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Gay Wins St. Jude in Another Walk

What kind of juice is Brian Gay quaffing? Okay, he got hot at Harbor Towne and won his second career tournament in a route after an eagle on the second hole of the fourth round. For the second time in his last five events he hoisted the trophy and got himself into a major championship. This time he only birdied three of the first six holes leaving Bryce Molder to flounder around the course in his dust. He’s been a pro since 1994, almost quit the game four years ago, and has made a cool $2,076,000 in his last 5 events. One of those, the Players Championship he withdrew after a first round 80 and another, the Nelson he missed the cut. At Colonial two weeks ago he tied for 27th and made $42K. Come on now, what’s up with this guy?

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16 years ago

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What kind of juice is Brian Gay quaffing?  Okay, he got hot at Harbor Towne and won his second career tournament in a route after an eagle on the second hole of the fourth round.  For the second time in his last five events he hoisted the trophy and got himself into a major championship.  This time he only birdied three of the first six holes leaving Bryce Molder to flounder around the course in his dust.  He’s been a pro since 1994, almost quit the game four years ago, and has made a cool $2,076,000 in his last 5 events.  One of those, the Players Championship he withdrew after a first round 80 and another, the Nelson he missed the cut.  At Colonial two weeks ago he tied for 27th and made $42K.  Come on now, what’s up with this guy? 

 

Just like at the Heritage, he hit fairways and greens all day, knocked in a few putts, gave no glimmer of nerves, no sign of strain, just a simple butt whipping from the start of the fourth round thru the end.  In fact, after he hit his approach shot on the 18th hole, before the ball landed on the green a mere 7 feet from the hole, his caddie asked "why’d you hit it there?" since they’d agreed on middle of the green.  Oops, was that another dagger I just stuck in their hearts.  Sorry man, my bad. 

 

Bryce Molder and David Toms tied for second, a distant five shots behind.  “It was a pretty good golf tournament except for one guy stealing the show,” said Toms, the tournament winner in 2003 and 2004.  Another way of saying, no one else had a chance.  “I didn’t even get close to catching him,” said Molder, who had his best finish on tour.  Not a surprise because I don’t think this guy can do anything except run away from the pack and hide during the final round. 

 

Mr. Gay’s win at the Heritage got him a Tartan jacket and an invitation to the 2010 Masters.  This win got him a gray jacket and an invitation to this weeks US Open.  So he’s gone from having a week off to scrambling.  “Right now I don’t know if we’re going home first or what we’re going to do, whether we spend tomorrow traveling, going home and repacking,” Gay said. “Get to work on Tuesday I guess.”  Not a bad situation to be in at all.  Bethpage is a place Mr. Gay missed the cut the last time the US Open was played there, he’s not what you’d call any kind of long off the tee.  In fact he finished last at 265 yds for the week in Memphis.  He’s straight, which is always good at the US Open, and he can surely putt, another US Open plus.  But will his juice survice the travel to New York?  Time alone will tell. Congratulations on a second win.  I figured the first was a fluke, but this victory kicks sand in the face of that idea.  This is the real deal,  but someone please tell me where he found the light switch, eh.

Nice recovery by the folks at St. Judes’s who recovered nicely from the legal issues surrounding the past sponser of this event, Stanford Financial who’s namesake is under investigation for fraud by the federal government.  FexEx and Cellular South stepped in to save the event this year, but as for the future, that is like so many other things this last year, up in the air.  Way up in the air.  This is one of the great charity causes the PGA Tour raises money for during the year and it would be a shame to see it vanish in a haze of Grand Jury investigations, and SEC charges.  I shall hope for the best and maybe we’ll be back here next year.

Quick Aside:  did anyone else laugh themselves silly when David Faherty apologized for using the word squirrel as a verb?  I’m still chuckling over that. 

 

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1 Comment

  1. John Stevens

    Jun 22, 2009 at 11:21 pm

    Great read. Brian surely does have a way of crushing the field when he’s tasting victory. Stylish dresser too!

    Reply Report comment

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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

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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

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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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