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Mickelson Repeats at Nothern Trust Open

Phil Mickelson brought both iterations of himself to the Northern Trust Open, displaying them proudly over the four day tournament. Day one saw the player in control of his amazing talents as he carded a 63. Day two who showed up but the player with the amazing talent but uses it in an imitation of Bozo the Clown. Hello mediocre 72.

Published

17 years ago

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Phil Mickelson brought both iterations of himself to the Northern Trust Open, displaying them proudly over the four day tournament.  Day one saw the player in control of his amazing talents as he carded a 63.  Day two who showed up but the player with the amazing talent but uses it in an imitation of Bozo the Clown.  Hello mediocre 72. Saturday Mr. Mickelson eagles the first hole and proceeds to stroll around the grounds in a mere 62 strokes acquiring a four stroke lead along the way.   This is a position from which he’s never lost a tournament he has to like his chances.

Sunday; final group; playing with good buddy Fred Couples and Andres Romero, Mr. Mickelson eagles the first hole giving the impression that the Thursday/Saturday golfer is on the grounds.  Somewhere between the first green and the second tee the Bozo impersonator showed up to stick five bogeys on the scorecard over the next 13 holes.  Gulp!  Five shot lead is now a two shot deficit. 

 

Steve Stricker, who began the day six shots behind Mr. Mickelson, shot a 32 on the front nine and birdied the 11th and 12th holes.  Standing on the 17th tee, with a two shot lead I wonder how much the events of the Bob Hope when three wayward tee shots on the 10th hole lead to a quadruple bogey?  The tee shot went left into the trees, but still left him with a shot towards the green.  A wedge to 12 feet and a makable birdie putt for a three shot advantage was there for the taking.  Unfortunately, that putt needed another revolution to reach the hole.  Disappointment.  Another hooked tee shot on the 18th hole left Mr. Stricker with a downhill sidehill lie, from which he could only advance the ball to the right side of the green.  Mediocre is too mild a word for his chip, which he left 12 feet from the hole.  Another missed putt and his round of 67 putt him in the clubhouse at 14 under par. 

Fred Couples, who is 49 years old and marking time until Champions Tour eligibility, had the best chances of the day to catch and pass Mr. Mickelson.  As has been the case in recent years Mr. Couples was done in by a putter that refused to cooperate. He missed a 3 foot par putt on the fourth hole and birdies from 8 feet on the 6th, 6 feet on the 7th, and just inside 15 feet on the 8th hole.  And he still had a chance coming up the 18th fairway.  He completely fanned his second shot into the trees on the right and finished at 13 under par. 

As Mr. Mickelson stood on the 16th tee, I’m thinking, okay buddy boy lets see what you got because if this goes poorly I may have to vote you for the biggest choke job of this century.  From somewhere inside himself, in a place I wasn’t sure he had access to, Mr. Mickelson stuffed a 155 yard nine iron to five feet and made the putt.  Good play there, but there are still two tee shots to hit.  On the 17th tee he blasted a drive into the fairway from which his three wood reached the green.  Two putts for a birdie and a one shot lead heading to the 18th tee.  Again the tee shot is in the fairway, but the second shot is right of the green a bit.  A chip to six feet and a putt and gone are the thoughts of choker Phil. 

“It gives me confidence and something to build on for the rest of the year,” Mickelson said. “Even when I didn’t have my best stuff, I was able to fight through it. That meant a lot to me. I certainly have some work to do. But at least I’m on the right path, the right direction. And I’m having some success now, even without maybe my best stuff.”  

Congratulations to Mr. Mickelson on his win, and to Mr. Stricker and Mr. Couples on fine performances for the week.  Now we all await the return of Tiger Woods.  There has been exciting golf while he’s been gone.  It will get even better now.

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

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I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

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Jul 29, 2025

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GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

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Jul 28, 2025

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Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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