News

Morning 9: USO round 1 update | Peacock fiasco | JT, Reed, Rory, Tiger, and more

Published

6 years ago

Sep 18, 2020

1. At the top: JT (-5), Reed, (-4)

David Shefter for the USGA…“This venue that has dished out more over-par winning U.S. Open scores than any other in the post-World War II era (3) offered some leniency on Thursday in the opening round of the championship’s 120th rendition.”

“Perfect weather conditions coupled with receptive greens led to some of the world’s best players turning the tables on this challenging layout.”

“Led by Justin Thomas’ 5-under 65 – the lowest round ever recorded in a U.S. Open contested at Winged Foot – 21 players posted sub-70 scores on the 7,416-yard, par-70 West Course designed by A.W. Tillinghast. Thomas, the 2017 PGA champion, has plenty of company at the top of the leader board. Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, carded a 66 that included a hole-in-one. He is joined at that number by a pair of NCAA champions, Thomas Pieters (2012) and Matthew Wolff (2019).”

“Rory McIlroy, the 2011 U.S. Open champion, is among a group two strokes back, along with Louis Oosthuizen and 47-year-old Lee Westwood.”

Full piece.

2. Rory starts strong

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…“The most technical reason Rory McIlroy could give for why his opening rounds in major championships haven’t been his best in recent years was also the simplest: golf.”

“Maybe putting myself under a little too much pressure to get off to a good start,” McIlroy said. “The first round of a major you’re always anxious to play well, and maybe I’ve overthought it at times. I just went out today and just took what was given to me a little more relaxed and played really nicely.”

“That “relaxed” approach lifted him to a first-round 67 at Winged Foot, McIlroy’s lowest opening round at the U.S. Open since 2011, the U.S. Open that McIlroy won. It was also the lowest opening round for the Northern Irishman in any major since the 2014 PGA Championship, which he also won. In those 20 starts, he had a 72.35 scoring average.”

Full piece.

3. The great Peacock switch

Golfweek’s Todd Kelly…“NBC has a new app, maybe you’ve heard of it, or even Googled it. It’s called Peacock.”

“If you’re trying to watch the U.S. Open Thursday afternoon and you can’t find it, you probably feel like flipping someone the bird.”

“The 120th U.S. Open was on Golf Channel for six and a half hours earlier in the day and then on good old, over-the-air, free NBC for three hours but the final two hours of live golf have switched over to Peacock.”

“Problem is, Peacock doesn’t quite have Netflix-level penetration across the U.S. and many sports fans are probably still scrambling as this story was being typed, looking for that app..”

Full piece.

4. Opportunities squandered and a 73 for Tiger

Mark Cannizzaro at the NY Post…“Tiger Woods had his chances. Then he blew them.”

“Woods, 44, was on the cusp of vaulting himself into contention in Thursday’s U.S. Open first round at Winged Foot with a string of three birdies from Nos. 9 through 11 to get to 1-under par.”

“Then it all went wrong for him. In the end, Woods was victimized by too many unforced errors and tumbled down the leaderboard with a 3-over 73. He is in a tie for 71st place, eight shots out of the lead held by Justin Thomas, one of his playing partners.”

“After the round, Woods, who finished with a sloppy double bogey on the 18th hole, referenced his poor finish no fewer than six times, obviously agitated by it.”

Full piece.

5. DJ struggles

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…“On a day of record-low scoring at Winged Foot, Dustin Johnson could only manage a 3-over 73.”

“The world No. 1 made only two birdies in softer, easier conditions Thursday to sit eight shots off the lead of Justin Thomas, whose 5-under 65 was the lowest score in six U.S. Opens held here.”

“I didn’t play great, didn’t make any putts,” Johnson said. “Obviously tomorrow, if I shoot a few under, I’ll get back in the golf tournament.”

Full piece.

6. …Phil too

AP report…”He found a grand total of two fairways over a 5-hour slog through the thick grass, sand and greens that he couldn’t figure out. He three-putted twice over the final four holes — including once from inside of 9 feet — and finished at 9-over 79. That tied his worst opening round in any major in his career.”

Full piece.

7. …and Spieth

Here’s the first helping of an excellent piece from Cameron Morfit at PGATour.com on Jordan Spieth’s opening round…”Jordan Spieth sounded exhausted. Frustrated. Cooked.”

“His 3-over 73 was far from the worst round at the 120th U.S. Open at Winged Foot, but it might have been the most eventful. He got his ball stuck in a tree (second hole, double-bogey), made three straight birdies (holes 4-6), hit just three fairways (Phil Mickelson style), and putted well (Jordan Spieth style).”

“At least there, on the greens, the 27-year-old still looks like the 2015 FedExCup champion.”

“There’s a lot that’s off,” he said. “I’m not really sure. If I knew, I’d fix it. So I’m kind of just – kind of working through it and looking forward to having a little more time off to figure it out.

“I mean, yeah, I’m late behind it,” he added. “The second I try to get back out in front of, it’s hooking.”

Full piece.

8. Kinder gentler Winged Foot

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…“Few sports cling to the past like golf and Winged Foot’s history is a brutish tale. In ’74, there were eight rounds under par … for the week. In ’06 when Ogilvy won – and, yes, Phil Mickelson lost – there were a dozen under-par rounds for the week and just one on Thursday, when the scoring average ballooned to a soul-crushing 75.98. By comparison, Thursday’s average of 72.42 looked like a typo.”

“There were two holes-in-one on Thursday, both at the par-3 seventh; Louis Oosthuizen holed out for eagle at the par-4 second hole from 148 yards; Rory Sabbatini had seven birdies on his card. And there were several more long shots and long putts that found the bottom of the cup in Round 1.”

“In the preamble to this week’s championship many players warned of the approaching storm that is the West Course, but some were comfortable acknowledging soft greens and perfect scoring conditions.”

“I did a radio show yesterday and told them I think guys will shoot 3 and 4 under … I could see somebody being 4 or 5 under through two rounds,” Brendon Todd, who carded a 68, said before offering an ominous warning, “then a little harder on the weekend.”

Full piece.

9. Davis Thompson and the all-Georgia threesome

More good stuff from Cameron Morfit of PGATour.com reporting from the Winged Foot.

“The phone was in the bag. He put it there before the round, and by golly, it was going to stay there. Instead of snapping a photo, caddie Todd Thompson looked at the leaderboard and burned it into his memory.
“Davis Thompson, his 21-year-old son, was at 4-under-par and leading the 120th U.S. Open.”
“It was cool to see his name up there,” said Todd, who in his day job is the tournament director for The RSM Classic, the PGA TOUR’s regular stop in St. Simons Island, Georgia.”
“Cool? Well, OK, that’s an understatement, but then Todd and his son are understated guys.”

“Thompson bogeyed three of the last six holes for a 1-under 69 at Winged Foot, just four back of early leader Justin Thomas, while playing partners Harris English and Brendon Todd each shot 68. The all-Georgia group were the only threesome to all shoot under par in the morning wave.”

Full piece.

News

Most birdies without breaking par – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

9 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

10 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

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.