NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
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Christmas arrives in January for the Range Rat. The best players in the world regularly arrive at Kapalua with new deals, fresh gear or other significant tweaks.
Patrick Cantlay came to Hawaii with a blank staff bag, his decade-long run as a Titleist staff member reaching an end. It was certainly a surprise given that Cantlay is ranked No. 4 in the world, has won the most PGA Tour events of any player since the start of 2021 and has been one of the primary faces of Titleist since the former UCLA Bruin turned pro in 2012.
It appears as if Cantlay will continue to game Titleist clubs for the moment, but as a free agent, he now has the option to test all types of equipment. Although several players have enjoyed success as gear free agents at times in recent years – Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Tony Finau included – Cantlay has indicated he may not be a free agent for the long term.
“I’m looking for a couple different partners,” Cantlay told Golf.com's Drop Zone podcast. “It’s the beginning of the year, so hopefully I’ll figure that out relatively soon and put that behind me and play some golf.”
He does still have a ball, shoe and glove deal with Titleist. This is similar to the route Adam Scott recently took when he parted ways with the brand.
Meanwhile, longtime Callaway staffer Kevin Kisner signed a 12-club deal with Wilson. The 39-year-old cashed in his consistent play for a multiyear contract, possibly the last big equipment deal in his career. Trey Mullinax also signed with Wilson. Mullinax has reached No. 100 in the world, the best ranking of his career.
As Kisner and Mullinax joined the Wilson stable, a struggling Gary Woodland left the brand to sign with Cobra. The 2019 U.S. Open champion has not won since his major triumph and entered the year ranked No. 99 in the world. Woodland signed the 10-club Wilson deal in early 2019 and played Wilson irons at Pebble Beach during his win, but he has been jumping around between brands such as Ping, Callaway, TaylorMade and Cobra for his other clubs.
But new signings were just part of the story last week, and we will be unpacking many of these storylines in the coming weeks and months.
Jon Rahm debuted the new Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond driver after his ball speed increased by 4 mph during testing. Also in the new club category, Collin Morikawa installed TaylorMade P7CM blade irons for his 7-PW. The “CM” references Morikawa’s initials and how the irons were specifically made for him.
Sometimes, players eschew new equipment for the old stuff. In the case of Justin Thomas, he decided to go back all the way to a club he used in middle school.
Thomas wielded a Scotty Cameron Newport Circle T blade, a putter that he first used in junior golf but hadn’t gamed since college. He had been using a Scotty Cameron Phantom T5 Prototype, a dual-winged mallet. Thomas routinely practices with the Circle T and decided to try it in competition at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Sean Fairholm