News

2007 PGA Championship Preview

Published

17 years ago

Aug 7, 2007

The 89^th installment of the PGA Championship starts this Thursday at Southern Hills Golf Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Southern Hills will be the first course to host four PGA Championships, and this tremendous track has also played host to three U.S. Opens.

The 7131 yard, par 70, is not the longest of the major championship courses, but it will still present a stern test to the competitors. Some are saying that this week’s event, with its difficult rough, tree lined fairways, sloped and slanted greens, as well as the intangible factor of the Oklahoma summer heat, all make Southern Hills one of the toughest sites of the year. Despite all these factors, Phil Mickelson appears to be an early fan of the set up this week, "I think it’s one of the best set-ups we’ve seen," said the 2005 PGA champion, who visited Southern Hills recently. "The rough is such that you might have a shot at the green or be able to do something with it. It’s going to help to separate the players who are playing well because you can hit some shots instead of just everybody getting the same result (and having to chop out)."

The PGA Championship is known for some great finishes and great storylines; this week should be no different. Take 1991 where a virtual unknown, John Daly, burst onto the golf scene and bombed his way around Crooked Stick and into the hearts of golf fans all over the world. Or there is possibly the greatest final shot in major championship history; Shaun Micheel’s stone cold seven iron to one inch, on the 72^nd hole, to clinch his first major victory. Then there were the back to back battles in 1999 and 2000. In ’99, Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods wowed the fans in at Medinah, with a battle that was not only memorable and impressive, but extremely fun to watch as well. Golf shots that amazed even the savviest of golf connoisseurs, the ’99 Medinah PGA Championship final round was nothing short of spectacular. Then just the next year in 2000, during his dominating stretch, Tiger Woods was nearly humbled by Bob May, a PGA tour journeyman, who played some of the best golf of his life and let us bear witness to one of the greatest duels in major golf history. This week has the potential to be all of those things and more, as the world’s greatest players are not only competing, but coming to Southern Hills firing on all cylinders.

Fresh off of a dominating performance, Tiger Woods has to be the favorite this week. His work last week at the world golf championships is showing us two things. One, Tiger is back and playing some of the golf we had become used to seeing from him. Second he is sending a message to the rest of the golfers that he is primed and ready to capture his next major and get one closer to Jack’s total. Even though he has been 0 for 3 this year at the majors, he seems to be taking it in stride, “You never want to be shut out," Woods said at the Bridgestone at Firestone Country Club. "You never want to have a year where you don’t win a major championship. This year, I’ve come close in two, and it just didn’t happen. I’ve been in this situation before." That is not a good mindset for the world number one to have when it comes to the rest of the field. Tiger typically achieves what he sets his mind to, and if he is gunning to not be shut out, some of the other players are going to have to step up this week and give him a run for his money.

Players to watch this week should include Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, Zach Johnson, Scott Verplank, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, and Sergio Garcia. All of these players have been playing well as of late and come into the last major looking to tame Southern Hills and last weeks winner, Tiger Woods. Each has something to prove, but Garcia has the largest monkey on his back right now, after his defeat at the Open Championship. "It’s been getting better every day," said Garcia. "The first day was really tough, but my head is starting to go a little bit more where I want it to be. I’m hitting the ball well and rolling the putter nicely. It’s just a matter of getting it going.” Only time will tell if he is completely healed from his wounds that were caused at the Open Championship, one can only wish him some luck. Hunter Mahan on the other hand is coming into this event brimming with confidence, "You realize, ‘I’m also here to win,’" Mahan said. "I’m here because I can win. And I’m stepping on that tee with a purpose to do that. I’m not here to finish second to Tiger Woods." You have to like to confidence, just might not want to give Tiger any fuel to get himself even more fired up. The other above mentioned players all come in playing well, and if they are on top of their game could give Tiger the best run for his money.

Another interesting aspect of this tournament is the 20 PGA professionals that get to tee it up this week via qualifying through the National Club Professional Championship, or CPC as it is know to the pros. This event allows the top 20 players to compete at Southern Hills and is the biggest event of the year for the club pros. It is one of the only remnants of the deal between the PGA Tour and the PGA of America when they amicably split in 1968, due to the increasing popularity of the PGA tour and the issue of sharing the spotlight with the less popular club professionals. One of the positives from that deal is the accommodation for a number of the club professionals to play in the PGA Championship, a small way to say thank you for all of that work that they do as a club professional. Keep an eye out for Mike Small, Erik Wolf, Chip Sullivan, Ryan Benzel, Tim Thelen, and Butch Sheehan, just to mention a few of the great players that will have the chance to tee it up this week inside the ropes.

Past winners at Southern Hills include, Dave Stockton (winner of the PGA 1970), Raymond Floyd (winner of the PGA in 1982), Nick Price (winner of the PGA in 1994), Timmy Bolt (winner of the US Open in 1958), Hubert Green (winner of the US Open in 1977), and Retief Goosen (winner of the US Open in 2001). As you can see there is a varied bunch of winners at Southern Hills, which helps reveal some of its charm and luster. Anyone can win at this golf course, and that is partly why it is exciting. It is a fair golf course, where great shots are rewarded. The winner this week will have all of his skills tested, and he will be the one that handles all of the factors, including the heat, better than anyone else. Who is going to come out on top? No one will be able to tell you until Sunday afternoon, but I can tell you that it will be exciting watching all the drama unfold, and find out who the PGA champion, and final major winner for 2007.

Television Times

Thursday, August 9 TNT 2PM – 8PM ET
Friday, August 10 TNT 2PM – 8PM ET
Saturday, August 11 TNT 11AM – 2PM ET
Saturday, August 11 CBS 2PM – 7PM
Sunday, August 12 TNT 11AM – 2PM ET
Sunday, August 12 CBS 2PM – 7PM

Your Reaction?

LIKE0
LEGIT0
WOW0
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK0

News

Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

Published

11 hours ago

May 7, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

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

2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Monday #1

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

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

Your Reaction?

LIKE4
LEGIT0
WOW0
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK0

News

SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips

Published

1 day ago

May 6, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

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

Your Reaction?

LIKE18
LEGIT4
WOW8
LOL2
IDHT1
FLOP2
OB2
SHANK6

News

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

Published

1 day ago

May 6, 2024

Ronald Montesano

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.

360° and in!

A nervy par save by @TaylorPendrith to remain one back as he seeks his first PGA TOUR victory @CJByronNelson. pic.twitter.com/LVFXUSidSg

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 5, 2024

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.

.@adrianotaegui birdies the 16th to tie the lead at -17 ?#VolvoChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/p4tfE5DRJa

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 5, 2024

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.

.@TBalla21 eagles 17, shoots 65 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the KIA Open. pic.twitter.com/TTOL2LxSdh

— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) May 4, 2024

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.

Off the green? No worries for @ScottDu12500063

8-under solo leader @InsperityInvtnl pic.twitter.com/hoj5OujL5C

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 4, 2024

Your Reaction?