GROOVES: USPGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem appeared to be pinning his hopes on club manufacturer Ping as the thorny issue of the controversial grooves rule continued to simmer on Wednesday.

Under United States Golf Association (USGA) rules implemented on January 1st, square or U-grooves have been outlawed but a 20-year-old Ping-Eye 2 wedge is deemed legal because of a lawsuit won by its manufacturer over the USGA in 1990. “We have a situation here where a club is available, and legal, that is capable of spinning the ball more than clubs in our current rules,” Finchem said at this weeks Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.