Tour News
A brief retrospective on the PGA Tour’s 2014-2015 season
Last Sunday, Bubba Watson closed with a 66 at the Hero World Challenge to win by three strokes over Patrick Reed. For some, the Hero World Challenge represents the conclusion of not only the silly season for PGA Tour players, but professional golf as a whole for the calendar year. In that spirit, it seems to be a fitting time and opportunity to look back on 2015 on the PGA Tour in order to come to grips with the lessons learned this past year.
The Big Cat is running out of lives
Depending on who you ask, Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods is the greatest professional golfer of all time. As Tiger himself has pointed out, it is, in reality, impossible to compare players across eras. While he passed Jack Nicklaus with respect to PGA Tour career wins, Tiger has contrarily failed to pass the Golden Bear in terms of professional major wins. Tiger turns 40 years old later this month and last won on the PGA Tour in August 2013 at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. The question for now remains whether he will play again on the PGA Tour, let alone win, or even compete for another professional major championship.
Despite seemingly being bulletproof for years, even in the face of self-inflicted personal turmoil, fundamental swing changes, and an ever-present microscope, it appears that time has run out on Tiger. Worn down by a golf swing that produced golf shots impossible to fathom, Tiger is, by all accounts, transitioning into the next phase of his golf life. That role for lack of a better term is simply to be a “living golf legend.”
Players now atop the world golf rankings will forever identify Tiger as the player that inspired them to settle for being nothing less than the best. Whether it is Spieth, McIlroy, Day or some other stone-faced youngster ready to set the PGA Tour on fire, Tiger’s greatest contribution to competitive professional golf may be that he empowered this generation of fearless golfers to play for greatness, not just a paycheck. Tiger, the player, will be missed.
Spieth shows no sign of slowing down
Fresh off a strong defense of his 2014 Australian Open win, Spieth competed, but ultimately fell short in defending his 2014 Hero World Challenge win. Despite failing to repeat at either event, each of which were integral to kickstarting his epic 2014-2015 season, it is nonetheless clear that Spieth can and will be a factor in every tournament he plays.
Rather than taking a prolonged rest this offseason, Spieth has publicly stated that prior to settling in for the holiday season, he will be heading to Augusta National for vacation and a “little work.” Shortly thereafter in January 2016, Spieth is heading to both Abu Dhabi and Singapore for international events before returning to the PGA Tour at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. As world No. 1, Spieth, like a young Tiger, is taking his talents worldwide in an effort to build upon his success, rather than merely revel in it.
Not since the early 2000s on the PGA Tour has there been such excitement about state of men’s professional golf and Spieth is primarily responsible for that unbridled anticipation. Love him, hate him, or undervalue him, Spieth doesn’t seem to care, his job and his goals are unaffected by anything or anyone. It will be difficult to top 2014-2015, but it will be fun to watch Spieth do his best to try.
McIlroy’s “A” game is seemingly unstoppable
It is hard to recall an individual professional golf season, such as McIlroy’s in 2014-2015, with so much success on the course that was so easily forgotten. As a reminder, McIlroy won the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship and Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour and Omega Dubai Desert Classic and DP World Tour Championship on The European Tour, as well as the season-ending Race to Dubai.
Derailed in July by an ankle injury that prevented McIlroy from playing The Open Championship at the Old Course at St. Andrews, McIlroy eventually became an afterthought in the midst of Spieth v. Day’s season-ending duel for PGA Tour Player of the Year and the FedExCup. At age 26, McIlroy still warrants as much attention as anyone in professional men’s golf. As a winner of 11 PGA Tour events, including four professional majors and eight international victories, no current player under the age of 30 can boast of similar credentials and pedigree (even Spieth, not yet at least).
Last year on the PGA Tour, McIlroy averaged 304 yards off the tee, while hitting almost 68 percent of the fairways. There may be no better driver of the golf ball in the world and when McIlroy’s putter cooperates, he is seemingly unbeatable. Head-to-head with Spieth or Day, McIlroy still gets the nod until someone proves otherwise. That said, 2016 with a little luck may just provide answers and those big-time duels that we dream about.
Day may be prove to be top dog
As between Spieth and McIlroy, Day is the elder statesman and at age 28, he may still prove to be the absolute best of the bunch. Admittedly, Day’s resume lags behind both Spieth and McIlroy, given his seven PGA Tour victories and just one professional major. A closer examination of the particulars, however, reveals that six of those victories were recorded in the past two seasons on the PGA Tour, including two victories in the 2015 FedExCup playoffs.
Further, Day arguably possesses the only true all-around game, i.e., one that lacks detrimental competitive weaknesses. Last season, Day finished in the top-10 in driving distance, greens in regulation percentage, strokes gained: tee-to-green, strokes gained: putting, strokes gained: total, birdie average, scoring average, and sand save percentage. He also finished first in the all-around ranking amongst 184 PGA Tour players in total.
When compared to a 22-year-old Spieth, the clock is certainly ticking, so to speak, but Day in conventional terms is just beginning to transition into his prime years on the PGA Tour. Absent injury or something truly unforeseeable, Day may prove to outlast his younger counterparts. Keep in mind, as Spieth and McIlroy move into new eras in their personal lives, Day has already experienced and established himself in that same context. In short, there is a lot of golf to be played and Day’s brilliance is yet to be fully understood or appreciated.
It’s a young man’s game, but age is still just a number
With the exception of Graeme McDowell, recent winner of the 2015 OHL Classic at Mayakoba, every PGA Tour winner after the conclusion of The Playoffs was 31 years old or younger and Justin Thomas was the youngest winner at age 22. Davis Love III, at age 51, closed out the 2014-2015 PGA Tour regular season in style, on the other hand, by winning the 2015 Wyndham Championship. Notwithstanding those tournaments in 2016 where a savvy veteran (like DLIII) ultimately outlasts a much younger counterpart, the trend of new, hungry PGA Tour winners is only going to continue with regularity in the short-term.
Expect a monster year from Patrick Reed in 2016, who, on the strength of six straight top-10 finishes worldwide, has moved in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings. And anticipate wins from players like Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, and Patrick Rodgers to become commonplace, as age is simply no longer a factor in forecasting success on the PGA Tour. Mark Twain once said that “age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter,” and the likes of Fowler, Koepka, Thomas, and Rodgers (and of course, Spieth and Reed, among some others) don’t mind at all.
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Equipment
Photos from the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
GolfWRX is live this week at Colonial Country Club for the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Custom Camerons and some “super” new grips from SuperStroke are filling our galleries early in the week as well as WITBs — including the always interesting “Cashmere Keith” Mitchell.
Check out links to our photos below, which we’ll continue to update throughout the week.
And while you’re making your way through our photos, be sure to check out last year’s incredible gallery of prototype and personal Ben Hogan golf clubs.
General Albums
- 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge – Monday #1
- 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Keith Mitchell – WITB – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Rafa Campos – WITB – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- R Squared – WITB – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Martin Laird – WITB – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Paul Haley – WITB – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Tyler Duncan – WITB – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Min Woo Lee – WITB – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Austin Smotherman – WITB – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Lee Hodges – WITB – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Sami Valimaki – WITB – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
Pullout Albums
- Eric Cole’s newest custom Cameron putter – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- New Super Stroke Marvel comic themed grips – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Ben Taylor’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Tyler Duncan’s Axis 1 putter – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Cameron putters – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Chris Kirk’s new Callaway Opus wedges – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- ProTC irons – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Dragon Skin 360 grips – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- Cobra prototype putters – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
- SeeMore putters – 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship
GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.
While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.
Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Michael Block – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Patrick Reed – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cam Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Josh Speight – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Takumi Kanaya – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kyle Mendoza – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Adrian Meronk – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jordan Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jeremy Wells – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jared Jones – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Somers – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Larkin Gross – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tracy Phillips – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jon Rahm – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Keita Nakajima – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kazuma Kobori – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- David Puig – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Ryan Van Velzen – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brad Marek – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Chris Gotterup – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rich Beem WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Phil Mickelson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Matt Dobyns – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Lucas Herbert – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jason Dufner – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Daly – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Taylor Gooch – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dean Burmester – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dustin Johnson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
Pullout Albums
- Ping putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Bettinardi covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cameron putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Max Homa – Titleist 2 wood – 2024 PGA Championship
- Scotty Cameron experimental putter shaft by UST – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – new Ping putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka’s new Cameron putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s Cobra bag and Aerojet driver – 2024 PGA Championship
- Super Stroke grip – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tiger Woods – 2024 PGA Championship
- Michael Block’s new TaylorMade “Proto” 7-iron, from address – 2024 PGA Championship
- Odyssey putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
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News
Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Akshay Bhatia – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matthieu Pavon – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Keegan Bradley – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Webb Simpson – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Emiliano Grillo – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Taylor Pendrith – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Kevin Tway – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
Pullout Albums
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rory McIlroy – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Eric Cole’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matt Kuchar’s custom Bettinardi – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Justin Thomas – driver change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler – putter change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s new custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Tommy Fleetwood testing a TaylorMade Spider Tour X (with custom neck) – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Cobra Darkspeed Volition driver – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.
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