News

Morning 9: Why the winner of the first major isn’t teeing it up at the second | Charley Hull positive for coronavirus | Dustin Johnson’s mystery watch

Published

6 years ago

Sep 9, 2020

1. Why the winner of the first major isn’t teeing it up at the second

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…“It’s the Story of the Year so far in all of golf. And yet, incredibly, she’s not in the 105-player field at this week’s ANA Inspiration.”

…”Interest grew even more after a Golf.com story reported that Popov wasn’t eligible for the tour’s five-year exemption as she was a non-member at the time of her victory. Instead, Popov is exempt for the remainder of 2020 and all of 2021. Her first eligible start is next week’s Cambia Portland Classic.”

“Popov, a four-time All-American at USC, isn’t in this week’s field because the criteria for the ANA Inspiration (originally scheduled for April) was set before the LPGA took a 166-day break due to the coronavirus. The winner’s five-year exemption into the ANA was slated to start in 2021.”

“LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said that there was no changing it.”

“The simplest answer to this would have been to let Popov start her five-year exemption into the ANA in 2020. She wouldn’t get more years than anyone else. She’d simply be able to start the clock now. That would’ve given Popov and the LPGA the chance to capitalize on the momentum of the moment.”

Full piece.

2. Charley Hull positive for coronavirus

AP report…”Golfer Charley Hull of England has withdrawn from the ANA Inspiration after testing positive for the coronavirus.”

“Hull has one LPGA Tour title among her four professional wins. She said she wasn’t feeling her best when she arrived in the California desert but chalked that up to jet lag, extreme heat and her asthma acting up.”

“She was told of her positive test result on Tuesday morning and will self-isolate for 10 days.”

Full piece.

3. Colt Ford to tee it up on Champions Tour

Golfweek’s Adam Schupak…“Before he became a world-famous country-rapping musician, Colt Ford was a journeyman golf pro who chased his dream of playing on the PGA Tour in the 1990s. The Athens, Georgia, native was twice named that state’s PGA Section Assistants’ Division Player of the Year (even teaching John Tillery, the instructor of Kevin Kisner and Rickie Fowler) and won several mini-tour events while traveling to backwater towns under his given name, Jason Brown.”

“It was called the Hogan Tour when I started,” he said of the Tour developmental circuit known as the Korn Ferry Tour today. “That’s how long it’s been.”

“This week, Ford, 51, who missed the cut at the 1995 South Carolina Classic, when it was the Nike Tour, is set to make his PGA Tour Champions debut at the Sanford International, playing on a sponsor invite into the 78-man field at Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.”

Full piece.

4. USGA moving departments to Pinehurst?

John Dell at the Winston Salem Journal…“The United States Golf Association Golf Museum and Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History is moving to Pinehurst Resort along with two other departments of one of the most powerful organizations in the sport.”

“The moves of the museum, the ball-testing facility and the agronomy department from headquarters in Liberty Corner, N.J., were confirmed Tuesday evening when the USGA reveled its plans to the Village of Pinehurst town council in a hearing.”

“The USGA said it will have a $25 million campus and it plans to fit it in the community.”

Full piece.

5. How the PGA Tour dealt with a pandemic and finished its season

ESPN’s Bob Harig…”But while other sports competing outside of a coronavirus pandemic bubble — namely Major League Baseball and college football — had myriad challenges, golf and the PGA Tour (as well as the European Tour, which started later and with stricter guidelines) managed to make it to this point with no interruptions, while pushing ahead into a new season this week at the Safeway Open.”

“I think it’s a huge deal that honestly hasn’t been made a big-enough deal,” said Webb Simpson, who won the RBC Heritage, the second tournament back, before dealing with his own family COVID-19 scare, which turned out to be a false alarm. “I think you see the other leagues, and they’re having all sorts of issues with the coronavirus. It seems like so many decisions have been in limbo, the fans not knowing what to expect, which teams are sitting out.

“Now I know things are different with us, less players than typical other leagues might have, but they’ve done a phenomenal job. Our numbers are so shockingly low compared to other organizations or groups of people, and I never thought that we’d have this smooth of a process.”

Full piece.

6. What the data shows about Dustin Johnson’s Tour Championship win

Dallas Webster from V1 Sports writing for GolfWRX…“Looking at the Strokes Gained Stacked plot from V1 Game, a few things jump out from Johnson’s play this week. First, he gained strokes with short game all four days. Not enough is said about Dustin Johnson’s touch. He is fantastic around the greens and consistently got himself out of trouble to make a score and keep momentum in his rounds going in addition to converting birdies around the greens on par 5s. Secondly, where his iron game is typically strong and helps him separate from the field, he did not lean on it as heavily this week. His approach game was just slightly above average for the four days placing him at 11th in a 30-man field.”

“Next, he did gain strokes driving three of the four rounds. Interestingly, in the second round, Johnson lost 0.6 strokes to the field with his driver. It is rare for Dustin Johnson to lose strokes to the field with the driver, however this could be considered a good result when you realize that he hit only two fairways on the day! Reviewing his round summary from V1 Game for the second round gives a deep dive into his strokes gained performance for driving. Dustin missed to the left 50 percent of the time and to the right 36 percent of the time to hit just a pair of fairways. Still, his misses were not overly penal as he had only 0.5 driving errors. This is from hitting a tee shot into a recovery situation where he had to pitch out. This type of mistake is less damaging than a penalty, thus the 0.5 stroke impact.”

Full piece.

7. DJ’s mystery watch…revealed!

Our Brian Knudson with the detective work…“I feel like I have been searching for this watch for WAY too long, but now the search is over. I was fortunate enough to get a reply from DJ’s manager who put me in touch with a person that gave me all the details!”

“Say hello to DJ’s Hublot Big Bang Chronograph “Beverly Hills” Special Edition! Only 25 pieces were made for the entire world in 2017 and even Google can only find a few Japanese websites that list it.”

“The “Beverly Hills” is a 44mm Big Bang Chronograph with the top and bottom pieces of the case being made from Tungsten, with a satin finish. Sandwiched between the 2 Tungsten case parts is a blue composite resin containing the blue rubber and stainless steel crown and pushers. The bezel is also satin Tungsten with a bezel lug done in the same blue composite resin as the middle case.”

“This case back is made from titanium and features the Special Edition engravings as well as a sapphire crystal window. The crystal also has “90210 B.H.” painted on the inside to pay homage to the Beverly Hills zip code. Each of the 25 units made has XX/25 engraved to prove that this is a very limited edition.”

Full piece.

News

Most birdies without breaking par – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

15 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

16 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.