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PGA Championship: 5 things we learned on Thursday

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6 years ago

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Coming into this week, many said that a northeastern course would be a terrible venue for a month-of-May PGA Championship, especially one not built on sand. They said that the winds would blow, the rains would fall, and the course would mud up like a college Oozefest. As of Thursday, it had yet to happen at Bethpage Black, despite ominous weather earlier in the week.

With the ancillaries out of the way, attention turned to the actual golf, particularly the current major champions group of Tiger Woods, Francesco Molinari, and Brooks Koepka. As the reigning holder of the Wannamaker trophy, the oft-slighted Koepka ambled into Farmingdale with a chip on his shoulder. Did it remain there? Did he get outplayed by his two group-mates? Read up on the 5 things we learned on Thursday, to find out the honest truth.

5. George Gankas might be the name on everyone’s mind by week’s end

He coaches Danny Lee and Sung Kang. Kang won last week at the Byron Nelson, and Lee is in 2nd place (more on that later.) Gankas is a flat-brim-wearing, driving-range-teaching, rip open your hips and thrust that pelvis like Elvis, kind of guy. No holding back, and he’s fun to watch. His stable of golfers might be ready to break through, and break the mold. Remember where you first heard it.

4. Happy Hollow Club REPRESENT! Mill River Club HOLLA!

For today, the PGA professionals (not touring pros) from Happy Hollow Club in Omaha, and Mill River Club in nearby Oyster Bay, sat inside the top 20 of a major golf championship. The PGA Championship cares as much about its club professionals, as the Masters does about amateurs. When either one makes the cut, it’s a big deal. Jason Caron (the local) had 3 each of birdies and bogies, while Ryan Vermeer (the cornhusker) matched his total with 2 of each (birdies and bogies.) These are guys who not only keep golf running on the daily level, but can game it with the world’s best, if only for a day. Here’s to another hot round tomorrow for each, a made cut, and a weekend at Bethpage.

3. Tommy of the cascading lettuce sits in 3rd after 18

Tommy Fleetflow…Tommy Flowwood…Tommy Sweetflow…oh, sorry, where was I? This all might seem eerily familiar to the Englishman. Last June, he finished one shot behind current leader Brooks Koepka at the US Open, on a golf course located about 60 miles away, in the Hamptons. Fleetwood turned the tables at the Ryder Cup, where he was the hero of the week. Now he returns to battle Brooks, but he has 4 shots to make up. Like Koepka, Fleet started on the inward half. He birdied one-third of his holes, but made 3 bogies on the day to slip back to 3-under par. Despite the miscues, the man from Southport was surprised at the number of birdies he snared:

I was a little bit actually. It wasn’t something that I really — I mean, I didn’t really have an over and under on how many birdies I might need to make, but like sort of you feel like you make one, you feel like the course isn’t really giving you much. I think it definitely felt more playable today, though, than on the practice days. I made a great birdie on 15, which was my first one of the day, but at no point does it feel like the course is going to lend anything to you. Yeah, six birdies is a lot. It’s probably more than I thought I would get.

2. Danny Lee was super good … in 2008

The Korean golfer from New Zealand won the 2008 US Amateur by 5 & 4 in the finale. He has had moderate success since then, known as much for being Rickie Fowler’s prank patsy as a tour winner. Lee has never threatened to win a professional major, so it’s doubtful that he’ll be in the mix past 36 holes. For today, he was outstanding. 8 birdies offset by 2 bogies brought him to -6 on the day, one off Brooks Koepka’s course record. By the way, Danny has real-people concerns, just like you and me:

Yes and no, but I know my family is sacrificing out there for me to chase my dream out here. I guess I should say yes. I sometimes feel like I’m a bad person when I play bad because a young baby and my wife and my mother-in-law traveling with me out here, and when I don’t make a good result, it just makes me feel like I didn’t do what I’m supposed to do. I definitely have that kind of mindset in my head now.

1. Koepka silences doubters for at least one day

Course record? Seven under par? No bogies? Nothing that anyone predicted, all came true for the defending champion on Thursday at the Black. Despite, or perhaps because of, a pairing with the greatest golfer of all time and the greatest Italian golfer of all time, Brooks Koepka showed them and everyone who watched, who the man to beat is this week. He opened with birdie on the 10th, the same hole Woods double-bogied, where Molinari earned bogey. Just like that, the quiet one was 3 up and 2 up, respectively. It didn’t get much better for the wee men the rest of the way. His burliness birdied his last hole, the 9th, in addition to 5 other birdies. Pretty much the perfect round, to get people to sit up and take notice. Despite it all, the big man was convinced he left three shots on the course:

Well, I didn’t take care of the par-5s, didn’t birdie any of the par-5s. That was disappointing because I felt like you know those are holes you should be able to birdie. Definitely can reach, what is it, 4 and just hit a bad drive there. And then 13 I can get there, too, I just hit it in the bunker. And then the second hole today, my 11th hole, I missed about a five-footer. That would have been nice to shoot 60. I guess that would have been pretty good.

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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.

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. Rascal

    May 17, 2019 at 6:53 pm

    He’s sure come a long way from ggswingtips on Instagram!

    Reply Report comment

  2. Stacey Uchtman

    May 17, 2019 at 9:50 am

    Gankas has a crazy swing himself, I think he is Wolff’s coach if I’m not mistaken too.

    Reply Report comment

  3. Paul

    May 16, 2019 at 11:48 pm

    “Remember where you first heard it”. Wait, what?
    George has been around for years, he didn’t get credibility because he didn’t have big name players. But now his young people are coming up fast. We heard of George on YouTube years ago. We didn’t hear about George here first, or that he was going to be a great coach, we figured it out a long time ago, Golfwrx is playing catch up.

    Reply Report comment

    • Ronald Montesano

      May 17, 2019 at 6:30 am

      Notice how we didn’t write “You heard it here first.” Just reminding you to “remember where you first heard it.” Also, to split hairs even more, we are the first outlet THIS WEEK to write about Gankas’ teaching impact on the first round.

      That said, I’d love to hear more about how you found the gospel according to George. I’ve been a Twitter follower for about 8 months, and am trying to gently incorporate elements of what he teaches into my swing. #NowhereNearCali

      Reply Report comment

      • Obee

        May 17, 2019 at 9:49 am

        Oh come on, Ron! “Remember where you first heard it.” The implication there is absolutely that the reader heard it in YOUR article first. Otherwise it’s nonsensical. There is zero chance you really meant to have the reader take a moment to ask: “Self, where did you first hear of George Gankas.”

        And if you did mean that, then that’s just bad writing. No offense. 😉

        I mean, I love your stuff, but that was just a bad response.

        I’ve been following Gankas for two(?) years now. Love his stuff. Even booked a lesson with him, but since I live in Riverside, it was too long a haul, and I couldn’t make it. Need to book another for sure….

        Reply Report comment

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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

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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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