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Tour Rundown: Na, Law, Wiesberger, Scheffler, and a surprise Senior PGA winner

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6 years ago

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Memorial Day weekend brought something not seen in 2019: zero rain delays. Well, OK, they had a few in Rochester, but the Senior PGA still finished on schedule. The remainder of the golfing world saw wonderfully-sunny skies, and the players responded with spectacular golf. Come again? They pushed up the tee times in Chicago to avoid a thunderstorm? Oh. Fine, it was business as usual in professional golf, with organizers doing the Tango Mother Nature. Some things never change, but winners do. This week, we had two first-time victors on their respective tours, along with a first-time, major championship winner. Have a look at Tour Rundown for Monday, May 27th, 2019.

PGA Tour-Charles Schwab Challenge

In the event known only by me as “The Artist Formerly Known As Colonial National Invitational” #ReferencePrinceTilIDie, Kevin Na rode a 2nd-round 62 (8-under par) to his 3rd career tour win, and 2nd in the last 12 months. Off on Sunday morning with a 2-shot advantage over Tony Finau and four others, Na doubled his margin of victory by driving the ball straight. He hit 71% of fairways on day 4, verse 43% for Finau. Na was also 10% better in GIR, and nearly a full stroke better in strokes gained putting. That type of an advantage means, unless the chaser holes shots from off the green with abandon, the leader wins. Na birdies all the even-numbered holes on the front nine to set a bar for his challengers. None was up to the task, and a 2-birdie, 1-bogey inward half brought Na his first trophy of 2019. Na talked about how the course plays into his hands, and statistics bore that out:

It’s a great designed golf course. You got to hit a lot of draws off the tee. Just some of the way the hole sits, I like it. Few cut holes. I can cut it when I need to. Mostly I think a lot of my draws work out here.

And I mentioned this many times, I feel like it’s a second-shot-in golf course. The golf course, everyone kind of puts it in the same position off the tee and same spot.

It’s about how good you can hit it with the irons and how well you can putt. I’m a pretty good player fairway in.

Made In Denmark is Wiesberger’s 5th Euro Tour title

During the early years of the present decade, Bernd Wiesberger’s name was in the mix for a spot on the European Ryder Cup squad. He didn’t make it, but did earn three tour titles through 2015. Over the next four seasons, only one more title came the Austrian’s way, and his facility with victory appeared to go away. This week, the magic touch returned, and Wiesberger earned a 5th title at the Made In Denmark event. His margin of victory was razor-thin, one stroke over Robert MacIntyre of Scotland. The Scot was nearly flawless on day four, charting a course of six birdies and the rest, pars, through 16 holes. A bogey at 17 ended the perfect game, and was the one shot lost on the day. For Wiesberger, his 65 was filled with a volatile cocktail of non-pars. He had a double at the 4th, an eagle at the 11th. Seven birdies offset bogeys at 13 and 18. The final misstep served to make the final result closer than it was, and a well-earned trophy rested in Wiesberger’s hands.

LPGA Tour’s Pure Silk not “pear-shaped” for England’s Bronte Law

The Englishwoman crafted a unique metaphor for potential derailing of her final round. We’ll get to it in the ending quote, but suffice it to say that her first victory on the American tour was a potent one. She held off an international brigade from Japan (Nasa Hataoka) Canada (Brooke Henderson) and Sweden (Madelene Sagstrom) by one thin putt. Law broke from the gate with 4 birdies over her first 8 holes. A bogey at the 9th quieted the charge, but she did play the inward half under par. Hataoka began the day in a tie with the victor, but her 4 birdies were offset by 2 bogies. The fiery first half, despite the bogey, of Law’s round four, compelled the field to chase after her with abandon, which typically includes lost shots. There were enough wayward efforts on the day to allow Bronte Law to claim a maiden LPGA title.

Today was tough out there. I was trying to stay calm out there in 92 degree heat. It’s not that easy. Feel like I held it together pretty well in the middle of a round when it could have all gone pear shaped.

Scheffler defeats Colombia at Web.Com Tour’s Evans Scholars Invitational 

After four years at the University of Texas, Scottie Scheffler took to the road of so many predecessors, the one that leads to the PGA Tour. His performance over Memorial Day weekend guaranteed that a big-tour card would be his in the near future. Scheffler and Colombia’s Marcelo Rozo finished regulation play at 17-under par, one shot clear of Rozo’s countryman, Nicolas Echavarria. The 3rd-place man had a brilliant finish to his round, with birdies at 5 of the final 6 holes, for 63. Behind him, Scheffler also closed fast, with 6 birdies on the back 9, for an inward 30. Rozo had 4 chirps of his own, coming home, but a wayward drive on 16 led to his 3rd bogey on the day, dropping into a tie with the Longhorn. The pair traveled to the 18th hole twice in extra holes, where Scheffler finally made the 3rd time the charm, and made birdie. With that 4, he leaped over everyone but Robby Shelton in the race for a PGA Tour card. Rozo ascended over 100 spots, to 30th, and Echavarria jumped to 46th.

Senior PGA is Oak Hill East’s final major before restoration

After nearly four decades of undoing Donald Ross, Oak Hill returns to the master’s plan this summer. The East course will return to a layout not seen in major championship play since 1968. A farewell of sorts to the modernized course was held this week, as the Senior PGA Championship came back to the Rochester (NY) club. Known in some circles as “Choke Hill,” the venerable and challenging course gave the elders little chance to breathe easy, especially on Sunday. Six scores below par were returned on day four, with Billy Andrade’s 66 the low. It elevated him nearly 20 positions on the final afternoon. Doing battle late in the day were defending champion Paul Broadhurst, Scott McCarron and his college teammate, Ken Tanigawa. Broadhurst struggled on day four, ballooning to a 75 that dropped to him to -1 and 3rd place. McCarron gave chase all afternoon, but needed one more shot to catch the winner. Ken Tanigawa found a way to make birdies at 15 and 16, then added a spectacular up-and-down from 1243 yards at the last for the win, acknowledging all the while how difficult it was to win a senior major title:

I was leaking oil…once you hit it in the rough here, it gets really, really difficult. And (on 15) boy, it’s a tough shot really, under the circumstances… I hit an 8-iron — I was kind of between clubs … hit it really solid … hit a good putt and was really fortunate to make two there.

And then the next hole really was, you know, I drove it in that right rough again and hit a really good second shot to chip it down there and have it run on the green. And that was maybe the kind of a pivotal point, kind of gave me a little bit of cushion, because I was leaving so many putts short… Luckily it went in and made the birdie.

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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

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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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WITB

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