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Morning 9: Kang breaks though | End of the “muni major” era | Rain ahead at Bethpage?

Published

6 years ago

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

May 13, 2019

Good Monday morning, golf fans.
1. Kang breaks through
Golfweek’s Dan Kilbridge with some succinct commentary on Sung Kang’s Byron Nelson win…
  • “With soft fairways and calm conditions, Trinity Forest didn’t offer much of a test in its second year hosting the AT&T Byron Nelson.”
  • “Nor did anyone in the field test Sung Kang down the stretch en route to his first career PGA Tour victory Sunday.”
  • “The 31-year-old from South Korea ran away from Matt Every, Brooks Koepka and the rest of the contenders with a 4-under 67 in the final round, securing victory in his 159th Tour start. Kang shot 23-under 261 for the week, the lowest winning score in relation to par since Adam Long took home the Desert Classic in January at 26 under.”
2. European Tour
EuropeanTour.com report on Marcus Kinhult’s surprising emergence from the pack at the British Masters…
  • “Marcus Kinhult secured his maiden European Tour title at the 52nd time of asking after producing a birdie-birdie finish to win the Betfred British Masters by a single shot.”
  • “There was late drama at Hillside Golf Club on Sunday as Kinhult, Matt Wallace, defending champion Eddie Pepperell and young Scot Robert MacIntyre were locked together at 15 under par when the final group containing overnight leaders Kinhult and Wallace stood on the 18th tee.”
  • “With Pepperell and MacIntyre watching on following the conclusion of their rounds, Kinhult coolly rolled in his eight foot birdie putt at the last to sign for a final-round 70 and make his European Tour breakthrough.”

Full piece. 

3. Meanwhile, on the Web.com Tour…
Golfweek’s JuliaKate E. Culpepper…“Michael Gellerman scored a final-round 69 Sunday at the KC Golf Classic to earn his first Web.com Tour win.”
  • “Gellerman, who had three birdies on Sunday at Blue Hills Country Club in Kansas City, Mo., finished the tournament 11-under 277, one stroke ahead of Harry Higgs and Nelson Ledesma.”

Full piece.

4. Regions Tradition final round postponed, Stricker leads
AP Report…”Four and a half hours of steady rain later, PGA Tour Champions officials postponed the round until Monday. Play resumes with an early two-tee start.”
  • “A handful of players got in one hole Sunday before having to leave the course. The leaders haven’t started the final round of the first of five senior major championships.”
  • “Steve Stricker holds a two-stroke lead at 14-under 202. Two-time Tradition winner Bernhard Langer, David Toms and Billy Andrade are all two strokes back.”
5. A new kitchen for mum
While Robert MacIntyre didn’t win the British Masters, his mother did win a new cooking space…
  • Brian McLauchlin at the BBC…”The Scot’s final round of 66 put him on 15-under in Southport, leaving him tied for second, just one stroke behind Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult.”
  • “MacIntyre’s showing will see him take home over £200,000 – the biggest prize of his career.”
  • “She’s getting her kitchen now. She’s got it, it’s a done deal,” he said.
6. Rain ahead at Bethpage?
Doug Ferguson with the early report from Farmingdale…
  • “Major championship golf returned to Bethpage State Park and found the Black course just how it left it 10 years ago: wet.”
  • “More than one-half inch of rain fell Sunday as some players began to arrive for the PGA Championship, which was moved up three months on the calendar to May for the first time in 70 years. Only two players made it so far as the practice range – former champion Rich Beem and Li Haotong of China.”
  • “Without having played either of the U.S. Opens at Bethpage Black, he knows enough that 7,459 yards for a par 70 will play a lot longer on wet grass. More rain and cool weather – temperatures in the lower 50s – were forecast for the next two days.”
7. End of an era
Geoff Shackelford reports on the brief time of “municipal courses hosting major championships” coming to an end…
  • “After a state of New York publicly owned course hosts this year’s PGA Championship followed in five years by the Ryder Cup, a distinct era in American golf will come to a close. Following the biennial team matches on Long Island in the fall of 2024, there are no traditional American municipal courses on the major championship or Ryder Cup schedule.”
  • “…The end of munis on the major schedule is hardly an indictment on the experiment that brought golf’s biggest events to such places as Bethpage, Torrey Pines and next year’s PGA Championship to TPC Harding Park after significant renovation work. Past tournaments were financial successes and enjoyed way more energetic celebrations of the sport when played at the people’s courses. The tournaments generally have left facilities in a much better place than the USGA or PGA of America found them. But gouging golf course contractors, excessive bureaucratic demands and irrational expectations for one week of tournament golf drove up costs at times.”
8. Spieth ready?
Golf Channel’s Will Gray on Jordan Spieth’s finish at the Bryon Nelson and where it leaves him heading to Bethpage…
  • “Spieth shot an even-par 71 in the final round of the AT&T Byron Nelson, a score that was three shots higher than any of his previous three efforts and one that dropped him into a tie for 29th in his hometown event. After missing the Tour Championship for the first time last season, he’s now gone 14 starts this season without a single top-20 finish and sits at 150th in the season-long points race.”
  • “I was very disappointed with even par, just with how score-able the conditions are. But, you know, I feel like I made some progress,” Spieth told reporters. “Like the way I putted this week, continuing to putt better and better each week which is nice, frees the long game up. Better this week than it has been any week this year, so feels like good stuff coming. Just stay the course.”
9. ICYMI: Tour pro hits wife with errant shot
Rough stuff for pro Tyler Duncan’s wife Friday at the Byron Nelson…
Golf Digest’s Joel Beall tells the tale…
  • “Duncan’s approach at the par-4 13th at Trinity Forest sailed to the right of the green on Friday and hit a spectator. A spectator that Duncan holds close to his heart.”
  • “Today I hit my wife in the head on that hole,” he told reporters after Round 2. “Took a big bounce and hit her, I guess.”
  • “Duncan said he was not aware that it was his wife until after the round, meaning he can’t use the incident as an excuse for failing to get up-and-down on the hole. “I had a little mud on the ball, little unfortunate timing there and shot out to the right,” he explained.”

 

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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

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

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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