rare – Golfing Networks

Pro loses ShopRite LPGA by 1 a day after receiving rare penalty

admin — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:26:59 +0000

Celine Boutier won the ShopRite LPGA on Sunday, although it might be Arpichaya Yubol who was left wondering what could have been.

Yubol fired a five-under 66 on the Bay Course at Seaview Hotel and Golf Club in Galloway, N.J., on Sunday, which was good enough to push her into solo second and earn $183,814 in the 54-hole event. At eight under, she finished a stroke behind Boutier.

But then you remember what happened on Saturday.

The LPGA Media account tweeted Saturday evening that Yubol was assessed a one-stroke penalty for slow play during her second round on Saturday. The tweet said she was penalized for “exceeding her maximum time allowed for her total strokes timed on hole #13.”

Arpichaya Yubol was assessed a one-stroke penalty for exceeding her maximum time allowed for her total strokes timed on hole #13. @LPGA | @ShopRiteLPGA

— LPGA Media (@LPGAMedia) May 31, 2026

It’s just the second time a pace of play penalty has been issued on the LPGA this season. Jin Hee Im was also penalized one shot during the third round of the JM Eagle.

In February 2025, the LPGA announced its new pace of play policy that went into effect that spring. The LPGA already had a warning system and timing guidelines in place for players out of position, but the updated policy included a new penalty structure for plus times. Under those changes, one to five seconds over a time would be a fine; six to 15 seconds would be a one-stroke penalty, and 16 seconds or more would lead to a two-stroke penalty.

Yubol’s 73 Saturday was changed to a 74. Under the LPGA’s policy, a player is timed for the accumulation of shots for a hole and not one specific shot.

Despite the rare penalty, it was a good week for the 24-year-old Yubol. After missing the cut in back-to-back starts earlier this season, she has now turned in her second runner-up finish of the year. Although she still finished one shy of Boutier, who closed with a 66 to come from four strokes back to win. The 32-year-old pro also won the ShopRite in 2021; this was her first win since the Maybank Championship in 2023.

Next up? The U.S. Women’s Open begins Thursday at Riviera in Los Angeles.

“It’s definitely always good to come back after a win,” Boutier said. “I think it’s going to be a very different challenge for sure with different course conditions, but I’m excited to see what the course is going to be like. Happy where my game is at, so let’s see what I can do there.”

Source link

This pro bomber uses a rare equipment combination for the LPGA

admin — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 01:23:51 +0000

If you search the golf forums online for all of 10 seconds, you’ll see some shaft arguments centered around the idea of playing something like a Fujikura Ventus Black or a Project X Titan.

These super-stout, low-launch, low-spin shafts are all the rage in the forums “because that’s what the pros play”. Usually, those names include guys like Rory McIlroy, Gary Woodland, Aldrich Potgieter and other high-speed players on the PGA Tour.

But we’ve got a new name to add to that list: Auston Kim of the LPGA Tour.

It’s pretty rare to see a shaft like Fujikura Ventus Black out on the LPGA Tour. In general, the LPGA doesn’t have as much aggression as the PGA Tour does, and even the players who are a bit more aggressive will typically opt for something that still provides them with a bit more help launching the ball. Something like a Fujikura Ventus Red profile or the popular Mitsubishi Diamana WB with its softer handle and mid-soft tip would be better driver shaft profiles for these types of swings.

But Kim isn’t anywhere near the “standard” female profile. She’s currently ranked fourth on the LPGA in driving distance, and she has a swing that more closely mimics something like Cam Young; very wide, very long, and adds a small pause at the top of the swing before unleashing in transition.

Auston goes for a Fujikura Ventus Black Velocore+ 5-S that’s tipped an inch. I asked PXG LPGA Tour Manager Scotty Kim how many times he tips a driver shaft an inch out on the LPGA.

He simply replied, “Not often.”

He also mentioned, “Auston could probably actually play something a little bit stiffer than this if she wanted, but tipping the stiff flex gives her a good blend of giving her the feel she wants with the performance she needs.” Auston simply added, “I’m good” with a laugh.

Auston combines her Ventus Velo+ Black with a PXG Lightning Tour, the lowest spinning head in the new Lightning lineup. The combination of a shaft keeping up with her aggression and the speed and spin profile of the Lightning Tour provides her with a very stable package that helps her hit the signature cut shot that she wants to see off the tee.

And she’s got all the speed she needs to earn that No. 4 rank in driving distance on the LPGA Tour. Auston sits in the low 160s for ball speed, similar to me, if that’s any indication of her greatness, and she plays with a little bit more spin, too. I’m a big advocate for playing with a little bit more spin, and with such a consistent cut shot, she’s utilizing the stability and speed of the Lightning Tour in every way she can.

A good reminder that just because something says what it might be on paper doesn’t mean that in practice it’s what that gear is going to do. As an industry, we frequently get caught up trying to bucket equipment into speed and spin buckets. In Auston’s case, it was about consistency and deviation from shot to shot. Something that Johnny Wunder and I both noticed during our own testing of the PXG Lightning Tour back in October.

PXG Lightning Tour Custom Driver

View Product

Other ‘stiff profile’ shafts on the LPGA

Another surprising option on the LPGA Tour getting a ton of use is the Diamana WB. Compared to the Ventus Black, it’s a bit of a softer profile, but it’s still created as the low-launch, low-spin part for the slightly stronger player. Something that’s been in the hands of guys on the PGA Tour like Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, and Justin Rose.

You might guess a profile like the Diamana BB would be a more popular part for the women’s game, but with athletes of all genders getting stronger and faster, the need for profiles to keep up with the more athletic fields is more apparent.

For those of you reading at home, this leads into a discussion about how important it is to find the right profile golf shaft for your game, and then match the weight and flex of that profile to your swing’s needs.

Making sure you’re in a profile that activates at the right time in your swing is critical. Weight and flex are then there to make sure that you’re squeezing every bit of performance out of it that you can.

In Auston Kim’s case, they decided to stick with a lighter-weight, stiff flex shaft that they tipped one inch. This tipping stabilized the tip a tad while also making the handle a bit softer, which is very helpful for a wider, more aggressive swing that stays very connected. Again, think Auston, Rory, Cam Young, or Xander.

They don’t yank down on the golf shaft in transition; they keep it wide and long with their wrists relatively stable, and they create separation until impact.

Source link

Scottie Scheffler is on the brink of a rare Tiger Woods feat

admin — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 07:05:49 +0000

As it turns out, the only thing better than winning is winning a lot.

Tiger Woods knows how that feels. Eighty-two times during his PGA Tour career, he ended a tournament week by raising the trophy — winning at a clip and with a gusto we have rarely seen since.

Scottie Scheffler might still have some work to do on the “gusto” part of the equation (even now, he carries his success with an understated, almost embarrassed subtlety). But as far as the “winning” part of the equation is concerned? Well, he’s on a historic trajectory.

On Sunday morning, Scheffler will arrive at the American Express as he often does on Sunday mornings during the golf season: As the betting favorite to emerge from Sunday afternoon as the winner. At the 54-hole mark in Palm Springs, Calif., Scheffler is one shot off the mark set by Si Woo Kim, lurking after three days of the brand of boringly spectacular play that has become his trademark. According to the sharps in Vegas, he is (at worst) even money to win the whole tournament.

You don’t have to think hard right now to know how a Scheffler victory would look. Another blemish-free Sunday, another slow-but-deliberate accumulation of pars and birdies, another four or five-shot advantage, another postgame celebration with family.

But the truth is that this victory for Scheffler would be noticeably different from those that came before it — because this victory brings some historical significance. Should Scheffler win on Sunday at the American Express, he would reach 20 PGA Tour wins for his career. And, should he reach 20 PGA Tour wins for his career on Sunday, he would become only the third golfer in history to reach the 20-victory mark before his 30th birthday, behind only Jack Nicklaus and, yes, Tiger Woods. (These stats come to us courtesy of the always-razor-sharp Justin Ray.)

A win Sunday for Scottie Scheffler would be his 20th on the PGA Tour.

Only 2 players in the modern era have won 20+ PGA Tour titles including 4+ majors before age 30: Jack Nicklaus & Tiger Woods.

Scheffler would become the 3rd.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) January 25, 2026

Of course, Scheffler would not quite be in “Woods Territory” with a victory on Sunday. At the time of his 30th birthday, Tiger had already amassed an astonishing 46 professional wins. If Scheffler played in an event every week until his 30th birthday on June 21 and won each, he would only get to 39 victories before his 30th — still seven wins shy of Woods.

Still, to find yourself in the 20/30 club is to find yourself in rarefied air — up next to arguably the two greatest players ever. Despite his brilliance, Scheffler’s historic trajectory has remained one of the underreported stories in golf over the last several years, a feat likely owed to his low-key style both on the course and off of it.

To reach the 20-win mark before his 30th would redefine that conversation as we know it — and it would start on Sunday at the American Express.

Source link