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Bryson and Rory among those to weigh in after Mickelson slammed USGA for potential driver-shaft rollback

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Before his second round of play at last week’s BMW Championship, six-time major champion Phil Mickelson took to social media to communicate his displeasure with the USGA’s potential attempts at a rollback in driver length.

Mickelson’s frustration at this suggested change certainly makes sense, as the 51 year-old currently uses a 47 and a half inch length driver, and did so during his PGA Championship victory this year as well. With that being said, the majority of Tour pros do use driver shafts of 46 inches or shorter.

Golf Channel reached out to the USGA for a statement, to which they responded, “We’re holding off on [an] official statement for now, but will refer anyone who asks to see USGA.org/distanceinisghts if they have any questions about research or our process.”

Despite no official comment from the USGA on the matter, other Tour pros did not hesitate to weigh in on the controversial topic.

We asked our instagram followers whether they agreed or disagreed with Mickelson’s sentiment, and the post received numerous responses from fellow PGA Tour pros. Bryson DeChambeau commented, “I agree,” and Graeme McDowell also sarcastically weighed in, “Max length of a putter like 36 inches while they are in the mood???”

John Daly also took to social media to express his opinion, tweeting, “I totally agree with you brother but why don’t they just change the cheapest thing made in golf……the #golfball #bringthegolfballback NO common sense!”

Also in competition at last week’s BMW Championship, Rory McIlroy discussed the very same issue during his Friday post-round press conference, stating,

“I don’t think driver length is the right way to tackle what the governing bodies want to do. I mean, I would be in agreement with Phil. A lot of amateurs just pick a driver off the rack and it’s going to be 45 and a half inches, no one’s even thinking of going to that so, yeah I’d be very surprised to hear the average golfer play anything longer than 45 and a half. I don’t think it’s going to make a huge difference.”

While the vocal majority of Mickelson’s fellow Tour pros are supportive of the 45-time PGA Tour winner stance, it remains to be seen how much the USGA puts into the credence of its game’s biggest stars.

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19th Hole

TaylorMade signs 15-year-old AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year to an NIL contract

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This week, TaylorMade Golf announced that they’ve signed AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year, Miles Russell, to an NIL contract.

In a statement, TaylorMade called Russell “nothing short of remarkable”.

“Miles’ record setting success at his young age is nothing short of remarkable and we are excited he chose us to support him in his growth as a golfer to continue to accomplish his career goals. Identifying and developing the top junior talent in the world has always been a priority for us at TaylorMade. Miles and his family epitomize the type of athlete and human being we are looking to add to Team TaylorMade.”

Russell has broken plenty of records in recent months. This season, he was named American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Boys Player of the Year, making him the youngest male player to receive the award. The record was previously held by Tiger Woods who was about 10 months older than Russell at the time he received the award.

At age 14, J he became the youngest player ever to win the Junior PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass at age 14.

The 15-year-old also played in his first Korn Ferry Tour event on Thursday, the LECOM Suncoast Classic, and shot a first-round 68.

In the aftermath of the agreement, Russell released a statement.

“I have had a great relationship with the team at TaylorMade for years now and couldn’t be more excited to continue to work with them in the future. TaylorMade has a history of developing the top junior talent in the world to help reach their goals of becoming PGA TOUR and major championship winners. I am looking forward to working with the team to reach those and other goals I have laid out for my career.”

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Group of PGA Tour caddies sign endorsement deal with underwear company

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In an interesting turn of events, a group of PGA Tour caddies have signed an endorsement deal with an underwear company.

Geno Bonnalie (Joel Dahmen), Aaron Flener (J.T. Poston), John Limanti (Akshay Bhatia) and Joel Stock (Will Zalatoris) and John Ellis (Wyndham Clark) have signed a deal with the underwear brand, SAXX.

Here are some details about the endorsement deal:

  • The deal eclipses six figures in total value, extending what last year marked the first significant apparel agreement with a group of pro caddies. Of note, Geno and John Ellis appeared in the Netflix docuseries, Full Swing.
  • The caddies will wear SAXX underwear, shorts and polos on and off the course.
  • SAXX will donate $100 to the Testicular Cancer Foundation for every birdie made by the caddies’ players for the rest of the season.
  • SAXX will bring the Ball Masters to the masses at the Travelers Championship, hosting a fan activation with underwear giveaways, photo opportunities, appearances from the Ball Masters and more.
  • Fans can become an honorary Ball Master, which includes a year’s worth of underwear, among other things. Go to SAXX.com/ball-master-application from now until June 15 to enter.

The partnership is great for the caddies and also represents a great cause.

Check out the video they shared on YouTube:

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Man charged with stealing millions of dollars worth of memorabilia from Augusta National

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Augusta National

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man has been charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Per the court records there is no mention that Globensky worked for the golf club.

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