Opinion & Analysis

Hot & Cold: Where strokes were won and lost at the Memorial Tournament

Published

7 years ago

Jun 4, 2019

In “Hot & Cold,” we’ll be focusing each week on what specific areas of the game players excelled and disappointed in throughout the previous tournament. On Sunday, Patrick Cantlay produced a brilliant round of 64 to capture the Memorial Tournament, and here’s a look at where some of the most notable players gained and lost strokes over the four days of action at Muirfield Village.

Hot

Patrick Cantlay made it win number two on the PGA Tour over the weekend, and the 27-year-old did so due to his immense long game. Cantlay gained 14.6 strokes over the field for his play tee to green, which is a career-best. His second best career performance in this area? Last year at the Memorial. Check out the clubs Cantlay used on his way to victory in Ohio in our WITB piece here.

Adam Scott continues to knock on the door, and the Australian’s iron game last week at Muirfield Village was back to its brilliant best. Scott led the field for strokes gained: approaching the green, gaining 11.8 strokes over the field with his irons. The best performance in this area for Scott post-2011.

Tiger Woods looked sharp at Muirfield Village, and the 15-time major champ gained strokes over the field in every significant strokes gained category. Woods’ iron play was particularly impressive, gaining 5.4 strokes over the field for his approaches in Ohio.

Cold

It was another dismal performance at Muirfield Village for Jason Day, with the Australian struggling mightily with his irons. Day lost 4.4 strokes to the field for his approach play in Ohio over two days – his worst performance in this department since 2012.

Jordan Spieth notched another top-10 finish last week, and the Texan was once again impressive on the greens – gaining four strokes over the field with his trusty Scotty. However, Spieth produced his worst display of the year with his irons, losing 3.3 strokes to the field for his approach play. The 25-year-old has failed to post a positive strokes gained: approaching the green number in his last five starts.

Justin Thomas showed plenty of signs of rust on his return to action last week. Thomas lost 3.7 strokes tee to green, and three strokes on the greens in Ohio on his way to a missed the cut.

Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

Published

6 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.