Tag: Rory McIlroy

  • 2018 Masters Tournament Preview

    2018 Masters Tournament Preview

    Masters TournamentThe Masters Tournament is coming, and this year the anticipation has ramped up to levels not seen in years. Why? Tiger Woods is back and playing well. Ticket sales are through the roof as they always are at the Masters, but what’s really telling is the ticket prices. I saw that one person was selling two weekly grounds passes for over $20,000! The thing is, they’ll probably get it. That’s what some in the media call the “Tiger Effect.”

    I’m especially excited for the Masters this year because not only are some of the young guns like Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson playing well, but Tiger and his old rival Phil Mickelson are also playing well in early 2018. There should be plenty of excitement at Augusta National Golf Club this year.

    The Odds

    It’s now time to check the odds and see who’s favored to win. I think we all know who the betting favorite is by now, right? Not so fast Tiger Fans…

    Golfer Odds
    Dustin Johnson +800
    Tiger Woods +900
    Justin Thomas +1000
    Jordan Spieth +1100
    Phil Mickelson +1400
    Jason Day +1600
    Rory McIlroy +1600
    Jon Rahm +1800
    Justin Rose +1800
    Bubba Watson +2000
    Rickie Fowler +2000

    According to Sports Betting Dime, Tiger Woods may be the fan favorite to win another Green Jacket, but Dustin Johnson has the best odds at +800. Tiger Woods’ odds are at +900 and Justin Thomas is currently at +1000.

    Predictions

    If you are a frequent visitor to this website, you may recall that not too long ago I predicted Rickie Fowler would win a major this year. I still like Rickie to finally break through, and he’s my personal favorite to put on his first Green Jacket on Sunday evening. If you are the betting type – at +2000 odds one would be getting a pretty good return on investment…

  • What’s In The Bag – US Open Week

    What's In The Bag?
    Photo by Steven Szurlej

    What’s in the bag of last week’s winners on the major tours?

    Rory McIlroy
    USGA: U.S. Open
    Driver: Titleist 910D2 (8.5 degree; Fujikura Rombax 7V05 shaft)
    Fairway Woods: Titleist 906F2 3-wood (13 degree; Fujikura ZCom Pro 95 shaft) and 5-wood (18 degree; Fujikura ZCom Pro 95 shaft)
    Irons (3-9): Titleist MB (Project X 6.5 shafts)
    Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design (48, 54 and 60 degree; Project X 6.5 shafts)
    Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport GSS prototype
    Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
    Footwear: FootJoy FJ Sport (Champ Pro Stinger spikes)
    Glove: FootJoy Pure Touch Limited

     

    Matthew Zions
    European Tour: Saint-Omer Open
    Driver: TaylorMade R11 (10.5 degree; Mitsubishi Rayon Fubuki 70x shaft)
    Fairway Wood: TaylorMade R11 3-wood (15.5 degree; Mitsubishi Rayon Fubuki 80x shaft)
    Hybrid: TaylorMade Rescue 11 TP (19 degree; Mitsubishi Rayon Fubuki 80x shaft)
    Irons: Cleveland
    Wedges: Cleveland 588 (47, 51 and 58 degree)
    Putter: Odyssey Black Series Tour Designs #6
    Ball: Titleist Pro V1
    Footwear: FootJoy FJ Icon (Champ spikes)

    Mathew Goggin
    Nationwide Tour: Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open Driver: TaylorMade R11 (9 degree; Oban Kiyoshi 75 shaft) Fairway Wood: Callaway Diablo Edge Tour 4-wood (18 degree; Mitsubishi Diamana Blueboard 83 shaft) Iron (2): TaylorMade R7 Irons (3-PW): TaylorMade Tour Preferred MB Forged Wedges: Callaway X-Forged (52 and 58 degree) Putter: Odyssey White Ice 2-Ball Blade Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Footwear: FootJoy FJ Icon
     
    Valentine Derrey
    LPGA Futures Tour: Tate & Lyle Players Championship Driver: Ping i5 (11 degree; Aldila NV 55 shaft) Fairway Wood: Ping i15 3-wood (15.5 degree; Ping TFC 149 shaft) Hybrids: Ping i15 (17 and 20 degree; Aldila NVS Hybrid 85 shafts) Irons (4-PW): Ping Anser Forged (Nippen NS Pro 850 shafts) Wedges: Ping Tour S (52 and 58 degree) Putter: Ping Redwood (33 inches) Ball: Titleist Pro V1X Footwear: FootJoy (Champ spikes)
     
    Darrel Survey Winning counts for the U.S. Open (156-player field)
    Balls: 1. Titleist (96) T2. TaylorMade (19) T2. Callaway (19)  Drivers: 1. TaylorMade (49) 2. Titleist (42) 3. Callaway (19) Fairway Woods: 1. TaylorMade (61) 2. Titleist (42) 3. Callaway (36) Hybrids: 1. Adams (40) 2. Titleist (37) 3. TaylorMade (34) Irons: 1. Titleist (44) 2. TaylorMade (26) 3. Callaway (22) Wedges: 1. Titleist (132) 2. TaylorMade (78) 3. Callaway (44) Putters: 1. Titleist (51) 2. Odyssey (48) 3. TaylorMade (16) Footwear: 1. FootJoy (91) 2. adidas (27) 3. Nike (14)

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  • McIlroy Brings Out Different Scotty Cameron Putter To Win US Open

    Rory's Scotty CameronBy Jennifer Gardner – TheTourVan.com

    U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy put a little-used Scotty Cameron putter in his bag for the week at Congressional Country Club. The putter, a Newport GSS model, is a prototype that McIlroy first received at the 2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. He’s carried it to tournaments before and even used it in European events, but the U.S. Open was the first occasion for him to use it in the States.

    McIlroy put the putter in play after working with putting coach Dave Stockton and determining that he needed a putter with a slightly different toe to better accommodate his putting stroke. While McIlroy, a Titleist staff player, has used Scotty Cameron putters in the past, this one is a different style and features a chromatic bronze finish.

    In addition to the flat stick itself, McIlroy said he worked with Stockton on putting technique.

    “If I have any sort of technical thing in my thought, in my stroke, it would just be to keep the back of my left hand going towards the target, and that’s all we really worked on,” McIlroy said.

    The 22-year-old averaged 29.75 putts per round to win his first major.

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  • Quick Hits Vol. 6

    Big Break 2010 - Sandals Resorts This week’s quick hits covers a variety of topics, including the Golf Channel’s popular Big Break series, Lorena Ochoa’s retirement and final tournament, Rory’s 62, Ryo’s 58 and more. Tiger is vulnerable and Phil is hungry in more ways than one. Read on!

    1. The Golf Channel’s popular Big Break series returns this summer with Big Break Sandals Resorts. Filmed at the Sandals Emerald Reef Golf Club at Sandals Emerald Bay, Great Exuma, Bahamas, this years competition will feature women aged 23 to 32 seeking to gain exemptions on the LPGA and Ladies European Tour, along with cash and other prizes along the way. Most of the ladies in this year’s show play professional golf on the Duramed Futures Tour, which is the developmental circuit for the LPGA Tour. Since the series started several years ago it has become more and more commercial, with various products and companies being featured as sponsors. As annoying as this is, it shouldn’t take away from the competition. The show was taped in February 2010, and the cameras were rolling all day and all night, to capture more of the off course interactions than previous shows. With 11 beautiful and competitive women all staying in one ocean side villa, there may be some fireworks! (I’m not saying, just saying)

    Big Break Sandals Resorts Cast Members

    • Lili Alvarez, age 26, from El Paso, Texas
    • Stacey Bieber, age 25, from Fort Worth, Texas
    • Chris Brady, age 25, from Charlotte, N.C.
    • Sara Brown, age 24, from Tucson, Ariz.
    • Carling Coffing, age 24, from Middletown, Ohio
    • Taryn Durham, age 24, from Glasgow, Kent.
    • Ryann O’Toole, age 23, from Los Angeles, Calif.
    • Elena Robles, age 26, from Redondo Beach, Calif.
    • Seema Sadekar, age 24, from Las Vegas, Nev.
    • Kelly Sheehan, age 32, from Orlando, Fla.
    • Maiya Tanaka, age 24, from San Diego, Calif.

    The series will premier on the Golf Channel on June 21, 2010.

    1. Lorena Ochoa played her last competitive round of golf at the Tres Marias Championship in Morelia, Mexico last weekend. Ochoa, who since announcing her retirement has been showered with praise and thanks from players and thanks for everything she has done, will not be eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame unless they change the rules. She would have to play golf for 3 more years to meet the requirements. The LPGA Tour needed Ochoa in the wake of Annika's retirement, and now without Lorena around someone else will have to step up and become the face of the struggling tour. In a sign that the LPGA Tour still has some things to learn, Lorena's last tournament wasn't even televised in the US. At least we got to see Annika go out in style at the US Open. Perhaps the LPGA and Ochoa should have planned it out better.

    2. Rory McIlroy almost went home early last week at the Quail Hollow Championship, making the cut on the number at +1. He then took the tournament by storm, shooting 66-62 on the weekend to win going away. His 62 on Sunday was a remarkable round, and it left second place finisher Phil Mickelson with nothing but good things to say about his round. Phil shot 68 and got lapped. even more impressive was Mcilroy's finish, going 5 under on the last five holes. If you watched CBS' telecast, you heard them constantly tell us how the "Green Mile" was such a tough finish. Frankly, I got sick of hearing the announcers say "Green Mile" about 20 minutes into it. I'm sure somewhere Tom hanks was smiling. McIlroy will no doubt make the European Ryder Cup team, as he sits in second place in the points. Even if he didn't make it on points, what captain would be foolish enough not to pick him? Oh, did I mention Rory is only 21?

    3. If you thought Rory McIlroy's Sunday 62 was the best round of the day, you would be wrong. In fact, Rory's 62 wasn't even close to the best round. Japan's young star Ryo Ishikawa dropped a smooth 58 on his fellow competitors on Sunday to walk away with a victory on the Japan PGA Tour. Playing on a shortish par 70 layout in Nagoya, Japan, Ishikawa started the day six shots back of the leader Shigeki Maruyama but made 12 birdies to record a five-stroke victory at 13 under par. "It's absolutely unbelievable, I don't know where all those birdies came from," said Ishikawa. "Seeing my score improve by 12 strokes at the end... it's like a dream." Maybe it's fitting that the guys he beat, Shigeki Maruyama, once recorded a 58 in US Open qualifying. It's the lowest score ever shot on a major tour. Oh, did I mention Ryo is only 18? What do they put in the water over there?

    4. Phil Mickelson is closing in on Tiger's number one world ranking. If he wins the Players Championship this week and Tiger finishes outside the top five, Phil will overtake Tiger as the best player in the world. I think Tiger will miss consecutive cuts for the first time in his career. In yesterday's practice round, Tiger hit the ball into a water hazard five times in nine holes. Doesn't look like he's figured it out yet. Phil is hungry for another victory - and also for doughnuts it appears. After winning the Masters, Phil donned his green jacket and drove the family to Krispy Kreme for some breakfast... Classic.

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