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Morning 9: Allen starstruck by Tiger | New LIV signings | Swafford surgery

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco and Matthew Vincenzi.

For comments: [email protected]

February 21, 2023

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as we head over to the Honda Classic.

1. West Coast swing takeaway No. 1: Rahm-paging

PGATour.com staff rounds up what’s worth remembering from the West Coast swing. No surprise on point No. 1…”Rahm won his first two starts of 2023, then added a third victory Sunday at The Genesis Invitational, where he outlasted Max Homa. That’s three wins for Rahm in his past five starts on TOUR. He’d never won three titles in a single PGA TOUR season before.”

  • “Rahm, who hasn’t finished outside the top 10 in six starts this season, has opened a 426-point lead on Homa in the FedExCup (Keegan Bradley, who’s 994 points off the pace, is the only other player within 1,000 points of Rahm). Rahm has earned $9.4 million on the PGA TOUR in this calendar year; Max Homa is next on the list with less than half of Rahm’s earnings ($4.67 million).”
  • “So what’s different than the first nine months of last year, when Rahm’s lone win came at the Mexico Open presented by Vidanta? Not much, says Rahm, further proof about how small the margins are at golf’s highest level.”
Full piece.

2. Josh Allen was starstruck

Victoria Hernandez for USA Today…“The Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen was among the Woods’ admirers at Riviera Country Club on Sunday cheering on the golf legend in the Genesis Invitational, which is run by Woods’ TGR Foundation. Allen got to meet Woods at the tournament and Sports Illustrated captured the moment where they shook hands and exchanged some words of encouragement.”

  • “You put on a good tournament,” Allen said grinning.
  • “Good luck with everything, alright,” Woods said.
  • “After the encounter, Allen was beaming after meeting one of his sports heroes.”
  • “Little star-struck, obviously,” he said. “He’s one of the only athletes ever, him and Kobe (Bryant) are the two guys that I actually felt my heart beat faster when he’s standing over a putt for a tournament. I legit felt the pressure with him. That was pretty cool, never forget it. I’m kinda speechless.”
Full piece.

3. Steele joins LIV

Bailee Hill for Fox News…”It was just weeks ago that golfer Brendan Steele said he wasn’t interested in joining LIV Golf. Now, reports say he will be joining the Saudi Arabia-backed tour. “

  • “Prior to The American Express PGA Tour event, Steele spoke on a conference call, where he said joining LIV Golf wasn’t “something that I’m interested in.”
  • …”But, 10 weeks later, Steele is now headed to LIV Golf before the start of their new season.”
Full piece.

4. …Lee, too

Stuff.co.nz report…”Danny Lee’s shift to the rebel Saudi Arabia-funded LIV Tour has been confirmed with the Kiwi golfer to join the Iron Heads GC team.”

  • “His first appearance for the Kevin Na-captained team, will be in Mexico next week at the El Camaleón Golf Course.”
  • “LIV announced on Monday…that the Kiwi will join Na, Scott Vincent and Sihwan Kim in the Iron Heads lineup for the season.”
Full Piece.

5. Surgery for Swafford

Mike Hall for Golf Monthly…“With the 2023 LIV Golf season just days away, it has been announced that one of its players will miss the majority of the 14-tournament League. Hudson Swafford will undergo hip surgery which will see him miss between four and six months of the schedule that runs between February and November.”

  • “A statement released by the 35-year-old revealed he had made the decision after seeing a specialist for the ongoing problem. He said: “I have been struggling with a hip injury which has caused a decline in my on course performance. After consulting with a specialist, I was unfortunately advised my best option for an optimal recovery was to undergo surgery which will require 4-6 months of rehab.“
Full piece.

6. Taste of the Masters returns

Our Jason Daniels…”Originally intended for patrons that could not access the grounds in 2020 because of Covid, Augusta brought back the offer for the general golf fan for the 2021 edition.”

  • “Missing in 2022, fans took to social media to plead with the organizers:”
  • “They have listened, and for 2023, fans in the U.S can buy their ‘Taste of the Masters Hosting Kit’ from the Masters site itself.”
  • “At just $25 more than in 2021, all orders will be delivered by Friday April 7th, giving plenty of time to organize your complete Masters party or, if planned right, the ultimate in Masters weddings!”
  • “Much improved from the efforts of five years ago, which golf fan doesn’t want to watch Jon Rahm, Sungjae Im or Max Homa on the tee at number 12 whilst tucking into a pack of Masters BBQ chips, eaten beside a pimento cheese salad from Masters wax paper?”
Full piece.

7. Honda Classic photos

  • Check out all of our galleries from PGA National this week!
Full Piece.
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Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

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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

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.

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SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips

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SuperStroke announced today its purchase of 100-year-old grip maker Lamkin Grips, citing the company’s “heritage of innovation and quality.”

“It is with pride and great gratitude that we announce Lamkin, a golf club grip brand with a 100-year history of breakthrough design and trusted products, is now a part of the SuperStroke brand,” says SuperStroke CEO Dean Dingman. “We have always had the utmost respect for how the Lamkin family has put the needs and benefits of the golfer first in their grip designs. If there is a grip company that is most aligned with SuperStroke’s commitment to uncompromised research, design, and development to put the most useful performance tools in the hands of golfers, Lamkin has been that brand. It is an honor to bring Lamkin’s wealth of product innovation into the SuperStroke family.”

Elver B. Lamkin founded the company in 1925 and produced golf’s first leather grips. The company had been family-owned and operated since that point, producing a wide array of styles, such as the iconic Crossline.

According to a press release, “The acquisition of Lamkin grows and diversifies SuperStroke’s proven and popular array of grip offerings with technology grounded in providing golfers optimal feel and performance through cutting-edge design and use of materials, surface texture and shape.”

CEO Bob Lamkin will stay on as a board member and will continue to be involved with the company.

“SuperStroke has become one of the most proven, well-operated, and pioneering brands in golf grips and we could not be more confident that the Lamkin legacy, brand, and technology is in the best of hands to continue to innovate and lead under the guidance of Dean Dingman and his remarkably capable team,” Lamkin said.

Related: Check out our 2014 conversation with Bob Lamkin, here: Bob Lamkin on the wrap grip reborn, 90 years of history

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Tour Rundown: Pendrith, Otaegui, Longbella, and Dunlap soar

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Take it from a fellow who coaches high school golf in metro Toronto: there’s plenty of great golf played in the land of the maple leaf. All the greats have designed courses over the USA border: Colt, Whitman, Ross, Coore, Mackenzie, Doak, as well as the greatest of the land, Stanley Thompson. I’m partial to him, because he wore my middle name with grandeur. Enough about the architecture, because this week’s Tour Rundown begins with a newly-minted, Canadian champion on the PGA Tour. Something else that the great white north is known for, is weather. It impacted play on three of the world’s tours, forcing final-round cancellations on two of them.

It was an odd week in the golf world. The LPGA and the Korn Ferry were on a break, and only 13/15 of the rounds slated, were played. In the end, we have four champions to recognize, so let’s not delay any longer with minutiae about the game that we love. Let’s run it all down with this week’s Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour: TP takes TS at Byron’s place

The 1980s was a decade when a Canadian emergence was anticipated on the PGA Tour. It failed to materialize, but a path was carved for the next generation. Mike Weir captured the Masters in 2003, but no other countrymen joined him in his quest for PGA Tour conquest. 2024 may herald the long-awaited arrival of a Canadian squad of tour winners. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Nick Taylor break the fifty-plus year dearth of homebred champions at the Canadian Open, and players like Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Adam Svennson, and Mackenzie Hughes have etched their names into the PGA Tour’s annals of winners.

This week, Taylor Pendrith joined his mates with a one-shot win at TPC Craig Ranch, the home of the Byron Nelson Classic. Pendrith took a lead into the final round and, while the USA’s Jake Knapp faltered, held on for the slimmest of victories. Sweden’s Alex Noren posted six-under 65 on Sunday to move into third position, at 21-under par. Ben Kohles, a Texan, looked to break through for his first win in his home state. He took the lead from Pendrith at the 71st hole, on the strength of a second-consecutive birdie.

With victory in site, Kohles found a way to make bogey at the last, without submerging in the fronting water. His second shot was greenside, but he could not move his third to the putting surface. His fourth was five feet from par and a playoff, but his fifth failed to drop. Meanwhile, Pendrith was on the froghair in two, and calmly took two putts from 40 feet, for birdie. When Kohles missed for par, Pendrith had, at last, a PGA Tour title.

DP World Tour: China Open in Otaegui’s hands after canceled day four

It wasn’t the fourth round that was canceled in Shenzhen, but the third. Rains came on Saturday to Hidden Grace Golf Club, ensuring that momentum would cease. Sunday would instead be akin to a motorsports restart, with no sense of who might claim victory. Sebastian Soderberg, the hottest golfer on the Asian Swing, held the lead, but he would slip to a 72 on Sunday, and tie for third with Paul Waring and Joel Girrbach. Italy’s Guido Migliozzi completed play in 67 strokes on day three, moving one shot past the triumvirate, to 17-under par.

It was Spain’s Adrian Otaegui who persevered the best and played the purest. Otaegui was clean on the day, with seven birdies for 65. Even when Migliozzi ceased the lead at the 10th, Otaegui remained calm. With everything on the line, Migliozzi made bogey at the par-five 17th, as his principal competitor finished in birdie. To the Italian’s credit, he bounced back with birdie at the last, to claim solo second. The victory was Otaegui’s fifth on the DP World Tour, and first since October of 2022.

PGA Tour Americas: Quito’s rains gift title to Longbella

Across the world, superintendents and their staffs will do anything to prepare a course for play. Even after fierce, nightime rains, the Quito TG Club greeted the first four groups on Sunday. The rains worsened after 7 am, however, and the tour was forced to abort the final round of play. With scores reverting to Saturday’s numbers, Thomas Longbella’s one-shot advantage over Gunn Yang turned into a Tour Americas victory.

64 held the opening-day lead, and Longbella was not far off, with 66. Yang jumped to the top on day two, following a67 with 66. He posted 68 on day three, and anticipated a fierce, final-round duel for the title. As for Longbella, he fought off a ninth-hole bogey on Saturday with six birdies and a 17th-hole eagle. That rare bird proved to be the winning stroke, allowing Longbella to edge past Yang, and secure ultimate victory.

PGA Tour Champions: Dunlap survives Saturday stumble for win

Scott Dunlap did not finish Saturday as well as he might have liked. After beginning play near Houston with 65, Dunlap made two bogeys in his final found holes on day two, to finish at nine-under par. Hot on his heels was Joe Durant, owner of a March 2024 win on PGA Tour Champions. Just behind Durant was Stuart Appleby, perhaps vibing from his Sunday 59 at Greenbrier on this day in 2010. Neither would have a chance to track Dunlap down.

The rains that have forced emergency responders into action, to save hundreds of lives in the metro Houston area, ended hopes for a third day of play at The Woodlands. Dunlap had won once previously on Tour Champions, in 2014 in Washington state. Ten years later, Dunlap was the fortunate recipient of a canceled final round, and his two days of play were enough to earn him TC victory number two.

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