He’s back: Tiger claims first tour win since 2013

The ballots are out for PGA TOUR Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, and we gave out season superlatives last week. But not so fast. Here were some other unforgettable moments and achievements from a brilliant 2018-19 season. Best New Way to Watch a Tournament: BMW Championship It was tailgating without the tailgate for four Medinah Country Club members who rented out a 350-square foot “tinyâ€� house just to the right of the 14th tee. The house featured two lofts with queen-size beds, plenty of windows, a full bathroom, a couch, and a galley kitchen with four-burner stove and microwave. It also came with a private chef and bartender.  “If this takes off, we want to be able to say we were the first,â€� said John Christopher, a financial planner and one of the four club members who rented it. You could feel the breeze come off an especially vigorous practice swing, and a few of the players, like Ryan Palmer, even came under the ropes to sit in their Adirondack chairs. Toughest start: Rory McIlroy Hit his first shot out of bounds and made a quadruple bogey at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush, the first Open in Ireland since 1951. Best finish: Rory McIlroy He started five back but won the TOUR Championship to become the only other player other than Tiger Woods to win the FedExCup. Biggest turnaround: Rory McIlroy After going into the final round of the World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational one ahead of Brooks Koepka and losing by six, McIlroy went into the final round of the TOUR Championship one back of Koepka and beat him by six.  Best Social Media Follow: Phil Mickelson This is a hot field with Max Homa taking the veteran Mickelson down to the wire, but in the end the countless calf flexes and “Phireside with Philâ€� chats bring Mickelson the award. If you haven’t seen what the Hall-Of-Famer is bringing to the table, you’re missing out. Better-Than-Most Award: Jhonattan Vegas On Sunday at the PLAYERS Championship, Eddie Pepperell thrilled the crowds at the iconic par-3 17th island green with a 50-foot birdie bomb. Vegas then stepped up and connected for birdie from 69-feet, seven-inches, the longest made putt on 17 since official records began in 2003. Patience-is-a-Virtue Award:Charles Howell III Augusta native won the RSM Classic to break a win drought of 11 years and nine months, or 333 starts. Robert Gamez (15 year, six months) still has the longest gap between wins.  Family Ties Award, Part I:  Charles Howell III and his kids, in tears, after Howell won the RSM.  Family Ties Award, Part II:  After his first major win in 11 years at The Masters Tournament, Tiger Woods embraced his kids just off the 18th green at Augusta in almost the identical spot a young Woods embraced his father, Earl, after his incredible 1997 Masters win 22 years earlier.  Family Ties Award, Part III:  Nate Lashley and his sister Brooke embracing after Lashley, the last alternate into the field, won the Rocket Mortgage Classic. His first PGA TOUR win came 15 years after their parents – and Lashley’s then girlfriend – died in a plane crash after watching him play in a college tournament. Best Home Performance: Shane Lowry Northern Ireland and Ireland are not the same country, but it was epic to see Lowry, an Irishman, take out the first Open Championship in Northern Ireland since 1951. Lowry admitted to crying in the carpark after missing the cut at Carnoustie a year earlier as he felt his game was gone. But in front of massive crowds he destroyed the competition. His new mission is to have a celebration drink with everyone on his home island. We wish him well.  Biggest Shocker: Jim Herman Herman won the Barbasol Championship after having made just three cuts in 19 starts. Best Forgotten Finish: Patrick Rodgers Rodgers fired closing rounds of 61-62 at the RSM Classic, the best closing 36-holes in PGA TOUR history, to get himself into a playoff against Charles Howell III. Nostradamus Award: John McLaren Paul Casey’s caddie donned a bib that said “CHAMP” in the Wednesday pro-am before Casey successfully defended his title at the Valspar Championship. Clean-Sheet Award: J.T. Poston Poston got his first win at the Wyndham Championship and became the first player to win without a bogey over 72 holes since Lee Trevino at the ’74 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Boldest-Beginning Award: Collin Morikawa At the Barracuda Championship, Morikawa, who just months earlier had been finishing up his degree at Cal-Berkeley, became the first Special Temporary Member to win on the PGA TOUR since Shane Lowry at the 2015 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Best Sponsor Return for Investment: 3M Open  The new 3M Open decided to give young gun Matthew Wolff and a handful of other young studs sponsor invites in Minnesota. Wolff paid them back by winning with an epic eagle on the 72nd hole, beating Collin Morikawa, another invite, by a shot.  Iron Man Award: Sungjae Im Rookie played a PGA TOUR-high 35 events and barely took a week off on his way to be the only rookie to make the TOUR Championship. That’s the most starts since Danny Lee (36) in 2015.  The Zoolander Blue Steel Award: Brooks Koepka It was a no contest once the ESPN Body Issue photos of Brooks Koepka were released. Koepka reportedly lost 25 pounds to feature in the nude photos.

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Look out Bubba Watson, there’s another golfer with a pink driver and yellow golf ball taking over the Internet, and he’s already getting cosigns from Watson’s professional peers. “He’s got it!� Vijay Singh commented on Instagram. “Give that kid a sponsors invite ASAP!� Lanto Griffin exclaimed. While golfers across the world are awestruck by the kid’s beautiful golf swing, equipment fans are left wondering about his unique driver and golf ball. Luckily, PGATOUR.COM has spoken to “insider equipment sources� to get the full specs and design information. Many PGA TOUR players these days use driver heads made of titanium and shafts made of graphite. According to our sources, however, this child prodigy is using a special Toddler Issue plastic in both his driver head and shaft. The construction is said to allow for uniform weighting throughout the club, helping to maximize both speed and playability, and providing the feel that toddlers prefer. Parents also prefer the plastic, since it doesn’t rust when their toddlers inevitably leave the club on the front lawn overnight. In order to lower CG (center of gravity) and raise MOI (moment of inertia), the Toddler Issue plastic head also has a forged plastic face insert that utilizes variable face thickness to increase ball speeds on off-center strikes. The rounded overall shaping of the head is designed with enhanced aerodynamics to increase club head speed and reduce drag throughout the downswing. Those same dynamics also are effective when playing “Tag� with other pre-schoolers. As illustrated in the screenshot above, the high-torque plastic shaft construction allows for the child to create ample lag during his downswing despite his slightly slower-than-TOUR driver speed. Also, the driver is equipped with an oversized plastic grip to create a consistent release pattern. The grip also is easy to clean after lunch when kids forget to wash their hands after eating peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches. The overall construction of the driver, combined with the child’s tremendous speed and skill, allows him to optimize his launch characteristics despite hitting this ball “off the deck.� And yet the softness of the product will not injure the family pet who may try to chase the club during the backswing. Additionally, the child is using a limited-edition Plastic X ball in the Youth Yellow colorway. Given its unique dimple pattern and firm outer layer, the ball is designed to increase spin and launch for both maximum carry and optimal ball speeds. The only downside to the ball’s effectiveness is that it may land in the neighbor’s yard. Good luck in trying to get it back! At this time, this child prodigy is yet to sign with an equipment sponsor, instead choosing the route of free agent, a la Brooks Koepka. But seriously, if your child is in need of youth-specific golf equipment, check out the PGA TOUR Superstore for a wide array of options.

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While Srixon’s Z-Star and Z-Star XV golf balls remain the golf ball of choice for PGA TOUR players, the company’s line of Q-Star golf balls are made for amateur golfers with relatively slower swing speeds who still want premium feel and performance without the premium pricing. This year, the Q-Star golf balls are designed for more distance with an all-new core design. With its new 2019 Q-Star golf balls, Srixon has developed a new “FastLayer Core� that’s made for more ball speed and distance, according to the company. It’s designed to be softer in the center of the core, and it gets firmer around the edges of the core. This design creates more distance without sacrificing feel at impact, says Srixon. The Q-Star golf balls have a 338 Speed Dimple Pattern on their outer layers that’s made to reduce drag as it flies through the air, thus creating a more penetrating ball flight to achieve maximum distance regardless of weather conditions. This dimple pattern combines with Srixon’s familiar Spin Skin technology that’s made with a “Slide-Ring Material,� or SeRM, which is a urethane compound. The material on the outer layer of the golf ball is designed to dig into the grooves of wedges and irons at impact to impart more friction and greater spin on the golf ball. “With the addition of the new FastLayer Core and Spin Skin with SeRM, the latest generation of Q-STAR golf balls deliver superior, all-around performance compared against similar offerings in the market,� said Jeff Brunski, Vice President of Research and Development, in a press release. Srixon’s new Q-Star golf balls will be available on June 28 in both Pure White and Tour Yellow, selling for $26.99 per dozen.

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