There were so many stories to come out of the weekend’s Hero World Challenge, but there’s only one place we, as golf enthusiasts, can possibly start…Tiger Woods’ eagerly-awaited return.

The 14-time major champion was playing in his first PGA Tour event since the summer of 2015 and didn’t disappoint. Having undergone two back operations during his time on the sidelines, as well as a failed comeback just a few months ago, it was always going to be intriguing to see how golf’s biggest superstar fared in the Bahamas.

Arguably Tiger picked the perfect tournament to return – he hosts the event each year, was playing amongst friends and was guaranteed to play 72 competitive holes (as long as his back held out, which it did). On the other hand it was an 18-man field made up of the world’s best golfers – Stenson, Spieth, Dustin - so it wasn’t exactly ‘easy competition’.

Nevertheless Tiger caused a media frenzy with the vast majority of Sky’s coverage focused on Tiger during the four days – not surprising really given he was the guy everyone wanted to see. So how did he get on? Well, on the plus side he made 24 birdies over the four days which was the most in the field. Unfortunately for the American, he also carded the most double bogeys out of everyone - six to be exact.

So overall a pretty good week for Tiger, all things considered. But the real shining light was Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama. If you read our weekly round-ups then you’ll be familiar with the 24-year-olds name from recent weeks. He’s been in phenomenal form of late and he carried this on, winning the Hero World Challenge by two shots from Henrik Stenson. That is four wins his last five starts, with his other result being a lousy runner-up finish. Not bad.

2017 is going to be a very interesting year.

What equipment did Matsuyama use?

• Driver – Callaway Great Big Bertha (9 degrees)
• Fairway wood – Callaway Big Bertha Fusion (15 degrees)
• Irons – TaylorMade M2 Tour (3-iron); Srixon Z945 (4-PW)
• Wedges – Cleveland Golf 588 RTX 2.0 (52, 56 and 60)
• Putter – Scotty Cameron
• Ball - Srixon Z-Star XV

What’s in the Bag?

Event – Hero Indian Open 

This week’s tour champion is Anirban Lahiri claiming the prize at the recent Indian Open. The 27 year old Indian fought off fellow native competition to win by one at seven under par.

What is most remarkable about this success is that Lahiri claimed the win without a driver in his golf bag. He follows the example of Phil Mickelson at the Open in 2013 claiming victory with a conservative approach in difficult conditions.

The win has moved the Indian up to 34 in the current world rankings.

Stats Don’t Lie…

The key to his victory was his short game, leading the event in putts in regulation. He averaged a remarkable 1.649 putts that proved decisive as the pressure built on the final day.

Despite the absence of the driver, he averaged 274 yards from the tee and found 60% of fairways. Although this appears lower than an average event winner, the course is notoriously narrow which is why he left the driver at home in the first place!

The Winners Bag…

Lahiri relied on his Callaway Diablo Edge Tour 3 Wood. It ensured he remained in play and provided the confident platform for success.

He successfully used his 5 wood, an X2 Hot from Callaway to compensate from playing further back and utilised a low punch shot frequently to great effect.

His Srixon Irons (Z Forged 725) allowed the champion to break par each day with quality approach play.

His most successful club was the Titleist SC GoLo M3 putter. Despite recovering well from hazards it was his blade that proved the difference.  

You've guessed it. There was another first-time winner on the European Tour last week as Nike Golf Haotong Li claimed the Volvo China Open on home soil. The 20-year-old started the final day two shots back but a flawless closing 64, mixing eight birdies with zero dropped shots, meant a fourth consecutive sub-70 round to claim his maiden victory by three. Overnight leaders Aguilar and Bjerregaard carded rounds of three-under and two-under respectively, but it could have been so much better for Aguilar. Whether it was pressure or just one of those shots, Aguilar will wish he could replay his tee shot on the par-3 16th which found the water 30 yards short of the green, effectively costing him the tournament. Regardless, Li birdied 17 and held his nerve down the last to record an emphatic win, possibly the first of many for this young gun.

What equipment did he use?

• Driver - Nike Vapor Pro (9.5)
• Fairway Wood - Nike Vapor Speed (15)
• Irons - Nike Vapor Fly Pro (3&4); Nike Vapor Pro (5-9)
• Wedges - Nike Engage (48, 54 & 60)
• Putter - Nike Method Matter B2-05
• Ball - Nike RZN Tour Platinum

Rain and thunderstorms shortened last week's PGA Tour event to 54 holes, with a Monday finish required to settle matters. In the end there was a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard, with Brian Stuard, Jamie Lovemark and Byeong-Hun An all closing out their three rounds on 15-under-par - An and Stuard birding the final hole to tie Lovemark for the lead. So a playoff was the order of play, with the three golfers heading down the par-5 18th in this sudden death format. An was the first golfer to be eliminated after bogeying the first playoff hole, the other two making pars. On the second playoff hole, a beautiful 160-yard approach to two foot by Stuard saw him birdie the hole and claim his first victory on the PGA Tour - a common theme among this week's winners. That's not the only thing that Stuard has in common with other recent winners, as he is the 5th Callaway Staff winner in as many weeks. Surely this is telling you something?

What equipment did he use?

• Driver - Callaway Great Big Bertha (9.5)
• Fairway Wood - Callaway XR Pro (15)
• Hybrids - Callaway Apex (20 & 23)
• Irons - Callaway Apex Pro (4-PW)
• Wedges - Callaway Mack Daddy 3 (52 & 58)
• Putter - Odyssey Works Marxman Fang Tank
• Ball - Titleist Pro V1x

To see the options we have available on our golf shop, head tohttps://www.foremostgolf.com/. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to give us a call on +44 (0) 800 500 3194.

If you’ve been following our blog over the past few weeks, you may have noticed two common themes running across recent winners: first-timers and Callaway Staff players. This week carries on that trend as Jeunghun Wang produced a wonderful putting display to claim the Trophée Hassan II in a fascinating playoff against Nacho Elvira. When on the 72^nd green, Wang was faced with a 15 foot birdie putt to tie clubhouse leader Elvira and force extra holes. He duly delivered. Going down the 18^th again in the playoff, Elvira looked in complete control after hitting the par-5 green in two whilst Wang was 35 foot away in three. As is the case in many matchplay situations – which a sudden-death playoff effectively is – Wang nails his birdie putt whilst Elvira two-putted for his four. Back down 18 they go. This time round Elvira missed the green in three, leaving Wang a putt for his birdie-four and the title, which he drains. That’s seven wins in a row for Callaway Golf players across tours, leaving us to think that there must be something special in their 2016 range…

What equipment did he use?

Driver – Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816

Fairway Wood – Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816

Hybrid – Callaway Apex

Irons – Callaway irons

Wedges – Vokey SM5

Putter – Odyssey White Hot RX

Form is temporary, class is permanent. How often have we heard this saying ring true? Well we can add James Hahn’s remarkable return to form on the PGA Tour to that list. Hahn has been struggling with his game over the past few months. Following a string of missed cuts (eight straight if you’re counting) and no round sub-70 in his last 18, not many people would have backed Hahn at the Wells Fargo Championship last week. After three-putting the 72^nd hole for bogey, Hahn finished the tournament tied for the lead with Roberto Castro, meaning a playoff was needed once again. Castro found water with his drive at the first playoff hole, handing the initiative to Hahn, who found the fairway and then set up victory with a solid second to the heart of the green. It just goes to show, a return to form may just be around the corner for us all…

Here’s what he had in the bag:

Driver - PXG 0811X (9 degrees)

FairwayWood - PXG 0341 (15 degrees)

Hybrid - PXG 0317 (17 degrees)

Irons - PXG 0311(3-iron), PXG 0311T (4-9)

Wedges - PXG 0311T Milled (47), Vokey SM5 (54 & 60)

Putter - Odyssey White Hot Pro 2.0

Ball – Titleist Pro V1x

To see the options we have available on our golf shop, head tohttps://www.foremostgolf.com/. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to give us a call on +44 (0) 800 500 3194.

The DP World Tour Championship in Dubai not only signalled the end of the European Tour season, but was also the final event of this year’s Race to Dubai. For those of you unaware, the Race to Dubai is the European Tour’s order of merit which rewards the most consistently good golfers throughout that season.

Heading into the event there were only two possible winners: Masters champion Danny Willett and Open Champion Henrik Stenson. Willett had held top spot in the Race to Dubai for much of 2016 following his Green Jacket back in April, but the inspiring form of Stenson – including his first Major title and a silver medal at the Olympics – saw the Swede leapfrog Willett with just a few events left to play.

The Englishman needed a good week – a top-five finish to be exact – to have any chance of ending 2016 top of the tree, but a disappointing week saw him finish runner-up for the second year running. On the other hand, a top 10 finish for the ice-cool Swede cemented his place as Europe’s most consistent golfer for the second time, having won the Race to Dubai once before in 2013.

A little mention must go to Alex Noren who had a breakthrough year to finish in the rankings. Noren was ranked at 653rd in the world just two years ago but four wins in 2016 has seen him gate-crash the world’s top 10.

There’s something all three of the above have in common – they’re Callaway Golf players. Coincidence? Probably not.

Click here to view Callaway’s current range