12-year-old golf phenom signs with Cobra Puma

Tiger Woods won two of his three Open Championships at St. Andrews, finishing a combined 13 shots ahead of the field in 2000 and 2005. This week, he’s back at the Old Course for what may be his final opportunity to add another victory at the course that he says is his unrivaled favorite in the game. He’s pulling out all the stops to try and win one last time at St. Andrews. That includes four tweaks to his equipment setup before play gets underway Thursday. RELATED: Is it one last dance for Tiger Woods and St. Andrews? In Woods’ last tournament, the PGA Championship in May, he was using a 9-degree TaylorMade Stealth Plus driver equipped with a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60TX shaft. He’d been using that shaft since 2018, but he has a new one in his driver this week. On Tuesday, Woods was using a Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X shaft in his TaylorMade Stealth Plus driver. Woods also has a new shaft in his P770 3-iron, switching from True Temper’s new Dynamic Gold MID Tour Issue X100 shafts. The MID shaft was launched in 2022 and is designed for slightly higher spin and launch angles compared to the True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts he uses in his TaylorMade P-7TW irons (4-PW). On Tuesday, Woods had a TaylorMade M3 5-wood and a P770 3-iron in the bag, opting for the fairway wood over a 2-iron. The P770 3-iron, however, is now equipped with a True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shaft. According to a TaylorMade representative, Woods changed shafts in the driving iron because the MID version was “going too high.” Woods has also made adjustment to his short-game setup to deal with the unique characteristics of links golf. St. Andrews is playing firm and fast but the greens are slower than American players are accustomed to. In fact, the fairways may be running faster than St. Andrews’ large, sloping putting surfaces. If they get too fast, then there’s the threat of play being delayed because balls can’t remain still on the putting surface. Woods was using two TaylorMade Milled Grind 3 Raw wedges, a 56- and 60-degree. The MG3 Raws are newer models of the MG2 TW-Grind wedges he used at the Masters. This week, it appears Woods is playing a combination of the two wedge setups. Taking a closer look at photos taken by GolfWRX on Tuesday, it appears Woods is using an MG2 56-degree wedge (which has a raw face but a chrome finish on the rest of the head), and an MG3 Raw 60-degree wedge (which doesn’t have a finish at all). As for his putter, Woods has added lead tape to the back cavity of his Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS at The Open. This change is common for Woods when he plays in the Open Championship, as the extra weight helps induce a heavier strike on the typically slower greens overseas, and it can also help add face awareness and stability in the wind. See below for Woods’ expected equipment setup for this week at the Old Course: Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X 3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Titanium (15 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70T X 5-wood: TaylorMade M3 (19 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3-iron), TaylorMade P-7TW (4-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 (56 degrees), TaylorMade MG3 Raw (60 degrees) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS prototype Ball: 2022 Bridgestone Tour B XS Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

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Tiger Woods had four over-par rounds in the BMW and failed to qualify for the Tour Championship.

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Gary Player will get some competition for long drive amongst the Masters Tournament’s honorary starters. Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters, announced today that two-time Masters champion Tom Watson will join Player and Jack Nicklaus as honorary starters beginning this year. The first round of the 86th Masters is set for Thursday, April 7. “I am honored that Tom has accepted our invitation,” Ridley said in a release. “I look forward to commemorating his love for the game and impact on the Masters with his millions of fans across the globe as he hits a tee shot alongside two of the Tournament’s other all-time greats, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.” Watson won the 1977 and 1981 Masters and finished runner-up three times in his 15 top-10 showings at Augusta National. He is one of 17 players to win multiple green jackets, and his 72.74 scoring average ranks fifth in tournament history. He won eight majors in total among his 39 PGA TOUR titles, and later racked up 14 more victories on PGA TOUR Champions. After competing in the Masters as an amateur in 1970, Watson made 42 consecutive starts from 1975-2016, the fifth-longest streak in tournament history. His 58 subpar rounds are second all-time behind Nicklaus (71), and he holds the record for most consecutive years with at least one subpar round (21, 1975-1995). “Augusta National in April is one of my favorite places to be,” Watson said of his upcoming tee time with Nicklaus and Player. He noted that Nicklaus pushed him down the stretch in his two Masters titles, and when Player won the Masters for the third time in 1978, it was Watson who was there to help him slip on the green jacket. “With the many fond memories of both watching the Masters as a youngster and then competing in the Tournament for so many years, I am greatly honored to join my friends and fellow competitors, Jack and Gary,” Watson added. The tradition of honorary starters began with Jock Hutchison (1963-1973) and Fred McLeod (1963-1976). Others to perform the duties included Byron Nelson (1981-2001, non-consecutive), Gene Sarazen (1981-1999), Ken Venturi (1983), Sam Snead (1984-2002), Arnold Palmer (2007-2016), Nicklaus (2010-present), Player (2012-present) and Lee Elder (2021).

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