News

Tour Rundown: August cruelty | Flying away with the winning Piot

Published

5 years ago

Aug 15, 2021

The ides of August passed by on Friday the 13th, but the middle of the eighth month was fortunate for six champions. A second U.S. Amateur champion was crowned for 2021, and five professional winners secured titles across marvelous venues. The Scottish Open visited the newish Dumbarnie Links for the first time on the LPGA/European Tours, while venerable, vicious Oakmont hosted the premier amateur event for the fellows. Other sites included Sedgefield, Canyon Meadows, Indian Creek, and London. If you’re not an architecture maven, we’ve got facts and numbers to crunch for you. Have a read of this week’s Tour Rundown, as we round up six separate events.

PGA Tour: August is the cruelest month at Wyndham

1:35 – Si Woo Kim in house at -15. Five golfers on course at -15.
1:45 – Kim and Adam Scott in house at -15. Four golfers on course at -15
2:05 – Branden Grace birdies 18 to join Kim, Scott, Kevin Kisner, Kevin Na, and Roger Sloan at -15
2:06 – Russell Henley misses a four-feet putt and makes bogey at 18 to fall out of first place for the FIRST TIME ALL WEEK!
2:10 – Six-way playoff for trophy commences.

1st Playoff Hole – Everyone makes par. Scott misses Henley-esque putt for the win. Playoff continues.
2nd Playoff Hole – Kevin Kisner makes Henley-esque putt for the win.

When six golfers play off for the title, the preceding 72 holes seem unimportant. What was most odd about the conclusion to the Wyndham was:

Henley putted brilliantly all week … until he didn’t, when it mattered most.
Scott had made 53 consecutive putts inside five feet … until he missed the most important one.
Kisner is a strong, match-play golfer. Hopefully he will build on this win and catch Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker’s eye during the upcoming playoff season. Kisner will need at least one FedEx Cup playoff win to move into the top ten.

Here’s hoping Henley rebounds with a victory soon. This one stung, stung, stung.

His first playoff win in dramatic fashion. @K_Kisner comes out on top in extra holes.

(Presented by @SuperStrokeGolf) pic.twitter.com/EHsEUaShux

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 15, 2021

LPGA: Scottish Open sees maiden win for seasoned American

From 2009 to 2011, Ryann O’Toole went from Futures Tour to Big Break to LPGA to USA Solheim Cup side. Without a doubt, she was an odd and unexpected selection in 2011, although she performed well with a 2-0-2 record. For the next decade, O’Toole ground out a living on tour, never winning and never being fitted for another Team USA kit. That will probably change soon, as O’Toole put on the performance of her career this week in Fife.

The Dumbarnie Links aren’t all that far from St. Andrews, but they are much newer than all but one course in the auld toon. O’Toole, Ariya Jutanugarn, and Charley Hull began day four of the Scottish Open in a tie for first, with pursuers galore in the kingdom of golf. O’Toole jumped up early with birdies at 1, 3, and 4, to take the lead. She didn’t look back, and she didn’t ever see Old Lady Bogey on the day. Sure, there were a few, nervy putts for par, but she made them all. On the day, the California native posted eight birdies for 64, and held a determined Atthaya Thitikul at arm’s length. Thitikul made a pair of bogeys on the inward half, and fell back into a tie for second with Lydia Ko, whose 17th-hole eagle two brought her to 14-under par. O’Toole’s three-shot victory stamps her as a favorite for this week’s Open Championship at Carnoustie.

To the victor, comes the shower!

#CheersToTheChampion ?

With her first career Tour win, @RyannOToole punched in her ticket to the 2022/2023 @diamondresorts Tournament of Champions! ?#DiamondLPGA pic.twitter.com/urFR9qWKTF

— LPGA (@LPGA) August 15, 2021

Korn Ferry: Pinnacle Bank Championship by the Skinns of his teeth

If you shot 65 or 66 on Thursday, you were at the top of the leaderboard, but you weren’t in a long-term relationship. The best that group did was a tie for 15th on the week. 67 was the magic number for Thursday. Those who shot 67, finished 1st, 4th, and 9th. Interesting, no?

David Skinns of England has banged his head against golf’s doors and walls since he graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2003. Last month, Skinns nearly broke them down at the Colorado Open, where he lost in a playoff for the title. This week, Skinns opened with one of those 67s, then posted 67-69 to enter day four with a shot at the title. Germany’s Stephan Jaeger, who had been there before, suffered an uncharacteristic malaise on Sunday and dropped to 4th position. As the leaders descended, Skinns made his move. He had six birdies on the day for yet another 67, and avoided a full-on Jared Wolfe comeback. Wolfe signed for the second-low round of the day (65) and moved up 17 places, into a tie for second with Zecheng Dou.

Skinns entered the week 46 on the race for a PGA Tour card. Today’s win will sneak him onto the PGA Tour for the first time. Quite the week, no?

Skinns wins! ? ?

With an up-and-down at the 72nd hole, David Skinns (@SkinnsyGolf) wins @PinnBankGolf and secures his first @PGATOUR card! pic.twitter.com/p1yXw4LqjQ

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 16, 2021

European Tour: Cazoo Classic to Scotland’s Hill

Imagine that someone told you that your eight-under par effort on Sunday, which followed on the heels of your Saturday six-under, simply wouldn’t be good enough. That you would make five consecutive birdies over the final nine holes, yet you would come up short. Welcome to the world of France’s Alexander Levy. Despite playing the weekend in 130 shots, Levy’s 15-under total was one shy of the 16-deep tally posted by Scotland’s Callum Hill.

Everyone began day four in hot pursuit of Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard. The Great Dane regressed to OK Dane, as Sunday brought an even-par 72, dropping him into a tie for third. England’s Richard Bland started strong, fizzled through the turn, then bravely rebounded, to equal Højgaard and two others. Hill had the benefit of a final-group pairing, and knew precisely what Levy had done earlier. Hill’s three-under effort on the inward half was just enough to secure an initial European Tour title at the age of 26.

Hill's Highlights in under 2 minutes ?#CazooClassic pic.twitter.com/BddIaEnBgq

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 15, 2021

PGA Tour Champions: Shaw Classic

Sometimes, the unheralded ones win. The Shaw Classic of 2021 was always going to be that way. You had the Billys, Mayfair and Andrade, attempting to snare a victory and return to the glory days of their youth. You had Steve Flesch, a solid but underrated lefty, running the show down the stretch. And then came Doug Barron, he of the one Tour Champions victory in 2019, with his eagle at the 11th. Nice they said, something that will ensure a top-five finish for the journeyman. For four consecutive Barron pars, that seemed to be his destiny.

With three holes to play, Barron caught lightning in a bottle. He birdied 16, then 17, and ripped his long approach onto the par-five 18th in two. Two putts later, Barron had reached 18-under par. Behind him, Flesch lost his momentum, playing the same stretch in plus-one. He would finish solo second, tied for his best result of the campaign. The victory moved Barron from 23rd to 16th on the season race for the Schwab Cup, ensuring that he will be exempt once more when the tour returns for 2022.

AN EPIC CELEBRATION! ?

Doug Barron secures his second career win in style @ShawClassic. pic.twitter.com/oV60UPTk4j

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 15, 2021

USGA: U.S. Men’s Amateur flies away with a winning Piot

Crunch these numbers: 34 holes were played in Sunday’s final match, and 2o of those were won outright by one of the two finalists. Oakmont Country Club’s stern, championship layout does that to a golfer. One minute, you’ve won three out of four holes to take a two-up lead, as Ohio’s Austin Greaser did to open the afternoon round. The next, you’ve lost four consecutive holes and find yourself no longer three-up, but one-down, as happened to the very same Greaser, later in the afternoon.

It’s somewhat inappropriate that both James Piot and Greaser were in the finals of the premier men’s amateur event in the USA. Neither was highly recruited out of high school, and both have played with chips on their shoulders ever since. Piot has thrived at Michigan State, while Greaser has come into his own at the University of North Carolina. As the twosome turned to their fourth and final nine holes on the day, Greaser held a three-up advantage.

At that point, Piot found an untested gear. He rattled off three birdies in four holes, and his par-five at the 12th (their 30th) was good enough for a win. After the 32nd hole was halved, Piot made a killer par at the mammoth 15th hole (their 33rd) for a fifth win in six holes. Pars at 16 and 17 brought the match to a close. Greaser’s putt for birdie hit the edge and spun away, leaving Piot as a 2 & 1 winner of the Havermeyer trophy.

That'll do it at Oakmont! @msumensgolf’s @jamespiot1 is the 121st #USAmateur champion! pic.twitter.com/8FwePI1d7f

— USGA (@USGA) August 15, 2021

News

Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

7 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

21 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?