DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover says players have found a way to beat the system by handing the USGA a backup driver if they get picked for random testing on the thinness of the clubface.
That didn’t bother Mike Whan, the CEO of the USGA, who says it’s not that easy.
“We keep serial numbers of the driver that were given us, and 90% of the drivers that were given us in those practice facilities when we test are played on the first tee,” Whan said Tuesday ahead of the U.S. Women’s Open in Wisconsin. “And we expect 10% of players to be making changes, anyway.
“I don’t think that’s a real concern for us.”
Glover got some attention on his SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio show when he said the test is not stringent enough because only about 30 drivers are randomly selected for testing. And he mentioned another loophole.
“I’ve been trying to think all morning and all day how to say this without sounding like it’s going to sound, but most guys don’t give them their real driver, anyway,” Glover said when asked why the USGA didn’t just test drivers of every player. “They give them their backup just in case.
“I know a lot of guys, they keep two drivers in their bag just in case,” he said. "'Hey, oh, yeah, it’s this one. It’s this one right here. Yeah, do this, test this one.’”
The driver testing has been going on for years because after hundreds of swings, the face gets too thin for USGA standards without the players or manufacturers being aware.
Rory McIlroy’s driver failed the test at the PGA Championship and he had to use a backup. Scottie Scheffler said his driver also was tested and didn’t pass, though he knew it was getting close. He went on to win the PGA Championship.
Whan said test results are green (pass), yellow (getting close) and red (fail). They are kept confidential to prevent a routine matter from getting too much attention, as was the case at Quail Hollow.
“If they got a yellow, they start preparing for a backup driver or switch,” Whan said. “It seemed like a big week to everybody else. But for us, it was a pretty standard week.”
On the shelf
For the second time in three years, Will Zalatoris is missing the heart of the PGA Tour season because of back surgery.
Zalatoris, 28, posted a message on Instagram on Monday saying that instability and discomfort in his back this spring kept getting worse, and tests revealed another round of herniated discs. He had surgery on Friday and said he would be out until the fall.
“I’m happy to say I woke up feeling good and excited about my long-term health,” Zalatoris said. “Time to focus on my recovery and get back after it.”
He hit his peak in 2022 when he lost in a playoff at the PGA Championship, missed a 15-foot putt that would have forced a playoff at the U.S. Open and won a playoff in the PGA Tour playoffs opener.
He withdrew the following week at the BMW Championship with back pain (and missed the Presidents Cup), and had his first surgery in 2023.
Zalatoris reached No. 7 in the world after 2022. He now is at No. 84.
PGA Tour University
The PGA Tour is adding three players straight out of college from the PGA Tour University ranking, a program aimed at creating a quicker path from college to the pros.
A fourth player, Auburn sophomore Jackson Koivun, also earned a PGA Tour card through the accelerated program for underclassmen. Koivun told Golf Digest he would defer membership and return for his junior year at Auburn.
Koivun picked up his final point by finishing in the top 10 at the NCAA championship on Monday. He turned 20 last week, making him the youngest player to get a card through the PGA Tour University Accelerated program.
North Carolina senior David Ford finished atop the PGA Tour University ranking and will have PGA Tour membership the rest of the year.
Florida State junior Luke Clanton earned enough points through the accelerated program and will make his pro debut next week in the Canadian Open. Vanderbilt senior Gordon Sargent secured his PGA Tour card in October 2023 and stayed in school.
The biggest move Monday came from UCLA senior Pablo Ereno. He tied for sixth in the NCAA championship — the best finish by a Bruins player since Patrick Cantlay tied for fourth in 2012 — and moved from No. 12 to No. 10 in the ranking. That gives him Korn Ferry Tour membership the rest of the year, instead of a spot on PGA Tour Americas.
Out of the mouths of babes
Incoming LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler learned how different people have different expectations, all because of a conversation with his three young sons.
Kessler said he and wife Nicole sat down with their boys — ages 9, 7 and 5 — to explain that he had been offered the job as LPGA commissioner and he wanted their thoughts.
He said the oldest asked a dozen qualifying questions to make sure this was the right fit.
“Our 7-year-old said, ‘But Dad, you’re a boy and I’m a boy, so why don’t you just do boy sports?’” Kessler said. “Which by the way, provided the most incredible teaching moment and we shared with them, ‘Look if all we did in life were things that looked like us, that sounded like us, we’re sort of missing the plot and leaving so much richness in life on the table.’”
Leave it to the 5-year-old to get right to the point.
Kessler had told the boys they would take them out of school on occasion so they could join their parents on tour. That included stops in Europe and Asia.
“Our 5-year-old looked at me and said, ‘But Dad, do they sell chocolate milk in Asia?’
“It just goes to show you that different stakeholders have different concerns, and it’s certainly no different in the Kessler family.”
Divots
The Korn Ferry Tour will have a new tournament in South Carolina next year. The Colonial Life Charity Classic will be May 14-17 at The Woodcreek Club near Columbia. It will be the second Korn Ferry Tour event in South Carolina, which also has two PGA Tour stops. ... The Senior PGA Championship is moving to The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida, for the next three years starting in 2026. The senior major will be played April 16-19, getting it off the crowded May calendar. It was held this year after the PGA Championship and was the second straight week of a PGA Tour Champions major. ... Ben Griffin became the first player in 10 years to make eagle on the first hole of the final round and go on to win. Griffin won the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. ... Colonial runner-up Matti Schmid and Bud Cauley, who closed with a 67 to finish third, earned spots in the Memorial this week.
Stat of the week
Max Homa was No. 10 in the world when he played the Memorial last year. He arrived at Muirfield Village this year at No. 87.
Final word
“I can’t answer your question because I don’t like them.” — Jack Nicklaus, on why a golf course should have a long par 3.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press
