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Morning 9: Origin story of the famed Bethpage “warning” sign | Sea change in player prep for majors?

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6 years ago

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

May 15, 2019

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans.
1. Tuesday tedium
Geoff Shackelford on the vibe at Bethpage and a possible sea change in player preparation
“…Sadly, this Tuesday tedium may be the new normal.”
  • “Players are increasingly focusing on saving energy by skipping or minimizing practice rounds. They’re choosing their press conference words carefully to avoid unwanted drama – though Woods and Koepka did their part. So we’re mostly left to wonder if a 53-year-old former winner will be able to navigate muddy puddles in his topless buggy.”
  • “It’s hard to say who started this accelerating trend of players doing all of their “prep” and “reps” before tournament week. With green books, smarter caddies, wiser instructors and more information than ever to scope out a course, practice rounds just aren’t as necessary. Even their equipment is so dialed in that we don’t get too many stories of players struggling to make a high-profile adjustment. That’s because plenty of rest is required to cope with five-and-a-half hour rounds in an era with the new condensed schedule making players pace themselves.  Led by, you know who, the Masters champion.”
2. “Just perfect”
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”Despite the cold, gloomy conditions, Kerry Haigh smiled brightly when the PGA of America’s chief championships officer was asked about this week’s conditions at Bethpage Black.”
  • “As you can see or I’m sure some of the players have seen, the greens are just perfect. The fairways are beautiful. The rough is growing,” Haigh beamed.”
  • “If you asked me 3 ½ weeks ago, you always think, is spring ever going to come and are the trees going to bud and is the grass going to grow?” Haigh admitted. “Thankfully for all of our lives, that’s happened, and hopefully will continue to do so.”
3. Fox commentator makes it to U.S. Open sectionals
ICYMI, the Forecaddie on Shane Bacon’s impressive feat…
  • “The Forecaddie knows there are fantastic stories behind every U.S. Open local qualifier. So with an apology to the many other fine tales out there that Golfweek will be tracking down as we build to full Sectional Qualifying coverage, The Man Out Front couldn’t help but notice Shane Bacon’s successful effort at Phoenix Country Club.”
  • “You know him as Fox’s second lead announcer after Joe Buck, but social media followers know Bacon’s got a sweet move even if he is a lefty, something The Forecaddie won’t hold against him after posting 68 on his home course to advance to the Sectionals.”
  • “I’ve probably done local 8 or 9 times, sniffed the line a couple of times, fired awful numbers more,” Bacon wrote after being one of seven to advance from Phoenix on May 13. “It’s a small accomplishment in the landscape of golf, sure, but teeing it at 9:40 this morning and finding out at 2 pm you’re through is why we play, it’s why we care and it’s why we love the competition of the sport.”
4. Rory doesn’t think people fully appreciate the magnitude of Tiger Woods’ Masters win
Interesting take from the Ulsterman…
AP report…”Four-time major champion Rory McIlroy was still in awe Tuesday, two days before the start of the year’s second major, the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black.”
  • “I still don’t think people understand what he did in April and coming back, and with everything that he’s been through,” McIlroy said. “It’s unbelievable. Whether it’s the greatest comeback in sports, that’s probably up for debate, but from what I’ve experienced and the things that he said when I’ve been around him, to be 2½ years ago from looking like maybe not playing golf again to winning the first major of the year and being the favorite going into the second major of the year, I mean, that’s unbelievable.”

 
5. The new Woods narrative
TW himself on his changing tale…
  • Mark Cannizarro at the NY Post…“It’s great to be part of the narrative,” Woods said Tuesday in his first public remarks since his fifth career Masters victory in April, which also happened to be his 15th career major championship. “My narrative spans 20 years now, just over 20 years. If you look at most of the players or the players that have had the most success on Tour, you’re not measured by, like an NFL football player when you get in the Hall of Fame after nine years. If you played out here nine years, you haven’t really done that well. You’re measured in decades. Because the nature of the sport, we’re able to hang around a lot longer and still be relevant.”
  • …”Whether I’m dominant or not going forward, that remains to be seen,” Woods said. “What I know is I need to give myself the best chance to win the events that I play in, and sometimes that can be taking a little bit more breaks here and there and making sure that I am ready to go and being able to give it my best at those events.”
6. Brooks’ major math
A Jack Nicklaus-esque breakdown…
Golf Channel’s Will Gray…Koepka has won just twice outside the majors, in 2015 at the Waste Management in Phoenix and last fall at the CJ Cup in South Korea. While many contenders head into weeks like this with lofty aspirations, Koepka arrives at Bethpage State Park with a confidence level befitting a man who’s running out of room on his mantle.
  • “I think you keep doing what you’re supposed to do, you play good, you peak at the right times,” Koepka said. “I think sometimes the majors are the easiest ones to win.”
  • …”There’s 156 [players] in the field, so you figure at least 80 of them I’m just going to beat,” Koepka said. “You figure about half of them won’t play well from there, so you’re down to about maybe 35. And then from 35, some of them just – pressure is going to get to them. It only leaves you with a few more, and you’ve just got to beat those guys.”
7. The story of Bethpage Black’s famed “warning” sign
George Willis of the NY Post talked with Mike Asheroff, former deputy regional director for the Long Island State Parks…
  • He said the sign originated on Memorial Day, either in 1981 or ’82, maybe even 1980. Asheroff said he was sitting having coffee with Eric Siebert, who was the parks superintendent at the time, when Siebert’s two-way radio alerted them of an altercation on the golf course.
  • “We went out there and some guy had decided he was going to teach his wife to play golf on Memorial Day on the Black Course,” Asheroff told The Post in a telephone interview. “There were four or five empty holes in front of them and a foursome of very angry Asian golfers behind them. They were getting upset with the man and the woman and their English wasn’t good. To hurry them up, they hit several balls into him and his wife. He turned around and hit the balls back at them. They all became extremely angry.
  • “The park police showed up. We managed to get this guy off the golf course. His wife was mortified. We refunded his green fee and told him to go away.”
  • Here’s where the legend of the Black Warning Sign is born.
  • “I turned to Eric at that point and said, ‘Give me a piece of paper,’ and I scribbled out the wording of the sign and said, ‘Get the sign shop to make this up and put it by the park register and if anybody wants to play golf on the Black, point it out to them.’ That’s how the sign got out there,” Asheroff recalled.
8. Woods on Daly’s cart use
Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…
  • “Speaking to the media at Bethpage Black, Woods was asked his thoughts on Daly using a cart at the PGA Championship. Last week the PGA of America granted the 53-year-old, who is in the field thanks to the lifetime exemption earned from his 1991 PGA Championship victory, access to wheels under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Daly suffers from osteoarthritis in his right knee.”
  • “Yet Woods, realizing the opportunity before him, was stoic in his response: “Well, I walked with a broken leg, so…” Woods replied, letting out a brief smile after a beat.”
9. What Brooks is cooking
Golf Channel’s Jason Crook…”It may not get the same hype as the Masters Champions Dinner, but the PGA Champions Dinner delivered the goods on Tuesday night at Bethpage.”
  • “Defending champion Brooks Koepka’s menu included a choice of Miyazaki beef imported from Japan, roasted Long Island duck or branzino filet for the main course, sandwiched between an appetizer of spinach and goat cheese salad topped with fried pork belly and carrot cake for dessert.”

 

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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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