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Morning 9: Delicate dance of player/caddie disagreement | Reed’s favorite green jacket memory | Tiger’s build to Augusta

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6 years ago

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

March 19, 2019

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans. On this day in 1993, 63-year-old Arnold Palmer made the cut for the last time on the PGA Tour at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
1. The delicate dance
You saw the agonizing tango of tensely talking it over Jon Rahm and caddie Adam Hayes engaged in before the Spaniard ultimately ignored his looper’s advice and sent his hopes of winning The Players to a watery grave at the 11th hole, Sunday.
Now, here’s some additional post mortem, courtesy of Golf Digest’s Sam Weinman and veteran caddie Kip Henley.
  • Henley: “Ninety-eight percent of America looks at that and knows Adam was making the right call,” Henley said. “Birdie is great, but par doesn’t kill you, and a good caddie is able to look at the situation without as much emotion as the player.”
  • Weinman: “So Hayes does fight-at least to a point. As Henley said, the odds are always stacked against a caddie when player digs in his heels as well. He says a caddie wins these arguments about 10 percent of the time, so at some point, a caddie has to contemplate caving. That’s what you’re seeing when Rahm starts explaining why he doesn’t feel comfortable laying up because it will leave him an awkward lie. At that point it doesn’t matter that Hayes is still in the right. He knows he can’t win.”
  • Henley: “The whole time you’re fighting you better be aware where your guy is leaning because if you know he’s not coming over, you need to start backpedaling. You then need to make him feel like it’s a good decision. Everybody does that. You read your guy, and you find a way to change your tune.”
2. A fresh mental approach for McIlroy
Credit to Brian Keogh of the Irish Independent for including this Rory McIlroy quote in his piece on what’s going on between the Ulsterman’s ears…
  • “It’s just another step in the journey. I’ve been preaching perspective, and I feel like I’ve got a pretty good handle on that perspective.
  • “It’s a glimpse. My career is hopefully going to last another 15 or 20 years, so one tournament or one day or one month in those 20 years is nothing. It’s just a glimpse. So it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change who I am.
  • “It’s another step in the right direction. But that’s all it is to me. It’s a huge tournament to win.
  • “I’ve just got to do my thing, and if I go and I concentrate on me, control what I can do, good golf and good attitude takes care of the rest.
  • “And if I go to Augusta with a similar golf game to what I have now and the attitude I’ve shown over the first few weeks of the year, I think I’ll have a great chance.”
3. Tiger’s slow build to Augusta
ESPN’s Bob Harig with a lengthy look at the state of the Tiger with the Masters less than a month away…
  • “Woods had no three-putts, which is an improvement from six three-putts at both Riviera and Mexico City.”
  • “But he was just 70th in the field in strokes gained approach, an unusually poor number for him. Woods hit 52 of 72 greens for the week and had fewer than 30 putts in only the final round.”
  • “And yet, he had one of his best weeks of the year off the tee, finishing fifth in the field in strokes gained and taking some confidence with him.”
  • “I’m excited the way I drove it,” said Woods, who dropped from 11th to 13th in the world ranking. “I drove the ball well this week. I drove it not quite as long on the weekend with a little bit cooler temperatures, but I was driving it pretty straight, and I was able to shape the golf ball both ways with all three of my woods, which was good to see.”
4. Reed’s favorite green jacket memory
Per Tara Sullivan at the Boston Globe (and from Reed’s Monday conference call)
“Asked his favorite memory in the jacket, Reed told a story about his young daughter.”
“It would have had to have been right after we won and right after I got done talking in the press conference, right after we finished,” he said. “I went back to Butler Cabin, and my daughter was there, and she just came over and gave me a big hug and told me I did it and told me she loved me. That is by far the best experience I’ve ever had with the green jacket. That’s a memory and a moment that I’ll never forget, no matter if I were to win multiple other green jackets, any other tournament I were to win, or anything like that. It’s going to be hard to be able to top a moment like that that I was able to cherish with the little one.”
5. Surprised? You don’t know Jim!
John Feinstein on Jim Furyk, who nearly won The Players, and his passion for proving doubters wrong.
  • “At this point in his life, Furyk should be counting down the 14 months left until he’s eligible to play with the 50-and-older set on the PGA Tour Champions, where his accuracy and putting ability will more than offset his relative lack of distance off the tee.”
  • “But that’s not how Furyk’s built. He almost enjoys being doubted-which he has been ever since he was playing junior golf. “Never really bothered me,” he has often said of people making fun of his swing. “As long as I played well, what did I care what people said about my swing?”
  • “Furyk went more than 4½ years without winning after winning three times in 2010 and remained undaunted until he broke the skein at Hilton Head in 2015. He’s done just about everything you can hope to do in golf: He’s won a major (the 2003 U.S. Open); he’s won the FedEx Cup (2010); he’s played on nine Ryder Cup teams and captained one; he’s won 17 times on tour; he was the first player to ever shoot 58 in a tour event (2016 Travelers) and-as Tabitha witnessed at that long-ago Memorial-has always been one of golf’s good guys.”
6. From Ryder Cup captain to…Ryder Cup player?
On the subject of Furyk…
  • Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine notes…”Just two events into Team USA’s 2020 Ryder Cup qualification, the projected eight automatic qualifiers feature seven past Ryder Cup players, including Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas.”
  • “Jim Furyk is also currently on the team courtesy of his runner-up finish at The Players, which moved him to second in the standings.”
7. Hoping for a Women’s Masters
Via BBC Sport…”England’s Georgia Hall hopes the staging of a women’s amateur tournament at Augusta National could pave the way for a Women’s Masters.”
  • “The final round of the inaugural 54-hole tournament will be played at the Masters’ home on Saturday, 6 April.”
  • “It’s another step towards having some equality,” Women’s British Open winner Hall told BBC golf podcast The Cut. “The Masters could be women. Maybe we can have an event like that, it would be cool to play it on the same course.”
8.  A well-earned respite
Our Gianni Magliocco…
  • “Legendary golf instructor Butch Harmon is retiring from tour life according to a report from Golfweek.com”
  • “Per the report, sources say Harmon has told his players that he is “done on tour.” The 75-year-old will continue teaching in Las Vegas where he lives with his wife, Christy, but the man who currently coaches the likes of Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, and Gary Woodland will no longer be a regular on Tour with his stable of players.”
  • “Harmon will also be scaling back his appearances as an analyst on TV, after working extensively with Sky Sports UK over the last two decades.”
9. A welcome to the Wedge Guy!
We’re pleased to have Terry Koehler joining GolfWRX as a Featured Writer. If you’re unfamiliar with the 40-year golf equipment industry veteran, check out this release.
“GolfWRX has announced that industry veteran Terry Koehler will resume his weekly blog as “The Wedge Guy”, beginning Tuesday, March 19, 2019 as an exclusive feature of GolfWRX. The column can be found at www.GolfWRX.com/TheWedgeGuy. In his regular weekly column Koehler will share insights, observations and opinions gleaned from a 40-year career in the golf industry.  Koehler introduced his bi-weekly blog columns at TheWedgeGuy.com in 2003 and wrote until 2010, having to pause when his life’s pace was accelerated by the creation of SCOR Golf and then the resurrection of Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company.”
Look for Koehler’s first item for WRX later today

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.

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News

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

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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WITB

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