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Tour Rundown: Casey defends. Ko, Hend, Covello victorious too

Published

6 years ago

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Major championship season is on the horizon for many of the world’s tours. The ANA Inspiration is a fortnight off, while the Masters begins the following week. Golfers on all tours are sharpening their focus and risking all for the victories that will give them confidence as spring arrives across the country. With the PGA and Web.Com tours in the southeastern USA, the LPGA in Arizona, and the European Tour in Malaysia, Tour Flydown might be the more appropriate header, but we’ll continue running down the week’s results in this installment of Tour Rundown on GolfWRX.com.

PGA Tour: Casey defends title at Valspar Championship

If there’s an heir to Slytherin on the PGA Tour, it might be Paul Casey. The Englishman conquered the Copperhead course at Innisbrook for a second consecutive year, confirming his affinity for the serpent. His margin of victory, of one stroke, was identical to 2018, but his final round could not have been any different. Casey roared back last season with a 4th-round 65, overcoming Patrick Reed and a resurgent Tiger Woods.

In 2019, Casey posted 5 bogeys against 4 birdies, but his one-over 72 was good enough to defeat Louis Oosthuizen and Jason Kokrak. The top three finishers struggled at the end, each playing the final 3 holes in +1. Kokrak’s close was the harshest, as he bogeyed the last to fall from a tie with Casey. Dustin Johnson, who began the final round just one shot behind Casey, offered a milquetoast final day of 3 bogeys and 0 birdies, tumbling to a tie for 6th with Jon Rahm and Ryan Armour.

With the Masters just three weeks away, the eyes of the world watch the WGC match play this week in Austin, followed by the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. Golfers like Rahm, Bubba Watson, Johnson and Casey are rounding into enviable form, and each of them could don the green jacket next month.

LPGA Tour: Ko’s klean kard earns Founders Cup win

Ko Jin Young might not have had Yu Liu in her sites on Sunday morning in Phoenix. The Korean pro sat 5 shots behind the leader, with ground to make up. 4 birdies in the first 11 holes brough Young a bit closer, but Liu showed no signs of dropping off, even if she also showed no signs of the form that brought her to the top spot after 54 holes.

In the closing hour, everything changed. Ko birdied holes 14-16 to reach 22-under par, knocking the Korda sisters (Nelly and Jessica) into 2nd place at 21 deep. Liu birdied the 15th to join Ko at the top, but made bogey at the last to drop out of a playoff for the title. Joining the Kordas and Liu in a four-way tie for 2nd was Spain’s Carlota Ciganda. The victory was Ko’s 3rd on the LPGA tour, and first inside the continental United States. The 2018 rookie of the year has now tossed her name into the mix for 2019 player of the year, at this early stage.

European Tour: Hend hoists Maybank trophy after playoff victory

Australia’s Scott Hend rarely hits first from the fairway, but for three years, he was not the last to putt out. On Sunday, Hend survived a final-green, monster birdie putt from runner-up Nacho Elvira with a 2-putt par at the last. On the only playoff hole, Hend dropped a 7-feet birdie putt to claim the 2019 Maybank Championship in Malaysia. Elvira led the tournament after 54 holes, and hoped to garner a first-ever, European Tour title.

Instead, he added a 2nd playoff loss to his resume. The Spaniard’s final round could best be described as banal, as he paired one birdie with one bogey (the rest pars) until the antepenultimate hole. Elvira closed with birdies at 16 and 18, to move to 15-under par and give himself a shot at victory. Hend started Sunday in 3rd place, but birdied 5 of his first 9 holes to leap into contention. Like Elvira, he made bogey at 10, ending his birdie binge until the 13th green. David Lipsky of the USA began the day in 2nd place, but followed an opening birdie with a +4-in-3-holes stretch. He signed for 74 and dropped 11 spots, into a 13th-place tie.

The European Tour moves to the Indian Open next week, before taking a break until late April.

Web.Com Tour: Covello  conquers Chitimacha in playoff win over Lower

Vince Covello and Justin Lower did not come from college golf hotbeds. The former cut his teeth at North Florida, while the later sharpened his skills at Malone (Ohio) University. Each golfer has journeyed far and near, in search of victory.

On Sunday, Covello earned vindication for the years of near-miss and dirt digging, marking birdie on the 3rd playoff hole to drop Lower into 2nd place. Lower sat at 21-under par after a 12th-hole birdie, but made bogey at 14 and 15, to fall to -19. In contrast, Covello was stuck far back at -17, before birdies at 16 and 18 brought him to a tie with Lower. For most of day 4, all eyes were on Argentina’s Fabian Gomez. The Platense birdied 9 of his first 12 holes, but none of his final 6. His scorching 62 left him 1 stroke out of the playoff, tied with Steve Marino for 3rd. Marino’s week went like this: 68-67-66-65. Now that’s the epitome of trending in the proper direction.

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

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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

on

Jul 29, 2025

By

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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