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GolfWRX Morning 9: Koepka denies fight | Anonymus RC member refutes Reed | WGHOF nominees

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7 years ago

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1. Koepka denies dust-up
Per Golf Channel…”Speaking to reporters Wednesday at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Koepka said: “This Dustin thing, I just don’t get. There was no fight, no argument. He’s one of my best friends. I love the kid to death. We talked on the phone Monday and yesterday, so you tell me how we fought…People like to make a story and run with it. It’s not the first time there’s been a news story that isn’t true that’s gone out.”
2. Anonymous Ryder Cup member refutes Reed
The Ryder Cup team rooms are proving more leaky than the West Wing!
  • ESPN report…”Reed essentially threw captainJim Furyk under the bus by telling The New York Times on Sunday that he was “blindsided” by not playing withJordan Spieth after the pair’s past success in international competitions.”
  • “He is so full of s—,” a member of Team USA told the New York Post on Monday. “Blindsided, my ass. He begged to play with Tiger [Woods].”
  • “He would have shot 83 on his own ball Saturday,” the Team USA member said to the Post. “He totally screwed Tiger. He has no clue how to play team golf. I saw firsthand how bad of a team player he was. Eleven players understood the concept of team golf and only one didn’t. Unfortunately, that one proved to be too costly for the team to overcome.”
3. Koepka “heartbroken” for fan he hit with drive
Koepka took to Twitter yesterday following reports that the woman struck with his errant tee shot has lost site in her eye.
  • “I was deeply hurt and saddened by the tragic accident,”he tweeted. “I have made contact with her family to offer my sincere and heartfelt sympathy.”
  • He added: “I am heartbroken by the incident. My thoughts remain with Ms. Remande and her family, and I have asked to be kept informed on her condition.”
4. WGHOF finalists
The World Golf Hall of Fame released Tuesday its 15 finalists who will be considered for induction in 2019.
Male competitor: Retief Goosen, Graham Marsh, Corey Pavin, Hal Sutton
Female competitor: Susie Maxwell Berning, Beverly Hanson, Sandra Palmer, Dottie Pepper, Jan Stephenson
Lifetime achievement: Peggy Kirk Bell, Billy Payne, Dennis Walters
Veterans: Jim Ferrier, Catherine Lacoste, Calvin Peete
5. Speaketh the Bjorn
Thomas Bjorn did a post-Cup Q&A with Golf Digest.
How does it feel to captain a winning side?
  • Thomas Bjorn: “How do you sum that up? You know, I felt like-I felt all along that this was a good group of guys, but I have to say, when we got here on Monday, we got together. This turned out pretty exciting because the way that the 12 of them have just joined up together as a team and the way they looked after each other and been there for each other and been there for each other throughout the whole week made captaincy pretty easy.”
  • “The hardest thing about the captaincy I think this week was that there’s so many guys playing well, and being in such good frame of mind that I didn’t really — I wanted to get everybody on the golf course, but you can’t.”
  • “Today’s performance, there was a little moment in the middle of it all where I was getting a little bit worried, but then everybody stood up and did their bit. You know, I can’t describe how I feel about these 12. They have been amazing from day one, and I’m just so proud of them.”
6. Ryu’s plea
Interesting/odd/unprecedented(?)
  • So Yeon Ryu asked Korean fans on Tuesday to restrain themselves during this week’s UL International Crown.
  • “If there was one favor I could ask the gallery or the crowds that will be showing up,” Ryu said. “If they could refrain from very, very sharp criticism, that would help.
  • “Of course, we need to take advice, but really painful, sharp criticism can actually erode our confidence. I think that if we were given a lot of support during the event, then we would definitely be able to win this time.”
7. More Reed-Spieth stomping
The scribes aren’t finished pummeling the U.S. Ryder Cuppers!
  • Christine Brennan for USA Today, yesterday…”For U.S. men’s golf, the embarrassment is flowing like the Europeans’ champagne. Humiliation on the course has been followed by humiliation in the news. First, the U.S. Ryder Cup team was soundly defeated over the weekend by Europe, 17½ to 10½. Then, the Americans opened their mouths and things really got bad.”
  • “Boys, boys, boys. Talk about making us all proud: ladies and gentlemen, your 2018 U.S. Ryder Cup team….Everyone seems to be handling losing so spectacularly well, aren’t they? If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were a bunch of spoiled brats….It appears the Americans are better at pointing fingers than they were at hitting fairways in Paris over the weekend, and they seem to be singling out one guy: Reed.”
8. Only a riddle remains
…and some inter-male drama…
  • Golf Channel’s WIll Gray looks toward an uncertain future for the U.S Ryder Cup team…”With Reed making waves and reports of a simmering Dustin Johnson-Brooks Koepka feud percolating out of the team room, it’s clear that the Paris problems extended beyond the captain and his two most established players.”
  • “But with Woods and Mickelson sure to have captaincies of their own in the near future, those three are the face of a leadership group counseling the next generation of Spieth, Reed and Justin Thomas before passing on the torch.”
  • “It’s a model that has produced great results for the Europeans, an endless rotation of interchangeable parts that remains committed to the common goal. But when it comes to the U.S., it’s an exercise in do as I say, not as I did.”
9. The club that clinched the cup
Golf Digest’s Mike Stachura with some well-deserved exposure for Bob & company’s fine work.
  • Discussing Francesco Molinari’s flatstick, he writes…”The common denominator in all is his customBettinardi DASS BBZero putter. Decked out with with a skull and crossbones stamp in the rear cavity in an Italian flag-themed paintfill, the putter is 32.25 inches in length with a loft of 2.5 degrees and a like angle of 70. The grip is Lamkin’s Deep Etch model. The putter has a single dot sightline on top and the head was milled to 372 grams, slightly heavier than most blade putters.”
  • “As for his play (which included holing 12 birdie putts in his two four-ball appearances plus singles) and that of the European team at the Ryder Cup, Molinari was typically modest. “I don’t think it’s as big as the score says. It was just holing putts at the right time.”

 

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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.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Jon

    Oct 3, 2018 at 9:33 am

    It sounds like they need to start leaving the WAGS at home until after play has concluded on Sunday.

    Reply Report comment

  2. C

    Oct 3, 2018 at 9:27 am

    Not sure why we’re still giving Christine Brennan the time of day…

    Reply Report comment

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News

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

on

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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