News

Open Season – The 139th Open Championship Is Upon Us

Published

16 years ago

Jul 13, 2010

Week to week on the PGA Tour or European Tour trying to pin down who might be the next winner is usually not a needle in a haystack situation. It can be fairly easy to see who is playing well and has both the confidence and ability to secure their next victory.

Majors though, they are another ball game altogether. The on-the-edge circumstances of course setup, major championship pressure and the spotlight of the world glaring down on you means just about anything can happen, and it usually does.

The 150^th Anniversary of The Open Championship again presents those tumultuous circumstances. The return the Old Course at St. Andrews always makes for a particularly special week and given the past winners of Opens at the site, Tiger Woods having won the last two, it sets the table of expectations for another monumental finish.

Part of those expectations is because of the course itself. Unlike some courses that place high demand on certain parts of a players game The Old Course nourishes and respects a golfer’s ability to manage their way around its links in any number of fashions. The weather often dictates the order of play and with wet weather expected early on in the week and heavy winds for the latter it could be a chaotic championship. As always your tee time draw may protect or you or simply kill your chances of stealing away the Claret Jug from the possession of 2009 Champion Golfer of The Year Stewart Cink.

It has been said by many but Tiger Woods assertion that, “to win at St. Andrews is the ultimate” does not fall on deaf ears. Golfers ‘round the world want to win The Open Championship and to do that at The Old Course makes your mark on the history of golf a permanent win.

Tiger himself will be looking to make history this week but winning three consecutive Open Championships held at St. Andrews. Despite his recent woes few in modern times have shown the ability needed to hit just about every shot possible, and necessary to win on The Old Course. Tiger’s record score of 19 under par in 2000 is testament to that. Armed with the knowledge gained from those wins and in an inspired setting it just might make the perfect setting for a return to major-winning form for Tiger. In interesting news he may have a new weapon to employ this week on the monstrous green surfaces of the Old Course that average some 20,000 square feet. Dating back to mid-November of last year Tiger got a Nike Method putter dialled in during a visit to the company’s R&D facility and that stick might just be in play this week. Of late, the short stick has been Tiger’s nemesis and based on use during practice rounds it looks like he might be ready to put a new wand into play.

World #2 Phil Mickelson would love to add a third different major to his resume and while his creativity plays into his favour at St. Andrews he will need to plot his way off the tee at the Old Course if he is to have any success. Mickelson says he finds St. Andrews “the most spiritual” of all the Open courses and believes it gives him the best opportunity to win an Open Championship. “You need to be able to hit the ball far to be able to take a lot of bunkers out of play. And hit it far to be able to go down opposite fairways and create an angle,” he is quoted as saying by Alan Fraser of the Daily Mail. That said weather conditions change so frequently in Scotland that those options might not be available each day. Unless Phil can show some flexibility in a game play (highly possible) that he might struggle as he has in past Old Course Open Championships. His best finish of an 11^ththere in 2000 does not make up for the 40^th placing in 1995 and the 60^th place showing in 2005.

My sleeper pick this week is Miguel Angel Jimenez. Opportunities for “The Mechanic” to win The Open grow slimmer each year and with his quality play of late and ability to hit the ball predictably off the tee he is a sure threat.

The only thing that may work against the older crowd this week, especially as rain and wind come into play; will be the course changes in play this year. Now playing to 7305 yards and to a par of 72 all players will have to take advantage of “The Loop” in the middle of the round before facing holes 13-17. Hole #14 now plays some 618 yards long while the balance of chatter will be sure to fall on The Road Hole, #17. A new tee both further back and on a sharper angle make an already tough hole and turn it into something of a meaner variety. Players will be best advised to find a way to traverse its 495 yards in no more than a bogey each day or they might see their Open dreams dashed on the spot.

There are few guarantees in The Open Championship; both the course and the weather can be hard to predict. One thing is certain though, just as in every year past when the championship has been held at St. Andrews, we are sure to have a compelling story lay out before us.

One that draws our eternal respect and appreciation.

This report provided to GolfWRX.com by Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick.com)

News

Russell Henley’s winning WITB: 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge

Published

10 hours ago

May 31, 2026

Ben A

Driver: Titleist TSi3 (10 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70 6.5 TX

3-wood: Titleist TS3 (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX

7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Project X Denali Black 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T250 (4), Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (7-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F @47, 50-08F @51, 54-10S @55, 60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48), S400 (47)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X5 Tour Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

News

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

Published

3 days 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

4 days 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!