Rory McIlroy has spoken up, and at The Open, his game is doing the talking, too

Click here to read the full article…

Every player on the PGA TOUR has a special relationship with his clubs. Some rely on simplicity and don't adjust much, like last week's winner Harris English. On the opposite end of the spectrum are players that just love to test and test. Charles Howell III has become the chosen son of GolfWRX.com for one simple reason, the guy loves to geek out on gear—and not just his gear. He loves all gear. There are few players on TOUR who carry the passion and curiosity for golf clubs that Charles has. Especially when it comes to the testing process, Howell has a system he has relied on for years to help him not only get dialed but to understand the nuances of his equipment. This week at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Howell will try to finally break through for his first win on the islands where he has been a top-10 machine with multiple top 10s and two near misses in 2012 and 2013. For this tournament, the tinkering is minimal but significant. Howell with tee it up in Hawaii with a new shaft in play, a Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X. Howell told PGATOUR.COM the Ventus fits his unique needs, "I'm kind of a strange one in that I'm looking for something that's stable but doesn't feel overly hard, and that shaft seems to … match that." Regarding figuring out what goes in the bag more generally, WRX spoke with Howell III over the holiday, and this is what he had to say in regards to his process. “Obviously, playing for a living gives me the advantage of testing a ton of stuff, but it's just as fun doing the research at home (online) and understanding what certain equipment can do and the idea behind it." "I still rely on testing as much as I can to see what works, but it's the pursuit of knowledge that keeps it all fresh week in and week out. Technology is so good these days, but like anything you have to ask questions, look around try some stuff and then make a decision.” Now, it must be understood that Howell III isn't pulling clubs in and out of his bag every tournament. Being a Titleist staff member for the past few seasons, his bag stays pretty cooked with the help of Titleist Tour Rep JJ VanWezenbeeck. However, there are times when changes are needed, and CH3 isn't afraid to jump companies to find the right fairway wood, hybrid or putter. It's a study in a player that is constantly on the pursuit of knowledge and trying to find that one little edge week to week. Is it a healthy or effective method? Maybe. Some players can do it and some avoid it like the plague, but for Howell III, it's one of the things in the game that keeps him engaged and excited. Nothing wrong with that. Here is what Howell has the bag this week's Sony Open in Hawaii. Driver: Titleist TSI3 (10 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X 3-wood: Ping G425 LST (14.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Atmos Black Tour Spec 8 X 7-wood: Ping G410 (20.5 degrees @20) Shaft: Fujikura Atmos Black Tour Spec 9 X Irons: Titleist T100 (4-6) 620 MB (7-9) Shafts: Project X LZ 6.5 (hard stepped) Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M, 60-08M) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: Scotty Cameron 009M Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align

Click here to read the full article…

Winner – PGA/U.S. Open Championship Jason Dufner Martin Kaymer Rory McIlroy Justin Thomas Jimmy Walker Winner – THE PLAYERS Championship Rickie Fowler Si Woo Kim Tiger Woods Winner – The Masters Sergio Garcia Adam Scott Winner – World Golf Championship Event Russell Knox Shane Lowry Winners of the Arnold Palmer Inv. & the Memorial (Last 3 Years) Matt Every David Lingmerth William McGirt Winner – FedExCup – Last Five Seasons Billy Horschel Tournament Winner in Past Two Seasons Ryan Armour Daniel Berger Wesley Bryan Greg Chalmers Austin Cook Bryson DeChambeau Fabián Gómez Cody Gribble Emiliano Grillo Brian Harman Russell Henley Mackenzie Hughes Billy Hurley III Smylie Kaufman Chris Kirk Kevin Kisner Patton Kizzire Peter Malnati Graeme McDowell Ryan Moore Grayson Murray D.A. Points Ted Potter, Jr. Patrick Reed Webb Simpson Brandt Snedeker Chris Stroud Brian Stuard Hudson Swafford Vaughn Taylor Jhonattan Vegas Gary Woodland Career Money Exemption Retief Goosen Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Ben Crane Jim Furyk Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Kiradech Aphibarnrat Sam Burns Dylan Frittelli Bernd Wiesberger PGA Section Champion\Player of the Year Andrew Filbert Past Champion of Respective Event Padraig Harrington Michael Thompson Life Member Vijay Singh Top 125 on Prior Season’s FedEx Cup Points List Louis Oosthuizen Charles Howell III Lucas Glover Keegan Bradley Luke List Anirban Lahiri Ian Poulter Stewart Cink Scott Brown Jamie Lovemark Sung Kang Ollie Schniederjans Rafa Cabrera Bello Sean O’Hair Robert Streb Bud Cauley Kevin Tway Danny Lee Kelly Kraft Patrick Rodgers Morgan Hoffmann Chad Campbell Cheng Tsung Pan Harold Varner III J.B. Holmes Camilo Villegas J.J. Spaun Scott Piercy Michael Kim Scott Stallings Byeong Hun An Martin Flores Luke Donald Richy Werenski Ryan Blaum Robert Garrigus Brian Gay Derek Fathauer Tyrone Van Aswegen Harris English Dominic Bozzelli Nick Watney John Huh Blayne Barber Ben Martin Rory Sabbatini J.J. Henry Top 125 (Prior Season Nonmember) Thomas Pieters Tommy Fleetwood Tyrrell Hatton Alex Noren Major Medical Extension Ryan Palmer Sangmoon Bae Jon Curran Bob Estes John Peterson Leading Money Winner from Web.com Tour & Web.com Tour Finals Chesson Hadley Top Finishers from Web.com Tour Prior Season (reordered) Alex Cejka Andrew Landry Peter Uihlein Tyler Duncan Ben Silverman Tom Hoge Martin Piller Nicholas Lindheim Jonathan Randolph Brice Garnett Aaron Wise Abraham Ancer Stephan Jaeger Talor Gooch Shawn Stefani Xinjun Zhang Adam Schenk Joel Dahmen Rob Oppenheim Corey Conners Bronson Burgoon Cameron Tringale

Click here to read the full article…