News

Tour Rundown: Scottish Open means 2 for Min Woo, John Deere Classic in the glove

Published

5 years ago

Jul 11, 2021

The places in the world where professional golf was played this week were ones impacted by rain. Both the Scottish Open, and USGA Senior Open suffered rain delays, and golfers at the John Deere Classic broke out the wellies on Sunday as well. No event suffered greater impact than the LPGA’s Marathon Classic, but we’ll get to that soon enough.

Our thoughts are with those in British Columbia and other parts of the world, where wildfires continue to threaten wilderness and human lives. With awareness of golf’s good fortune, help us to run down this week’s results in Tour Rundown.

European Tour: Scottish Open means two for Min Woo

Min Woo Lee and his sister, Minjee Lee, would make a killer team in pretty much any competition. In February of 2020, Min Woo won his first European Tour event, the co-sanctioned Vic Open in his home country of Australia. That title brought him closer to his sister’s tally of five LPGA titles, but his latest effort might be the family’s biggest trophy yet. Min Woo survived a three-man playoff at the Renaissance Club and hoisted the Scottish Open trophy as winner of that ancient event.

Min Woo began the final day in fifth place, chasing co-leaders Thomas Detry of Belgium and Matt Fitzpatrick of England. There were many other names in the mix: Rahm, Poulter, and Thomas, to name just three. They took attention away from the other pursuers, and that allowed someone to make six consecutive birdies and post an outward 30. That someone was Min Woo Lee. Beginning at the third hole, he chipped stroke after stroke away from the lead, until a par at the ninth halted his streak. He and the field endured a weather delay, and Min Woo added one more birdie, at the par-5 16th. That stroke saver allowed him to eliminate clubhouse leader Ian Poulter, who had posted 17-under 267. Joining that Englishman a shot out of the lead were the USA’s Ryan Palmer and last week’s Irish Open champion, Lucas Herbert.

After Min Woo, both Fitzpatrick and Detry made birdie at the same 16th hole, making the playoff a three-golfer affair. Off they trudged to the 18th hole, where Min Woo made quick work of overtime. He nursed his approach shot inside of fifteen feet. When his opponents failed to make birdie, Lee stepped up and stroked the putt home. The win gave Min Woo a spot in next week’s Open Championship. Also qualifying were Detry and Jack Senior, who led this week after round one, and ultimately tied for 10th.

Advantage @Minwoo27Lee!#abrdnScottishOpen #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/DjVMDaYrBz

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) July 11, 2021

Champions Tour: USGA Senior Open finds a home with Furyk

There was a time, when Jim Furyk stood minus 5, when Mike Weir, Retief Goosen, and the rest of the pack had a chance. There was a time, after Furyk’s par-bogey-double start to round four, when fans and broadcasters alike wondered if the octopus falling from a tree could close the deal. He was the 2003 U.S. Open champion, at a similar, midwestern track. He was also the guy who didn’t always close the deal, so the pundits and patrons had to scratch their heads.

No one charged. Weir tried, but every time he made a birdie or an eagle, he followed it with a bogey. He had three of those on the day, and those three cost him a tie. As for Goosen, let’s just say that Pinehurst 2005 still wakes him at night in cold sweats. He also had three bogeys on the day, needed zero, and tied with Weir for second.

Furyk simply remembered how he had played on Friday and Saturday, how he had amassed 11 birdies against one bogey, to jump waaaay ahead of everyone else. No, it didn’t help that his playing partner (Stephen Ames) was tripping his way to 75 and T-8. Furyk played two-under par golf from the four tee on, and those numbers typically win USGA events. After winning his first two Champions Tour starts, Furyk has been off the podium ever since. Good to see him back.

Major championship @jimfuryk ?

A birdie at @OmahaCCGolf's 16th hole gets him back to 7 under and in the lead by 3 at the 41st #USSeniorOpen. pic.twitter.com/4gyqf8gQxj

— USGA (@USGA) July 11, 2021

PGA Tour: John Deere Classic in the glove

Lucas Glover won his first tournament in 2005 at the Magic Kingdom. That event no longer exists on the PGA Tour, but the magic didn’t stop there for the South Carolina native. He climbed the peak of professional golf in 2009, winning the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. In 2011, Glover won a third tour title north of the border in Charlotte in a playoff at the Wells Fargo Championship. And that’s where the story ended, for a time.

Glover had dealt with slumps and injuries before, but the ensuing decade would cast more of each in his path. This week, the tide turned in his favor. Glover opened with 68-63, positioning himself favorably for the weekend. Saturday struggles included three bogeys on an inward half of 1 over, and he began Sunday in 12th position, four shots behind third-round leader Sebastián Muñoz of Colombia. Glover went out in minus 3 on day four, then stumbled at the 11th with bogey. With the snap of a finger, he not only righted the ship, but seized control of the tournament.

Glover ran the table with consecutive birdies at 12 through 15. He added one more at the 17th, and made a sand save at 18 to finish at 19-under par. His goal that morning? 20 deep, so he had to endure an hour of final-green finishes before he could acknowledge that he was now in possession of his fourth tour title. After him came plenty of 67s and 68s, but they weren’t close enough to matter. Muñoz closed with even-par 71 to tie for the fourth spot. Finishing as co-runners up were Ryan Moore and Kevin Na, at 17 under par.

Leader @Lucas_Glover_ is dialed in ?

He tapped in the putt for his fourth birdie in a row and a 2-shot lead. pic.twitter.com/pp8Lg7pUQ6

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 11, 2021

LPGA: Marathon Classic ends in victory for Hataoka

The story of 2021 in Sylvania, Ohio, should be the other-worldly play of Nasa Hataoka. The young champion from Japan, three times a winner already on the LPGA circuit, opened with a 61 to seize control of the tournament. On Thursday, Nataoka posted five birdie on each nine, including four consecutive to close her round. She followed with 69 and 64 and held a six-shot advantage as day four dawned. It would certainly be difficult for anyone to track her down but, as pursuer Esther Henseleit stated, We all know golf. The one challenger that no one anticipated would help quite so much, was Mother Nature herself.

Writing from western Ohio, this scribe experienced precisely what the LPGA competitors felt in Toledo, just north of where I’ve encamped this weekend. Rainclouds came through overnight, filling an already-saturated course to its limit. Play began at seven a.m., but ground to a halt as more drops descended. According to Donna Mummert, senior manager of rules and competition, the one-two punch of greens and fairways was too much for the grounds crew to overcome. With more rain forecast for the coming hours, no respite was in site. The Tour made the anguishing decision to cancel Sunday’s round, making Hataoka a four-time LPGA champion. Finishing in a tie for second were Elizabeth Szokol and Mina Harigae. The aforementioned Henseleit ended in solo fourth position.

After three rounds at the @MarathonLPGA, @nasagolf7355's lead continues to skyrocket ? ?

Check out her Round 3 highlights! ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/SIhTq3vuub

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 11, 2021

Korn Ferry Tour: TPC Colorado Championship to TTR in Overtime

The TPCCC might be on to something when it comes to overtime play. Forget the galleries, forget the closer, just find your nearest par-3 hole and let them bang heads until someone comes out a winner. Your honor, as exhibit A, we present the first playing of the par-three 16th hole at TPC Colorado. With three fellers in the mix, both Tag Ridings and David Skinns made a deuce. Kevin Yu wasn’t so fortunate, and away he went. Back to the tee they marched, and Ridings made par to Skinns bogey, and thus you had yourself a champion in Taggart Twain Ridings the Only.

With all the talk of Lucas Glover’s 10-year hiatus from the winner’s circle, let’s recognize that it has been nigh on 19 years since Tag Ridings ascended the podium. That would have been in 2002, at the Permian Basin Open on the then-Buy.Com Tour (since Nationwide, since Web.Com, now Korn Ferry). In order to get here, third-round leaders Tyson Alexander and Taylor Moore had to falter, and they did. Tag had to run four consecutive birdies on the front nine (he did) and hold on for dear life on the second half (he also did.) Most importantly, Yu had to make bogey at the last, to let Ridings and Skinns in (he did just that) and then…playoff.

Soak it in, @TaggsGolf!

With his wife Brenda on the bag, the @RazorbackMGolf alum makes par on the second playoff hole @TPC_ColoradoHL to cement his first @PGATOUR-sanctioned title in 19 years. pic.twitter.com/n1jblYJ33A

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) July 11, 2021

News

Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

4 hours ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Around the world, the golf wheel spun this final week in May of 2026. From New Jersey to Austria, with stops in Korea, Texas, and North Carolina (don’t let me route your next trip) the world’s finest put their golf games on display. There were three playoffs, some known commodities and some new talent. It was the sort of week that we hope to have at this point in the seasons. June and July afford double-digit major events, and perhaps, one of this week’s champions will use this success as a springboard to new heights. Time to run it all down, tech style, in this week’s Tour Tech Rundown.

Thanks to WITBHub, Today’s Golfer, GolfWRX, and Inside Tour Golf for initial research into equipment.

PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge: Heroic Henley denies Cole

Eric Cole did nearly everything that a fellow can do, to secure a first PGA Tour title. He stayed one shot clear of Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin. He kept US Open champion Gary Woodland and wunderkind Michael Brennan two shots distant. He posted 70 on day four to reach twelve under par. And then, Russell Henley revealed his Dr. Strange cloak. Henley made 47 feet of birdie putts on holes 16, 17, and 18, to jump from minus-nine to twelve-deep, and secured a spot in a playoff with Cole. The duo returned to the final tee, and put on a stripe show.

Both golfers found the fairway off the tee, and Henley improved on his regulation play with an approach to four feet. Cole did himself proud, tucking an iron to a dozen feet, but he was unable to convert the putt for three. Henley is one of the best putters on tour, and he proved it once more by draining a putt for a fourth consecutive birdie, and a sixth PGA Tour title. For Eric Cole, that first victory should come, and soon. He has done everything necessary to earn the chalice lift.

Henley’s Suitcase

Driver: Titleist TSi3 at 10 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
Metal: Titleist TS3 at 16.5 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
Iron: Titleist T250 4-iron. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 5-6 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 48 and 50 degrees. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 54 and 60 degrees. Shaft: rue Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron T5 Tour Prototype

LPGA @ Shoprite LPGA: Welcome back, Celine!

Soo Bin Joo had her eyes on a maiden LPGA title. She held the lead after two rounds, then hit a red light at the intersection of can-I and how-To. Joo posted plus-two on day three in New Jersey, and dropped to a T4 finish, which was still a career-best for the young Korean golfer. Instead of a new face, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium.

Celine Boutier was the It Girl in 2023. She collected four victories, including a major title at Evian. Boutier reached world number one status, then simply faded into the background. No wins came her way over the next 30 months. On Sunday, she collected LPGA victory number seven, at the same trace as LPGA victory number two.

Day three saw Boutier manage the windswept Seaview Bay course with six birdies and a bogey. She was challenged in the end by Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who signed for a 66 of her own. Yubol came up one shot shy of the top ladder rung. Finishing in third place at -7, two back of the winner, was Ireland’s Lauren Walsh.

Celine’s Suitcase

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 at 9 degrees. Shaft: Graphite Design AD IZ-5
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops at 19 and 22 degrees. Shaft: KBS Hybrid Prototype
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Gen5.
Iron: PXG 0311 P Gen 4 5-9 irons
Wedge: PXG 0311 T Gen 4 PW
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II at 50, 54, 58 degrees
Putter: Bettinardi Studio Stock 3 DASS

DP World Tour @ Austrian Alpine: KK? KK!

Kota Kaneko has a rhythmic name. It has strong vowels and a run of voiceless stops in its crunchy K sounds. On Sunday in Austria, Kaneko put a stop to a challenge from Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and everyone else, and claimed a first-ever title on the DP World Tour. Gouveia did well to reach 16-under par over four days, but Kaneko held firm, two shots in the clear.

Davis Bryant of the USA also forged a strong challenge for the win. He ended in a tie with Gouveia for second place. Kaneko began and finished his final round in a bit of a malaise, but he caught fire midway through. Birdies at 10, 12, and 13 provided the necessary cushion to cruise to the finish line without breaking a serious sweat.

Kaneko’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping Max G440
Metals: TaylorMade Qi4D at 15, 16.5, 21, and 24 degrees
Irons: TaylorMade P760 5 and 6 irons
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW 7-9 irons
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design at 46, 52, 56, and 60 degrees
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Cruiser Arm Lock #7

Korn Ferry Tour @ UNC Health Championship: Improbably Alvaro

Alvaro Ortiz may have had a bit of scare on the outward nine on Sunday, but he came through in clutch fashion in the end. Ortiz began the day bogey-double, and added another double bogey at the 11th hole. He was mired in a downward trend, spiraling away from the top of the leader’s board. Ortiz found hope at the 14th, where his first birdie of the day tumbled home. Inspired, he closed with birdies and 17 and 18 to catch Ross Steelman at 10-under par, and the duo returned to the 18th deck for overtime.

The extra session concluded in brief time. Ortiz, buoyed by his newly-retrieved confidence, hit the fairway with driver, then approached to six feet and drained the putt. Gobsmacked, Steelman could do little more than smile and applaud, as his run at the top came to a close. The victory was the first for Ortiz on the KFT, and will implant him squarely in the chase for a PGA Tour promotion.

Alvaro’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping G430 MAX driver at 9 degrees loft
Metal: Ping G430 MAX 3W
Iron: Ping iDi Driving Iron
Irons: Ping Blueprint S irons
Wedges
Putter: Scottsdale TR Piper C

A party on the green!

Alvaro’s time comes in Raleigh with his first win @UNCHealthChamp ? pic.twitter.com/2dmtZdbSzk

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2026

LIV @ Korea: Me llamo Joaquin

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had been away from the LIV winner’s circle throughout all of 2026. This week in Korea, he reminded us that he is still a force to consider. Niemann chased down Taylor Gooch over the closing holes at Asiad Country Club, then claimed victory with a hole-one birdie in extra time. Bryson DeChambeau claimed solo third, one shot in arrears at minus-eleven. Dustin Johnson finished on fourth, one putt farther back.

Niemann’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping 440 LST
Metal: Ping G440 Max at 15 degrees
Metal: Ping G425 Max at 21 degrees
Hybrid: Ping G430 at 25 degrees
Irons: Ping Blueprint S 5 through PW
Wedges: Ping S159 at 52, 56, and 60 degrees
Putter: Ping PLD Anser

News

Russell Henley’s winning WITB: 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge

Published

18 hours ago

May 31, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

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?