News

The Northern Trust Open preview

Published

14 years ago

Feb 16, 2012

Pete Pappas

By Pete Pappas

GolfWRX Staff Writer

The PGA Tour spotlight shifts this week to magnificent Riviera Country Club, home of the venerable “Hogan’s Alley”, and host to the Northern Trust Open in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Australian Aaron Baddeley attempts to defend his Northern Trust Open title against a 144-player field including world No. 1 Luke Donald (failed to make the cut last year), 2011 runner-up Vijay Singh (34 career PGA Tour wins), 52-year old Fred Couples (making his 30^th appearance at Riviera), and last week’s champion in spectacular fashion at Pebble Beach, Phil Mickelson (won this event in 2008 and 2009).

THE WEE ICE MAN

This year also marks the centennial anniversary of Ben Hogan’s birthday, arguably the greatest ball-striker to ever play the game, and whose three victories here in a span of 18 months between 1947 and 1948 led three-time Masters champion Jimmy Demaret to nickname Riviera, “Hogan’s Alley”.

BACK-TO-BACK

Baddeley’s final round 69 last year was good enough to hold off Singh by two strokes, and Kevin Na by three strokes, earning “Badds” his third career PGA Tour win.

His strong finish (five-under 67) last Sunday at Pebble gives him the confidence and momentum heading into Thursday that he’ll need if he’s going to join Hogan, Mickelson, and Arnold Palmer as back-to-back winners of this event.

BOOM BOOM
Couples looked like the “Boom Boom” of old to start last year’s final round, opening with three consecutive birdies, temporarily ripping the lead away from Baddeley. But victimized by shaky play down the stretch, Couples struggled to a 2-over Sunday finish, with bogeys at No. 16 and world-famous No. 18, dropping him to a disappointing tie for seventh place.

Couples is a two-time winner of this event (in 1990 and 1992 when it was known as the Los Angeles Open), and has 14 career top-10 finishes at Riviera. At first blush he would seem an obvious choice to contend again. But nagging health issues, including recent blood spinning treatments for his chronic back pain, bring his ability to literally just walk the course without pain for four rounds into question.

I PLAY TO WIN

Tiger Woods is not in the field to motivate Mickelson. And skeptics are pointing out similarities to Mickelson’s season last year when he went one and done after his lone victory in 2011 (Shell Houston Open).

But his performance at Pebble last Sunday was far more impressive than his performance in Houston last year. Surgical with his putter (making three putts in clutch situations over 20 feet), and a fairway-finding machine (hitting 13 of 14 fairways en route to a bogey-free final round), Mickelson was the paradigm of Pebble perfection.

“I play to win. I’m going for it,” Mickelson said Wednesday. And as quite possibly the streakiest boom-or-bust player on the PGA Tour, don’t be surprised to see the 41-year old catch wildfire again at some point this weekend, and notch his 41^st career tour win this Sunday.

Additional Notes:

Coverage begins Thursday at 12:00 pm PST on Golf Channel.

The Northern Trust Open winner will earn $1.118 million and 500 FedExCup points.

Hogan (64 career wins), Byron Nelson (54 career wins), and Sam Snead (82 career wins), were all born in 1912.

Click here for more discussion in the forums

News

GolfWRX’s Father’s Day Gift Guide (2026)

Published

2 days ago

Jun 9, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

A reminder from your friends at GolfWRX: Father’s Day is June 21. And as we do every year, we’re rounding up the best gifts for dad.

As we say every year, there’s no better golf-related Father’s Day gift than a round of golf with pops. Be it a country club or your favorite muni, take the time to get together to play 18 if you can.

Let’s get to the gifts.

Ghost Golf Qualifier Diamond Polo

We like the new polos that Ghost is offering, as the fabric and fit are so good. These new Qualifier Collection polos breathe well, are lightweight, stretch with your swing, and of course look great. You can wear them on the course, in the office, or just out at a casual event and they will fit right in.

Buy here.

STR8-Strip Grip Tape Remover

If your dad is an equipment aficionado and tinkers with his clubs, this tool works wonders. Removing grip tape has never been easier, just put a little head on the tape and the STR8-Strip peals it right off the shaft without any damage.

Buy here.

Why Golf: Putting Thing

When it comes to practice, it is good to have a purpose. This “Putting Thing” sure does it. We know from personal experience how challenging it can be and how rewarding it is on the practice green. This also provides some competition for your kiddo to see who will unload the dishwasher or do the next chore around the house.

Buy here.

OluKai Lae‘ahi Men’s Breathable Slip-On Shoes

Riding to and from the course in style and comfort is always a good thing. If you’re in a hurry, it’s a nice feature to slide into your shoes and get to the tee time. For the post-game shoe, at your locker or while putting your clubs away in the car. Nice to slide into a shoe that looks good anywhere. Pair that with meeting the family for dinner, no need to change!

Buy here.

Therabody Theragun Relief

A little wellness goes a long way. Keeping loose is a good way to go when it comes to the weekend game or treatment during the week. If there is a little ache or pain, the Theragun is there to help out. Help loosen up the back for a pre-game warm-up or cool-down.

Buy here.

World Cup golf apparel

Something for the soccer dads. Embrace the World Cup fever this summer on the course with custom gear to support the nation of your choice.

Buy here.

FootJoy Pro SL spikeless golf shoes

Give the old man a break and save his feet with the Footjoy Pro SL Men’s Spikeless Golf Shoes for some added comfort on the course.

Buy here.

Bushnell Wingman 2 GPS speaker

Combine all the hits as well as some game improvement with the Wingman 2 Golf GPS Speaker by getting audible distance readings from 38,000+ courses worldwide through the Wingman 2 remote or speaker.

Buy here.

Personalized Titleist Pro V1 golf balls

The No. 1 ball in golf is a safe bet, and the Pro V1 fits the largest chunk of the bell curve if you don’t know what ball pops plays. Add personalization for a, well, personal touch!

Buy here.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 OccuNet Classic

Published

2 days ago

Jun 9, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

With the PGA Tour across the border in Canada this week, GolfWRX Tour Photographer Greg Moore stayed stateside and headed to the OccuNet Classic presented by Amarillo National Bank in Amarillo, Texas.

It’s always interesting to see what the guys are playing on the KFT, and this week certainly hasn’t disappointed so far, with some incredible wedge stamping on display.

Check out links to all our albums below.

General Albums

2026 OccuNet Classic (KFT) – Monday #1

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

Luke Potter’s custom Cameron putter – 2026 OccuNet Classic (KFT)

News

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Scotty Cameron GOLO 6 with BGT Stability Tour2 2022 M Edition

Published

2 days ago

Jun 9, 2026

Will Schube

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @HuskerFlyer is sharing a Scotty Cameron GOLO with a BGT Stability Tour2 2022 M Edition shaft. While the putter is certainly enviable, the Augusta-inspired shaft is equally noteworthy.

From the listing:

Scotty Cameron Golo 6 with BGT Stability Tour2 2022 M Edition Scotty Headcover 34″ $375

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules.