With links golf, many think feel and creativity outmatch numbers and mechanics.

But with the tee times just around the corner at the 154th Open Championship, Rory McIlroy believes both can be tied hand in hand this week at Royal Birkdale, specifically when it comes to launch monitor data supplying swing verification for a player.

“I think that TrackMan or any launch monitor, it’s a very useful tool,” McIlroy said Tuesday at The Open. “… I think it can actually help you with the feel of your golf swing at times.”

McIlroy has been described as one of the more feel-dependent golfers on the PGA Tour. For example, during his repeat Masters victory this season, he spent much of Saturday afternoon and evening looking to correct a swing position that had led to him squandering a six-shot lead from the day prior. So, during his Open Championship press conference, he elaborated on how he combines metrics with movements.

“If you see a certain number on TrackMan, it gives you a feeling of what you need to do, so if you can sort of match up the number you see on the screen with a feel that you have in your golf swing, I actually think you can become more feel-based,” McIlroy said.

“I use TrackMan a lot in season because I feel like it’s hard to work on technical positions when you’re just trying to manage your pattern through the course of the season. I use TrackMan where it’s like, okay, my path’s getting a little to the right, I’ve just got to feel like I swing more left. Or my face angle is getting a bit left, and I’ve got to feel like I hold it a bit more square through impact, whatever it is.

“To me, I actually feel like it’s a great tool to use when your swing gets off a bit, and you can sort of train your feels back into where they need to be.”

McIlroy will look to win his second major championship of the season when play gets underway on Thursday, and his first Open Championship since 2014, when he was crowned Champion Golfer of the Year, just down the road at Royal Liverpool.

Death, taxes and Bryson DeChambeau testing new gear at a major.

For gearheads, it’s the best time of the year, and at The Open Championship, hosted at Royal Birkdale, DeChambeau was at it again, testing what looks like a new set of irons ahead of the final major of the season.

The shiny new set of sticks was spotted on the range Monday in DeChambeau’s Open Championship-themed Crushers bag, and while it’s not the in-hand images taken by our Tour Photographer Greg Moore, it was clear to see that the irons weren’t his usual Avoda prototypes.

Looking at images from on-site, the club heads look similar to the 3D-printed head he had earlier in the year, with what looks like either heel and toe weighting. Nothing particularly groundbreaking when it comes to clubs, especially used by DeChambeau.

Something that is, and the biggest change seen when looking at his irons, isn’t actually the heads themselves. It’s the steel shafts he’s using.

DeChambeau, who had been using his own LA Golf Bad Prototype shaft, an ultra-stiff graphite option created for him, has now reverted back to steel. Hopefully, DeChambeau shares more on the reason why he’s changed back to steel, but it comes after DeChambeau and LA Golf, who first announced their partnership in 2018, ended their collaboration earlier this year.

When one door closes, though, another one opens. Case in point, DeChambeau’s last appearance at a major championship was punctuated by a mysterious prototype driver that he and the designers at TaylorMade had put together. The Qi4D 200+ Proto driver he used at the U.S. Open was one of a few driver heads that they had put together for players seeking clubhead speeds as high as DeChambeau.

“I’ve been working on something that can maybe go a little faster with the same curvature, and it’s quite interesting what’s gone on so far,” DeChambeau told GolfWRX at Shinnecock Hills. “So it’s working well. We’ll see how it works on the golf course.”

The change in driver head, away from the Krank Formula Fire Pro, also came with a switch in shaft as DeChambeau played a Project X Prototype D70 instead.

DeChambeau’s latest equipment changes come after he also moved into new wedges at LIV’s Singapore event, dropping his 50-degree Ping S159 and 56-degree Ping Glide 4.0 wedges from the bag. In their place, Bryson now uses Bettinardi’s HLX 6.0 Forged wedges.

DeChambeau will be looking to stop a run of three missed cuts in a row at major championships, having finished in the top 10 in six of the last eight before that, including his U.S. Open victory in 2024. He’ll be teeing off at 4:58 a.m. ET on Thursday for Round 1 in a pairing that should suit him well with fellow LIV golfer Tyrrell Hatton and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

Major titles were decided the weekend that the futbol world cup narrowed its field to four semifinalists. The LPGA and PGA Tour Champions saw a playoff and a runaway in premier events. The PGA and DP World Tours shared an event in Scotland, in advance of The Open championship. The PGA Tour also offered a stateside event, while Korn Ferry and PGA Tour Americas also disputed tournaments.

As far as the victors, let’s say it was a weekend for acronyms. We had an RYU Kidding and a TKo and a ZJo, because, why not? What’s language for, if not for amusement? Thanks to Golf Monthly, InsideTourGolf, and GolfWRX for initial equipment research.

Time for a new hole location!

We are still in a deadlock after two playoff holes @ISCOChamp. pic.twitter.com/rmCOUFpbDQ

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 12, 2026

LPGA @ Amundi Evian Championship: R Yu Kidding?

In the space of three weeks, Haeran Ryu turned from a once-per-year winner to a contender for player of the year. The young talent from Korea won three LPGA events from 2023 to 2025, but nothing prepared her and us for the summer of 2026. Ryu claimed an inaugural grand slam event in June at the PGA Championship, then followed it up this week with a second major title in France. Ryu’s first major came by two shots, but her second required an overtime stanza.

Brooke Henderson closed with eagle three at the 18th, forcing Ryu to make birdie to extend her day. She did, and the duo went off to an extra session. A day after signing for 60, Ryu struggled to 71, but it was just enough to keep her in the game. Japan’s Aki Iwai missed out on the playoff by one shot, thanks to a mere par at the 18th hole.

On the ensuing playoff hole, Ryu once again made birdie, but Henderson was unable to replicate the magical eagle, or any of the other magic that brought her round in 64 Sunday shots. She settled for par and a second runner-up finish in four years at Evian.

The Wands of Ryu

• Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS at 9 degrees
• MiniDriver: TaylorMade r7Quad at 11.5 degrees
• Hybrids: TaylorMade Qi4D at 17 and 19 degrees
• Iron: TaylorMade P790 4 iron
• Irons: TaylorMade P7MC 5 to 9 irons
• Wedges: TaylorMade MG5 at 50, 54, and 58 degrees
• Putter: TaylorMade Spider 5K-ZT

PGA Tour @ Scottish Open: Tom Kim knockout adds interest to Birkdale

The expression TKO is well-known in the sporting world. A technical knock-out is called by the referee when one boxer is a step away from la-la land. To avoid injury, the referee steps in and waves the fight to a close. Tom Kim tossed a 64 at the field on Sunday. His number was matched by Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland. That number brought Hovland inside the top 15, and McIlroy inside the top 10. Both results were uplifting, headed into the final men’s major of the year. For Kim, 64 brought him inside the top one, for his first PGA Tour win in three years, his first-ever DP World Tour title, and his initial triumph in Europe.

A traffic jam occupied the top of the leader’s board through 54 holes. Seasoned vets like Robert McIntyre and Matt Fitzpatrick were joined by upstarts called Johnny Kiefer and Keita Nakajima. Also in the mix were Min Woo Lee, already a Scottish Open winner at Renaissance Golf Club. Tom Kim lurked as well, but his inability to close in a big event made him an afterthough. Then, he close. Kim opened each nine on day four with birdie, and added four more for his day-low, six-under par 64. His birdie at the antipenultimate hole kept Min Woo at length. The aussie closed with a 67 of his own, to claim solo second by two over a foursome of third-place finishers.

See Tom Kim’s winning WITB here.

PGA Tour Champions @ Kaulig Companies Championship: ZJO number three this year

Zach Johnson has won but three times out of fifteen events on PGA Tour Champions this season, not every week. It just seems that he has won more. In truth, he is second behind Stewart Cink (4) in victories this year, but Johnson now has a major title to his credit. The man from Iowa had previously won on every tour imaginable: Prairie, Hooters, Nationaide (now Korn Ferry), PGA, and in Europe. He earned two majors (Masters and Open) during his younger career, and now has won to his credit on this tour.

Johnson positioned himself well through two rounds, with a pair of 67s. He was one shot behind Cameron Percy through 36 holes. While Percy went to 70 on Saturday, Johnson went low with 63, and blew the tournament open. His final-round 68 solidified a six-shot margin of victory over Boo Weekley. On Saturday, Johnson made no mistakes, matching seven birdies to eleven pars. On Sunday, he wasn’t perfect. His birdies (six) exceeded his bogeys (four) but no one behind him made a move. A six-shot win is more than a TKO; it’s a ZJO. And, you might ask, what does it stand for?

Zach Johnson, Out.

The Wands of Johnson

• Driver: PXG 0811 XF Gen4
• Metal: TaylorMade M6 three metal
• Hybrids: PXG 0317 X Gen 2 at 19 and 22 degrees
• Irons: PXG 0311T Gen 5   5 through 9 irons
• Wedges: 0311T Sugar Daddy Milled at 48,52, 56, and 60 degrees
• Putter: PXG Proto 5.18

Next stop: TPC Sawgrass ?

With a win @KauligChamp, Zach Johnson will tee it up at the 2027 @THEPLAYERS. pic.twitter.com/cLS72bYhph

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) July 12, 2026

PGA Tour @ ISCO Championship: Getting Fisky in Kentucky

Lucas Glover grabbed the halfway lead with an eye-catching 127 through 36 holes. Unfortunately for Glover, his scores kept rising. From 63-64, to 68 and 71. Those numbers weren’t sufficient to preserve the lead, and Glove ultimately tied for fourth place. With the podium’s top spot open for rent, golfers took direct aim on Sunday. Taylor Pendrith began day four with a bogey, but was solid over the next 17 holes. He supplied six birdies for a minus-five 65, the day’s low round.

Pendrith climbed to 16-under par, but was matched there by Steven Fisk. Firsk had also opened with 63, but had gravitated toward the upper 60s over the next 36 holes. On Sunday, Fisk maintained that pace with 67, and joined Pendrith at the low number. One sorrowful shot out of that playoff were Aaron Wise and Ben Silverman, tied for third position at fifteen-deep.

In the playoff, the duo matched pars through two trips down the 18th hole. On trip number three, Fisk found the proper line off the tee, while Pendrith erred right, into the fairway bunker. His second came up forty yards shy of the putting surface, his pitch and putt were off the mark, and Fisk’s routine par won the moment, day, and week.

The Wands of Fisk

No one else gets this sort of treatment, because no one else is Fisk. Mizuno guy with driver and irons, Ping guy with metals, and back to Mizuno for wedges, with one exception. Oh, and an Odyssey putter.

• Driver: Mizuno St-Z 230
• Metals: Ping G430 Max at 15 and 21 degrees
• Iron: Mizuno Pro Hi-Fly 3 iron
• Irons: Mizuno Pro 245 (4) Mizuno Pro 235 (5) and Mizuno MP-20 (6-9)
• Wedges: Mizuno T-22 at 46, 50, and 56 degrees
• Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM10 at 60 degrees
• Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie

Steven Fisk finishes the job @ISCOChamp after 3 playoff holes to take home a TOUR win in back-to-back seasons! pic.twitter.com/MUUtn2TgYp

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 13, 2026

Korn Ferry Tour @ The Blue Championship: Superman triumphs in Colorado

With a last name like Steelman, Ross Steelman must have endured a few Man of Steel jibes over the years. Steelman was invincible on Sunday, closing with 68 for first-ever victory on the Korn Ferry Tour. In order to seal this deal, he had to hold off one of the biggest (literally) names to depart amateur golf in 2026. Tommy Morrison, a recent graduate of the University of Texas, stand six feet nine inches tall. He played that tall this week.

Morrison opened with 63, to assume the top spot. He was matched by Cole Sherwood through 36 holes, then the man from Krypton surged to the lead through 54 holes. Kal-El, sorry, Ross Steelman tore a 65 from the heart of TPC Colorado, to ascend to the top spot. On Sunday, Morrison gave everything his tall fram could muster, and he nearly pulled out a victory. Morrison led over the front nine, but Steelman closed hard, and eeked out a one-shot win over the young redwood.

The Wands of Steelman

• Driver: TaylorMade Qi35
• Metal: TaylorMade r7 Quad mini driver 13.5 degree
• Metal: TaylorMade Qi35 16.5 degree
• Metal: TaylorMade Qi10 18 degree
• Hybrid: TaylorMade Qi10 19.5 degree
• Iron: TaylorMade P770 4 iron
• Irons: TaylorMade P-7CB 5-9 irons
• Wedges: TaylorMade ATS09 Hi-Toe 52, 56, 60 degree
• Putter: Scotty Cameron Tour Use Only Timeless

The champ signs off from @TheBlue_Champ ? pic.twitter.com/YBoqW2z99H

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) July 13, 2026

PGA Tour Americas @ Explore NB Open: Ponder this for a moment

Thomas Ponder had a couple of career rounds this week in New Brunswick. He posted 63 on day one, but was matched by two other golfers. He signed for 62 on Saturday, but was matched again by another pair of competitors. This high level of play explains why Ponder, despite posting twenty-two under par through three rounds, had competition on day four. On Sunday, Ponder closed with 65 and turned a one-shot advantage into a three-shot win.

On day three, Ponder was lightning out of a bottle. He halved his card with birdies and pars, to shoot nine-deep…but he gained no shots. Evan Knight appeared adrift through the Saturday turn, then found a higher voltage of electricity on the inward half. Knight etched two eagles and three birdies into his back-nine scorecard, for 29, and a 62 of his own. On Sunday, Knight again started slowly, with a one-under 34 on the outward nine. Ponder was also one-deep at the turn, but came home in minus-five, to clear the deck and claim the title.

 

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