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Tour Rundown: Georgia Hall wins the Women’s Open for England

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7 years ago

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If you blink, the golf season will be over. The dog days of August feature a WGC, followed by the PGA, then the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs … and that’s just the PGA Tour. The professional lady golfers contested their 4th major of the year at the British Open, while the Champions and Web.Com tours were also in action. If that’s not enough, the European and American PGA tours featured bonus events in Fiji and Nevada. It was a smorgasbord of delights for the epicurean golfer, so let’s run down this week’s ample buffet.

Bridgestone Invitational swan song at Firestone

When he wasn’t blasting 375-yard drives, Justin Thomas was placing his approach shots closer than the competition. Those two figures added up to a 9th tour win and a first WGC championship for the young man from the hills of Kentucky. The 2017 PGA champion opened with 65-64, good for a tie with Ian Poulter atop the board. Thomas went a bit higher with 67 on Saturday, but it was quite good against Poulter’s even-par 70. On Sunday, while Dustin Johnson was sending shivers with an outward 29, Thomas continued to play with confidence and guile. Firestone has always been an air-ball course, and with the deeper drives of the contemporary player, the angles have changed. Thomas figured those out better than anyone this week, and brought a fine champion in the final year of Firestone on the PGA Tour. As Poulter drifted farther off, to a tie for 10th, Kyle Stanley took advantage of the opening and posted 68 for 11-under, and solo second.

Women’s British Open trophy will stay in England

14 years passed since Karen Stupples last won the British Open for England. In 2018, Georgia Hall played her way into the final game at Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s. Paired with Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum, the 22-year old Hall began the 4th day with 3 birdies in her first 6 holes … and lost ground! Phatlum scorched the opening third with 4 birdies of her own, Bogey at the 8th appeared to derail the Thai golfer’s momentum, and she did not birdie again until the 15th. Meanwhile, Hall kept her card clean, then added birdies at 13, 15 and 16 to wrest the lead from Phatlum. Both players showed nerves over the closing stretch. Phatlum made a double-bogey 6 at the 17th, to finish on 15-under par. Hall closed with bogey, but had enough strokes in the suitcase to close at 17-under, 2 strokes clear of Phatlum. The win was Hall’s first major, and first LPGA Tour victory.

Barracuda Championship belongs to Putnam

We know that the PGA Tour will return to Montreux golf and country club, in Reno, next July. The event will have a new sponsor, but hopefully, the same format. A good Stableford, with 5 or 7 points on the line at the last hole, keeps everyone’s attention. Andrew Putnam came to the last hole with a 4 point lead, but up ahead, Chad Campbell faced an eagle pitch. Three at the last would have moved him ahead of Putnam, forcing the former Pepperdine golfer to make birdie for the win. Campbell could only summon birdie, meaning that Putnam only needed bogey to cinch his first Tour victory. He didn’t make it easy, with a drive into the rough and an approach shot, short of the green. Electing to putt, Putnam dropped his 4th for birdie, restoring his 4-point margin of victory. The biggest mover on day 4 was William McGirt, whose 20 points more than doubled Putnam’s 9. McGirt moved from 49th to 6th spot, and into 111th on the FedEx Cup points list.

KC Golf Classic comes down to wire in Overland Park

The list of recognizable Austrian golfers is a short one. It might begin and end with Bernd Wiesberger, unless you  are a true aficionado of the sport. With more performances like Sunday’s, Sepp Straka might make his way onto the radar screen. He’s so new, the Web.Com Tour site hadn’t updated his profile with career victory number one as of 6 am on Monday. Straka’s performance was up, down, and all around, but in the end, good enough for a 1-shot margin of victory over Kyle Jones. The 25-year old’s distaste for par was evident; he only made 7 in round 4. Seven birdies and 4 bogeys gave him 69 on day four. When Jones went from fairway bunker to fringe to bogey at the last, the door was open. Playing in the same group as Jones, Straka did him one better: fairway bunker to greenside bunker to par, for a double sandy and victory.

3M Championship goes to nervous Kenny Perry

Is it possible to shoot a 60 that never had a chance to be a 59? Kenny Perry did just that on Saturday of the 3M Championship. His round was a thing of beauty, 8-under through 15 holes. He certainly would find himself near the top of the board. Perry closed birdie-birdie-eagle for 12-under on the day. Whooooooo. On Sunday, they say, the hardest thing to do is follow a super-low round with one good enough to win. Perry bucked the trend, survived back-to-back bogeys on the front nine, and finished off a 3-shot victory over Wes Short, jr. The runner-up did his best Perry impression, going 9-under on day three to apply pressure. Perry was solid on the inward half, posting three birdies for his 9th win on the Champions tour.

European Tour: Fiji International to Bhullar with late heroics

How did he do this! Gaganjeet Bhullar missed a short birdie putt at 16 to close within one of leader Anthony Quayle. Quayle had just ripped a long iron to eagle range at the penultimate hole, then drained the putt to reach -14, or so we thought. Bhullar misplayed his 2nd to the par-five 17th, leaving a 30-yard pitch to the flag. Quayle made par at the last, and the television folk called it a fine, 10-under 62, a new course record. As cards were being signed, it was learned that Quayle had made an early bogey, and that his course record was 63, not 62. And Bhullar? Just a little pitch-in for eagle at 17, followed by par at 18 for a one-shot victory, the 9th of his career.

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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.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. ogo

    Aug 9, 2018 at 2:00 pm

    Watching womens golf is about as exciting as watching a toilet flush, over and over again. Same with womens tennis where all the players are leggy girls from Eastern Europe… while the golfers are short stubby Asians. Bleeech… 😮

    Reply Report comment

  2. Robert

    Aug 6, 2018 at 4:42 pm

    Georgia Hall showed nerves of steel coming down the stretch birdying 3 of the last 6 holes. On 18 she hit a very good shot from the right rough to get on the green. From there a safe 3-putt secured the Major win.

    Of some WITB coincidence, both Georgia Hall and Andrew Putnam were using Odyssey Rossi Mallets.

    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

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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

Published

4 weeks ago

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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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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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