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HV3 mows | Tiger vs. Phil & Game of Thrones | Writing off Romo? | Scottish golf’s problem

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7 years ago

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Good morning, GolfWRX members. As most of you are signed up for our newsletters, you likely already know that I’ve been sending this little Morning 9 roundup of nine items of note.

In case you’ve missed it, or you prefer to read on site rather than in your email, we’re including it here. Check out today’s Morning 9 below.

If you’re not signed up for our newsletters, you can subscribe here.
By Ben Alberstadt (ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com)

 

July 10, 2018

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans.
1. Romo can still play

 

While he struggled mightily against pro-caliber competition in his sponsor’s exemption to the Corales Puntacana and in U.S. Open qualifying, Tony Romo still has a serious golf game.
  • According to The Journal Times, No. 9 won the Racine Tri-Course Amateur Championship in Wisconsin by nine shots Sunday-the win was his second at the tournament, which he also won in 2004.
  • Romo lead by five strokes heading into the final round, which was contested at Meadowbrook Country Club, Romo’s home course (haters will be keen to point to this fact). Rounds one and two were held at Racine Country Club and H.F. Johnson Park Golf Course, respectively.
  • The Journal Times report also indicated Romo is working with Chris O’Connell and Andy Traynor from Plane Truth Golf and he feels the pieces are falling into place.
2. Shaping the Woods vs. Mickelson duel
How best to make the made-for-TV showdown? Golf Channel’s Randall Mell has a few thoughts.

 

  • “It could be one hell of a TV show if it’s packaged the right way….There is so much we still want to know about these two mega stars, about their history together, about what divided them for most of their career, and what brought them together.”

 

  • “There is a lot we want to know about what makes them different, and what may make them more similar than we ever realized…There is still a lot we want to know about them as individuals, too, especially Tiger’s softening, his hard life lessons and his willingness to open up more to today’s players.”

 

Mell offers some shows to build off of (!)

 

  • “Game of Thrones ..Yeah, before we can fully appreciate the bond these two warriors appear to be forging in their realm today, let’s revisit the conflicts overcome, whatever it was that made them look so frosty as partners in Friday fourballs and foursomes at the 2004 Ryder Cup. Let’s understand what made Woods and Mickelson look like snowmen standing next to each other on the tees that year.”
  • “Band of Brothers …We’ve heard how being a part of the ranks of so many American teams eventually helped bring them together, but let’s hear how the ice started to melt, the stories of how they began to connect in ways that led to a more empathetic understanding of each other.”

 

 

3. Surprising? The Phil Mickelson dress shirt is really comfortable to golf in

 

I bit the bullet and tried the Phil Mickelson dress shirt. While it remains, well, not exactly my style, the thing was darn comfortable and you can certainly play golf in it.

 

  • Mizzen+Main wanted to make a dress shirt that you can comfortably play golf in…if you want to.
  • And while some might think Mickelson, a partner in the company, was part of a mere marketing stunt, I can confirm that you can actually comfortably wear these shirts on the golf course.
  • Mizzen+Main sent me a light blue solid “Nelson Mickelson Edition” shirt, and I put it through the paces on course. It stretches more than you’d expect, is plenty breathable, and still looks like a dress shirt, rather than athletic wear masquerading as a dress shirt (important for the whole “off-course wear” thing).

 

4. Scottish golf in trouble?

 

How could this be? The game isn’t doing well in the home of said game? John Huggan (who blocks me on Twitter for some unknown reason) explains.

 

  • Only three Scots-Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie and Stephen Gallacher-have been part of a European Ryder Cup team in this century. Only one Scot, Russell Knox, is currently ranked in the world’s top 100. Just three more-Martin Laird, Scott Jamieson and Richie Ramsay-are part of the top 200. David Drysdale, the eighth-best Scottish golfer on the planet, is ranked 290th.
  • Knox, Florida-based since his late teens, has won twice on the PGA Tour in recent years, including the 2015 WGC HSBC Championship in China. But the Inverness-native remains the tartan-clad exception. Elsewhere, Scots are lagging behind. Way behind. More than three years have passed since Ramsay tasted victory at the Trophee Hassan in Morocco. Before Knox won last week’s Irish Open, Ramsay, the former US Amateur champion, was the last Scot to win a regular European Tour event.

 

 

  • By way of contrast, 16 Englishmen have won 31 times during those intervening 40 months (there are currently eight Englishmen in the world’s top 100). And, perhaps more pertinently given Denmark and Scotland’s comparable population and weather, three Danes have won five times on their home circuit, as well as claiming the World Cup in Australia.

 

  • In the women’s game, the picture is even more stark.

 
5. Stenson’s Open start in peril?
 
Something to keep an eye on…the 2016 Open winner may not be competing in the 2018 edition of the tournament.
  • Stenson wrote on Twitter: “Sad to have to withdraw from #ASIScottishOpen due to elbow problems. Good luck to everyone at Gullane & have great week. Hoping to be fit for Carnoustie.”
6. Jimmy Buffett: caddie?  
File under: “Story I should have lead with.” The love-him-or-hate-him prophet of Parrot Heads picked up a bag at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, it seems.

 

  • Kevin Casey writes: “The 71-year-old musician was on hand Monday for a U.S. Senior Women’s Open practice round and appeared to actually serve as a caddie for competitor Patricia Ehrhart”
  • Ehrhart is Buffett’s niece

 

7. He’s Nie-mann!

 

A pun so bad, I’ve used it more than once in discussing 19-year-old sensation (and now PGA Tour member) Joaquin Niemann!
Golf Digest’s Joel Beall with the details
  • “Niemann already attained special temporary membership with a T-6 at the Memorial-his third T-8 or better in five outings-to earn unlimited sponsor invites until the FedEx Cup Playoffs begin. (Niemann’s expected to play at this week’s John Deere Classic.) By earning his card, Niemann joins a group featuring Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth that was able to bypass the Web.com Finals Thanks to a final-round 64 at the Greenbrier, Niemann grabbed a T-5 finish at the West Virginia event.

     

 

  • “It wasn’t enough to earn an invitation to next week’s Open Championship, but he didn’t leave empty-handed. Thanks to his Sunday push, Niemann, with his fourth top 10 in just eight professional events, now has 414 FedEx Cup points. A total well above the projected amount needed for the 125th player in the FEC standings by the end of the Wyndham Championship, meaning, at 19 years old, Niemann has secured his tour card for next season.”

 

8. A GolfWRX member dreams (nightmare) of Augusta National

 

GolfWRX member Me05501 had a dream that gave me a chuckle, he writes…
  • “I had a series of odd dreams the other night, culminating in this one.
  • “I was in the clubhouse at Augusta National. For some reason I was wearing jeans, and I knew I had to change pants to be allowed on the course.
  • “However, every time I changed pants, the pants I put on would magically transform into some kind of denim, forcing me back to the locker room to find another pair. Over and over again.
  • “I suppose the meaning of the dream is clear. I shouldn’t pretend to belong in places I obviously do not.”

 

9. HV3: A man of his word

 

“I hate to harp on it, but it’s all about perspective,” said Harold Varner, who was in position to win at the Greenbrier after three rounds. “If I shoot 90 tomorrow, I’m gonna able to go home, and my mom is going to give me a kiss and be like, ‘you’re still a winner.’
  • “And I’m gonna be mad, but that’s just how it is. And if I win, she’s gonna humble me and be like, ‘you’re not better than me.’ And I thoroughly enjoy that…I’m gonna mow my parents’ grass on Monday . . . so that’s just what I’m gonna do.”
  • Well, that’s just what he did (see below)

Related Topics:

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Al Czervik

    Jul 10, 2018 at 12:52 pm

    You really want to watch some sort of touchy feely, cue the NBC Olympics, segments between Tiger and Phil? I am not even sure I want to watch some made for TV match between two well past their primes. These things never live up to the hype.

    Reply Report comment

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

By

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

Published

4 weeks ago

on

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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News

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

Published

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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