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Tour Mash: Knox wins the WGC-HSBC Champions

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HSBC Champions

Getting into (and staying in) China or ignoring Dustin Johnson’s other-worldly length off the tee: if one were to ask Russell Knox, the 2015 HSBC Champions victor, which were more difficult, the answer might not be forthcoming. On the former, Knox had this to say:

…my wife frantically had to fill out all the paperwork for myself and my caddie, Bradley. And when we played on Friday, she was at the Chinese Embassy all day in touch with my agent from IMG getting everything sorted, the paperwork.

And on the latter, Knox revealed the following:

I tried not to watch Dustin play, especially the front nine, just because we were in two different worlds. He’s hitting it 50, 60 past me off the tee. So I just tried to concentrate on my own game.

The combination worked, as Knox countered his two early bogeys with six birdies on the day. In the process, he held off Kevin Kisner by two and a fast-charging Danny Willett (10-under par on Sunday) and Ross Fisher by three to hoist a WGC trophy for the first time. First-round leader Branden Grace made an early run on Sunday, going out in four-under. A balanced bag on the back of three pars, birdies, and bogeys, took the South African out of the chase.

Sanderson Farms

SandersonFarmsDelay

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It always seems to rain in Jackson, Mississippi, whether Johnny Cash gets there or not. It rained so much this week that the Sanderson Farms championship’s third and fourth rounds were postponed to Monday. Most golfers have completed at least half of Round 3, so it won’t be a two-round marathon finish. Currently, Roberto Castro has a one-stroke lead over D.J. Trahan and Michael Thompson. In hot pursuit are five other golfers just two strokes back. Of the quintet, the most notable is Patrick Rodgers, licking his chops over a potential first win after 2013 Walker Cup teammate Justin Thomas turned the trick last week at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.

Toto LPGA

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As 2016 beckons, the most difficult Olympic squad to make is certainly the South Korean women’s golf team. The reason is simple: too much talent to ignore. Ahn Sun-Ju, who plays principally on the Korean and Japan LPGA tours, added her name to the roster of those under consideration with a playoff victory at the Toto LPGA championship in Japan.

In the mix after a Saturday 65, Ahn played flawlessly on Sunday, posting five birdies against no bogeys. On the first playoff hole with the USA’s Angela Stanford and countrywoman Lee Ji-Hee, the winner nestled a 6-iron within five feet of the hole. After her opponents missed birdie opportunities of their own, Ahn coaxed her wee putt into the cylinder for her maiden LPGA victory.

Charles Schwab Cup

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Winning by not winning doesn’t happen often, but Bernhard Langer will probably take it. It’s not that Langer lost; he beat the entire field save one, and it was enough to win him the season-long points title in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. As for Andrade, his two-putt birdie on the first playoff hole elevated him above the German stalwart after the two tied for the lead at 14-under. Andrade’s first individual title of the season brought him from 8th to 4th in the season-long race for the Schwab Cup, and also brought him the Schwab Cup Championship trophy. Next year, here’s hoping that either the tournament or the points race adjusts its name.

Ben Witter Dies

An aspiring touring pro-turned trick shot artist and instructor passed away this week after 27 years of battles with cancer. Ben Witter, a 1986 alumnus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, was first diagnosed with cystic carcinoma of the jaw in 1988, at the age of 24. Witter had played developmental tours, but chose to focus his efforts of the teaching of golf and entertainment through trick shots. Additional diagnoses made the battle more difficult and Witter passed on this week, at the age of 51.

Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. ABgolfer2

    Nov 11, 2015 at 10:31 am

    Hopefully you’re just trying to make a [bad] joke.

  2. Ronald Montesano

    Nov 11, 2015 at 1:14 am

    hmmmm…

  3. CSC

    Nov 10, 2015 at 4:56 pm

    How about “The Final Championship Tournament of the Season-Long Charles Schwab Cup Championship”

    Lulz

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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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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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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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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