This week’s Tour Report is from Albany, Bahamas for the 2022 Hero World Challenge. The week began with an unfortunate update by Tiger Woods, the tournament host. He was suffering from plantar fasciitis and had to withdraw from this event.
According to PGATour.com Woods won’t seek surgery and will instead choose to stretch and relax. We got a glimpse at his current swing and he still intends to play in The Match and the PNC Championship.
Woods was not the only notable update to the gear in the Bahamas. Collin Morikawa introduced two new iron models, Corey Conners switched drivers, and Tony Finau showed off one of my favorite custom staff bags. Justin Thomas also made another putter change.
Let’s take a look at this week’s Tour Report, Nassau, Bahamas.
JT makes another putter change
After making many putter changes through 2022, Justin Thomas’s putter saga finally came to an end with the same stick that he started the year with. Thomas started the year with a Scotty Cameron X5 Prototype with a shorter flow neck. That’s the he carried to the 2022 HeroWorld Challenge this week.
Here’s a reminder: Thomas’ Titleist 621.JT Forged Irons have zero offset and are bone chillingly scary to view from your address.
Shivers.
Justin Thomas’ complete WITB from the Bahamas
Morikawa’s TaylorMade new prototype irons
Collin Morikawa usually doesn’t change his irons unless he is playing on very firm turf conditions in Scotland. He debuted a new set of TaylorMade “P7CM”, prototype short irons (7-PW) and “P7MC,” long irons (5, 6).
We highlighted this in our Equipment Report on PGATour.com. Morikawa worked closely to dial in his P7CM irons with TaylorMade, which were clearly named after his initials. The irons look similar to the company’s P7MB blade irons but they have a mixture of chrome and raw finishes.
Here’s Morikawa’s Tuesday interview with GolfWRX about the irons and why he changed to his TaylorMade P730 short irons (4.5 years old):
Morikawa said that the shoes are brand new. “I have been using them for about two weeks. They are not too different from the P730’s I have been using since I became a pro. TaylorMade was kind enough to let me test the irons. This was something I had never done before. I went into the entire sole pattern, bounce, and width. There is nothing wrong with 730’s. I love them so much that I have been using them for almost 4.5 years. There are some shots that just seem to come out of the blue.
He also introduced new TaylorMade P-7MC Irons. They have a new design in the back cavities than the previous P7MC irons. Morikawa stated that it was an easy transition, but TaylorMade has yet to provide any details about technical information or release dates.
If we find out more about the TaylorMade PF7MCs Morikawa carried to the Hero, we’ll keep you informed.
Collin Morikawa’s complete WITB from the Bahamas
Tony Finau’s absolute HEATER golf bag
It doesn’t matter if you are a Utah Jazz basketball fan. I refuse to believe that anyone could say that this one-of-one Vessel-made staff bag wasn’t the coolest. This bag is absolutely stunning with its all-purple color and Jazz logo. It was also nice to have the icy blue zipper colorway.
Finau was joined by Danny Ainge (former NBA All-Star) in Wednesday’s Pro-Am. Finau did not disappoint.
@golfwrx Tursky believes Tony Finau’s @Utah Jazz-themed bag is the most unique he has ever seen. Are you inclined to agree? #golf #golftiktok #golfwrx #utahjazz ? Original sound – golfwrx
Finau says he will autograph the bag and give it away at Wednesday’s Golden State Warriors vs. Utah Jazz match. I wish you all the best if you are interested in owning this bag.
Read what GolfWRX members have to say about the bag in our forums
Corey Conners finally gives up on his driver of 5 years
Conners is statistically the best driver on the PGA Tour over the past few years. He finally swapped out his Ping G400 LST in favor of a Ping G430 LST. Conners claims that he first used the G400 LST at Erin Hills’ 2017 U.S. Open and hadn’t changed it since. However, he had gone through 10 heads over the 5-year period.
GolfWRX.com’s Mike said that while his old model produced slightly more speed, the G430 was considerably more responsive to off-center hits so he gave the G430 the thumbs up at the Hero. The new driver also has a 1-of-1 UST Mamiya Linq shaft.
You can find more information about his switch at the PGATour.com Equipment report by GolfWRX.
Tiger Woods participates in the “Hero Shot Challenge” despite sustaining a foot injury
Tiger couldn’t have been more wrong if he did not participate in the Hero Shot Challenge this year. This is especially true considering that he pulled out of the actual event. He was the tournament host and he did a great job to put on a great show for fans (and social media).
Even though he did not advance to the second round against five of his competitors, it was great to watch his swing and to enjoy the festivities.
GolfWRX (@golfwrx), shared this post
He was wearing Nike Metacon 8 sneakers and a TaylorMade MG3 56 degree wedge for the 87 yard shot. If you want to know more, I did a deep dive on Tiger Woods at Hero Shot earlier in the week.
Caddies everywhere! Take notes
This is a move that I respect as a former Albany club caddie. He writes down the approximate yards of each player on a piece of paper or in a yardage booklet, but instead of doing so on paper or in a book, he velcros them to his caddie’s bib for immediate visual access.
This is a great veteran move. This is a true veteran move.
We bid farewell to the Bahamas. Greg Moore, the legendary golfWRX photographer, will be at the PNC. Keep an eye out for more WITBs or inside-the-ropes shots soon.
