Cut prediction: Butterfield Bermuda Championship

For its 10th generation Spider putter, a line that launched in 2008, TaylorMade is releasing Spider “X� putters, which are the retail versions of the Spider prototype that Rory McIlroy, among other PGA TOUR players, has been using in 2019. (Click here for comments from TaylorMade’s Chris Trott on why TOUR players have switched into the new Spider X-style prototype designs.) What separates the new X designs from the Spider Tour Red and Tour Black putters, which reinvigorated the Spider line in recent years, is a new True Path alignment system. On the top of the crown and running parallel to the target line sits what TaylorMade calls an “optically engineering sightline,� highlighted by a white-colored crevice. This design is said to “enhance visual perception through color sensitivity,� and to reduce off-center strikes. For more visual alignment aid, there’s a black sightline that runs along the center of the crown. Additionally, the new Spider X shape is 5 percent smaller overall and with less-protruding back bumpers than the Spider Tour Red designs. TaylorMade says this makes it more of a mallet-type design that some players prefer. For greater forgiveness, additional weight has been added to the perimeter of the structure, and it has a deeper center of gravity. Golfers can dial in head weight and feel by way of two weight ports that rest in the outer edges of the back bumpers. There are three different weights available; 2-gram aluminum weights, 6-gram steel weights and 12-gram Tungsten weights. TaylorMade has redesigned the Pure Roll inserts on the putter faces, making the Surlyn insert thicker and with more grooves for less backspin. The company says the combination of added grooves and a thicker insert helps to deform the insert at impact and increases the amount of contact between the grooves and the golf ball. The new Spider X putters will be available on February 15 in a navy-and-white and a copper-and-white colorway; the copper version will come with either a short slant hosel or a single-bend, while the navy version is available in only the short slant neck. They each come with SuperStroke Pistol GTR 1.0 grips, KBS CT Tour putter shafts, and they will sell for $349.99 each. Right- and left-handed versions are available.

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HOUSTON — Ahead of the 2019 Houston Open at the Golf Club of Houston, PGATOUR.COM caught up with some of the world’s top golfers to see what equipment they’re using and testing. Highlighted in this week’s equipment gallery are the clubs of Keegan Bradley, Henrik Stenson, Cole Hammer, Chris Baker, Chad Campbell and more.  RELATED: Henrik Stenson retires trusty 3-wood

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MAMARONECK, N.Y. - Justin Thomas could have shot anything in the second round of the 82nd U.S. Open at Winged Foot on Friday. On a course where you must hit the fairway, he hit just three of them. The putts weren't dropping. He was 5 over for his first 10 holes. It was all slipping away. And then it wasn't. In a bounce-back that may have saved his chances for a second major title, Thomas birdied the long par-3 third hole and went 1 under the rest of the way for a 3-over 73 that left him 2 under, just two back. "Every single person in this tournament is going to go through a stretch where they get a bad run, especially here," he said. "... I wasn’t driving it well and then had a couple putts that easily could have gone in that kind of just stayed out. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Winged Foot fights back in Round 2 "But I just stayed positive" he added, "and kept fighting because I know that a 3 over is better than a 4 over, and today easily could have been a 6 or 7. I’m proud of myself for how I hung in." The second round brought significantly more wind, which sped the course up and made things considerably more difficult. Tiger Woods, one of Thomas' playing partners, struggled to a 77, and he wasn't even close to the worst of the casualties. Sung Kang shot 86, while Davis Thompson, the Georgia amateur who briefly held the first-round lead, shot 78 to miss the cut by one. It was that kind of day; the course bit back. Wayward with the driver, Thomas paid the usual price for inaccuracy at Winged Foot. He and his caddie Jimmy Johnson rolled with it, though, trusting that things would start to turn. "He knew and I knew that we were close to getting something and at least making some pars or throwing in a birdie or two," Thomas said. "He just kind of says to me, ‘Stay patient. Good things will happen. We’ve just got to keep playing our game.' And that’s what we did." Thomas found something with his tee shot at the third, his 12th hole of the day. He later called it the turning point. "I mean, that birdie on three was pretty sick," he said. "I mean, a 5-wood in there, 228 into the wind, and then just it was a really, really tough putt. I mean, I’m sure you could see with kind of the sun hitting the greens they weren’t exactly rolling true, but that’s how poa annua is and everybody has to deal with it in the afternoon. "That was a very quick double breaking putt," he added, "and that was nice. After playing No. 2 perfectly and just having it lip out, to birdie that hole almost feels like an eagle." Exhausted and out of daylight, he was due for some dinner and rest. He'll have some work on the driving range to do in order to straighten out the driver Saturday, but isn't overly worried. And at just two back, he likes his position. "It’s a better position than I’ve been in a U.S. Open before," he said. "This isn’t exactly a place where you go out and try to shoot 6 or 7 under to catch up."

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