News

Winners roundup: Ko, Langher, BK, Morikawa | Tom Watson bids adieu | Yardage book DQ

Published

7 years ago

Jul 29, 2019

1. Kim falters, Ko wins Evian

Many a bottle of glacial spring water crafted by nature was consumed in celebration! All joking aside, Evian’s support of women’s golf has been fantastic, and from what I’ve seen on Instagram, the tournament at Evian-les-Bans is a first-rate affair. So, kudos to them, and to Jin Young Ko as well, who locked up her second major of 2019 (and regained the No. 1 spot in the Rolex rankings).

AP report…”Jin Young Ko took advantage of a friend’s bad luck to win her second major title of the season on Sunday, and reclaimed No. 1 spot in the women’s world golf rankings.”

“Ko fired a 4-under 67 in the rain-swept final round to win the Evian Championship by two shots with a 15-under total of 269.”

“Winner of the season’s first major, the ANA Inspiration in April, Ko closed out the victory after playing partner, longtime leader and good friend Hyo Joo Kim lost control of the tournament with a triple bogey at the par-3 14th.”

Full piece.

2. Sick, show up 45 minutes before your tee time, win by 3

AP report on an under-the-weather BK getting the job done…”Brooks Koepka turned his final-round duel with Rory McIlroy into a runaway for his first World Golf Championships title.”

“Koepka had three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the front nine and cruised to a three-stroke victory Sunday in the FedEx St. Jude Invitational.”

Full piece.

3. Bernhard at the Senior British

Golf Digest’s John Strege…”…a month shy of his 62nd birthday, that he again quelled any notion that his better days are numbered by winning the Senior British Open for a record fourth time.”

“On a cold, rainy day at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Langer erased a three-stroke deficit with a front-nine of four-under-par 30, shot a four-under-par 66 and won by two over Paul Broadhurst.”

“I love holding this trophy,” Langer said. “It’s a beautiful one. I never got to hold the Open Championship trophy, but this is the next best thing and I’m very blessed to have won four of these now.”

Full piece.

4. Barracuda breakthrough

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard….”Three weeks after he was beaten at the buzzer by a former college rival, Collin Morikawa broke through for his maiden PGA Tour victory at the Barracuda Championship.”

“Morikawa enjoyed a stellar amateur career at Cal, and the 22-year-old has quickly found his footing since turning professional in June. He entered the week with a pair of top-5 finishes, highlighted by a runner-up result at the 3M Open earlier this month when fellow Class of 2019 member Matthew Wolff birdied the 72nd hole to edge him by a shot.”

“But Sunday, Morikawa was the man of the moment, shooting a bogey-free 65 that equated to a 14-point effort under the modified Stableford format. That included birdies on four of his last five holes, including each of the last three holes, and Morikawa’s 47-point total left him three clear of runner-up Troy Merritt.”

Full piece.

5. Farewell, Tom

John Feinstein on Tom Watson’s goodbye to links golf in general and the Senior Open Championship in particular…

“Tom Watson made his final walk to an 18th green in an Open Championship-this one the Senior British Open-with nine holes to play. That’s because the last round of this Open was played in threesomes, with those near the back of the pack teeing off on the 10th hole. Watson, tied for 55th, was one of those, meaning he finished the championship on the ninth hole.”

“But that didn’t really matter. As he walked up the 18th at Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s, his face was filled with the emotion he clearly was feeling. His playing companions both understood what was happening, and they fell back to allow Watson to walk onto the green alone. Watson paused, cap off, turned and bowed to the cheering fans on both sides of the green. Then he blew kisses and clapped for them all, saying a final thank you for 44 years of extraordinary memories, even as they said thank you to him.”

Full piece.

6. A case for Creamer

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols...”Could Paula Creamer get the nod once more? With seven Solheim Cup appearances, Creamer has made the team every way possible, even getting in as an alternate last time in Des Moines.”

“And each time she has risen to the occasion, earning three points in 2017 and two points in 2015 as a captain’s pick, going out in the anchor spot in Germany to bring it home for the Americans in the greatest comeback in Solheim Cup history.”

“But it’s not just her ability to put up points. Four years ago it was Creamer who pulled Angela Stanford aside and bolstered her with the confidence needed to take down Suzann Pettersen.”

Full piece.

7. Spieth closing in on answers

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”Spieth’s 2-under 68 was his lowest final round this season and just his third under-par round on a Sunday on the PGA Tour. More importantly it was a sign that he continues to work his way back to winning form.”

“I felt like I made more strides this week in my game than I have in any week this year,” he said…“Specifically, Spieth said it was a post-round practice session Friday that helped with a swing that has been off all year…”

“My swing started to look on video the same that it has, or at least getting close to where it has been when I’ve been striking the ball extremely well,” Spieth said. “But on course it was still 50 percent of it and on the range it’s still 75 percent of it. If I can get to 120 [percent] on the range and 100 on the golf course, then I’m right back to where the game becomes a bit easier.”

Full piece.

8. Yardage book DQ

“Congratulating a guy for not robbing a bank” and all, but credit to the journeyman for coming clean regarding arguably the most trivial of rules violations.

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall on Mark Wilson’s unfortunate situation…”Wilson self-reported a violation of USGA Rule 4.3 (use of equipment) regarding a green-reading book. Under the latest iteration to the Rules of Golf, these materials are limited in scale for green diagrams to where a grid can be no more precise than 3/8-inch equaling 5 yards of the green. It also restricts the size of the book that contains any green information to the current pocket-sized form of most yardage books (approximately 4 1/4 inches by 7 inches). Earlier this year at the Honda Classic, Alex Cejka became the first victim of the directive, as an old green-reading book violates the new parameters. According to Wilson, a former notepad did him in as well.”

“Sad to report but had to disqualify myself this morning for using a non conforming greens book during [Barracuda Championship],” wrote Wilson on Twitter. “Why I didn’t think of it before the tournament started, I have no idea…”

Full piece.

9. Bamberger on Watson’s sendoff

Leave it to one of the best to contextualize one of the best…

“…Watson told the Golf Channel reporter Todd Lewis on Saturday that this would be his final Senior Open. He also said that he won’t be playing in any more Senior U.S. Opens, an event he never won. He won one U.S. Open, in 1982, at the Pebble Beach Golf Links. You wouldn’t call Pebble Beach a links golf course in the British sense, but by American standards it’s pretty darn close. Interestingly, the club the USGA Museum curators covet more than any other is the Wilson wedge with which Watson chipped-in on the 71st hole of that Open, in a shot that could have been played at St. Andrews among dozens of other linksland courses.”

“Just to keep the theme going for a second, Watson won the Masters twice, long before it had anything like rough, when it was still much closer to the Old Course in spirit. That is, much closer to what Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie envisioned the course to be when they were designing it.”

“This is all a round-about way of saying that this farewell from Watson is significant, because here you have a golfer who played a sort of primal golf in ways nobody else ever did, including everybody.”

Full piece.

News

Most birdies without breaking par – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

4 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

4 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.