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Morning 9: Pebble Beach: Just what the USGA needs? | Rory’s putter saga | TW and the art of the rest day

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6 years ago

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

June 13, 2019

Good Thursday morning, golf fans.
1. Pebble the panacea?
Dave Kindred says a U.S. Open at Pebble could be just what the USGA needs…
  • “The folks in charge of the United States Open golf tournament do many things well, and the thing they do best is bring their ultimate competition to the Pebble Beach Golf Links, the ultimate golf course. Maybe some places demand more of a player; Oakmont comes to mind. Maybe some places speak more to history; Augusta. No place, it says here, does all that while sending its players to the edge of the known world – way past Gilroy, just south and west of Salinas – and onto the greatest stage in golf.”
  • “…And now they come not to a place unknown, not to Erin Hills or Chambers Bay, but to a place called felicitous and breathtaking and “one of the most amazing pieces of property in the world” (Spieth, Tuesday). They come to Pebble Beach, a property sanctified by Nicklaus and Watson and beatified by Woods, and we’ll see if Brooks Koepka can add to the history. Victory would be Koepka’s third straight in the Open. That trifecta has been done, but only once, and a lot has happened since Willie Anderson came over from Scotland and did it in 1903, ’04, and ’05.” 

Full piece.

2. Feeling the pressure…
AP report reminding us what’s at stake…”From rules gaffes to dead grass to lack of rain or wind, the story surrounding the past four U.S. Opens has been as much about the management of the tournament as it has been the shots by the players in the field.”
  • “Because of that recent history, the USGA might be under as much pressure as any of the competitors this week.”
  • “It is not lost on us this is an important week, not only for golf, this is an important week for the USGA,” executive director Mike Davis said at a news conference Wednesday, the day before this year’s national championship starts at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
3. Final prep for Tiger (and everyone else)
Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…“Woods joined Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Kevin Kisner for a tour of Pebble’s back nine. There’s usually not much to extract the day before a major: the preparation has been done, the strategy laid out. It’s more out of routine, sprinkled with the search for one final secret or observation that will prove the difference. Those needing Wednesday to get their swing or mind right can be written off.”
  • “Yet Woods, a year-and-a-half into his comeback but still very much in the exploratory stages of what his body can and can’t do, views Wednesdays in a different light…”
  • “…The 43-year-old now takes Tuesdays off-or as much as a three-hour practice session can qualify as “off”-to conserve energy. Because his latest back procedure has tightened his muscles up, Wednesday serves as a litmus test for Woods, making sure the swing that was there on Monday has returned.”
4. Bring on the driving irons?
Golfweek’s David Dusek on a popular weapon for attacking Pebble Beach this week…
  • “At 7,075 yards, Pebble Beach Golf Links is not a long course by modern standards. However, the cool, damp climate is perfect for growing grass, and it has allowed the United States Golf Association to line the fairways and surround the greens with deep, thick rough.”
  • “That rough would typically compel golfers to consider adding a high-lofted fairway wood to their bag and remove a long iron. Fairway woods, like a 5-wood or a 7-wood, have a wider sole than a long iron and a lower center of gravity. They can work through tall grass and get the ball up more easily. Plus, because they have a longer shaft than a long iron, a fairway wood will hit the ball a little farther than an iron with the same loft.”
  • “But this week at Pebble Beach, the firm fairways and a weather forecast that calls for virtually no rain has players rethinking their options. Driving irons, normally put into play on windy courses to keep the ball low and allow it to run after it lands, have been more popular than expected.”
5. Slow starts have doomed Rory’s major efforts of late
John Huggan for Golf Digest….
  • (What Johnny Miller told Rory) “Johnny told me to look at the history of major championships,” said McIlroy, who tees off the 10th hole at 7:51 a.m. local time on Thursday. “That first round is so important. And I agree. My first rounds at Augusta [73] and Bethpage [72] this year put me a little bit behind the eight ball. And it’s hard to catch up. Especially as major championships are played on the toughest courses. The temptation is to chase and it’s hard to do that.
  • “In the majors I’ve won, I started really well with rounds in the mid-60s. And that’s sort of what’s held me back a little bit [in the others]. If I can take the freedom that I played with on Saturday and Sunday last week [when he shot 64-61 to win the Canadian Open by seven shots] and get off to a good start here, I’ll hopefully be right in the tournament from the get-go and stay there. That’s what is wonderful about golf, whether you win or lose. You go to the next week and it’s sort of forgotten about. You start again. You can’t dwell on success or failure. You keep looking forward.”

Full piece.

6. …but at least he has his putter!
Tim Dahlberg at the AP…
During the trophy presentation at the Canadian Open…”McIlroy momentarily traded his putter for a Toronto Raptors jersey with the CEO of Golf Canada, Laurence Applebaum, and they nearly forgot to trade back.”
  • “I traded him. He gave me a Raptors jersey, and I gave him my putter and thought he was going to give it to [caddie Harry Diamond] up at the scoring area or whatever,” McIlroy said on Wednesday at the U.S. Open. “And I saw Harry. He goes, Where’s your putter? And I said, I better go find it. So, no, I definitely didn’t give it away. I know I’ve done some stupid things in the past, but that would have been right up there.”
  • …”I said to Harry, Could you go and find Laurence? He’s got my putter. And put it back in the bag and make sure the bag gets on the plane and goes to California,” added McIlroy. “That was really it … the guy I gave it to was running the golf tournament. He knows it’s not for him.”
7. Contrast of Woods, Koepka
James Raia at the Monterey Herald with an interesting perspective…
  • “But unlike Woods, Koepka believes he doesn’t get enough attention and is misunderstood by the public for his stoic nature while competing. Also unlike Woods, a diplomat and often cautious with the media, Koepka doesn’t have much of a filter.”
  • “While other prominent players, including Woods, have criticized the United States Golf Association for U.S. Open course set-ups, Koepka said others complain too much. He prefers to reference the “even playing field” golf offers.”
  • “Koepka has also “challenged” players saying: “winning majors is easier than other tournaments because there are only a handful of players who are talented enough and mentally strong enough to compete with me.”
8. Rory the liberated
The NY Post’s Mark Cannizzaro…
  • “…you saw what Rory McIlroy did in his runaway RBC Canadian Open victory Sunday and don’t think that was a loud-and-clear message entering this week’s U.S. Open, you’re not paying attention.”
  • “If McIlroy brings the form he had in posting a final-round 61 in Canada to Pebble Beach, look out field…McIlroy is perhaps the most dangerous front-runner in the game, a player who can get hot and go low in a hurry.”
  • “Liberating, satisfying … I mean, there’s a lot of different words you could use to describe what it would feel like,” McIlroy said Wednesday of the prospect of winning another major. “I had a chat at the [U.S. Open] champions reunion [Tuesday] night with Johnny Miller and Johnny said, ‘You look at the history of major championships. That first round is so important.’
9. USGA’s show and tell
The Forecaddie on the museum pieces the USGA brought to the U.S. Open champions dinner…
  • “As with the amateurs over at Cypress Point, USGA Golf Museum director Hilary Cronheim said Hogan’s 1-iron and its striking wear pattern near the hozzle got the most attention, with McIlroy, Geoff Ogilvy, Martin Kaymer and Lee Janzen taking the most interest.”
  • “I’m a golf geek, and I love the traditions and history of the game,” McIlroy said. “And that was so cool.”

 

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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

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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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