Should equipment changes be noted publicly before a player tees it up in a PGA Tour event?

While that may sound crazy, it is common practice in horse racing. Some bettors want all the information they can get. With gambling now a big part of sports, I don’t think it’s a crazy idea.

Already this year we saw Collin Morikawa (TaylorMade TP5x) winning an event with a putter borrowed from another player.

Chris Gotterup (Bridgestone Tour B X with Mindset) won two tournaments this year after changing ball.

And remember when Scottie Scheffler (Titleist Pro V1) went on a tear changing to a blade putter to a mallet putter?

I’m not saying news ahead of the Cognizant Classic that Nicolas Echavarria had changed from a Srixon Z-Star Diamond to a Srixon Z-Star XV would have drastically changed his odds to win the Cognizant Classic? I don’t even know what his odds were but suffice to say he would have been an extreme longshot after missing the cut in four of five tournaments this year preceding the Cognizant Classic.

Golfers, amateur and professional, are always tinkering with equipment to better their game. This is especially true for the elite players are always looking for that slight edge to improve performance. So much is made before PGA Tour events about performance off the tee, greens in regulation, putting and other intricacies, including grass type, why not note equipment changes.

LOWRY SHOWS HUMAN SIDE: There is no reward or award on the PGA Tour, the LPGA Tour, LIV Golf or any tour when it comes to brutal honesty following defeat.

If there was, Shane Lowry (Srixon Z-Star XV) would have been given some added bonus after his crushing loss in the Cognizant Classic.

Lowry let slip the third-shot lead he had with three holes to play. Double bogeys on the 16^th and 17^th holes contributed to letting the winning trophy slip through his grasp.

Then again, I thought I picked Lowry to win the tournament in the weekly PG Golf Pool, only to find out I hadn’t even selected him as one of my two selections. That cost me a whack of money in the year-long tournament.

Man, that hurt. I’ll have to hope I make it up in the future tournaments – and double-check my picks.

As for Lowry, who finished in a three-way tie for second, he pocketed $726,400. Not bad for four days work.

Perhaps no one on the PGA Tour, or maybe in pro golf, celebrates winning a tournament more than Lowry. The burly Irishman loves his beer, so he enjoyed his pints after winning the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush. For the rest of his life, he will be immortalized in Ireland for that.

When his fellow Irishman and good buddy Rory McIlroy (TaylorMade TP5) won the Masters last year to finally record his career personal Grand Slam, Lowry gave him a bear hug that looked as though he squeezed the life out of him.

They truly enjoyed a moment together when the two combined to win the 2024 Zurich Classic.

Now Lowry resides in Florida and almost had a win there in Cognizant Classic. Figuratively speaking he was drowning his sorrow in beers.

He also tripped up on the final hole of the DP World Tour Dubai Classic Invitational in January. But judging by his words after the Cognizant Classic, I think this hurt worse.

“I’m obviously extremely disappointed,” Lowry told the media afterward. “I had the tournament in my hands and I threw it away. What more can I say? That’s twice this year now so far. I’m getting good at it.”

He finished second at PGA National in 2022.

“I’d say I was beaten that day,” Lowry said. “But I beat myself today.”

What impressed me the most was Lowry talking about why this loss was so personal.

“The hardest thing about today is I’ve never won in front of my 4-year-old, and she was there waiting for me,” Lowry said of his daughter Ivy. “Yeah, I only wanted it for her today. I don’t care about anything else. I wanted it so bad. Just to see her little ginger hair running down the 18th green would have been the most special thing in the world. I thought I had it. I thought I was going to win.”

You have to appreciate his brutal honesty.

There is no glory in finishing second, even if in this case there was a healthy check coming his way.

By the way, I’m going to pick McIlroy as one of my two choices this week for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. That’s not exactly rocket science. He’ll be really short odds, second to Scheffler. If he plays four solid rounds, Scheffler will be tough to beat. I’ve already chosen him twice in the pool and that’s the maximum for any one player, and both times he was battling after a disappointing opening round. If Scheffler wins, I won’t be happy. Chances are many entrants in the pool saved him for this tournament. I’m sure McIlroy will get a lot of attention, too.

What about Xander Schauffele (Callaway Chrome Tour)? I think he’s finally rounding into form. He’s paired in the first two rounds with Lowry. And here’s my Lefko Longshot, Jake Knapp (Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot). He’s had a decent year so far with four top 10s in his last four outings. And by the way, doesn’t Knapp look exactly like Goose in the movie Top Gun.

THIS AND THAT:

• While freezing during this unrelenting cold winter snap in my residence, I couldn’t help but marvel watching the LPGA players in the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore? It was so sunny many players had umbrellas.

• On another note, I can’t wait for The Chevron Championship next month to see the winner take the plunge in the water. I think it’s one of the coolest things in sport.

• Brooke Henderson (TaylorMade TP5x) is struggling with her putting. Could she be missing her sister, Brittany, who is pregnant and has stepped aside from her golfing duties.

• I’ve heard of a lot of crazy ways for athletes to get injured, but falling down an elevator shoot ranks right up there with one of the craziest. That happened to Andrea Pavan (Callaway Chrome Soft X), who fell down an elevator shoot last week prior to a DP World Tour event in South Africa. When the elevator opened where he was staying, he stepped in, only to find out there was no car present. He suffered serious shoulder and back injuries. In a statement he said, “I now have a lot of rehab and hard work ahead of me…I am in very good hands and to have so many players, caddies and staff visit and contact e has meant a lot to me.” A GoFundMe page was set up by a former Texas A&M college roommate.