Tiger Woods testing different putter setups ahead of The Open Championship
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Based on photos taken at Royal Portrush ahead of the 2019 Open Championship, it looks as though Tiger Woods is looking for a slightly different feel with his putter, along with testing a new TaylorMade P-790 UDI prototype.
As a reminder, Woods has used the same Scotty Cameron Newport GSS prototype putter for 14-of-his-15 major championship wins, including his 2019 Masters victory. Here’s what it looks like:
It has a nondescript sole, “Tiger Woods” stamped on the back bumpers, and “Titleist” stamped in the back cavity along with a big red dot.
On Monday, however, Woods was spotted using two putters. One has adjustable weights on the sole, which is a popular design from Scotty Cameron that allows golfers to change the head weight.
The other putter Woods was spotted using on Monday, judging by the blank sole, is Woods’ familiar Newport GSS prototype.
On Tuesday, more was revealed. While Woods was not spotted using the putter with sole weights, it appears Woods added lead tape to the cavity of his Newport GSS prototype. As you can see in the photo below, lead tape is covering the “Titleist” stamping and the red dot, but “Tiger Woods” is stamped on the back bumpers, thus revealing it is indeed his old putter.
Since the greens are running relatively slow at Royal Portrush compared to the other major championships of 2019, it could be that Woods is looking for a slightly heavier feel in his putter, and this wouldn’t be the first time Woods has added lead tape to his putter for The Open. Woods doesn’t typically conduct equipment testing during his practice rounds, though, so this is definitely something to keep an eye on as competition begins on Thursday.