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MacKenzie Winning Wyndham

Will MacKenzie shot an 8-under 64 to lead the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, NC on Thursday. MacKenzie has his first tournament lead since the Mercedes-Benz Championship at the first event of the year.

Published

18 years ago

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Will MacKenzie bogeyed his first hole in the Wyndham Classic in Greensboro, NC before going on a tear. He went on a tear that took him all the way to the lead. A tear that included a near hole-in-one consisting of nine birdies in fifteen holes to shoot an 8-under 64.

"I rolled it really nice, drove it okay and, you know, I’m just playing solid golf but I made some putts. I made my couple 25-footers and made all my short ones.
Almost made a hole in 1, hit the pin on No. 8 with 4-iron 223 or something. That was wonderful. I just stayed patient and had some fun," said Will MacKenzie

Steve Marino, Brian Davis, Lucas Glover, and Jeff Overton are all tied for second at 7-under 65. 2003 Champion Shigeki Maruyama leads a group of seven players that are tied at 6-under 66.

Maruyama was this tournament in 2003 and was runner-up in 2005 and wore his trademark goofy grin for most of the day on Thursday.

"Off the tee, it’s set up pretty good for my eyes," Said Maruyama. "I have good confidence in this course and I didn’t play that good today but, you know, like I said, I have a pretty good image of this course. It’s set out pretty right. Just about right for me."

Will Mackenzie was a promising young talent in the AJGA before giving it all up for a life outdoors. In fact, MacKenzie didn’t play a single tournament from the age of 14 to a random Sunday at the age of 25 when he decided to hit balls after watching Payne Stewart win the US Open at Pinehurst and was hooked agin.

"It just really inspired me. Home state, Pinehurst No. 2, I love it, just adore the place. Payne Stewart (was) sort of a childhood idol," said MacKenzie of watching Stewart win the Open.

MacKenzie walked away from golf at 14 and eventually moved to Montana where he fell in love with the outdoors. Hunting, fishing, surfing, kayaking, snowboarding, rock-climbing and living in an older van where all part of MacKenzie’s lifestyle.

"I lived in Montana and snowboarded. In the summer I kayaked, rock climbed and worked, among other things. I just enjoyed being in the outdoors 24/7. I lived in my van.
You know, lived just a perfect little lifestyle. You know, I was 20 to 24 — or 18 really to 24. I mean I didn’t need any money. You know, I lived in an older van and I always had money in my pocket because I was working and I just enjoyed the charge."

Some might say that the biggest draw the Wyndham Championship has is that it is the final tournment before we all see how the inaugural Fed-Ex Cup playoffs work. Currently 50 players in the Wyndham could conceivably make their way into the Top 30 and seal their way to the Masters next year with solid play. Five players: Bob Tway, Lee Janzen, Glen Day, and Marco Dawson all need to make the cut this week or their run at the playoffs will end Friday. Below is a list of players that are entered this week and their position in the standings. Each one of them is entered this week, and you can sit back and watch the drama unfold all weekend.

 

Rank This Week

Rank Last
 Week

 Player                             
Events   
Points  
Last Week Finish
135 134 Billy Andrade 20 1,964 DNP
136 136 Tripp Isenhour 23 1,839 DNP
137 137 Andrew Buckle 17 1,771 DNP
138 138 Jeff Gove 21 1,763 DNP
139 141 Frank Lickliter II 21 1,746 T50
140 139 Michael Putnam 20 1,736 DNP
141 144 Bob Tway 23 1,695 T50
142 140 Lee Janzen 18 1,694 DNP
143 142 Glen Day 19 1,672 DNP
144 143 Marco Dawson 15 1,669 DNP
145 145 Eric Axley 28 1,567 CUT
146 146 Steve Lowery 14 1,536 DNP
147 147 Cameron Beckman 21 1,514 DNP
148 148 Chris Couch 23 1,494 DNP
149 149 Mark Hensby 19 1,466 DNP
150 150 Mathias Gronberg 23 1,463 DNP
151 178 Anders Hansen 13 1,389 T12
152 151 Dudley Hart 12 1,388 DNP
153 152 Greg Owen 21 1,321 DNP
154 153 Duffy Waldorf 16 1,313 DNP
155 154 Parker McLachlin 20 1,307 DNP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

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

on

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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