News
Morning 9: Newsmakers: Rules of Golf | Kuchar | TGR Design’s Pebble commission
Adam Woodard at Golfweek…“Tuesday the Pebble Beach Company announced a partnership with 15-time major champion Tiger Woods and his TGR Design firm to redesign Pebble Beach’s Peter Hay par-3 golf course.”
“Pebble Beach has always been a special place to me,” Woods said in a statement. “It’s an honor for TGR Design and me to partner with Pebble Beach Company to design a new short course at such an iconic location.”
“Located just across from the first tee at Pebble Beach Golf Links and named after the former head professional at Pebble Beach, the Peter Hay Golf Course has been a mainstay on the property since it opened in 1957.”
2. Digest’s newsmakers of the year
…One of the 19 entries (of the eventual 25) Digest has published: Matt Kuchar
Daniel Rapaport writes…”Matt Kuchar must have mixed feelings about 2019. The good: a ninth PGA Tour victory, two runner-up finishes and clinching the winning half-point for the U.S. at the Presidents Cup in his fifth appearance in the biennial event. The less good: dirtying a previously spotless reputation. It started back in November 2018, when Kooch used local caddie David (El Tucan) Ortiz at the Mayakoba Classic. The two agreed, according to Kuchar, that Ortiz would get $5,000 for the week. Kuchar went on to win and made $1.3 million for his efforts. Standard procedure calls for a player to pay his caddie roughly 10 percent of a winner’s check, but Kuchar decided against giving Ortiz any bonus at all, meaning he paid his looper less than 0.4 percent of his winnings. The public didn’t learn about this until January, when Kuchar was contending at the Sony Open (which he also won). After initially defending his actions, Kuchar eventually apologized … and paid out another $45,000. But his strangely scandalous year was far from over.”
“At the WGC-Dell Match Play, Kuchar again found himself at the center of a controversy when he didn’t verbally give Sergio Garcia a two-inch putt that Garcia missed. Kuchar told a rules official that he didn’t say “it’s good,” meaning Garcia lost the hole. As you might imagine, Garcia was not pleased. A few days later, the two put out a truly odd video trying to put the awkward situation behind them in its own awkward way. For good measure, Kooch had another snafu at the Memorial, when he pleaded for a dubious drop in the fairway. TV footage showed he didn’t deserve the drop, and two rules officials told him as much. Unconvinced, he asked if he could seek a third opinion. The answer was no. The outrage from the match-play mixup and the Memorial imbroglio should fade with time. Unfortunately for Kuchar, no one will forget El Tucan.”
3. “Neither simple nor satisfactory”
Meanwhile, Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard, identifies the RoG as a newsmaker of the year…and not for the reasons the ruling bodies would have hoped…
“This was the year that the Rules of Golf were supposed to be simplified. It became the year that the rules, and the game’s rules makers, became reactionary.”
“There was a great deal of interest as to how the new abiding principles were going to play out in 2019, as well as intrigue as to how players at the professional level would accept them.”
“…Controversy started immediately and never seemed to let up, and touched on any number of issues. Some were routine, the kinds of infractions you see every season. Some were more unusual, like Lee Ann Walker’s 58 penalty strokes or Trey Bilardello being disqualified from U.S. Open qualifying after shooting 202, or the backstopping debate.”
“But what made rules such a big storyline this year was the implementation and reaction to something that was designed to clean up past messes. Instead, the USGA and R&A, as well as the PGA and European tours, spent the year dealing with the fallout, making in-season concessions and promising alterations.”
4. LPGA player of the decade
The most recent and youngest player ever inducted into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame, Park tallied 18 of her 19 career wins and six of her seven major-championship titles between the first shots of 2010 and the last of 2019. Park spent 106 weeks atop the Rolex Rankings, won three major championships in a row in 2013, and captured the gold medal in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio following a nearly two-month layoff due to a left thumb injury.”
5. Two teams: one owner
Interesting perspective from Doug Ferguson at the AP…”while the Ryder Cup is billed as a contest between the flags of two continents, it’s really between two tours.”
“The European Tour picks the venue (it usually goes to the highest bidder these days). It has full control of all operations. Paris last year felt like a home game – the course, not just the crowd – just as Hazeltine was for the Americans.”
“The Presidents Cup is a match between two teams, one owner….The PGA Tour selects the site. The PGA Tour picks the captains, though not without heavy input from all the key people on the International side.”
“That magnificent logo Els created for the International team? He said it required PGA Tour approval. The support staff for the International team are PGA Tour employees, even if they hail from countries outside the U.S.”
6. Pettersen reflects
Golf Digest’s Keely Levins filed a Q&A with the recently retired Solheim Cup hero…
“What was the moment on the 18th green like on Sunday?”
“I’ll never be able to recreate that moment. The entire week was a team effort. I feel like I got a lot of credit for it because it came down to that putt, but anyone else’s point was as important as mine. I never thought I was going to be part of a moment like that ever again. You can dream, that maybe you can be in the mix and have those emotions, the highs, lows and excitement. It shows what the Solheim is all about. And maybe how important experience is. It shows sometimes that’s as valuable as young talent. You need a combination. I’ll be vice captain two years from now and hopefully down the road, I’d love to be captain. Those are things that I’ll remember when it’s my turn to pick a team.”
“Was it the best moment of your career? Yes, because it was a moment I could share with my son. I think you can only dream of sharing a moment like that with blood. I think that’s why I made the decision right there to retire. This is it. This is the peak. Everything else is going to feel … more ordinary. That moment gave me all the answers I’ve been searching for. I wanted to get back on the golf course as a mom, to prove to myself that I could come back. Hopefully when Herman gets older we can look back at the videos and hopefully that will make him proud of what I did.”
7. How to play the best clubs in the world
Josh Sens at Golf.com offers his suggestions for making it to the first tee at the country’s most exclusive clubs…
One of his suggestions…”Work the Event...Here’s one proven path onto Augusta National: create a technology company and build it into a multi-billion dollar business, then get word out through your well-connected friends that you’d like to join the club and wait a few years for the invite. It worked for Bill Gates. It could work for you.”
“More realistic, though, is to learn how to write, photograph or broadcast. From there, all you have to do is join the press corps, get credentialed to cover the Masters and enter the media lottery. 28 members in that pool are chosen to play the course on the Monday after the event, though if you’re selected, you have to wait another seven years to enter the lottery again.”
“Another option is to earn a coveted spot as a tournament volunteer. They’ll work you hard that week. But they’ll also set aside a spot for you to play one day in May.”
8. Big news/you couldn’t care less
…it’s one of the two for you, most likely!
“Former Fox Sports host Holly Sonders has shared news of her engagement on Instagram, taking the next step in her whirlwind romance with Vegas Dave.”
“Sonders and Dave Oancea, who is a big-time bettor better known as Vegas Dave, both shared photos on social media of what appears to be a proposal on the beach in Mexico.”
“I never thought this day would ever happen,” writes Oancea, who has 947K followers on Instagram.
9. Irons of the year: Shotmakers
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
- Jason Day – WITB – 2026 The Memorial
- Chris Gotterup – WITB – 2026 The Memorial
- SungJae Im – WITB – 2026 The Memorial
Pullout Albums
- Jason Day’s 1off Payntr golf shoes – 2026 The Memorial
- JT Poston’s TaylorMade Spider – 2026 The Memorial
- Cameron putter – 2026 The Memorial
- Tommy Fleetwood’s TM Spider putters – 2026 The Memorial
- New Mitsubishi Chemical 1K Pro Orange shaft – 2026 The Memorial
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
A party on the green!
Alvaro’s time comes in Raleigh with his first win @UNCHealthChamp ? pic.twitter.com/2dmtZdbSzk
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2026
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
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
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
Russell Henley’s winning WITB: 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge
Photos from the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
CJ Cup Byron Nelson Tour Report: Koepka and Kim’s newest putters finally get hot
Charles Schwab Challenge Tour Report: MacIntyre, Åberg and Spaun all switch putters, TaylorMade launches new Spider
Details on J.J. Spaun’s surprise putter switch
GolfWRX Launch Report: 2026 Titleist GTS drivers
Photos from the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge
PGA Championship Tour Report: Fitzpatrick, Koepka among big-name putter switches for Aronimink
Photos from the ShopRite LPGA
Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4 5-wood: Ping G440...
Eric Cole WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: PXG Lightning Tour Max (9 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees) Shaft:...
Si Woo Kim WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X Mini driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Mini...
Wyndham Clark’s winning WITB: 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
