizuno M.Craft City Osaka
Shaft: TPT Pulse 50

Ball: PXG Xtreme Tour

Bag: Ghost Anyday Black Ops Stand Bag