TOUR RUMORS: Rahm to Callaway and Fleetwood to TaylorMade

This is the time of the year that a lot of “changes” occur on the PGA TOUR. Players enjoy a brief break to work on their body, mind, games and, perhaps most interesting to amateurs, their equipment.

To explain, lots of the OEMs start gearing up around December to release their new 2021 product lineup, which means coordinating with TOUR staff to help dial in their new setups as soon as the embargos are lifted. Additionally, it means seeing what the free agent golfers, such as Koepka, Fleetwood and Reed, gravitate towards as, perhaps, a more true indication of what equipment is really performing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Notably, however, it seems that Jon Rahm—currently ranked No. 2 in the World—is gearing up for a complete refresh in 2021, as rumours are pointing to him leaving his current equipment (TaylorMade) and apparel (adidas Golf) sponsors for Callaway and Travis Matthew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Indeed, Rahm was recently spotted at Silverleaf Country Club wearing Travis Matthew apparel, although no immediate indications of what equipment he played with. Regardless, the TaylorMade departure is particularly noteworthy in light of the fact that (1) it’s arguably TaylorMade’s biggest competitor and (2) it didn’t work out for fellow Spaniard, Sergio Garcia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For those who don’t remember, following a 15-year run with TaylorMade, Garcia parted ways on “less than amicable” terms with the brand, despite winning The Masters earlier that very year. Interestingly, less than a year later, Callaway announced that Garcia would be joining the team; however, the relationship barely lasted the honeymoon-phase, as Garcia proceeded to leave only 2 years later.

If the rumors turn out to be true, it’ll be very interesting to see how this chapter of the “Former-TM, Now Callaway” plays out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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That said, it appears the spot won’t remain empty for long at TaylorMade, as Fairway Jesus himself could be joining Tiger, Rory and DJ (along with all the up-and-coming young guns).

The Fleetwood rumor is, likewise, very interesting because Tommy hasn’t had an equipment contract since Nike discontinued its golf equipment line in 2016. Indeed, over the past 4 years, Fleetwood has always been spotted with a wide variety of clubs that are often rotated between events, with his 2020 Masters setup (Nov. 2020) consisting of the Titleist TSi3 driver, Titleist TSi2 3-Wood, TaylorMade M6 5-Wood, Titleist TSi2 7-Wood, Srixon Z785 (4,5) and TaylorMade P7TF (6-9) irons, Callaway MD5 JAWS wedges (48°, 52° and 60°) and his trusty Odyssey White Hot Pro 3 putter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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While Fleetwood has some of his best performances while freelancing, including top-10 finishes in 3 of the 4 the Majors (U.S. Open in 2017, The Players Championship in 2018 and 2019, The Open Championship in 2019) and a few unforgettable Ryder Cup memories, one has to wonder whether an OEM-equipment sponsor will corner him into playing equipment that may not be optimal.

Cover Image via Instagram