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Morning 9: Match Play groups | Netflix didn’t use best content? | LPGA Q-Series changes

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

March 22, 2023

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as day one of the WGC Match Play gets underway.

1. Your Match Play groups

Group 1

Scottie Scheffler (1)

Tom Kim (17)

Alex Noren (38)

Davis Riley (54)

Group 2

Jon Rahm (2)

Billy Horschel (22)

Keith Mitchell (39)

Rickie Fowler (49)

Group 3

Rory McIlroy (3)

Keegan Bradley (20)

Denny McCarthy (48)

Scott Stallings (52)

Group 4

Patrick Cantlay (4)

Brian Harman (25)

K.H. Lee (35)

Nick Taylor (55)

Group 5

Max Homa (5)

Hideki Matsuyama (18)

Kevin Kisner (42)

Justin Suh (63)

Group 6

Xander Schauffele (6)

Tom Hoge (23)

Aaron Wise (40)

Cam Davis (64)

Group 7

Will Zalatoris (7)

Ryan Fox (29)

Harris English (37)

Andrew Putnam (56)

Group 8

Viktor Hovland (8)

Chris Kirk (28)

Si Woo Kim (34)

Matt Kuchar (59)

Group 9

Collin Morikawa (9)

Jason Day (32)

Adam Svensson (44)

Victor Perez (51)

Group 10

Tony Finau (10)

Kurt Kitayama (19)

Adrian Meronk (45)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout (60)

Group 11

Matt Fitzpatrick (11)

Sahith Theegala (26)

Min Woo Lee (41)

J.J. Spaun (61)

Group 12

Jordan Spieth (12)

Shane Lowry (21)

Taylor Montgomery (47)

Mackenzie Hughes (50)

Group 13

Sam Burns (13)

Seamus Power (30)

Adam Scott (33)

Adam Hadwin (53)

Group 14

Tyrrell Hatton (14)

Russell Henley (31)

Lucas Herbert (46)

Ben Griffin (62)

Group 15

Cameron Young (15)

Sepp Straka (27)

Corey Conners (36)

Davis Thompson (57)

Group 16

Sungjae Im (16)

Tommy Fleetwood (24)

J.T. Poston (43)

Maverick McNealy (58)

2. Dahmen: Netflix didn’t use the good stuff!

Golfweek’s Tim Schmitt…”But while all the notoriety has made Dahmen more recognizable to golf fans, he doesn’t seem to be letting the spotlight swallow him up.”

  • “I think overall it was really good. I think they did a good job of telling our story,” Dahmen said. “We have a unique friendship, brotherhood, whatever you want to call it.
  • “But we gave them a lot of content that could have been very funny and they could have went another way with it.”
  • “What kind of content?”
  • “Dahmen won’t reveal.”
Full piece.

3. LPGA Q-Series changes

Golf Channel’s Patricia Duffy…”The LPGA announced Tuesday that, starting with the 2023 LPGA Q-Series, the final stage will be reduced from eight rounds to six rounds.”

  • “The change in number of rounds is the first since the inaugural LPGA Q-Series in 2018, which debuted with two 72-hole (eight rounds), stroke-play events held in consecutive weeks. Prior to 2018, the final stage of qualifying consisted of five rounds over one week.”
  • “Based upon feedback from players and research conducted over past LPGA Q-Series results, it was determined that six rounds is an adequate measure and challenging test for those competing for LPGA Tour status,” said Tommy Tangtiphaiboontana, senior vice president of LPGA operations. “This modification allows the entire competition to be played at one facility in consecutive rounds, with no change in venue between weeks.”
Full piece.

4. Scheffler returns to Augusta

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”It was a predictably emotional return to Augusta National for Scottie Scheffler last week.”

  • “The Masters champion went to Augusta National last Monday and Tuesday as part of a scouting trip that doubled as a stroll down memory lane.”
  • “That was really one of the first times where winning the Masters felt real. Because we got back on property, I’d just come off the win at The Players, so our celebration kind of was just going to play Augusta,” Scheffler said Tuesday at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, where he’s the defending champion. “That was really one of the first times where it felt real that I had won the Masters.”
  • “Scheffler played the course twice with a group of friends, including his longtime swing coach Randy Smith, and said two changes since last year’s Masters stood out, including a new tee on the par-5 13th hole that’s added about 35 yards.”
Full piece.

5. Report: McIlroy plays Augusta, drives the ball beautifully

GolfWRX staff report…”As we inch closer to the 2023 Masters, anticipation grows over the fate of Rory McIlroy, who will once again go to Augusta with the hope of capturing the only major that has so far eluded him.”

  • “McIlroy’s form since last teeing it up at Augusta National has been stellar, but recent grumblings from the Irishman concerning his driver have his legion of fans concerned.”
  • “Following a dismal showing at the opening round of the Players, McIlroy let off some steam saying he wished he could use his driver from last year, alluding to the fact that the previous model’s face may no longer be conforming. The 33-year-old admitted to “user error” when it came to his current big stick, but since then, speculation has been rife that the 4-time major champ may make a big change in the bag for the Masters.”
  • “This week, a fan account claimed from sources that McIlroy was set to make “big changes”, which had golf fans wondering if a change in driver could be on the horizon.”
  • “However, per a report from Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, McIlroy drove the ball “beautifully” during the two rounds on a recent trip to Augusta, where he apparently used a shorter driver shaft while keeping his TaylorMade Stealth 2 head.”
Full piece.

6. TaylorMade issues rollback rebuttal

GolfWRX staff report…”Titleist and Bridgestone are no longer alone in addressing the recent USGA/R&A proposal to lower the maximum distance of golf balls used for professional tour and elite amateur events, as TaylorMade Golf, today, has also released a statement on the matter.”

  • “And, in a unique move, the company is urging regular golfers to participate in a survey that will help to assess the broader golf community’s response to the proposed modifications.”
  • “The full text of TaylorMade’s statement is below.”
  • “The USGA and R&A recently announced a proposal to create a Model Local Rule where highly skilled golfers must use a different golf ball from 2026 onwards. This will introduce bifurcation into our sport, meaning that you – the golfer – will play with different equipment than the professionals.
  • “We believe a large part of golf’s appeal is this underlying sense of: “I can do that, too.” And using the same equipment as the pros gives us a more accurate feel for how talented these players are. Most of us will never know what it’s like to play in Madison Square Garden, throw a touchdown in the Super Bowl, or score the game-winning goal in a World Cup final, but we can go to St. Andrews, walk across the Swilcan Bridge and for a moment feel what it’s like to be a professional. Walk in their shoes, play the same courses, and use the same equipment. It’s all part of why we love this sport.
  • “The USGA and R&A have provided a window in which all manufacturers can provide feedback on this proposal and its potential impact.
  • “As we absorbed this announcement and tried to understand the why, as well as the impact, all of our conversations came back to one place – you, the golfer. We want your voice to be heard, so please, let us know what you think.”
  • “We invite you to be part of the conversation and to be part of our feedback to the USGA and R&A: Take the survey here.”
Full piece.

7. Ian Poulter on Ryder Cup captaincy

Elliott Heath for Golf Monthly…”Ian Poulter has said if Ryder Cup Europe chose not to have a LIV Golf player as captain then “shame on them” after answering fan questions on Instagram.”

  • “The Englishman was expected to be European captain for the 2025 match at Bethpage Black in New York but his future captaincy days seem numbered following Henrik Stenson’s removal as 2023 skipper.”
  • “Poulter was asked if he thinks LIV Golf will last, with the fan saying they were “gutted” that the seven-time Ryder Cupper probably won’t get a chance to captain Europe.”
Full piece.

8. Simpson cracks the code to Scheffler’s success

Our Jason Daniels…”After the third round of the Valspar Championship, the 2012 U.S Open winner said Scheffler’s stance was “a whole different level of commitment,” confirming what long-term caddie, Paul Tesori, had previously told reporters – “I think he [Simpson] would give up food before he gave up coffee.”

  • “Simpson leaves Scottie well behind in his dedication, bringing his own coffee machine on the road, and having “typically, three or four before lunch, one post-lunch, and one right before dinner.”
  • “He does admit that, “on the road, I gotta scale down a bit………you know, a lot of caffeine’s not good for the short putts,” so he has a couple in the morning and “always one after the round, no matter how late I finish.”
  • “Has Webb ever considered going the Scottie route?”
  • “No,” he says, shaking his head. “I mean, that’s another whole new level of commitment, probably why he’s number one in the world.”
  • “There is a but, with Webb finishing off by saying,”
  • “I’m willing to trade those moments of happiness in the morning for a couple of shots a year. It might cost me.”
Full piece.

9. Rory WITB

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (9 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (15 degrees @13)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (18 degrees @16)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 X

Irons: TaylorMade P760 (3, 4) TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-PW)

Shaft: Project X 7.0

Wedges: TaylorMade MG3 Raw (54), WedgeWorks Proto (58 @59)

Shafts: Project X 6.5

Putter: Scotty Cameron 009M prototype

Ball: TaylorMade TP5x (#22)

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

Full piece.
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Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

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GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.

From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.

Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.

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SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips

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SuperStroke announced today its purchase of 100-year-old grip maker Lamkin Grips, citing the company’s “heritage of innovation and quality.”

“It is with pride and great gratitude that we announce Lamkin, a golf club grip brand with a 100-year history of breakthrough design and trusted products, is now a part of the SuperStroke brand,” says SuperStroke CEO Dean Dingman. “We have always had the utmost respect for how the Lamkin family has put the needs and benefits of the golfer first in their grip designs. If there is a grip company that is most aligned with SuperStroke’s commitment to uncompromised research, design, and development to put the most useful performance tools in the hands of golfers, Lamkin has been that brand. It is an honor to bring Lamkin’s wealth of product innovation into the SuperStroke family.”

Elver B. Lamkin founded the company in 1925 and produced golf’s first leather grips. The company had been family-owned and operated since that point, producing a wide array of styles, such as the iconic Crossline.

According to a press release, “The acquisition of Lamkin grows and diversifies SuperStroke’s proven and popular array of grip offerings with technology grounded in providing golfers optimal feel and performance through cutting-edge design and use of materials, surface texture and shape.”

CEO Bob Lamkin will stay on as a board member and will continue to be involved with the company.

“SuperStroke has become one of the most proven, well-operated, and pioneering brands in golf grips and we could not be more confident that the Lamkin legacy, brand, and technology is in the best of hands to continue to innovate and lead under the guidance of Dean Dingman and his remarkably capable team,” Lamkin said.

Related: Check out our 2014 conversation with Bob Lamkin, here: Bob Lamkin on the wrap grip reborn, 90 years of history

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Tour Rundown: Pendrith, Otaegui, Longbella, and Dunlap soar

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Take it from a fellow who coaches high school golf in metro Toronto: there’s plenty of great golf played in the land of the maple leaf. All the greats have designed courses over the USA border: Colt, Whitman, Ross, Coore, Mackenzie, Doak, as well as the greatest of the land, Stanley Thompson. I’m partial to him, because he wore my middle name with grandeur. Enough about the architecture, because this week’s Tour Rundown begins with a newly-minted, Canadian champion on the PGA Tour. Something else that the great white north is known for, is weather. It impacted play on three of the world’s tours, forcing final-round cancellations on two of them.

It was an odd week in the golf world. The LPGA and the Korn Ferry were on a break, and only 13/15 of the rounds slated, were played. In the end, we have four champions to recognize, so let’s not delay any longer with minutiae about the game that we love. Let’s run it all down with this week’s Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour: TP takes TS at Byron’s place

The 1980s was a decade when a Canadian emergence was anticipated on the PGA Tour. It failed to materialize, but a path was carved for the next generation. Mike Weir captured the Masters in 2003, but no other countrymen joined him in his quest for PGA Tour conquest. 2024 may herald the long-awaited arrival of a Canadian squad of tour winners. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Nick Taylor break the fifty-plus year dearth of homebred champions at the Canadian Open, and players like Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Adam Svennson, and Mackenzie Hughes have etched their names into the PGA Tour’s annals of winners.

This week, Taylor Pendrith joined his mates with a one-shot win at TPC Craig Ranch, the home of the Byron Nelson Classic. Pendrith took a lead into the final round and, while the USA’s Jake Knapp faltered, held on for the slimmest of victories. Sweden’s Alex Noren posted six-under 65 on Sunday to move into third position, at 21-under par. Ben Kohles, a Texan, looked to break through for his first win in his home state. He took the lead from Pendrith at the 71st hole, on the strength of a second-consecutive birdie.

With victory in site, Kohles found a way to make bogey at the last, without submerging in the fronting water. His second shot was greenside, but he could not move his third to the putting surface. His fourth was five feet from par and a playoff, but his fifth failed to drop. Meanwhile, Pendrith was on the froghair in two, and calmly took two putts from 40 feet, for birdie. When Kohles missed for par, Pendrith had, at last, a PGA Tour title.

DP World Tour: China Open in Otaegui’s hands after canceled day four

It wasn’t the fourth round that was canceled in Shenzhen, but the third. Rains came on Saturday to Hidden Grace Golf Club, ensuring that momentum would cease. Sunday would instead be akin to a motorsports restart, with no sense of who might claim victory. Sebastian Soderberg, the hottest golfer on the Asian Swing, held the lead, but he would slip to a 72 on Sunday, and tie for third with Paul Waring and Joel Girrbach. Italy’s Guido Migliozzi completed play in 67 strokes on day three, moving one shot past the triumvirate, to 17-under par.

It was Spain’s Adrian Otaegui who persevered the best and played the purest. Otaegui was clean on the day, with seven birdies for 65. Even when Migliozzi ceased the lead at the 10th, Otaegui remained calm. With everything on the line, Migliozzi made bogey at the par-five 17th, as his principal competitor finished in birdie. To the Italian’s credit, he bounced back with birdie at the last, to claim solo second. The victory was Otaegui’s fifth on the DP World Tour, and first since October of 2022.

PGA Tour Americas: Quito’s rains gift title to Longbella

Across the world, superintendents and their staffs will do anything to prepare a course for play. Even after fierce, nightime rains, the Quito TG Club greeted the first four groups on Sunday. The rains worsened after 7 am, however, and the tour was forced to abort the final round of play. With scores reverting to Saturday’s numbers, Thomas Longbella’s one-shot advantage over Gunn Yang turned into a Tour Americas victory.

64 held the opening-day lead, and Longbella was not far off, with 66. Yang jumped to the top on day two, following a67 with 66. He posted 68 on day three, and anticipated a fierce, final-round duel for the title. As for Longbella, he fought off a ninth-hole bogey on Saturday with six birdies and a 17th-hole eagle. That rare bird proved to be the winning stroke, allowing Longbella to edge past Yang, and secure ultimate victory.

PGA Tour Champions: Dunlap survives Saturday stumble for win

Scott Dunlap did not finish Saturday as well as he might have liked. After beginning play near Houston with 65, Dunlap made two bogeys in his final found holes on day two, to finish at nine-under par. Hot on his heels was Joe Durant, owner of a March 2024 win on PGA Tour Champions. Just behind Durant was Stuart Appleby, perhaps vibing from his Sunday 59 at Greenbrier on this day in 2010. Neither would have a chance to track Dunlap down.

The rains that have forced emergency responders into action, to save hundreds of lives in the metro Houston area, ended hopes for a third day of play at The Woodlands. Dunlap had won once previously on Tour Champions, in 2014 in Washington state. Ten years later, Dunlap was the fortunate recipient of a canceled final round, and his two days of play were enough to earn him TC victory number two.

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