8 things I learned inspecting players’ equipment at the 2020 Zozo Championship

The 2020 Zozo Championship at Sherwood has a stacked field, including big names such as Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, and defending champion Tiger Woods.

As the senior equipment editor for GOLF.com, I was also on site – albeit outside the ropes – to capture photos of the top players’ equipment. I’ll go through eight noteworthy gear topics below, as I saw them.

No further introduction necessary, let’s get to the photos!

1) Tiger Woods equipment update

Being that he’s the defending champion, we must start with an update on Woods’ equipment. Last we saw, he played the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot with his old Scotty Cameron Newport 2 back in the bag, except it was equipped with a Lamkin cord grip instead of his longtime PP58 grip. That is still the case.

Fowler was curious about the new grip, too. He even took a couple strokes with it to try it out.

In other Woods equipment news, he had two different 3-woods in the bag as of Tuesday afternoon: a TaylorMade SIM 15-degree, and a TaylorMade M5 that’s been in his bag consistently. He’ll make a decision between those two by Thursday.

Aside from that, Woods hasn’t changed much. He has a TaylorMade SIM driver, a TaylorMade M3 5-wood, TaylorMade P7TW irons, TaylorMade Milled Grind 2 wedges (56 and 60 degrees), and he’s using a Bridgestone Tour B XS golf ball.

2) Patrick Reed’s Grindworks iron set

While Patrick Reed was practicing putting, I snapped a few photos of his bag. I didn’t think much of it, aside from that fact he’s still using Grindworks irons. After zooming in on the photo above a few times, however, there’s a whole different story there. Notice below how one iron says “PR-101A,” whereas another says “PR-202 Forged CNC,” and yet another just says “Forged.”

It would seem that Reed is using individual irons from different Grindworks sets to make up one whole set. If that’s the case, it’s reminiscent of Bernhard Langer, who uses different iron models throughout his set. Very cool.

3) Bubba’s golden putter cover and more

Ping makes Gold putters for each Ping putter win, and Bubba Watson has done a lot of winning. So, it’s only right his putter cover is dripped in gold.

Also, above is a look at Watson’s Ping S55 irons; remember, those irons were first released to retail back in 2013!

4) Kevin Na’s “Walk it in” putter cover

Na is the undisputed master of the early walk-in on the greens. Now, he cemented that legacy in the form of a Toulon Design putter cover.

5) Mickelson’s sticks, fresh off a win

Phil Mickelson is coming off another Champions Tour win. Here’s a look at his mixed-iron setup, which consists of Callaway’s brand new Apex MB short-and-mid irons, and Callaway’s Epic Forged long irons.

6) Rory McIlroy’s new TaylorMade irons

Recently, McIlroy switched into new TaylorMade P7MB irons throughout the bag. He also has an Irish-green-stamped Milled Grind 2 wedge.

7) Thomas has a Titleist T300 (!) in the bag

Justin Thomas has been using a game-improvement T100 4-iron for a while now, but apparently he’s been messing around with a Titleist T300 long irons since the Memorial, as well. This is significant because T300 irons are typically made for high-handicap golfers. According to a Titleist tour rep, Thomas hits the T300 “really far,” and it’s a substantial backup for his current gamer 5-wood.

Also, above is an updated look at his father’s walking-stick Vokey SM6 wedge. If you recall, Mike Thomas gets a new stamping on his wedge for each new experience he and his son share.

8) Rickie Fowler’s iron setup

Fowler recently switched back into his old trusty Cobra AMP Cell Pro irons, and he’s staying with them for now. Like his buddy Thomas, Fowler also has a game-improvement long iron. Fowler opts for the Cobra King F9 Speedback 4-iron for his long-iron replacement.

For more gear news and information, check out out latest Fully Equipped podcast below!