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GolfWRX Morning 9: Wild stuff at U.S. Am | Tiger looks good | Kaymer keeps card | Will TW pick TW?

Published

6 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt (ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com; @benalberstadt on Instagram)

August 15, 2019

Good Thursday morning, golf fans. Looks like all the limited release Tiger Woods’ “Frank” hats are sold out. While it’ll never be Arnold Palmer’s umbrella logo, it seems TW’s famed headcover is being embraced as his avatar.
1. Squires!
AP report on what went down at the U.S. Am…”Austin Squires beat qualifying medalist Brandon Wu 2 up on Wednesday on the first day of match play at the U.S. Amateur.”
  • “Squires, a former Cincinnati player who lost to eventual champion Viktor Hovland in the quarterfinals last year at Pebble Beach, was the last player to advance from two rounds of stroke play at Pinehurst No. 2 and No. 4. He needed four holes in a 27-for-3 playoff to claim the final spot in the 64-player field.”
  • “It was kind of nice that I had already played a couple holes before the match,” Squires said. “Granted, it was on (course No.) 4, which (is) a little different, but it was kind of nice. It was a little easier getting rhythm.”

Full piece.

Round of 64 highlights via the USGA here.

2. “Nary a grimace” 
Steve DiMeglio…”There was no hint of injury and nary a grimace. Many shots were hit with force, all chip shots and putts with touch. From the first tee through the 18th green in Wednesday’s BMW Championship pro-am at Medinah Country Club, Tiger Woods walked and played without restriction.”
  • “With the skies bright and Woods on the cheerful side, it was a far different atmosphere from last Friday when he woke up to back pain and was forced to withdraw from the Northern Trust in New Jersey with an oblique strain.”
  • “It was nice to take those days off, and I had to just let it calm down and get a bunch of treatment on it, and it feels so much better,” Woods said of his back. “I played nine today, played the front nine, and played well, which was nice to see, nice to feel. Definitely doesn’t feel like it did on Friday, that’s for sure.”

Full piece.

3. Twilight, aching backs draw Woods, WIlliams together
Excellent stuff from Karen Crouse at the New York Times…
She begins…”Tiger Woods was walking with his pro-am playing partners Wednesday at Medinah Country Club when he heard that Serena Williams had pulled out of a tournament in Ohio because of back spasms. It was the second time in the span of three days that she was forced to drop out of a competition. The same injury also forced Williams to retire during the first set of the Rogers Cup final in Toronto.”
  • “Woods could relate. He withdrew before the second round of last week’s FedEx Cup playoff opener at Liberty National Golf Club when he awoke after an opening four-over 75 bothered by a strained oblique muscle that left his surgically repaired back feeling stiff. Five days later, Woods said he felt much better, but as a precautionary measure, he refrained from hitting full shots during the second nine of his pro-am before the BMW Championship, which starts Thursday.”

Full piece.

4. Kaymer keeps his card
Golf Channel’s Will Gray on how Martin Kaymer is keeping his PGA Tour card…
“Former world No. 1 Martin Kaymer will be allowed to retain conditional PGA Tour membership for the 2019-20 season despite falling short of the Tour’s requirement that a player make at least 15 starts in a season.”
  • “Kaymer has won two majors and The Players, but his five-year exemption for winning the 2014 U.S. Open expired when he missed the cut at the Wyndham Championship earlier this month. The German teed it up only 14 times on Tour this season and finished No. 150 on the points list, a position that would normally merit conditional membership that goes to Nos. 126-150 on the final standings. But because he came up one start short, his case went to the Tour’s competitions committee and ultimately the office of commissioner Jay Monahan.”
  • “At issue was The Open at Royal Portrush, where Kaymer was first alternate to begin tournament week but never got into the field. According to a Tour official, Kaymer was planning to play the Barbasol Championship in Kentucky that week but instead flew to Northern Ireland in hopes of a tee time that never materialized.”

 
5. Will Tiger pick Tiger?
Quite a conundrum!
  • Golf Channel’s Nick Menta…“Tiger Woods said Wednesday he still wants to make the U.S. Presidents Cup on his own. But with only this week’s BMW Championship left to play before the qualifying window closes, he can’t.”
  • “Woods, the U.S. captain, is currently 13th on the points list, and even a win this week at Medinah will not push him inside the top eight.”
  • “That begs the question: Will Woods use one of his four captain’s picks on himself?”
  • “It’s going to come down to the top eight guys, myself and my vice captains about who are the next four slots,” he said, “and whether that’s me and three other guys, or it’s just four other guys.”

Full piece.

6. HV3’s inner circle
An interesting morsel on the relationship between HV3 and his coach, via Steve DiMeglio…
  • “…he considers Scott Hamilton, director of instruction at Cartersville Country Club in Georgia, a critical part of his “Inner Circle.”
  • “You’re really not doing much instruction. You’re really keeping a guy on a path,” Hamilton said of working with PGA Tour players. “That’s really what my job is.”
  • …”That’s all it is, golf, eat and sleep,” Varner said. “Practice all day. I enjoy doing that; I don’t know how much longer in my life it’s going to be like that. I’m not going to be a kid forever, but I’m going to try to use that as long as possible.”

Full piece. 

7. BMW to renew
Golf Digest’s Dave Shedloski…It appears as if BMW is staying on as title sponsor of the PGA Tour’s second FedEx Cup Playoff event.
  • “According to a report in Wednesday’s Chicago Tribune, BMW is set to pull a U-turn after indicating it would end its long-running sponsorship of the tournament that formerly was the Western Open and is run by the Western Golf Association. The Tribune reported that BMW is set to sign a new three-year contract for $15 million to $18 million annually.”
  • “The about-face reportedly was initiated by the incoming chairman, Oliver Zipse, who takes over Aug. 16. BMW has been the title sponsor of this tournament since 2007. It was believed that the luxury automaker was interested in diverting its golf-sponsorship resources to the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Haven, Wis. A tournament source said that still might happen in addition to retaining its ties to the PGA Tour.”

Full piece.

8. Shipnuck on PGA Tour hopeful Justin Lower
He writes…”Lower’s broad perspective was born of family tragedy. When he was 15, he was waiting to be picked up at Lyons Den Golf Course, in Canal Fulton, Ohio, but his father, Tim, and brother Chris never made it. In the wake of their fatal car accident, Justin lost himself in the game. Lyons Den became his sanctuary. He was given a key to the shed where the range balls were stored and he hit them by the hundred.”
  • “I wasn’t working on anything,” he says. “It was just therapeutic.”
  • “With golf and sorrow so inextricably linked, Lower had a heavy heart as he embarked on his pro career, after having played at Malone University. But going home again has brought him a newfound peace. Five years ago he reconnected with the one of the most popular girls from his high school, Janice Sandrock. Back in the day, he was a golf nerd and she was a cheerleader, ergo, “She wouldn’t talk to me,” Lower says. They are to be married this fall, and late last year they bought a house in their old hometown. Lower is now once again frequenting Lyons Den, a par 69 of 5,591 yards at which his best score is a 58. Everyone there knows his name.”

Full piece.

9. Brooks knows!
PGATour.com’s Andrew Tursky on some bold Brooks Koepka footwear (Photo cred: PGATour.com)
  • “Brooks Koepka, considered one of the best athletes in golf history, wore golf shoes on Wednesday as a tribute to a man considered one of the best overall athletes in history: Bo Jackson. Actually, Koepka and Jackson played as partners in the Wednesday pro-am at Medinah Country Club ahead of the 2019 BMW Championship.”
  • “The  “Brooks Knows” slogan on Koepka’s shoes put a little twist on the popular “Bo Knows” marketing campaign, featuring Jackson, which started in 1989 for Nike cross-training shoes.”

Related Topics:

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

on

Aug 4, 2025

By

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

By

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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