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Tour Rundown: Lazy Days at Lahinch, MinnesOHta Mania and Wisconsin Women

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6 years ago

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The European Tour’s 3-week run in early July might be unmatched in golf broadcasting. For a fortnight and a half, viewers are afforded the opportunity (most years) to see the finest links in golf. Played as it was created, centuries ago, golf balls carom with abandon around fairways and green sites. Putts from 70 feet (and sometimes, 70 yards) maneuver to within the leather. Sure, there’s tremendous golf in the heartland of the USA and other locales, but give credit its due assignment: golf along the ground, along the British coastlines, is spectacular. With that, to the linksland and this week’s Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour returns to Minnesota

It was an unforgettable return to the PGA Tour for the state of Minnesota. A tournament that had been contested on PGA Tour Champions, essentially received a promotion to the PGA Tour Regular. The golf course, dotted with ponds so reminiscent of the lakes of the host state, offered opportunities galore for birdies and disaster. More than one scorecard told the story of doubles, followed by eagles, pursued by birdies. The champion turned out to be the type of golfer that the event hopes to be: young, unafraid, a little brash, and worthy.

Matthew Wolff is a valley kid from California. Like Rickie Fowler, he left the west coast for America’s heartland, pursuing academics and golf at Oklahoma State. He got big for two reasons: great play in college, and regular feature on George Gankas’ Instagram feed. Wolff jumped up large on Saturday with 62. On Sunday, he stormed the castle in the end, closing with an eagle at the last to vault over Bryson DeChambeau and playing partner Collin Morikawa, securing an initial tour title by one stroke. The runners-up did nearly everything correctly: they posted 66s and tossed up a potent challenge. This was Wolff’s day, week, and moment, and he did not back away, he did not disappoint. As Wolff featured in a Tweet to Gankas, his teacher, a dream come true.

@pgatour     @3mopen     @George Gankas     @matthew_wolff5

Korn Ferry Tour visits NY/PA border

As happens each week on the Korn Ferry Tour, stories abound. The former Demon Deacon, making a run at his first, large-tour title. The US Air Force pilot and instructor, doing the same. The Kiwi grinder from down under, recently turned 40, also in search of the breakthrough victory. They toil in fair anonymity, the near-equivalent of the minor league ballplayer. Many of their tour stops are smaller towns and rural areas, where the KF event is the biggest game of the summer. Such was the case in Clymer, NY, where the Peek’n Peak Resort hosted another LECOM Health Challenge. As in previous years, when the likes of Bubba Watson competed, and winners like Chesson Hadley, Kevin Stadler and Guy Boros, held the trophy high, multiple stories collided into one, with Ryan Brehm the biggest tale of them all.

A single stroke separated Brehm and Tim Wilkinson (the Kiwi) as Sunday awakened. By day’s end, they had traded that stroke, and went into a playoff. Truly, they should not have been there. Brehm handed Wilkinson a 2nd chance by following a 71st-hole birdie with a 72nd-hole double bogey. Making a concerted effort to catch the pair, was the trio of Blaine Barber, Will Zalatoris (the Demon Deacon) and Chase Seiffert. Seiffert gave the greatest effort, closing with 4 consecutive birdies for 63, -19, just one shot out of the playoff. Barber and Zalatoris came to the closer needing birdie to join the after-party, but each came up short.

Off, then, went the pair of Brehm and Wilkinson to the elevated tee of the 18th hole. As in regulation, Wilkinson made a solid par 5. His 4th stroke lipped maddeningly out of the hole. Unlike regulation, when the hole ensnared him, Brehm made a right-proper birdie 4, securing his 2nd victory on the under-tour. On Monday, Brehm stood in 25th spot on the points list. On Sunday, he had vaulted to 5th place. The triumph ensured a return to the PGA Tour for 2019-2020 for the Michigan State alum.

@LECOMHC     @peeknpeak     @kornferrytour

Irish Open at Lahinch

Great golf courses need a champion. Not the type that says “OK, completely change this layout for the professionals” (cough, Merion 2013, cough). The type like Paul McGinley, who lobbied to bring the Irish Open to lovely Lahinch. Yes, the USA won those two wars, back in the day, but it has a ways to go in learning how to cherish its classic golf courses, especially when these host the professionals.

Jon Rahm blistered Lahinch in the final round. Despite stumbling with 2 bogeys over the course of the day, the Spaniard made up for them on the 12th hole, with an eagle. He posted 8 birdies to reach 62 on the day, 126 for the weekend. The trophy gives Rahm bookends, as he first won the tournament by 6 strokes, in 2017. On this occasion, his margin of victory was 2 shots over Andy Sullivan and Bernd Wiesberger. On a day when the Spanish flag seemed destined to fly over Lahinch, Rahm worked his way through the course with precision. In contrast, countryman Rafael Cabrera-Bello jumped out to a 3-stroke lead, then lost his game. The Canary Islander birdied 3 of his first 5 holes, then succumbed to some ailment and bogeyed 4 of 6 holes as the back nine commenced. He finished in a tie for 4th with Eddie Pepperell and Robert Rock.

@ddfirishopen     @europeantour     @mcginleygolf

The tournament within the tournament

Qualifying for The Open championship is so cool! Each week of the Rolex Series (including the upcoming Scottish Open) three golfers not otherwise exempt, will earn a spot at Royal Portrush. Despite having 2 major titles, Martin Kaymer is still on the outside, looking in. Why? Well, Paul Waring birdied 4 of his final 6 holes to squeek past the German great and earn a spot in 2 weeks in Northern Ireland. In addition, to Waring, Bernd Wiesberger (2nd at Lahinch) and Robert Rock () also claimed a place in the run for champion golfer of the year. This week, not only will a Scottish Open champion be crowned at the Renaissance Club, but a triumvirate of grateful golfers will punch a ticket for Portrush.

@renaissancegc     @TheOpen     @ScottishOpen

Loaded ladies field makes Wisconsin #Awesummer

There’s a reason we left the exciting, Thornberry Creek news for last. In the awesummest awesummer of them all, four golfers went into the final round tied for the lead at -20. Tiffany Joh, she of the piano playing and the standup comedy, shot a laudable 67. It earned her a tie for 3rd with Amy Yang. Sung Hyun Park, whom everyone expected to win for a 2nd consecutive week, had 69 for a tie for 6th spot. Ariya Jutanugarn, the 2018 US Open champion, went 2-eagle low with 64. She made a deuce at the par 4 sixth hole, and a 3 at the par 5 9th hole. Out in 30 strokes, she looked like the world-beater on Sunday. Alas, her ridiculous bogey at the par 5 15th hole did her in. She needed perfection on this day, and it went a-wandering.

So who, then? Shanshan Feng, she of the cow-print pants and the permanent smile, turned in a remarkable 63 to reach -29, one beyond the grasp of Jutanugarn. Feng had no eagles, but otherwise, she was perfect. 9 birdies, 9 pars, with a 7-feet putt for a 3 at the last. The 2016 bronze medal winner in Rio claimed her 10th tour title after her duel with Ariya. The golf on all fronts was blindingly good; as with all tournaments, only one golfer hoists the trophy. Feng probably won’t win the Race to CME Globe (symbolic of LPGA supremacy) this year, but she did leap 15 spots in the standings with her victory.

@lpga     @shanshanfengCHN     @thornberrylpga

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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

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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WITB

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