Spaun Shelves His U.S. Open-Winning Putter — and It's Already Paying Off

Spaun Benches His U.S. Open Putter — for a Good Reason

With his U.S. Open title defense just three weeks away, J.J. Spaun made a bold equipment call: swapping his iconic L.A.B. Golf DF3 for the brand-new OZ.1i HS at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Despite famously draining a 64-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win last year's U.S. Open, Spaun has struggled on the greens ever since, sitting 155th in SG: Putting this season. The change, however, is already producing results — he sits 8-under after two rounds, gaining more than a shot on the field with the new putter.

It Wasn't About Feel — It Was About Alignment

According to L.A.B. Golf co-founder Sam Hahn, the switch wasn't driven by dissatisfaction with the putter's performance mechanics. The platinum finish on Spaun's well-worn DF3 had degraded from heavy use in the Arizona sun, making the alignment aid nearly invisible.

Because all L.A.B. putters share the same torque profile, the task was simply finding a visual that inspired confidence at address. The OZ.1i HS — L.A.B.'s first heel-shafted design — won out. Spaun also made one spec change, opting for 0° shaft lean versus the 2° on his previous putter.

Aberg Finally Makes the Blade-to-Mallet Jump

Ludvig Aberg, who once said blades were "all he'd ever known," has switched to a Scotty Cameron Phantom 3.2 prototype mallet this week. The results are immediate: he jumped from 59th to 9th in SG: Putting after his 66-68 start.

Ryan Gerard also rolled with a Phantom 3 proto, making all 17 attempts inside 15 feet in Round 1 at Colonial — underlining just how much buzz the unreleased Cameron shape is generating on Tour.

Other Notable Gear Moves

- Michael Kim officially received a custom-built TaylorMade Qi4D 3HL — the club he borrowed from Max Homa at the RBC Heritage is now his own - Justin Thomas added the Titleist GTS300 Mini Driver - Akshay Bhatia is playing a Callaway prototype 2-wood this week