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Will the PGA Championship be another boring Sunday?
If the 2009 major championship season was the year of the botched storyline–Cabrera over Perry, Glover over Mickelson and Duval, Cink over Watson, Yang over Woods–the 2014 campaign has shaped up as the curse of the boring Sundays.
Oddly, the Masters appeared in the midst of a final-round masterpiece seven holes in, with an electrifying 20-year-old Jordan Spieth scorching Augusta National’s opening holes for a one-shot lead and seemingly traversing his way to an extraordinary bit of history.
At that moment though, the enormity of the occasion set in, Spieth fell off and Bubba Watson was never challenged on the back nine. The U.S. Open was essentially over by Friday afternoon. The Open Championship—while employing a marketable lead character—held an ounce of final-round drama for roughly five minutes. Should viewers even stick around this Sunday for Glory’s Last Shot the PGA Championship?
The pattern is alarming, and not the greatest development when golf has experienced a bevy of attacks, but it’s also random. For the most part, there’s no rhyme or reason to the excitement level of a major championship Sunday. As each tournament’s final round is an independent event, it’s no more likely we see an exciting PGA Sunday following three dramatic major finishes than three weak ones.
While that debunks one set of evidence for a PGA snoozefest, does there exist any data that suggests 2014’s final major will have a rollicking conclusion? And what exactly is an “exciting finish” anyway?
To reverse order here, the term “exciting finish” is obviously ambiguous and any definition will be somewhat arbirtrary, but our rubric is simple. A tournament where there is a significant question as to the victor somewhere over the final two holes of regulation is deemed “exciting.”
As for the potential of an exciting finish this week, there are certainly positive signs on this subject, but it’s all a matter of whether they prove truly substantive.
We can point to the fact that Valhalla has a proven track record producing impressive showdowns over the final 18 holes in stroke play (and added time). Of course the 2000 PGA Championship battle between Tiger Woods and Bob May lives on in folklore—possibly this generation’s “Duel in the Sun”—but the 1996 PGA at Valhalla didn’t exactly lack excitement either. That event also went to a playoff, and the Senior PGA Championships Valhalla hosted in 2004 and 2011 were in question all the way through.
Actually, three of these four tournaments finished in playoffs! If any major championship course boasts an ability to bring out the scintillating conclusion, it’s Valhalla.
Four tournaments are a small sample size though, and likely too small to indicate that Valhalla is unusually adept at fostering interesting Sunday action. We could easily say that Valhalla’s 4-for-4 strike is simply the product of randomness. We need a much bigger pool of professional tournaments on the layout to gather real insight here.
Maybe that’s a bust, but this isn’t the only potential reasoning favoring a nerve-wracking Sunday. Combing back through the past 15 PGA Championships (1999-2013), conservatively 11 of them fit our admittedly strict “exciting finish” criteria. That’s a 73 percent rate of success for closing drama.
As for the other majors, the findings are similarly robust. The Masters is 9 for 16 (57 percent), the U.S. Open 11 for 16 (69 percent) and the Open Championship 10 for 16 (63 percent). Over this large time span, a clear trend develops: Significantly more majors see tension over the final holes than not.
From the outset then, the PGA had a healthy majority chance of being must-see Sunday television. In fact, every major experiences a probability of this sort. Three consecutive majors not following this path, as has been the case in 2014, is really an incredibly unlikely occurrence.
Based on these percentages, you should’ve woken up Thursday morning expecting a spectacular Sunday finale.
And that premonition should only be stronger now.
We have to of course add the 54-hole leaderboard into the exciting finish equation. After all, it’s tougher to envision a packed leaderboard late Sunday when one player is out in front by six or eight to start the day.
The current PGA Championship standings contain no such frontrunner and are decently crowded. Five players are within three of the lead, nine are within four and 18 are within six. The leader, Rory McIlroy has turned three major championship 54-hole leads into Sunday snoozers, but they all involved instances where the Northern Irishman was ahead by at least three. At the PGA, his lead is just one.
Overall, these 54-hole scores show a lot of promise for a race to the finish in round four. This year’s Masters leaderboard may have been even more primed for a great finish than the PGA–and we all know how that worked out–but all that instance proves is that a smushed leaderboard is not a guarantee of a highly-charged Sunday, not an improbability for one.
Really things are looking up for us to avoid a shutout in 2014 major championship Sundays. No negative signs are readily apparent and majors tend to slide toward final-holes uncertainty. And this leaderboard is decently suited for a tight battle.
I expect this event to be closed out right at the end Sunday. Who will be the victor? That’s anyone’s guess. But the existence of such a question after these past two months is progress in itself.
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.
Card III and Bacha both miss their birdie tries on the first playoff hole.
We’ll play 18 again @OspreyOpen. pic.twitter.com/vNpHTdkHDg
— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) August 3, 2025
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
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #2
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Scotty Kennon – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Austin Duncan – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Will Chandler – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kevin Roy – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ben Griffin – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ryan Gerard – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Adam Schenk – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kurt Kitayama – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Camilo Villegas – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matti Schmid – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
Pullout Albums
- Denny McCarthy’s custom Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Swag Golf putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Karl Vilips TM MG5 wedges – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- New Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matt Fitzpatrick’s custom Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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)
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
Ballstriker
Aug 11, 2014 at 1:38 am
That would be a firm NO! Fantastic finish!
MHendon
Aug 10, 2014 at 10:25 pm
No Tiger equals boring, boring, boring…. Golf is DEAD without Tiger, I bet the TV ratings where miserably low. Know one cares about these other guys. Tiger, Tiger, Tiger we need Tiger, our golf god Tiger, where lost without you Tiger!!!! Ok so that was a joke… great tournament!
Christian
Aug 10, 2014 at 10:22 pm
Put me down for a “no”.
Taylor
Aug 10, 2014 at 9:35 pm
This was the best final round I have seen in quite some time. It was only too bad that the light became an issue at the end and the whole playing up thing on 18. I think phil or rickie could have had a better shot to make an eagle.
Christian
Aug 10, 2014 at 10:21 pm
Put me down for a “no”.
marcel
Aug 10, 2014 at 9:02 pm
what a final day!!! great work Rors and super push from everyone
PaloAltoPlaya
Aug 10, 2014 at 8:45 pm
Far from boring!! Tiger who?!?!?
R
Aug 10, 2014 at 4:58 pm
Yes, total snooze fest today. Only a super tightly packed leaderboard.
Kevin Casey
Aug 10, 2014 at 7:01 pm
I wouldn’t say it was insanely tightly packed last night, decently so as I mentioned. But I also agreed that today would be a great finish. Thankfully, the action so far is obliging!
Dick
Aug 10, 2014 at 2:14 pm
Because of the inclement weather, yes.
west
Aug 10, 2014 at 12:56 pm
These articles are the real snooze fest…
MHendon
Aug 10, 2014 at 11:32 am
Personally I found the Open to be pretty interesting, but unlike the author of this article I don’t need Tiger in the hunt to be interested.
bradford
Aug 11, 2014 at 12:46 pm
Let it go…This wasn’t about Tiger until YOU took it there. You are the cause, not the solution.
Bobby
Aug 10, 2014 at 11:30 am
Prediction time!
Phil shoots a 64 to get to -17 and Rory shoots -4 to also get to -17. Playoff time! But I don’t have a clue who will win the playoff
Christosterone
Aug 10, 2014 at 10:21 am
I could watch re-aired coverage of the 1976 PGA abd would be riveted…
So i am clearly not the demographic to ask as I will watch Sunday Majors regardless of who is in contention.
And while I am jingoistic (typically) I find myself rooting for Bernd Wiesberger….it would make a difference in his life to a degree none of the others in contention would experience…imho
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marty
Aug 10, 2014 at 8:47 am
It will be boring for tiger woods fans.
Stuart
Aug 10, 2014 at 5:40 am
Still think scott a real show
Dan
Aug 10, 2014 at 2:23 am
I hope wiesbergers nerves hold. he has the game to win this
Christosterone
Aug 10, 2014 at 12:37 am
Graham DeLaet goes 62
Madeoflite
Aug 10, 2014 at 2:12 am
No chance
paul
Aug 10, 2014 at 2:39 am
65? ????