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US Women’s Open leader credits fiancé’s clever idea for putting success at Pine Needles

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When you’re struggling with your short game, a trip to the US Open is not exactly a tempting proposition.

However, despite lying 106th for greens-in-regulation, 45th in putting average and 76th for birdies made throughout 2022, Mina Harigae leapt to the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the US Women’s Open at Pine Needles.

Players are often tinkering with their short game in the search of perfection, and already this week we have seen Jordan Spieth try a multitude of putters before sticking with his trusty old Scotty Cameron for the first round of The Memorial. It’s no irony then to hear 32-year-old Harigae saying her opening 64 was, “Jordan Spieth-esque out there today.”

Harigae, who made her Solheim Cup debut last year, knocked in a 10-footer for birdie at the opening par-five before the floodgates opened.

A five-birdie, no bogey, front nine 30 put the former Junior Ryder and Solheim cupper on her way, and whilst she couldn’t match that coming home, four birdies and two bogeys saw her card the second lowest round in championship history and her first round in the 60s in 13 years of playing at the prestigious event.

So what happened that created such a positive change?

Harigae explained all after her round, “Finally late yesterday Travis just did one little thing and I was like, ‘Hey, this feels like last year again.’ … it was basically keeping the top of my putter grip more level. So he just put his hand on top of the grip as I stroked, and it was a lot better.”

The Travis she refers is to Travis Kreiter, fiancé and caddie, who was also happy to explain his part.

“She has a tendency to get her left shoulder up and out,” he said to Golfweek, “and kind of hit putts weak and right. I just had her hit putts, and I put my finger on the top of the grip while she hit putts and she started to hit it more solid.”

Minor changes but potentially crucial ones as she bids to win in North Carolina, the Tar Heel state, former home of Michael Jordan, basketball legend.

After all, both Mina and Travis are huge Jordan fans, particularly the shoes, a collection that she admits (with a smile) might be, “kind of out of control.”

Having bought 10 pairs of Jordans in the last few weeks, she says the collection of Kreiter’s dwarfs her own, but anything that inspires and seems to work is all good in the world of professional sport.

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Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year

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While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.

“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”

The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.

Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.

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Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships

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While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.

“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.

“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.

“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’

“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.

“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”

Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.

Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:

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Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items

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

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 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Since then, more details have emerged about the case.

According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.

The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.

Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”

The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.

Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.

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