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Tour Mash: Reed keeps streak alive, locks up Ryder Cup spot

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The FedExCup Playoffs began this week on the PGA Tour, while Ryder Cup automatic qualifying for both Europe and the USA came to an end. The LPGA was north of the border in Canada while the Web.Com Tour concluded its qualifying campaign for its own finals series. Lots to watch, lots to mash. Let’s get to those potatoes!

Patrick Reed keeps winning streak alive at The Barclays

Not that he was ever worried, but Patrick Reed had not won since January of 2015 and his streak of consecutive seasons with a win might have stopped at four. Then came Bethpage Black, The Barclays and Reed’s efficient performance. It wasn’t pretty, more like the octagon than the golf course (complete with the belligerent NY-fan base) but Reed got the job done when others faltered.

Rickie Fowler began the final day with a one-stroke advantage over the eventual champion, but handled the 54-hole lead about as well as he has in previous events: not well. Fowler made three bogeys and a double on his final nine, visiting parts of the course known only to 36-handicappers and the grounds crew. The leader finished three-over par on the day, dropping all the way to T7. Sean O’Hair had one of the day’s lower rounds (66) and shot up 14 spots, into a tie for second with Emiliano Grillo.

Related: Patrick Reed’s Winning WITB

It was Reed who minimized mistakes until the end. Three-under on the day through 15 holes afforded him a cushion, and he used all of it. Bogeys on two of the final three holes brought him back to 9-under, good for the slimmest of all victories: 1 meager stroke. With the win, Reed joined seven others as automatic Team USA qualifiers for the fall’s Ryder Cup in Minnesota.

Pieters is Made In Denmark on the European Tour

Thomas Pieters has been agonizingly close to significant wins in 2016. He played as well as anyone at the Rio Olympics for three rounds, but a third-round implosion kept him off the medal platform. Not only was he looking for validation this week in Denmark, he was also in search of a spot on the European Ryder Cup team, captained by 2011 Open champion Darren Clarke. For 15 holes on Sunday, it looked strangely like a typical Pieters performance: close, but lacking the closing strength needed to drive home the nail.

Bradley Dredge was in the driver’s seat. He even closed with a birdie from over 30 feet to get to 16-under and shake off pretenders Adrian Otaegui (Spain) and David Lipsky (USA), both of whom shot 67 in round four to finish at 15-under, tied for third. And then, Pieters did something remarkable: he nearly aced the 16th and birdied each of the three closing holes, shooting past Dredge to 17-under and victory. Will it be career-defining? Career-igniting? Enough to convince Clarke to tap Pieters for a spot? Perhaps, but no matter; victory was precisely what the young, talented Belgian golfers needed at this stage in his career.

Jutanugarn claims fifth title of 2016 at CP Women’s Open

Ariya Jutanugarn lacked one thing in her magical 2016 season: a lap-the-field victory in which she proved that she could take a third-round lead and hold it firmly on Sunday. She had another opportunity to make such a statement at the Canadian Women’s Open in Calgary, and she did so with a bold exclamation point. Jutanugarn’s seven-birdie, one-bogey Sunday stroll gave her a 4-stroke victory over Sei Young Kim (-19) of Korea, with In Gee Chun a stroke farther back in third.

Jutanugarn came into the week on uneasy footing. Less than seven days removed from an injury-related withdrawal at the Rio Olympics, the five-time winner on the 2016 LPGA circuit played the week with a bandaged knee. Despite the pressure (8 birdies, 1 bogey) applied by Kim on Sunday, Jutanugarn was equal to the challenge, establishing herself as the lead candidate for player of the year. In other news, Ayako Uehara finished tied for 10th, but left Alberta with holes-in-one in each of the last two rounds.

Brehm headed to PGA Tour after Portland Open win

Ryan Brehm ended Saturday’s third round in Portland in first place. In the final event before the Web.com Tour playoffs, all golfers were jockeying for position, with goals ranging from playoff qualification to a PGA Tour card. Brehm had built a two-stroke lead by the time he reached the par-five 18th hole. Knowing that bogey would be enough to secure victory, Brehm relaxed a bit too much and dumped his approach into a greenside bunker. With enough presence, Brehm was able to escape the sand pit and take two putts for six and a one-stroke victory.

Tied with Brehm after three rounds was CT Pan, a former collegiate standout but, like Brehm, without a win in the 2016 campaign. Pan was assured of a tour card in 2017, but he sought more. A day after shooting a tournament-low 62, Pan was unable to recapture his Saturday magic. Pan’s even-par 71 dropped him into a tie for fourth. A number of golfers made a run at the title in Round 4, but none were able to go low enough to pressure Brehm. Mark Anderson closed with 68 to finish second alone, one behind the champion. Zack Fischer also had 68 on Sunday, moving up six spots to solo third.

Langer ties Trevino for all-time PGA Tour Champions wins at Boeing Classic

For a time on Sunday, it seemed that Gene Sauers would follow his U.S. Senior Open victory with another in Washington state. Sunday was not kind to Sauers, and his last-ditch attempt at eagle on 18 meant that a trio of players (Kevin Sutherland, Woody Austin and Bernhard Langer) would return to the 18th tee to settle matters in a playoff.

The final hole at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge has three diabolical cross bunkers at the fairway’s bend. Austin was able to get past them on his drive, while Langer played short and left, and Sutherland drove into the last of the three. This advantage proved to be short-lived, as Austin dumped his second into a greenside bunker and could not get up and down for birdie. Sutherland suffered a similar fate, leaving matters to Langer. One day past his 59th birthday, Langer drained a 3-foot birdie putt on the only playoff hole to win for the second time in Washington and his 29th overall on the senior circuit.

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.

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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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