Cameron Young, Justin Thomas Both Switch Putters at Medinah

By Staff Writer

September 26, 2026

2 min read

LoopGolf

Cameron Young and Justin Thomas both arrived at the Presidents Cup with new putters this week, moving away from the Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5R that both had gamed for most of the 2026 season.

Key takeaways

Cameron Young switched putters for the second time in as many appearances, now using a Scotty Cameron Phantom 5.5 mallet.
Justin Thomas moved into a Scotty Cameron 10.5 Xperimental prototype, a shape Young used earlier this year.
Young previously used a 10.5 Xperimental at the Tour Championship, posting his best putting performance since his Cadillac Championship win.
Young also switched to a TaylorMade Qi4D fairway wood this week.

Why did Cameron Young change putters again?

Young's putting slipped over the summer after ranking seventh in the PGA Tour's strokes-gained putting statistic a year ago and peaking at 37th this season. He lost strokes on the greens in each of his last three regular-season starts before the Tour Championship, where he switched from the Phantom 9.5R to a Scotty Cameron 10.5 Xperimental prototype mallet -- a putter with what appeared to be an aluminum face insert designed to redistribute weight and boost forgiveness. Young finished that week with his best putting performance since his Cadillac Championship victory.

This week at Medinah, Young moved again, to a Phantom 5.5 mallet -- a shape he has used before, including when he shot 59 at TPC River Highlands in 2024. His new version keeps the model's single sightline but drops the Studio Carbon Steel face insert in favor of what appears to be an aluminum insert, similar to the 10.5. Young has had the putter for several weeks and said in testing at home it lined up better for him than either the 9.5 or 10.5.

Two of Team USA's biggest stars arrived at a Presidents Cup known for quiet equipment weeks carrying brand-new putters.

What putter is Justin Thomas using now?

Thomas, who began using the Phantom 9.5R after requesting a copy of Young's putter at the Truist Championship, has also switched to a 10.5 Xperimental prototype this week. His version differs from Young's: it has a flow neck rather than a slant neck, producing toe hang similar to the Futura X 5.5 that Thomas used earlier in his career, along with what appears to be a steel face bolted to an aluminum body.

What other gear changes happened at the Presidents Cup?

Jackson Koivun debuted custom wedge stamping for his first U.S. Presidents Cup appearance, and Young also switched to a TaylorMade Qi4D fairway wood this week.