Opinion & Analysis

Brian Stuard’s Second Coming

Published

13 years ago

Mar 29, 2013

For Brian Stuard, the second time around is proving to be his best.

Stuard, 30, is enjoying his best season to date with performances even the PGA Tour’s most seasoned competitors would be proud of. Big names such as Nick Watney, Justin Leonard, K.J Choi, Jason Duffner and Zach Johnson are just some of stars he is out performing.

His impressive 2013 season includes three top-10 finishes, and he’s made the cut in all eight events he’s played so far this year.

Despite his hot start in 2013, Stuard has had a tough go of it on the Tour, losing his card in 2010 after finishing a disappointing 164th on the money list. He spent the next two years on the Web.com Tour, gaining exemption to the big stage by finishing 20th with earnings of $205,711 in 2012.

Perhaps his return to the secondary Web.com Tour in 2011 strengthened his resolve.

He has come back a much stronger player, and has been rewarded with earnings of $690,021. That has to take plenty of pressure off his game, because he’s already earned $7,000 more than the 126th-place finisher on the 2012 Tour money list, Jeff Maggert, which will virtually assure him a Tour card in 2013.

Stuard was interviewed in January 2013 after flirting with a 59 during the 3rd round of the Humana Challenge. He was asked what he learned from his 2010 rookie season. He said:

“Patience and playing one round at a time and not getting ahead of yourself.”

Perhaps Stuard is starting to get it.

Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

Published

5 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.

I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.

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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.

With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.

Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!

Club Junkie

Building my 2026 gamer WITB: Ranking the contenders and new putter projects – Club Junkie Podcast

Published

7 days ago

Jun 4, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

The annual What’s In The Bag build is underway, and on this episode of Club Junkie, Brian breaks down the clubs currently leading the race for a spot in his 2026 gamer setup. From drivers and fairway woods to irons, wedges, and shafts, he ranks the equipment that’s performing best and explains what’s separating the front runners from the rest of the field.

Brian also heads into the workshop to discuss several putter projects currently on the bench. From head options and shaft choices to build ideas and testing plans, he shares what he’s working on and which putters could become serious contenders for the bag this season.

If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.

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Club Junkie

Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie

Published

2 weeks ago

May 28, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of Club Junkie, I put the new Tour Edge Exotics Mini Driver to the test and break down the performance, forgiveness, distance, and where it fits compared to a traditional driver or strong fairway wood. If you have been curious about adding a mini driver to the bag, this one is worth a look.

I also dive into the new TaylorMade Spider ZT Max putter that was recently spotted and discuss the growing zero torque putter trend. Plus, there is a closer look at the new Project X Titan Yellow shaft showing up on the PGA Tour and what makes it different from other profiles currently out there.