What’s in a name? Well, JJ Spaun’s dramatic win in the US Open – where he used his putter like a magic wand, especially his dramatic 65 feet birdie putt to seal the deal on the 18th at Oakmont – has firmly put L.A.B. putters, the new kids on the block, very much on the map.
Spaun used a L.A.B. Golf DF3 putter, notable for being a zero-torque design, which gave the US company its first Major victory.
L.A.B. stands for Lie Angle Balance for which the company has a patented technology aimed at, yes, eliminating torque in putting.
The mission statement of the brand – emerging as a rival to traditional powerhouses Scotty Cameron and Ping – is straight to the point:
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JJ Spaun’s putt of a lifetime puts LAB putters on the map
Storybook ending for JJ Spaun as US Open at Oakmont makes its mark
“The best golfers in the world have mastered nearly every shot in the game, but even for them putting is an entirely separate challenge. One day they make everything, and the next day they can’t buy a putt. And if they can’t hole putts with consistency, what chance does the average golfer have?”
Spaun’s wizardry with the putter at Oakmont, where he holed a number of long putts on the homeward stretch, let actions speak louder than any words.
Leona Maguire heads to Major week struggling for form
Leona Maguire will seek to end a poor run of form – which has seen her suffer four successive missed cuts – at this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Frisco resort in Texas, a course co-designed by Gil Hanse who was also responsible for the remodelling of Oakmont.
The 29-year-old Cavan golfer’s season has flipped in the past month: where she hadn’t missed a cut in her opening nine tournaments of the season, Maguire has missed consecutive cuts at the Mizuho Americas Open, the Mexico Open, the US Women’s Open and last week’s Meijer Classic, after which she fell a further five places to 57th on the latest LPGA Tour rankings.
Maguire is the lone Irish player in the field at Frisco, a venue which is making its Major debut and already named as a future host for the men’s PGA Championship in 2027 and again in 2034.
By the Numbers: 4,300,000
That’s the amount – in US$ – which JJ Spaun won for claiming the US Open at Oakmont. It was thee same pay-day as Bryson DeChambeau received for his win at Pinehurst last year, after the USGA opted not to increase the purse for this year’s championship. Next year’s US Open takes place at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, New York.
Word of Mouth
“It was borderline unplayable. The water was like so close to the surface. I just don’t know. It was like an aquaplane on the ground” – Adam Scott, ever the diplomat, providing his interpretation of the Sam Burns request for casual water relief on the 15th hole of the final round. Burns twice sought relief, from two different rules officials, but was denied and would double-bogey the hole, effectively ending his bid to catch Spaun.
On this day ... June 17th 1990
Rodger Davis was a colourful member of the European Tour, with a fashion sense that included wearing distinctive plus-fours and sporting an equally distinctive moustache.
The Aussie’s fifth of seven career wins on what is now the DP World Tour came in the Wang Four Stars tournament, an event which started off as the Bob Hope British Classic and, in its 11 years on the circuit, had no fewer than six different tournament names.
Davis had to win the tournament at Moor Park on the outskirts of London the hard way, his second win in the celebrity pro-am (having also triumphed in 1988) that numbered such personalities as Terry Wogan and Ronnie Corbett among its players.
Having edged out Eamonn Darcy by a shot two years previously, Davis claimed a second title in a four-man playoff – also involving Mike Clayton, Bill Malley and Mark McNulty – that would only see him emerge the victor at the seventh hole of sudden death with a par to finally overcome Clayton, the other two having departed at the first playoff hole.
In the Bag
JJ Spaun – US Open
Driver: Titleist GT3 (9 degrees)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Irons: Srixon ZXi5 (4) Srixon ZXi7 (5-PW)
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore (50 degrees), Cleveland RTZ (54 degrees), Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore (60 degrees)
Putter: L.A.B. Golf DF3
Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond
Social Scene
After (kind of) playing it for 2 days, and watching over the weekend ... it’s hard to express how difficult/borderline impossible Oakmont would be if it was firm. Not even rock hard, but just the slightest bit of firmness in the greens would make it (crazy) – Justin Thomas
Is Oakmont even fun to play? I’d shoot 130 easily – US basketball star Caitlin Clark – a very keen golfer – on the challenge of Oakmont.
My new swing thought ... “Adam Scott” – an oldie but one with significance, the post from JJ Spaun (back in April 2020) of how he intended to base his swing on that of Adam Scott. Good karma.
Know the Rules
Q
The player’s second shot lands in the greenside bunker. The player hits the ball out of the bunker and it comes to rest just short of the green. The player removes the sand that landed both on the green and off the green using a towel as it was on their line of play. What is the ruling in stroke play?
A
There is no penalty for removing sand that lies on the putting green (Rule 13.1c) but the player gets the general penalty (two penalty strokes) for improving their line of play by removing sand in the general area (see Rule 8.1a (4)).
