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GolfWRX Morning 9: Keegan | Tony the 12th | What the PGA Tour can learn from the NFL

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7 years ago

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

September 11, 2018

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans.
1. Keegan triumphant
Hard not to be happy for the Vermonter who found his way out of the abyss in into the winner’s circle yesterday, no?
Here are a few of the angles the scribes took in framing Bradley’s victory.
PGATour.com’s Sean Martin…”It’s easy to blame the belly putter….Keegan Bradley used that club to win three times in his first two seasons, including a major and World Golf Championship. Then his promising career took a downturn, just as the debate about anchoring was beginning to heat up.”
  • “He was finally barred from using his beloved belly putter on Jan. 1, 2016. The ban became official in the midst of his worst season. By that summer, he was worried about missing the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time.”
  • “The putter wasn’t the only problem, though. His full swing was in disarray, as well. Ball-striking, especially long and straight tee shots, had always been his strength. It allowed him to conquer tough tracks like Firestone and Atlanta Athletic Club…when his swing left him, doubt crept in.”

Golf Digest’s Alex Myers...”He was like a scientist in the lab, changing his swing, his putting stroke, his fundamentals – investing in the work needed to get to where he was Monday on soggy Aronimink: going head-to-head in a sudden-death playoff against the new No. 1 player in the world, Justin Rose.”

  • “For a player who had to reinvent his game, the clutch moment didn’t seem so scary. Bradley topped Rose with a par on the first playoff hole to win the rain-plagued BMW Championship for his first PGA Tour victory in six years.”
  • And interestingly, this was Bradley’s attitude entering the final round of the BMW…:”Truthfully I was really fixated on making the Tour Championship, and I kind of knew if we didn’t play today, I was in it…It was the weirdest couple of days because I knew in the back of my mind if we didn’t play, I was in Atlanta. It was my goal to start the year. It was difficult to get ready to play because I was like, ‘Man, if they call it, I’m good.’ But I was only three back.”
2. Tony the 12th
If your money was on Jim Furyk selecting himself with his final captain’s pick, sorry. On a more serious note, if you wagered on Kevin Kisner or Xander Schauffele getting the nod, sorry again; Captain Furyk made his final selection after play wrapped at the soggy BMW Championship, and in making his choice he, well, chose the man most expected him to choose: Tony Finau.
  • Finau joins Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Bryson DeChambeau as the four wildcard selections on a U.S. squad that will be seeking its first “road win” since 1993.
  • “He has an unbelievable body of work this year,” said Furyk. “All those top-10 finishes, the play in big championships and the Majors, and then his current form, a second, a fourth and an eighth in the playoffs. He checked a lot of boxes and made it impossible not to pick him.”
3. A new world No. 1
Justin Rose, with his runner-up finish at the BMW Championship, has taken over the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career.
“It’s boyhood dream stuff, something I am incredibly proud of,” Rose said. “It’s been a good stretch of golf. I’ve played solidly over the past year. I’m delighted to get to the top,” he told Sky Sports.
4. FedEx Cupdate
A quick rundown of the 30 gentlemen prepared to fatten their wallets at the Tour Championship.
1 Bryson DeChambeau
2 Justin Rose
3 Tony Finau
4 Dustin Johnson
5 Justin Thomas
6 Keegan Bradley
7 Brooks Koepka
8 Bubba Watson
9 Billy Horschel
10 Cameron Smith
11 Webb Simpson
12 Jason Day
13 Francesco Molinari
14 Phil Mickelson
15 Patrick Reed
16 Patrick Cantlay
17 Rory McIlroy
18 Xander Schauffele
19 Tommy Fleetwood
20 Tiger Woods
21 Aaron Wise
22 Kevin Na
23 Rickie Fowler
24 Jon Rahm
25 Kyle Stanley
26 Paul Casey
27 Hideki Matsuyama
28 Gary Woodland
29 Marc Leishman
30 Patton Kizzire
5. Tiger comes up short again
The NYT’s Kevin Armstrong on Tiger’s
“Woods shot a 65 on Monday, for a cumulative score of 17 under par, three shots behind Keegan Bradley, who beat Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff. Instead of a victory, it was another stroll straight to the clubhouse for Woods, who finished tied for sixth place.”
  • “For Woods, a winner of 14 majors who has undergone spinal fusion surgery, progress was marked differently. To finish so close to the lead a year after he feared he might not be able to play again, Woods said, sent him home with what he called “a very positive feeling.”
  • “At the end of the season here to say that I made it back to the Tour Championship after what I’ve been through is a pretty good accomplishment,” Woods said.
6. What the PGA Tour could learn from the NFL
…assuredly nothing about handling controversy. However, while plenty point to sinking ratings for the most-watched sport in the United States, few point of deficiencies with the telecasts themselves–not so for golf, obviously.
  • Golfweek’s Forecaddie examined what PGA Tour coverage could borrow from the NFL. Here are two of his suggestions.
  • Standardize key technologies...When I watch an NFL game, I know I’m going to see the line-of-scrimmage line and the first-down line on every play. When I watch golf, I might see shot-tracing technology or putting graphics on a hole – or I might not.
  • Rather than golf producers teasing viewers with cool technology here or there, let’s identify two or three of the best technologies, then put all of the sponsorship dollars behind them so that we can see them on every hole.
  • Mic ’em up…I’ll reiterate an old favorite: Start putting microphones on PGA Tour players or their caddies. NFL Films has been doing this for decades. We don’t necessarily see the benefits of this on Sundays. But it produces great content for weekly highlights shows and season-ending anthologies. That sort of peripheral programming takes fans inside the game and helps them learn more about the players
7. There’s still golf to be watched!
This week, the top 30 professionals on the PGA Tour get the benefit of an off week before the Tour Championship. However, here’s a friendly reminder that professional golf is still being played, including a major on the LPGA Tour. Golfweek’s Jason Lusk rounded up the schedule.

LPGA

What: The Evian Championship
When: Sept. 13-16
Where: Evian Resort Golf Club, Evian-les-Bains, France
European Tour
What: KLM Open
When: Sept. 13-16
Where: The Dutch, Spijk, Netherlands

Web.com Tour

What: Albertsons Boise Open
When: Sept. 13-16
Where: Hillcrest Country Club, Boise, Idaho
PGA Tour Champions
When: Sept. 14-16
Where: Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club, Grand Blanc, Mich
8. Horschel the designer
Billy Horschel, octopus pant enthusiast and fashion plate that he is, has worn Ralph Lauren apparel on tour since 2011. This year, RL decided to involve Billy Ho in the creative process, he spoke with Golf Digest about the collab.
How did the idea for a design collaboration with Ralph Lauren come about?
“It really just came about last summer. The lead designer for men’s and women’s golf at Ralph Lauren called up [my manager] Sherry [Whay] and said, “Hey listen, we want to possibly do a collection with Billy for 2018,” and she was ecstatic. When they called me, I was in Colorado on vacation and I was sort of speechless. I didn’t know what to say, which is unusual for me, but it was something that I was really happy to do.”
What was the hardest decision to make?
“I think it was the color. Obviously I knew the base colors I wanted. I wanted to do white and grey because it’s just a nice classic, clean look. Then I wanted navy involved because some of the outfits I wanted to use navy….Then it was the accent colors. [There were] so many colors I could choose from, and I tried to sort of go with what they were doing for Fall 2019. I’m really big into little details that make something stand out. I wanted to make sure the colors were somewhat of a pop-y color, so the pinks and baby blue [made sense]. The blue I chose really sticks out.”
.
9. Red sweater memories
Continuing on the fashion front, the Twitterverse lost its mind when Tiger arrived at Aronimink is a something along the lines of the red sweater he wore at the Master in 1997 and early in his career.
Doug Ferguson tweeted…”Haven’t seen Tiger in a red sweater on Monday of a weather-delayed tournament since Pebble in 2000.”
Riggs from Barstool Sports tweeted…”RED SWEATER TIGER IS THE BEST TIGER”

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. sh

    Sep 11, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    Yeah the NFL is so technologically advanced that they still don’t have a RFID chip in the ball so that the down marks can be determined by the ball, not by the guess by the Ref! And to top it off, they still use the Yardage chain!!! Chain!!!! ??? wtf. Chain? To measure a supposed mark of where the knee or the ball landed and where the ball originally started. Yeah, golf can learn so much from that. What a joke

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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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

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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

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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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