News

Morning 9: Bryson’s no-win situation | U.S. Am: Reeves ahead play suspended | Olympic ratings

Published

5 years ago

Aug 11, 2021

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt

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August 11, 2021

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans.

1. Bryson’s no-win situation

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”For the past year he’s been riding a tidal wave of controversy, and he has weathered those storms – the vaccine misinformation, the “fore!” calls, the equipment gripe, the caddie split, the rules disputes, the image protection – with varying degrees of success. At least they’ve all passed. But there is one topic that’s unabating, and unfortunately for him it’s the one largely out of his control: the Koepka Kerfuffle.”

“When the “Brooksy!” calls first began, at the PGA Championship and then the Memorial, DeChambeau laughed them off. Called them “flattering,” actually.”

“…In hindsight, what other recourse did he have?”

“If he admitted publicly that it bothered him, fans would sense that weakness and exploit it.”

“It was a no-win situation.”

Full piece.

2. U.S. Am: Reeves ahead play suspended

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”Nearly four hours of weather delay ensured that stroke play would continue into Wednesday at the 121st U.S. Amateur.”

“Half of the 312-player field will have to return to Oakmont Country Club and Longue Vue Club to complete their rounds and solidify the 64-player match-play bracket. Brad Reeves, however, will be able to sit back and watch.”

“The Arizona grad, playing in his first USGA championship, backed up a 5-under 65 Monday at Longue Vue with a wild even-par 70 Tuesday at Oakmont. Reeves carded six birdies and six bogeys, and he made just two pars on the back nine, to get into the clubhouse at 5 under, best of anyone finished.”

Full piece.

3. Mack the APGA king

Via ESPN…”Willie Mack III ran off three early birdies to pull away and closed with an 8-under 64 on Tuesday for a 6-shot victory in the Mastercard APGA Tour Championship.”

“The victory was worth $27,500 to Mack. He earned $10,000 for the victory at the TPC Sugarloaf, along with $17,500 for winning the Lexus Cup Points title and player of the year.”

“It capped a memorable seven months for Mack, who received sponsor exemptions to two PGA Tour events on the West Coast swing, and then made the cut in his past two PGA Tour starts at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic.”

Full piece.

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GolfWRX may earn a commission of “GolfWRX Recommends” products.

4. Bling

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…“I know a lot of tough golf courses scare a lot of people,” Bling said, “and to me, I see it as a challenge and accept it.”

“Bling stepped into the ring Tuesday morning at Oakmont after a 1-under 69 Monday at Longue Vue Club, which yielded a 63 to first-round leader Jacob Bridgeman. With the match-play cut likely to land within a shot or two of 3 over, Bling had a cushion, but not much; Oakmont played an average of more than seven shots over par on the first day of stroke-playing qualifying.”

“In other words, Bling had to be on his toes.”

“Oakmont landed the first strike, a bogey on the opening hole, but Bling quickly settled in. He birdied Nos. 3 and 4, and later turned in a tidy even-par 35. No damage done. After trading shots with a birdie at No. 12 and bogey at No. 14, Bling delivered the first uppercut.”

Full piece.

5. Reed WDs

Golf Channel report…”After competing in Minnesota, Japan and Tennessee in the last three weeks, Patrick Reed has decided to take a break ahead of the FedExCup playoffs.”

“Reed withdrew on Tuesday from this week’s Wyndham Championship, the PGA Tour’s final regular-season event. The three-tournament playoffs begin next week, with The Northern Trust at Liberty National. No official reason was given for Reed’s withdrawal.”

Full piece.

6. Olympic golf ratings

Via Geoff Shackelford…Ratings were up big! But the men’s Olympic golf was down about 8 million American viewers compared to 2016’s final round picked up by NBC. So there’s that.

“From Golf Channel PR: Coverage of the down-to-the-wire final round of men’s golf on Saturday, July 31 delivered the best late night viewership in GOLF Channel history (878,000 viewers, Midnight-3:30 am ET), and ranked second among all networks in that time period (behind only NBC’s “Prime Plus” Olympics show).”

“Where, incidentally, the golf was not deemed good enough to show on NBC Prime Plus.”

Full piece.

7. Webb

Our Andy Lack…”Ahead of this week’s Wyndham Championship, Webb Simpson joined Michael Breed on a “New Breed of Golf” on Sirius XM PGA Tour radio to discuss the recent heckling drama surrounding Bryson DeChambeau.”

“Referring to unruly fans, Simpson condemned the recent behavior of fans at events, saying: “We don’t like it. They yell this stuff. You will never see players or caddies laughing. We get annoyed by it because we’re out there trying to work. We’re not coming into an office meeting in their office and yelling at them.”

Full piece.

Seriously — check out the spread above. Subscribe to the Golfer’s Journal (or give it as a gift to the golf aficionados in your life!).

8. On Harry Higgs

Excellent stuff from Ben Everill on the lovable Mr. Higgs…”Popularity has its pros and cons. Higgs is constantly being asked by fans to put on a show. But he’s not a trained seal. All his highlights have been natural emotions in the moment.”

“I never thought I would have to manage just being myself, but with more attention and more eyeballs comes maybe more expectation,” Higgs says. “And the silly things people yell at you can obviously distract from the reason you’re really there.”

“When form starts to dip, like it has again this season, it becomes even harder to always be smiling. Higgs enters this week’s Wyndham Championship at 88th in the FedExCup.”

“The early runner-up and the T4 in his major debut at Kiawah Island have already helped secure passage to another season but in the six starts since the PGA, Higgs has five missed cuts and finished 68th at the Memorial Tournament.”

Full piece.

9. $1 million for what?

Via the Golf Channel Digital Team…”The winner of the Wyndham Championship isn’t the only player who will take home a $1 million prize.”

“Also being decided this week is the winner of the AON Risk Reward Challenge, a season-long competition that determines which player averages the best score on a designed hole (one that usually requires a strategic decision). A player’s two best scores on that hole each week count toward the season-long total.”

“Matthew Wolff leads the competition heading into the final regular-season event of the season, averaging more than a stroke under par (-1.105) on the designated holes. Wolff needs to play the first two rounds of the Wyndham to reach the 40-round minimum.”

Full piece.

News

Most birdies without breaking par – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

8 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

8 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.