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GolfWRX Morning 9: Bellerive’s greens will be a story | Tiger’s life-changing drive | JT’s game-changing driver

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7 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt (ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com)

August 7, 2018

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans.  
1. Bellerive’s greens will be a story
Oh, good. But really, it has to be tough to get it right in St. Louis in August, and the PGA is doing everything in its power.
  • According to Golfweek’s Forecaddie, “The Forecaddie has been hearing about the struggles with Bellerive’s greens for nearly two years and finally got a first-hand look Monday. In a nutshell, the 2018 PGA Championship course will feature slow and tender greens that by Sunday may resemble a war zone.”
  • “Adding to Bellerive’s issues: Recently resodded zoysiagrass collars transition briefly to dirt on most greens before plunging down huge and healthy short-grass areas. The various stages of struggling turf leads The Man Out Front to comfortably declare that Bellerive is no putters’ paradise. Scoring, however, should be excellent given the softness of greens, immaculate fairways and dense zoysiagrass short-grass surrounds conducive to spinning lob-wedge recoveries.”

 

2. The solo car trip that changed Tiger’s life
  • Tiger Woods, as most know, made the 1,000-mile drive home to Florida after the 2001 WGC event at Bellrive was cancelled due to the September 11 attacks. Famously, it was during this drive that Woods decided to reconfigure his foundation and develop learning centers.
  • Golf Digest’s Joel Beall filed an excellent look at this moment in time
  • “Tiger Woods wasn’t sleeping because no one could. The country had been sucker-punched, and it was dazed, disoriented. So instead of enjoying the comforts of a bed before a World Golf Championship at Bellerive Country Club, Woods found himself at a gas station in the dark of night on Sept. 12, 2001, hours away from St. Louis, civilization and cell phone service. He had set off for Isleworth, his home, welcoming the 1,000-mile drive-against the horrific reality that was setting in-as a distraction.”
  • “Only it wasn’t. The road, as it can often be, was cathartic. And Woods didn’t like what it revealed. “I just felt that if I was the one in one of those buildings or on one of the planes, what would be left behind?” Woods said about the experience, years later. “And I basically thought I hadn’t done anything. Yeah, I can hit a golf ball wherever it may be, but that’s entertainment. I hadn’t done anything impacting.”
3. Dialing in his driver was key to Justin Thomas’ dominant Firestone performance
It’s always interesting to see how players transition into new equipment; even more when they do so to massive success.
Titleist Tour Rep J.J. VanWezenbeeck had this to say about Justin Thomas’ move to the new TS3 driver.
  • “During a fitting in May prior to The PLAYERS, we found the TS3 9.5 gave him better ball speeds, with excellent launch to spin ratio, and preferred sound, feel, and look. He practiced with it over the next few weeks and put in at the US Open, the first week it was available for competition.  At the Open Championship, Justin had his shaft shortened an 1/8″ to help with centering the hit and maximizing control with the higher ball speeds seen with TS.”
  • Thomas said this  at Firestone about the process of getting dialed in…”I  switched to a new driver at the U.S. Open, the new Titleist TS3.  Yeah, I liked it right away. It was a little bit faster, which everybody likes.  For me, my struggles with the driver’s always been strike, hitting a toe ball because I like to cut the ball with the driver.  So when you’re setting up for a cut and you toe it and it goes left, that’s never good. So we’ve really been working hard trying to figure out why that is.”
  • “We got together with the (Titleist) guys at the French Open and we were talking and then again at the British. It doesn’t make any sense, but it worked, by making the shaft an eighth of an inch shorter.  And we obviously had to change the weight a little bit. It’s made a huge difference.”
According to Golf Digest’s E. Michael Johnson, “The numbers were so good Thomas even gave the driver its own code name, playing off the TS designation. Thomas referred to the driver as “The S**t,” which in golf slang is high praise, indeed.”

 

4. Speeder Evolution V spotting
On Monday at the 2018 PGA Championship, GolfWRX spotted a new Fujikura Speeder 757 Evolution V shaft – the fifth generation Speeder Evolution.
  • But more than just photos, we also spotted a full spec sheet with a description of the shaft.
  • “All Evolution models incorporate a Multiaxial Reinforced Mid-Section, 90 Ton Carbon Fiber, Maximum Fiber Content, MCT, and Phantium finish. EVO V utilizes T1100G and Outer Bias Technology for superior feel and control. EVO IV will be the lowest launching and spinning, EVO 3 will launch slightly higher with similar spin, and EVO 5 will launch the highest with slightly increased spin.”
  • Does this mean the Evolution 5 is actually the replacement for the Evolution 2? It seems the wording of the spec sheet implies that, but we will have to see when Fujikura releases its press materials regarding the new shaft.
5. Is Tiger running out of gas?
Rex Hoggard begs the question: “Just how much gas does Woods have left in the tank?”
  • “At the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, at one of his personal playgrounds, at a tournament he desperately wanted to win, Woods looked lethargic. In many ways, that’s understandable. He’s nearing the end of a long season. He played poorly Saturday and plummeted down the leaderboard, dashing any hopes of title No. 9. And he’s 42, with a brittle body that last year underwent a Hail Mary back fusion to prolong his career.”
“Statistics backed up the fatigue factor, as his measured swing speed continues to decrease:
* 122.6 mph (Quail Hollow)
* 119.4 mph (Players)
* 118.5 mph (Memorial)
* 118.0 mph (Quicken Loans)
* Sunday at Firestone, he clocked in at 117.7 mph
6. Smylie on social
Smylie Kaufman, once one of the most active and revealing pros on social media, has had enough amidst a terrible season.
  • “Social media doesn’t help,” Kaufman told Golf Digest. “That place sucks. It was so great for me for so long, but it was never anything good the last six months. When I go to Twitter, it’s like reading the newspaper for me. Well, I don’t wanna see Tom or Joe telling me how bad I suck when I read the newspaper.”
7. ZJ x 2
Here’s an interesting (or perhaps not) bit of trivia ahead of the PGA Championship: there will be two Zach Johnsons in the field…creating the opportunity for you to wager on the low Zach Johnson (probably not).
  • AP report…”The other? Well, he’s not quite a household name. He’s Zach Johnson of Farmington, Utah, who works as the assistant pro at Davis Park Golf Course in the suburbs of Salt Lake City. He’s one of 20 club pros who qualified into the 156-man field, and will be, for at least two days, on the same playing field with Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and, yes, Zach Johnson.”
  • “Tournament organizers called the club pro recently and asked him if it was OK for him to go by ”Zach J. Johnson” for the week to eliminate confusion. “I don’t think they called and asked him first,” Zach J. said of his namesake. ”It was more like: ‘Here’s what you’re going by. Hopefully you’ll like it.”’
8. The cricketer and the golf mishap
England bowler James Anderson saw his shot cannon into a tree root and hits him in the face. Indeed, he saw it up close.

 

9. Who wears (short) shorts?
Blasphemous as the site of male professional golfers’ legs may be to some, they were on full display at Bellerive, as the PGA permits shorts in practice rounds.
  • Here’s a shorts-wearing Jordan Spieth, below. A quick glance at the shots of the players who elected to bare their lower legs revealed what it always does: longer, looser shorts look sloppier on the golf course (for fit/average body types) than something along the lines of what Mr. Spieth donned.

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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.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Mike Kutilek

    Aug 7, 2018 at 10:31 am

    I noticed you just fixed the error.

    Reply Report comment

  2. Mike Kutilek

    Aug 7, 2018 at 10:30 am

    The 2001 PGA Championship was not to be contested at Bellerive. It was the WGC-American Express Championship that was cancelled due to 9/11. That’s the Tournament that is now in Mexico. The 2001 PGA was held in Atlanta a month earlier with David Toms winning.

    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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WITB

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