With the two-shot victory after a gritty back-nine 32 in brutal conditions, Spaun becomes the first player to win a men’s major championship with a zero torque putter, an L.A.B. Golf DF3. Zero torque putters, which have rapidly gained popularity on the PGA Tour over the past few seasons, are designed to resist twisting through the putting stroke, allowing the face to stay square.
Spaun made several huge putts on the back nine, including a 40-footer down the hill at 12, a 22-footer on 14 and the 64-footer on 18 that slammed the door shut. Interestingly, Spaun does not use a build with a significant forward shaft lean and uses a conventional blacked-out Scotty Cameron putter grip in lieu of L.A.B.’s press grip.
For the week, Spaun gained a whopping 10.4 strokes on the field, second in the field.
Aside from becoming the first player to win with a zero torque putter design, Spaun also has a very intriguing combo set of Srixon ZXi irons. Spaun plays the players distance ZXi5 model for his 4-iron and the more compact ZXi7 in the 5-PW, but his lengths and lies are where the intrigue lies.
Spaun’s iron set doesn’t have the typical half-inch length and half-degree lie increments that most players use. Instead, Spaun’s short irons are standard length while his mid and long irons are slightly shorter than standard. Meanwhile, his lie angles jump by a degree for the 6-7-8-irons.
What does this tell us? It means that Spaun has meticulously optimized the specs of each of the clubs that have gone into his bag. Big kudos to the Srixon Tour team for getting him dialed because not only did Spaun putt lights out this week at Oakmont, but he also hit 51 greens for the week, which is more than 70 percent.
Off the tee, Spaun hit perhaps the shot of the tournament on the 71st hole when he drove the green at the 314-yard par-4 to set up the go-ahead birdie. Spaun plays a Titleist GT3 driver with a Fujikura 2024 Ventus Black 6-X with Velocore+. This marks the third straight major (all three this year) where the champion played Fujikura Ventus, with Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler both playing the previous generation Ventus Black.
GT3 – Speed-Tuned Distance & Control
GT3 offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization. With a speed-tuned design that allows you to precisely match performance to your most frequent contact location, you can make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.
For players with a relatively consistent impact location, GT3 offers a precisely adjustable CG Track to max out distance and directional control.
Seamless Thermoform Crown
A reimagined ultra-lightweight design, born from a new Proprietary Matrix Polymer. The tunable acoustic properties of this unique composite allow Titleist engineers to realize new material gains while maintaining our signature sound and feel. All wrapped in a clean look that inspires total confidence.
Split Mass Construction
A breakthrough in internal weighting unlocks longer drives and enhanced directional control in GT3. The Adjustable CG Track now sits closer to the face for more dynamic CG control, while additional discretionary mass is pushed to the back of the club to maintain optimal stability through impact.
Advanced Aerodynamics
GT3 features a new raised tail contour that represents a dramatic shift in driver aerodynamics. Previously impossible to execute due to design constraints, this advanced shaping results in a driver that swings faster while still providing optimal CG control.
VENTUS shafts by Fujikura are #1 on Tour. Learn more about which VENTUS is right for you and schedule your fitting today to upgrade your consistency in your long game.
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 6 Zipcore (50 Mid, 60 Low), RTZ Full (54 High), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Cleveland RTZ Full-Face Custom Wedge
All-new RTZ Wedges are made with Z-Alloy, a completely new steel formula that enables a zero-compromise design approach for incredible feel, better durability, and more consistency for our best performing tour Wedges yet. Plus, there’s an all-new ADAPT grind featuring full-face grooves, to give RTZ Wedges more versatility than ever before.
Z-Alloy
Z-Alloy is a brand-new steel with better feel. It’s softer, lighter, and remarkably durable. It gives RTZ Wedges superior feel, better forgiveness, and more consistency. On RTZ Tour Rack Wedges, Z-Alloy’s rust-resistant properties ensure longer-lasting, like-new performance.
HydraZip
HydraZip is a unique system of face blasts and laser-milled lines formulated to maximize spin performance under wet conditions. This technology is dynamically configured by loft groupings, which helps balance spin across lofts, while maximizing spin in adverse conditions.
ZipCore
This low-density core technology replaces heavier material in the heel and hosel area with a lightweight, low-density, vibration-dampening material. This proprietary core allows us to shift the Center of Gravity closer to where you strike the ball, while simultaneously adding MOI.
UltiZip
UltiZip’s sharper grooves cut through grass and debris at contact, while deeper grooves help make space for grass, sand, dirt, or water to clear the impact zone, giving RTZ Wedges stronger, more consistent spin from the fairway, rough, or bunker.
Ever since we launched our first putter, Directed Force, golfers have been asking if we could make it less weird. DF3 is that putter.
DF3 still does everything golfers love about the original. It stays square by itself. It’s still irrationally forgiving on mishits. But there’s a lot less to think about.
The DF3 is entirely CNC milled from 6061 aluminum, with 8 screws on the bottom made of steel or tungsten in various densities to precisely target swing weight and lie angle balance each putter.
Z-STAR SeriesWhether you’re chasing major championships or your next personal best, the all-new Z-STAR series is the choice for serious players everywhere. Featuring reformulated cores and covers across the line, this generation of Z-STAR golf balls delivers greater distance, optimized spin, and tour-level stopping power around the green.
It’s a formula designed to give you one thing: pure performance when it matters most.
With a blend of greenside control and long-game distance, the new Z-STAR ♦ DIAMOND also delivers the unique benefit of increased spin on long and mid Iron shots.
Jack Hirsh is the Associate Equipment Editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.
