News

USC wins Pac-10 title in playoff

Published

14 years ago

May 2, 2011

GolfWRX

USC wins Pac-10 title in playoff
http://www.ncaa.com/…0-title-playoff

Look in the forums to see hundreds of WITB close up Pics from the tournament

Trainer wins individual title for Trojans after seven-hole playoff USC Athletics

Sophomore Martin Trainer outlasted Oregon State's Alex Moore during a seven-hole playoff and helped lead USC to a convincing one-hole playoff win against Oregon at the 2011 Pac-10 Men's Golf Championships at the Stanford (Calif.) G.C.

The title is USC's Pac-10 best 19th conference crown, its first since 2007, and its second win on the season. The streaking Trojans have now posted four consecutive top-four finishes. Trainer's win was USC's 21st individual championship and its first since Jamie Lovemark in 2007. "We are over the moon right now," USC head coach Chris Zambri said after winning his second conference title. "Everyone is pretty stoked. It's just nice to have guys playing well and have a season that wasn't going great and to have everyone step up their game and all of the sudden become a really good team. "Some guys are playing the playing the best ball of their lives and some are getting close. In little ways they've all gotten better and we are now contending like we thought we would all along."

USC (355-354-352-354), which was led Sunday by Trainer and sophomore Sam Smith's 3-under 67, and Oregon (351-359-360-345) finished tied in first at 15-over 1415. The Trojans led Stanford by three strokes and Oregon and UCLA by nine entering the day but got caught by the Ducks' strong final round, which was low for the tournament. With their earlier tee times, the Ducks finished well before USC finished its round and watched the drama unfold. It came down to Trainer, who had to two-putt from 90 feet. Trainer, who was also putting to stay tied for first with Moore, left his birdie putt short by only about five feet and then calmly sunk the par putt to send both he and the Trojans into a playoff.

Before the team playoff ever got underway, Trainer and Moore battled for one hour, 45 minutes with Trainer's par on the par 4 18th finally clinching the title after playing the same hole for the seventh time. He and Moore had traded pars on the previous six holes. Combined with his regulation and team playoff holes, he played the 18th nine times, all at par. "It was a really cool experience and something I gained a lot from," said Trainer of leading for most of the event and ultimately winning it in dramatic fashion. "I hadn't won in a while and it was fun to be in contention the whole way. I've been playing well, and it feels great to do it on this stage." The team playoff, in which all six players from both schools squared off against each other on the 18th hole, two at a time (and then adding the best five of six holes), was less dramatic as the Trojans won the first four holes and were even on the final two. "It feels great to win Pac-10s, that's for sure. It was cool we could crush them in the playoff so we wouldn't have to do it again," Trainer said, adding with a laugh, "I didn't want to go back on 18 again." Trainer finished at 5-under 275 (68-68-69-70) with four birdies and four bogeys in the round for his third straight top 5 finish and first title as a Trojan. Freshman Jeffrey Kang took fifth at 1-under 279 (71-68-68-71) while Smith was eighth at 2-over 282 (73-71-71-67), both registering their third top 10 finishes this season. Kang was even on the front 9 and 1-over on the back while Smith used eight birdies against three bogeys and a double bogey to secure his best ever round as a Trojan.

Junior Steve Lim tied for 28th at 9-over 289 (72-74-70-73), sophomore T.J. Vogel tied for 33rd at 11-over 291 (71-73-74-73) and freshman Ramsey Sahyoun tied for 45th at 18-over 298 (72-75-75-76). Lim had two birdies on the day while Vogel had three as they each battled to 3-over final rounds. Sahyoun had two birdies in his 6-over round. Behind USC and Oregon was UCLA in third (1418), Stanford (1420), Cal (1437), Washington (1449), Arizona (1450), Oregon State (1453), Arizona State (1456) and Washington State (1464).

You can see hundreds of WITB Pics from the field here…

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/470620-2011-ncaa-pac-10-championships-picture-comment-thread/

News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 4, 2025

Ronald Montesano

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

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

Jul 29, 2025

GolfWRX Staff

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.

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News

BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

Jul 28, 2025

Brian Knudson

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)