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Morning 9: Switch to AimPoint sees Si Woo in the lead | ANWA, ANA latest | Great golf cliches

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6 years ago

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

April 5, 2019

Good Friday morning, golf fans.
1. Si Woo + AimPoint = first-round lead
Si Woo Kim rolled in five birdies in a six-hole stretch to pen with a 6-under 66 to lead at TPC San Antonio.
Adam Schupak, writing for PGATour.com, with an interesting note…”Kim ranked second in Strokes Gained: Putting of the 72 players in the morning wave and credited his 105+ feet of putts made to using the Aim Point system for reading greens. Kim said he first took a green-reading class in Palm Springs five years ago, but hadn’t used the AimPoint system in the past four years.”
  • “…he said his putter had gone cold in his previous three starts and he toyed with using AimPoint on Wednesday for the first time in years.”
  • “If I’m reading good,” he said of the greens, “I can putt it well.”
  • “Easier said than done. Using the popular system, Kim determined a numerical value for the slope of the green and held up that many fingers less than an arm’s distance in front of his face to pick the line. If he feels like the putt will break left, he measures his fingers beginning at the right edge of the hole. It worked on Thursday morning. He made four of his eight birdies from more than 10 feet, the longest a 19-footer at No. 3. Kim’s 6-under 66 led J.C. Poston by one stroke among the morning finishers.”
2. Spieth in the mix
Golf Channel’s Will Gray on a beleaguered young Texan turning in a solid performance in Texas.
  • “Spieth showed brief signs of his former self last week in Austin before failing to advance from group play. Thursday at the Valero Texas Open, he put together a solid round of 4-under 68 in what he described as “ideal scoring conditions” to move into a tie for sixth, two shots behind Si Woo Kim.”
  • “Spieth hit 12 of 18 greens in regulation but saved par on each of the six he missed, carding five birdies and suffering his lone dropped shot when he three-putted from over 60 feet on No. 15. The 68 marks his best stroke-play round since an opening 64 at the Genesis Open.”
3. ANWA shaping up to be a Kupcho, Fassi duel
Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi have crossed paths many times in their decorated golf careers. But nothing should compare to what will happen Saturday, when both players will converge at the historic Augusta National Golf Club in the final pairing of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur.”
  • “Kupcho, the world’s top-ranked women’s amateur, leads the ninth-ranked Fassi by one shot after shooting 5 under in two rounds around Champions Retreat Golf Club. The stage is now set for a battle between arguably the two favorites entering the week: the skilled Kupcho and the powerful Fassi, two players who figure to separate themselves even more on a difficult Alister Mackenzie design that has crowned the Masters champion since 1934.”
4. Lexi stirring?
Golf Channel’s Randall Mell on Lexi Thompson bomb-and-gouging her way around Mission Hills…
  • “Lexi Thompson hit just half her fairways in Thursday’s start of the ANA Inspiration…She missed seven greens.”
  • “Forget those numbers….She opened with a 69. That’s the number that counts. A round of 3-under par gave her a share of the lead through the morning wave.”
  • “Welcome back to Lexi’s playground, where bomb and gouge is her favorite game.”
5. Meanwhile, in Jordan…
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols with the report…”Meghan MacLaren held the lead at a new groundbreaking event called the Jordan Mixed Open, which features competitors from the Challenge Tour, over 50s Staysure Tour and Ladies European Tour playing for a single purse.”
“At day’s end, MacLaren’s opening 7-under 65 ended up one shot back of Challenge Tour player Daan Huizing. She was congratulated by players across all tours for the efforts. There are 40 players from each tour in the field, along with a few amateurs”
6. Fields on ANWA
Bill Fields, writing for ESPNw…”For the first time, a club once criticized for its lack of women members is conducting a tournament for elite women golfers, 72 of the best women amateurs in the world. After Thursday’s second round at Champions Retreat in nearby Evans, Georgia, the low 30 players will contest the final 18 holes at Augusta National.”
“Augusta National introduced Condoleeza Rice and Darla Moore as the club’s first female members in 2012 after more than a decade of pressure, followed by Virginia Rometty in 2014.”
“It isn’t a professional women’s event that some in recent years have urged Augusta National to institute, but it is an important development.”
7. Notable Masters rules incidents
Credit to E. Michael Johnson for this excellent assembly of notable rules infractions in Masters history…
Including, of course, this one…“Tiger Woods, 15th hole, second round, 2013…Bearing down on the lead in the 2013 Masters, Woods hit a near-perfect wedge from 85 yards. “Near” being the explanation for it striking the flagstick and ricocheting into the water fronting the green. Wanting to land his next shot a couple yards shorter, Woods went back two yards and dropped. The strategy worked as Woods knocked it stiff and made bogey-except the rules call for the drop to be made as “near as possible” to the spot from which the previous shot was struck. By his own admission in a press interview after the round, he said he dropped two yards back. After a viewer called in (it later was revealed that the caller was former PGA Tour and USGA tournament director David Eger), a series of meetings and discussions eventually resulted in Woods receiving a two-stroke penalty, but avoiding disqualification as the committee controversially invoked Rule 33-7, which gives officials leeway in deciding disqualifications.”
8. Wie opens with 74
Golf Channel’s Randall Mell…
“Michelle Wie looked as if she might be staggering to another disappointing start Thursday at the ANA Inspiration.”
“Maybe another short-lived one.”
“At 5 over through eight holes, she looked as if she were quickly playing herself out of the year’s first major championship, a development sure to ignite new questions over her surgically repaired right hand.”
“Wie rallied, though…She got herself back in this championship with a blitz of four consecutive birdies in the middle of the round to shoot 2-over-par 74.”
9. Great golf cliches
EuropeanTour.com staff doing the lord’s work with this roundup of golf cliches and their true meanings…
I’m going to take it one shot at a time
When you’ll hear it: Any time a golfer is asked to look ahead
What it really means: If I think too far forward, I’ll implode
The game is solid, I just need to put two good rounds together
When you’ll hear it: When a player is leading after 36 holes
What it really means: It will be a miracle if I ever shoot two sub-70 rounds again – can we end this thing now?

Full piece.

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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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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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