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Morning 9: RIP Dan Jenkins | Rafa rises at Bay Hill | Phull Phil, Pt. 237

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6 years ago

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1. Rafa!
Not bad for his first spin around Bay Hill!
Ye olde AP report on round 1…”Cabrera Bello opened with four birdies in six holes in the morning chill, put together another run of birdies that included consecutive putts from the 30-foot range, and wound up leading by two over Keegan Bradley.”
  • “The rest of the Spaniard’s putts were from 6 feet or closer.”
  • ”I really didn’t know what to expect,” Cabrera Bello said. ”I know how nice and tough the course is and I think it’s a course with many, many daunting shots. So I feel the more you play it, probably the better. So I wasn’t really having much high expectations as opposed to just getting out there and playing my golf.”
2. The full Mickelson
Phil took (what else) a unique route to his first-round 68.
Steve DiMeglio…”Of the 68 shots, however, one stood out.”
  • “After making the turn at 3 under and looking every bit the man ready to pounce on the leaders, Mickelson got tangled up in an out-of-bounds mesh fence on the 10th hole when his tee shot wound up under the green, vinyl barrier.”
  • “And then Phil went all Phil.”
  • “After surveying his options, Mickelson high-stepped the fence with ease despite his 48 years of age. He took his stance in someone’s backyard, flipped over a 9-iron and hit his second shot right-handed.”
3. RIP Dan Jenkins
The legendary golf writer has passed away at 89.
The tributes are, as expected, pouring in. Here’s a bit from Tom Callahan’s remembrance for Golf Digest.
  • “Dan always rooted for the best stories, which usually meant the best players (the real reason he loved Hogan might have been that Ben once saved him from having to write about Masters runner-up Skee Riegel), though some of golf’s journeymen, the ones with wit and perspicacity, like Ed Sneed, became trusted sources. Dave Marr, a PGA champion but not an all-time great, was Dan’s No. 1 draft choice for dinner.”
  • “…Tiger Woods didn’t want to know Jenkins. “We have nothing to gain,” agent Mark Steinberg said, the dumbest thing any agent ever said. During the 2006 Open Championship at Hoylake, Woods’ second-most-amazing tour de force, coach Hank Haney was staying at the Golf Digest house. Every night, after hitting balls post-round, Tiger dropped Haney off and never came in. Perhaps just that squandered opportunity of a beer with Jenkins, or at least the astonishing cluelessness it represented, was the real first cough by Ali MacGraw in “Love Story” (as it preceded Tiger’s come-from-ahead loss to Y.E. Yang in the 2009 PGA). At Woods’ peak, Jenkins wrote, “Only two things can stop him: injury or a bad marriage.” Birdie, and birdie.”
4. Meanwhile, in Qatar…
EuropeanTour.com report...”Mike Lorenzo-Vera carded a second consecutive 68 to set the clubhouse target on day two of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.”
  • “The Frenchman went eight seasons without a European Tour top three before finishing third on home soil in the Rolex Series at the 2017 HNA Open de France and he has been trending in the right direction ever since.”
5. Dark possibilities!
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard on the potential downside to legalized betting in golf.
  • “It can become problematic. It became a problem in cricket how they started fixing games,” Ernie Els said this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “They have to watch that very carefully. In golf I don’t know. I would say we still play by the honor of the game. I still feel like guys give their best.”
  • “Cricket has been scandalized by several gambling and match fixing allegations in recent years, including a case involving South African cricketer Hansie Cronje in the 1990s that led to a World Cup investigation in 2007.”
  • “The Tour is well aware of the hazards of gambling and the circuit’s integrity regulations cover nine pages and is published in English, French and Spanish. The program covers players, anyone affiliated with players [caddies, managers, trainers] and even tournament volunteers, and addresses everything from “contriving an outcome” to “providing insider information.”
  • “I want to stress protecting our brand and our competition is paramount. We must all remain vigilant in this area. Our brand is 100 percent linked to our reputation,” Monahan reiterated to players at last week’s meeting.”
6. Day’s bad back is back
PGATour.com’s Cameron Morfit on Jason Day’s WD from the API with a back injury (which puts his status for next week’s Players in jeopardy)
  • “Day, 31, started his round on the back nine and informed playing partners Rickie Fowler and Ian Poulter on the 16th hole that he would not be continuing. Day was 2 over at the time.”
  • “I (aggravated) it last Sunday,” he said, “and then got an MRI Monday, which came back that I had an annular tear in my disc, and then I’ve got facet problems as well. My back was sore when I was practicing from Tuesday to Saturday, and I was going to practice on Sunday, but I woke up and couldn’t really walk or sit in the car.
  • “I was on a dose pack to try get the inflammation out of it,” he added, “and that didn’t get any better. I saw a physio here (in Orlando) and tried to do as much work as I possibly could to get ready for this week. I couldn’t play at 100 percent today, so I just wanted to see if I could get out here and (my back) may have loosened up. But, unfortunately, it didn’t, so I had to pull out.”

Full piece.

7. Remember this?
Jenkins fake interview with Tiger Woods? (“Steiny” and Tiger sure do!)
A bit of it…
Why did you turn down previous interview requests with me?
Like Steiny said: We had nothing to gain.
So why now?
Steiny says we have to rebuild my brand.
Why? TV still loves you.The print press still loves you. The average fans still love you. Of course the average fans still love the Kardashians, too, but I feel sure America will find a cure for this someday.
I just do what Steiny says.
Why haven’t you fired Steiny, by the way? You’ve fired everybody else. Three gurus, Butch, Hank and Sean Foley. Two caddies, Fluff and Stevie. Your first agent, Hughes Norton, who made you rich before you’d won anything. Other minions.
I’ll probably get around to it.
I like to fire people. It gives me something to do when I’m not shaping my shots.

Full piece.

8. The walk of shame
Rough stuff for Mark Leishman!
  • From the AAP…”It’s the walk of shame, cruising back to the tee with the tail between the legs. Phil Mickelson [in the group behind] had already teed it up,” Leishman said.
  • After a double-bogey seven, even children were sledging the 35-year-old Victorian.
  • “Walking to seventh tee I had a kid say to me, ‘How’s the water, Leishman?’ That caught me off guard,” said Leishman, who was then four over after six holes.
  • However, he composed himself following a stern talking to from caddie and childhood friend Matthew Kelly and rattled off four back-nine birdies to sign for an even-par 72.
9. The most unenthusiastic hole-in-one reaction you’ll ever see
Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”Playing in this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, Points hit a weak tee shot on Bay Hill’s par-3 seventh. Or at least what Points perceived to be a poor shot, telling his ball to “Get up!” and “Go!” in an indignant tone. His stance` conveyed a similar thought, as the veteran crossed his legs and angled his arm on his waist as if his dog had just soiled himself on the kitchen floor.”
You have to see the clip, which you can do here.

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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.

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News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

on

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

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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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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