News

GolfWRX Morning 9: SafeTway Open | Furyk: Reed knew all along he’d play with Tiger | What TW can give back

Published

8 years ago

Oct 8, 2018

Ben Alberstadt

1. SafeTway

Son of Bob took advantage of Brandt Snedeker’s final-round stumble to win a cask of wine.

AP Report…”Kevin Tway made a 10-foot birdie putt on the third hole of a playoff Sunday to win the season-opening Safeway Open at windy Silverado for his first PGA TOUR title.”

“The son of eight-time PGA TOUR winner Bob Tway, the 30-year-old former Oklahoma State player beat Ryan Moore on the par-4 10th after Brandt Snedeker dropped out on their first extra trip down the par-5 18th.”

“It was nice to get hot at the end,” Tway said. “I wasn’t really in it on the front nine. Brandt made a couple bogeys starting the back. I was kind of right there, but kind of hanging around. Birdied 17, 18 to get into the playoff and then kept it going in the playoff — and here I am.”

“After the wind died down in the late afternoon on the tree-lined North Course, Tway birdied the final two holes in regulation for a 1-under 71, then birdied all three holes in the playoff.”

Full story.

2. The home team wins!

The South Korean team won the International Crown (cheers to them); how interesting is this (from Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols)? Any surprise an LPGA Tour event in South Korea was enthusiastically received?

“LPGA commissioner Mike Whan stood on the back of the 18th green as the event team rolled out the red carpet. His answer to involving the rest of the tour in team competition had never looked better.”

“I think the bottom line is there’s no reason we can’t do this on a more regular basis,” said Whan of the electric atmosphere. Without giving away any secrets, the commish confirmed that 2020 would feature a new host country, meaning some other lucky foursome will benefit from the rush of home support.

“The hype coming into South Korea was significant as the rows of boxed suites on the drivable par-4 14th were the same size as the Presidents Cup and sold out three months ago. The $250,000 in advanced ticket sales was unprecedented, and particularly impressive in a culture that prefers walk-up purchases. Even on Sunday, fans were still buying the $500 International Pavilion passes. Though there were times when more security was needed, the 200 guards hired for this event dwarfs the few dozen at a regular LPGA stop.”

Full piece.

3. Bjerregaard

Closing in on Halloween, it’s entirely appropriate that a named Boo-ra-gard would win

AP report...”Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark wrecked Tyrrell Hatton’s hopes of winning the Dunhill Links Championship for a third straight year when he shot a five-under 67 in the final round on Sunday.”

“Bjerregaard started the day four strokes adrift of overnight leader Hatton but he reeled in the European Ryder Cup player to finish with a 15-under winning total of 273…Englishman Hatton (72) shared second place on 274 with Ryder Cup team mate Tommy Fleetwood (69).”

4. Furyk: Reed knew all along he’d play with Tiger

Captain Furyk talked with Golf Channel’s Tim Rosaforte…GC’s Will Gray…”Reed seemingly lobbed a grenade at his teammates and captain in the wake of the American loss, explaining that it was Jordan Spieth’s idea to break up their formidable pairing from the past two Ryder Cups and calling the decision-making process a “buddy system” that excludes the input of some players.”

“But according to Furyk, Reed was in the loop on his pairing with Woods well in advance, all the way down to having a discussion with the captain about where exactly he’d like to be slotted among the four matches during Friday’s opening session.”

“When I started looking at who (Tiger) would pair well with, I kept coming back to Patrick Reed,” Furyk said. “There was always the idea that we could go Tiger and JT (Justin Thomas), and Patrick and Jordan, but ultimately they knew going into the week, weeks in advance, they knew they would start the Ryder Cup with Patrick and Tiger being partners.”

5. New sched, who dis?

Majors in back-to-back weeks? That’s what’s ahead for the LPGA Tour in 2019, the Forecaddie writes.

“LPGA players were adamant about moving the Evian Championship back to the summer and rightly so. Twice the event has been cut to 54 holes due to weather.”

“But for 2019, at least, the move comes with a steep price as the Evian Championship (July 25-28) and Women’s British Open (Aug. 1-4) will be played in back-to-back weeks. The Forecaddie needs a nap just thinking about it.”

“There’s no doubt that consecutive majors will hurt the tournaments on either end – the new DOW Championship, a two-person team event that ends on Saturday, July 21, and the Aberdeen Ladies Scottish Open, which follows the British.”

“It’s reportedly a one-off, with the Scottish Open moving in between the majors the following year. Players, it seems, are so eager to get out of France in September that they’ll put up with the less than ideal arrangement for a season.”

Full piece.

6. Asia-Pacific Am winner is…

Golf Channel’s Nick Menta...”Japan’s Takumi Kanaya fired a final-round 65 Sunday in Singapore to win the 10th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.”

“With the victory, the 20-year-old earned an invitation to the 2019 Masters and the 2019 Open Championship.”

“This is simply like a dream. I have been dreaming of going to the Masters ever since I was a kid,” Kanaya said. “I never expected to play the Masters and The Open so early in my career so this is just huge.”

“Kanaya is the second player from Japan to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur, following Hideki Matsuyama, who went back-to-back in 2010 and 2011 and who called Kanaya to congratulate him on his win.”

7. Something Tiger could give the game…

Our Mike Dowd writes...”This new Tiger, though, especially these past few months, and while his driver is still suspect, it’s hard to believe all those conversations about the yips were even being had. Contending in numerous events, coming close in two majors, and now winning The Tour Championship, and nearly The FedEx Cup, and even the staunchest Tiger critic would have a hard time not agreeing that he’s back, and not just from a bad back, but from a mental abyss the likes of which it can be argued that few have ever returned to the top of the sport from.”

“And this is where Tiger can finally, truly give something back. As one of the best to ever pick up a pitching wedge, I think it’s time we were treated to a little bit more than a mere platitudes, a What’s in The Bag, or an analysis of the nuts and bolts of the latest incarnation of his golf swing. It was long considered that Tiger’s iron-clad psyche, his iron will, and his mental toughness were his greatest weapon. In his prime, he was other-worldly, winning often by sheer intimidation. But now that that the myth of his immortality has been shattered, and he’s been revealed as much everyman as he is the superman we once put up on that pedestal, it’d be nice to see him play the part of Toto and pull back the curtain a bit on the struggles of the great and powerful Oz. And give us some real insight on what it exactly took to bring him back from the brink.”

Full piece

8. “Patrick Reed will save the PGA Tour”

Here’s an interesting argument from Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch.

“Until we recently began living under par, “These Guys Are Good” was recited with an almost evangelical fervor. The slogan wasn’t intended to refer only to the quality of play evident on Tour, but also to the not so readily apparent qualities of its members: sportsmanship, humanitarianism, charity.”

“That branding has two potential snares: Even a trivial divergence from the righteous narrative is magnified, and it denies golf fans the manufactured hatred that thrives in other sports. After all, it’s tough to hate a guy when you only hear about his decency and kindness to puppies.”

“Yet the PGA Tour prizes banality, embracing guys whose idea of coloring outside the lines is confined to quirky swings or not wearing chinos. The result is a weekly soap opera serving plenty of vanilla but no villains. (Even the loutish John Daly was more hapless than hated.)”

“There’ve been many Tour stars with prickly personalities – Hogan, Ballesteros, Watson, Faldo, just for starters – but never a true anti-hero, never a player willing to endure unpopularity and able to recycle it as fuel.”

Full piece.

9. “I made Tiger great again”

A riff on the “Make Tiger Great Again” tees (TW seems to like these better).

News

Most birdies without breaking par – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

14 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user is wondering how many birdies other players have had in a round while still failing to break par. @Lalan45, unfortunately, asked the question after a unique experience of their own.

They wrote:

“Today I managed 8 birdies but still shot even par, could have been a round to remember! What’s the most birdies you’ve made in a round and still didn’t break par?”

Our members in the forum shared their own experiences with successful rounds that still resulted in a score over par. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

kwcsports: “I’ve had 5 a few times, still shot 80+ haha.”
jda: “I played a course for the first time, had 8 birdies, 9 doubles and an eagle. The infamous no-par round. I kept the scorecard. Every shot had a creek that I did not know about, or I was within 8-10 feet for a birdie look. To this day, I have no idea if I should be really jacked up or mad about that performance.”
jvincent: “I think my record is either 5 or 6. Probably shot 75.”
Instron4204: “3 birdies and shot a 92…man I suck!”

Entire Thread: “Most Birdies Without Breaking Par.”

News

Best current stock shaft 2026 – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

14 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user is asking for thoughts on the best stock shafts offered in 2026. Stock shafts are the shafts included with a club when it’s purchased from retailers or OEMs.

@DTorres asked:

The last couple years has seen a lot of updates and additions to no upcharge stock shafts, which do you think is the best offering in 2026?

Im a bit of a shaft nerd and recently during my Members Testing with the Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond I found the updated Project X Denali Frost Black to be a fantastic stock shaft. I absolutely did not mesh well with the original Denali. Just curious what other people think are the current best Stock shaft offerings out with new models and stock Ventus options and LinQ options popping up here and there.

We were given the option for any stock shafts for our members review. I went with the 70g Black Frost 6.5 because it’s a shaft I don’t have, it’s an updated version of the original Denali and hear little about. I typically use a Diamana WB, GD VF or a HOF Raptor. I’m not saying it was neck and neck with any of those but it was a pleasant surprise I’m not accustomed to in stock shaft offerings.

Our members in the forum have been offering up their own thoughts on the best stock shafts available in 2026. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

rsballer10: “IMO – MCA Ka’ili White Darkwave, Tensei 1k Black/white, UST Lin-Q White. People are free to spend their money however they see fit, but for me personally the shaft catalogs these days have enough options that I don’t see the value of a $400 upcharge. I have never had a problem finding a no upcharge shaft that fits the bend profile and weight that I need. Whether the paint job is good enough or not is above my pay scale.”
bcflyguy1: “Project X Titan Black. I’ve had one in 60TX in my Quantum TD Max for several weeks now. Have to give Titlieist their flowers for finding a way to make it available as a featured option; very shrewd bit of business and one that I suspect will be duplicated by the other companies. TT/PX have a certified banger on their hands with Titan.”
CTG77: “Undoubtedly, it’s the Tensei 1K RIP shafts from Titleist. The Tensei line gives about 98% of the performance of a Ventus VeloCore+ shaft at a tiny fraction of the cost if you’re looking for a blue or red profile. The white is not an exact match for Ventus Black, but it’s closer to it than the non-VeloCore+ Ventus shafts that come from Callaway or formerly came from TaylorMade.”

Entire Thread: “Best current stock shaft 2026.”

News

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

Published

3 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.