Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm drive early betting trends for the Memorial Tournament

It is often said that the PGA TOUR chases the sun, but contrary to popular belief, not every round is met with warm and sunny weather. From light sprinkles to sideways rain showers, TOUR players have to perform at their very best in a variety of challenging conditions. Keeping this in mind, FootJoy’s goal for its new collection of rain gear is to make every day playable for pros and amateurs alike. From insulated waterproof jackets designed for harsh weather to breathable and lightweight protection for warm conditions, FootJoy’s latest rainwear lineup is ready for whatever Mother Nature throws at it. DryJoys® Select LS Historically, waterproof fabrics have served the primary purpose of keeping players dry. This waterproof protection has often come with a compromise, though. A lack of breathability has trapped body heat causing players to feel hot and sticky, especially in warm conditions. As a result, many players have opted to get wet rather than slip-on waterproofs. To address this, FootJoy has introduced the new DryJoys Select LS jackets, half-zips, and pants. Specially engineered from a cutting edge Japanese fabrication, the DryJoys Select LS products are the lightest, most breathable, and most waterproof garments FootJoy has ever created. Validated by world-class players like Webb Simpson, the DryJoys Select LS features a 2.5 layer construction that reduces weight while still providing a full range of motion. “I played through some of the most challenging weather conditions of my career at this year’s Open Championship,� said Webb Simpson. “Blustery winds and rain coming from every direction, but the new Select LS delivered the protection I needed and kept me focused on my next shot.� The fabric is perfect for early Fall rain showers. It weighs less than a typical golf shirt while still providing complete waterproof protection. It also offers a soft, quiet, and flexible feel with an abundance of stretch. FJ HydroKnit™ The function of a rain jacket fused with the feel of a mid-layer. That is the idea behind the innovative FJ HydroKnit. This is easily the most versatile outerwear piece FootJoy has created and it has fooled a few TOUR players along the way. “When I first picked it up I thought it was a mid-layer,� said Rafa Cabrera Bello. “The stretch is incredible which allows me the full range of motion that I need, and it’s waterproof.� In creating FJ HydroKnit, FootJoy combined a durable water repellent (DWR) face coating with breathable fabrics. This construction forces water to bead up and prevents the outer layer from becoming saturated. Beneath the outer shell, a 3-Layer Bonded Face Lamination eliminates any water going through the garment and is 100% windproof. The versatility of FJ HydroKnit means it is the only layering piece players need from the first tee to the eighteenth hole. DryJoys® Tour LTS and FJ HydroLite™ Rounding out FootJoy’s comprehensive collection of rain gear is the DryJoys Tour LTS and FJ HydroLite. Both are breathable and offer 100% waterproof protection, but they were created for different conditions. Cool and rainy weather see players slipping on the insulated DryJoys Tour LTS while the feathery HydroLite is the perfect choice for Summer showers.

Click here to read the full article…

TORONTO, Ont. – Rory McIlroy marked his ball with a Canadian $1 coin, nicknamed a ‘Loonie,’ the last time he played the RBC Canadian Open. He received one from his pro-am partner in 2019 and that extra luck worked. He won. This year, tournament organizers came prepared. “I turned up to the locker room and there was already one in my locker,” said McIlroy with a smile. “And then one of my pro-am partners gave me one this morning on the first green as well. “I’m loaded with loonies this week.” McIlroy will (finally) defend his title this week in Canada, three years after he won by seven shots at Hamilton Golf and Country Club. He flirted with 59 much of the final day before shooting a thrilling 61 that separated him from the field. He comes to St. George’s Golf and Country Club looking to go back-to-back for the first time on the PGA TOUR, but to do it he’ll have to top one of the strongest fields north of the border in recent memory. McIlroy is one of five golfers ranked in the top 10 in the world who are teeing it up this week in Toronto, including Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns. The top two players in the FedExCup are making their Canadian Open debuts. Scheffler, who also sits atop the world ranking, has won four times this year, including the Masters, while Burns earned his third win of the season by beating Scheffler in a playoff at the recent Charles Schwab Challenge. PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas and THE PLAYERS champion Cameron Smith are the other two top-10 players in the field this week. There are 20 Canadians teeing it up in their national open as well, including Corey Conners, the top-ranked Canadian in the FedExCup standings. “It’s really exciting to have those guys here,” Conners said of the stout field. “I think national championships, wherever they’re played, have a little bit more prestige and guys think really highly of this event. There are so many historic names on the trophy, and it would be awesome to be added to that and I think a lot of those guys feel the same way. It’s a good part of your legacy to be able to call yourself a Canadian Open champion and national open champion.” McIlroy comes into the week after a T18 at the Memorial. He notched three consecutive top-10 finishes in his previous three starts, including a runner-up at the Masters and an eighth-place finish at the PGA Championship. He sits 15th on the FedExCup standings. So far, he’s “loved” St. George’s Golf and Country Club, which is hosting its sixth RBC Canadian Open. He said it’s a “really good” traditional layout – built in 1929 – that will serve as a strong place to compete before next week’s U.S. Open. McIlroy will be grouped with Conners and Thomas for the first two rounds. Thomas said he took a few days off after he missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge and celebrated his PGA Championship victory with some high-school friends back home in Louisville. Playing the week before the PGA Championship paid off with his win at Southern Hills and he’s hoping it will do the trick again with the U.S. Open coming next week. But Thomas is quick to recognize the legacy of the Canadian Open, as well. This is the 111th playing of the tournament. “You look at the history of this event, it kind of speaks for itself,’ says Thomas. “The opportunity to come to a place and a tournament that’s so historic … definitely makes it a little bit more special.” Scheffler said “it was easy” for him to include the Canadian Open in his schedule with a comparable set-up at St. George’s to The Country Club at Brookline. With seven of the top 25 in the world (Matt Fitzpatrick, Tony Finau, Tyrell Hatton and Shane Lowry are the others) all playing this week, it’ll be a solid challenge. “I’m preparing for next week’s U.S. Open, but I really want to win this week. I really want to win every time I tee it up and play,” says Scheffler. “We (drew) a really good field this week and so definitely looking forward to competing against these guys.” While Scheffler is on top of the FedExCup standings with his excellent play so far this season, it’s two-time FedExCup winner McIlroy who has quickly become the top draw in Canada. This is, of course, attributed to winning in his debut in 2019 – “It would be nice to keep that percentage up this week, for sure,” he said – and the fact that he acted as the ‘defending’ champion for two extra seasons. His group drew the biggest crowds in Wednesday’s pro-am at St. George’s. “I’ve worked hard to get to this position,” he says. “I mean if I didn’t like the attention I would go and I would play another sport or I would get another job or whatever. But there’s a lot of things that come along with being one of the top players in the game and yeah, I do relish it. I like that, I like being in that position.” Another position McIlroy enjoys being in is first place on PGA TOUR leaderboards, something he’ll try to do again this week in Canada. And he’s got a good-luck coin ready to go.

Click here to read the full article…

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The World Golf Hall of Fame has announced that Emmy-nominated golf personality David Feherty will serve as host of its 2022 induction ceremony, which will air live on Golf Channel at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 9. The ceremony will celebrate four inductees: Susie Maxwell Berning, Tim Finchem, the late Marion Hollins and Tiger Woods, and will take place on the eve of THE PLAYERS Championship at the PGA TOUR’s ‘Global Home’ headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. “As someone who has been around golf practically my entire life, I know firsthand that the highest possible honor in our sport is the immortality that is reserved for members of the World Golf Hall of Fame,” said Feherty. “I’m thrilled to contribute in some small way to what will be a historic evening as the Hall of Fame honors its new inductees.” The addition of these four individuals will bring the total number of Hall of Fame members to 164. Sanford Health, Kohler Co., Southern Company and Rolex each will serve as official partners of the 2022 induction. As part of the ceremony, the Hall of Fame also will publicly display its iconic new induction trophy for the first time. Designed by Tiffany & Co., the arc of the trophy handle embodies the golf swing and represents the global nature of the sport. In addition to honoring the 2022 induction class, the ceremony will recognize Peter Ueberroth and the late Dick Ferris, as recipients of a newly created lifetime achievement to honor their contributions to the sport. Renee Powell also will be honored for her spirit in advancing diversity in golf, as the inaugural recipient of the Charlie Sifford Award presented by Southern Company. The ceremony will take place in Northeast Florida for the first time since 2013, with most recent ceremonies held in California (2019), New York (2017) and Scotland (2015).

Click here to read the full article…