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Morning 9: How Rahm raised his game | Bubba: Golf was stale | Phil’s OWGR workaround

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as day one of the 2023 Mexico Open gets underway.

1. How Rahm raised his game

Justin Ray writing for PGATour.com quantifies Rahm’s improvements this season…”On the surface, Rahm didn’t seem to have much to clean up in terms of ball-striking one year ago. Entering the 2022 Mexico Open at Vidanta, Rahm led the TOUR in both Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and greens in regulation. In four of his first five full seasons on TOUR, he wound up in the top-10 in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. Nobody could characterize Rahm as anything less than elite when it came to his game off the tee or with his irons.”

  • “Perhaps, though, that’s what makes his approach play improvement even more impressive. Rahm has made a quantum leap this season from a very good approach player to arguably the best in the sport. The TOUR’s current leader in Strokes Gained: Approach per round, Rahm is gaining half-a-stroke more per round in that metric than he was at this time one year ago. On approaches from the fairway, Rahm is averaging 29 feet, 4 inches from the cup. That’s 16 inches better than this time last year, and about three-and-a-half feet better than the TOUR average.”
Full piece.

2. Duffy: Improved PGA, LPGA Tour partnership needed

Patricia Duffy for Golf Channel…”Monahan played the front nine with Korda and LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. He was able to play two holes on the back nine with current U.S. Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis before he had to catch a flight back to Florida.”

  • “Even though his visit was short and he wasn’t able to stay for the tournament, the PGA Tour’s leader made an effort, and the LPGA’s stars took notice.”
  • “I think he realizes that they need to do more,” Lewis told Golfweek. “He said that to me multiple times … it’s just now whether we can push it forward and actually do something about it.”
  • “Financially, professional golf is growing.”
  • “You see it on the PGA Tour, with its new designated-event model and ever-increasing purses; you see it in the pecuniary premise of LIV Golf; and you see it in the creation of non-traditional golf-related products, like the TGL golf league that’s set to launch in 2024.”
  • “But all of the above are benefitting men.”
Full piece.

3. Bubba Watson: Golf was kind of stale

Elliott Heath for Golf Monthly…”Bubba Watson revealed some bold plans for LIV Golf that involve teams having their own golf courses, or ‘stadiums’, while he claimed that the professional game had become “stale” prior to LIV arriving on the scene last year.”

  • “…I know what our business plan is and business model is. We are talking about having teams from different parts of the world,” he said.
  • “We are talking about having our own golf courses that, basically, we’ll call them our stadiums. We are talking about having golf academies to help young golfers, but also young golfers that want to play at our level, just like any other sports team around the world. So there’s a lot of dreams and aspirations and a lot of things that we’ve already accomplished in less than a year, but we still want to keep going forward.”
Full piece.

4. Phil’s OWGR workaround

Evin Priest for Golf Digest…”Mickelson has an idea for an alternative.”

  • “We have to come up with a qualifying mechanism that is inclusive, and if the [OWGR] isn’t going to be inclusive, then they have to find another way,” he said Wednesday ahead of LIV’s Singapore event. “Maybe they take the top five or top 10 [in LIV’s individual points standings], or winners on LIV? They’re going to have to find a way to get the best LIV players in their field if they want to have the best field in golf and be what major championships are about. So they’re already looking at that.”
  • “The top 10 on LIV’s current points standings four tournaments into their 14-event 2023 schedule are: Peter Uihlein, Charles Howell III, Gooch, Carlos Ortiz, Patrick Reed, Sebastian Munoz, Koepka, Danny Lee, Brendan Steele and Dean Burmester.”
Full piece.

5. Rahm the winner

Golf Digest’s Shane Ryan…”What’s more interesting is that by Strokes Gained, Rahm wasn’t even the best player of the past 12 months! That honor goes to Rory McIlroy, who, according to Data Golf, averaged 2.66 strokes gained over the field in 22 events in that span, while Rahm was just behind at 2.62. McIlroy had four wins in that same stretch, including the Tour Championship (where he won both the actual tournament and the lowest 72-hole score), but couldn’t capture any majors. If nothing else, this highlights just how good Rahm is at winning; seven wins in 15 top-10s means that when he was anywhere close to the lead, he managed to ring the bell about half the time, while McIlroy had the exactly same number of top-10s—15—but won at about half of Rahm’s rate.”

Full piece.

6. Back-to-back aces?

Dan DeLuca for the Naples Daily News…”John Nicholson and George Rand were playing in a foursome last Thursday at The Glades Golf & Country Club in Naples when something amazing happened.”

  • “The septuagenarians sank consecutive holes-in-one on the 15th hole of the club’s Palmetto course, a feat nearly unheard of, and for good reason. The National Hole in One Registry puts the odds of consecutive aces by two different golfers on the same hole at 17 million to 1.”
Full piece.

7. Like signing Zava

AP report…”Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are making an audacious — and very public — bid to entice Gareth Bale out of retirement to play a season at Wrexham.”

  • “Bale, a Wales great who retired after the World Cup at age 33, offered his congratulations to Wrexham’s celebrity owners following the team’s promotion to the fourth tier of English soccer at the weekend.”
  • “In a response to Bale’s video message, McElhenney wrote on Twitter: “Hey Gareth Bale let’s play golf, where I totally won’t spend 4 hours trying to convince you to un-retire for one last magical season.”
Full piece.

8. Homa’s big idea

9. KFT Photos

  • Check out our galleries from this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event!
Full piece.

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

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GolfWRX is on site this week at the Memorial Tournament, with both Alistair Cameron and Tour Photographer Greg Moore on the ground in Dublin, Ohio, where a strong field is assembled to pay homage to the Golden Bear.

In addition to WITB galleries, we’ve already been treated to an in-hand look at Tommy Fleetwood’s new TaylorMade Spider putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

 

 

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Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

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Around the world, the golf wheel spun this final week in May of 2026. From New Jersey to Austria, with stops in Korea, Texas, and North Carolina (don’t let me route your next trip) the world’s finest put their golf games on display. There were three playoffs, some known commodities and some new talent. It was the sort of week that we hope to have at this point in the seasons. June and July afford double-digit major events, and perhaps, one of this week’s champions will use this success as a springboard to new heights. Time to run it all down, tech style, in this week’s Tour Tech Rundown.

Thanks to WITBHub, Today’s Golfer, GolfWRX, and Inside Tour Golf for initial research into equipment.

PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge: Heroic Henley denies Cole

Eric Cole did nearly everything that a fellow can do, to secure a first PGA Tour title. He stayed one shot clear of Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin. He kept US Open champion Gary Woodland and wunderkind Michael Brennan two shots distant. He posted 70 on day four to reach twelve under par. And then, Russell Henley revealed his Dr. Strange cloak. Henley made 47 feet of birdie putts on holes 16, 17, and 18, to jump from minus-nine to twelve-deep, and secured a spot in a playoff with Cole. The duo returned to the final tee, and put on a stripe show.

Both golfers found the fairway off the tee, and Henley improved on his regulation play with an approach to four feet. Cole did himself proud, tucking an iron to a dozen feet, but he was unable to convert the putt for three. Henley is one of the best putters on tour, and he proved it once more by draining a putt for a fourth consecutive birdie, and a sixth PGA Tour title. For Eric Cole, that first victory should come, and soon. He has done everything necessary to earn the chalice lift.

Henley’s Suitcase

  • Driver: Titleist TSi3 at 10 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
  • Metal: Titleist TS3 at 16.5 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
  • Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
  • Iron: Titleist T250 4-iron. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
  • Irons: Titleist T100 5-6 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
  • Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
  • Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 48 and 50 degrees. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100
  • Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 54 and 60 degrees. Shaft: rue Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400
  • Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron T5 Tour Prototype

LPGA @ Shoprite LPGA: Welcome back, Celine!

Soo Bin Joo had her eyes on a maiden LPGA title. She held the lead after two rounds, then hit a red light at the intersection of can-I and how-To. Joo posted plus-two on day three in New Jersey, and dropped to a T4 finish, which was still a career-best for the young Korean golfer. Instead of a new face, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium.

Celine Boutier was the It Girl in 2023. She collected four victories, including a major title at Evian. Boutier reached world number one status, then simply faded into the background. No wins came her way over the next 30 months. On Sunday, she collected LPGA victory number seven, at the same trace as LPGA victory number two.

Day three saw Boutier manage the windswept Seaview Bay course with six birdies and a bogey. She was challenged in the end by Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who signed for a 66 of her own. Yubol came up one shot shy of the top ladder rung. Finishing in third place at -7, two back of the winner, was Ireland’s Lauren Walsh.

Celine’s Suitcase

  • Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 at 9 degrees. Shaft: Graphite Design AD IZ-5
  • Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops at 19 and 22 degrees. Shaft: KBS Hybrid Prototype
  • Hybrid: PXG 0311 Gen5.
  • Iron: PXG 0311 P Gen 4 5-9 irons
  • Wedge: PXG 0311 T Gen 4 PW
  • Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II at 50, 54, 58 degrees
  • Putter: Bettinardi Studio Stock 3 DASS

DP World Tour @ Austrian Alpine: KK? KK!

Kota Kaneko has a rhythmic name. It has strong vowels and a run of voiceless stops in its crunchy K sounds. On Sunday in Austria, Kaneko put a stop to a challenge from Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and everyone else, and claimed a first-ever title on the DP World Tour. Gouveia did well to reach 16-under par over four days, but Kaneko held firm, two shots in the clear.

Davis Bryant of the USA also forged a strong challenge for the win. He ended in a tie with Gouveia for second place. Kaneko began and finished his final round in a bit of a malaise, but he caught fire midway through. Birdies at 10, 12, and 13 provided the necessary cushion to cruise to the finish line without breaking a serious sweat.

Kaneko’s Suitcase

  • Driver: Ping Max G440
  • Metals: TaylorMade Qi4D at 15, 16.5, 21, and 24 degrees
  • Irons: TaylorMade P760 5 and 6 irons
  • Irons: TaylorMade P7TW 7-9 irons
  • Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design at 46, 52, 56, and 60 degrees
  • Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Cruiser Arm Lock #7

Korn Ferry Tour @ UNC Health Championship: Improbably Alvaro

Alvaro Ortiz may have had a bit of scare on the outward nine on Sunday, but he came through in clutch fashion in the end. Ortiz began the day bogey-double, and added another double bogey at the 11th hole. He was mired in a downward trend, spiraling away from the top of the leader’s board. Ortiz found hope at the 14th, where his first birdie of the day tumbled home. Inspired, he closed with birdies and 17 and 18 to catch Ross Steelman at 10-under par, and the duo returned to the 18th deck for overtime.

The extra session concluded in brief time. Ortiz, buoyed by his newly-retrieved confidence, hit the fairway with driver, then approached to six feet and drained the putt. Gobsmacked, Steelman could do little more than smile and applaud, as his run at the top came to a close. The victory was the first for Ortiz on the KFT, and will implant him squarely in the chase for a PGA Tour promotion.

Alvaro’s Suitcase

  • Driver: Ping G430 MAX driver at 9 degrees loft
  • Metal: Ping G430 MAX 3W
  • Iron: Ping iDi Driving Iron
  • Irons: Ping Blueprint S irons
  • Wedges
  • Putter: Scottsdale TR Piper C

LIV @ Korea: Me llamo Joaquin

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had been away from the LIV winner’s circle throughout all of 2026. This week in Korea, he reminded us that he is still a force to consider. Niemann chased down Taylor Gooch over the closing holes at Asiad Country Club, then claimed victory with a hole-one birdie in extra time. Bryson DeChambeau claimed solo third, one shot in arrears at minus-eleven. Dustin Johnson finished on fourth, one putt farther back.

Niemann’s Suitcase

  • Driver: Ping 440 LST
  • Metal: Ping G440 Max at 15 degrees
  • Metal: Ping G425 Max at 21 degrees
  • Hybrid: Ping G430 at 25 degrees
  • Irons: Ping Blueprint S 5 through PW
  • Wedges: Ping S159 at 52, 56, and 60 degrees
  • Putter: Ping PLD Anser

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Russell Henley’s winning WITB: 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge

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Driver: Titleist TSi3 (10 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70 6.5 TX

3-wood: Titleist TS3 (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX

7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Project X Denali Black 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T250 (4), Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (7-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F @47, 50-08F @51, 54-10S @55, 60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48), S400 (47)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X5 Tour Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

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