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Tour Rundown: Ground control to Major Tom, Coastal Carolina’s other pro

Published

6 years ago

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Another playoff series comes to an end in professional golf. The Korn Ferry Tour held its championship at Victoria National, the spiritual hub for aqueous masochists. The Champions Tour journeyed north of the border for its only 2019 event in Oh, Canada! The LPGA went way out west to Portland, and the European Tour sallied in Switzerland.

Even with American football in the offing, the golf is plenty interesting, with plenty at stake for the other 99.9 percent. As always, we’ll run it down like a fifth-string back, trying to make the 53-man roster. Here goes!

Ground Control To Major Tom: Lewis wins big in Indiana

Tom Lewis must have seen an opening in his schedule and figured, why not go to America’s heartland and play the KF Tour for the first time…and win the Tour Championship…and get a PGA Tour card in the process? Pretty common plan, wouldn’t you say? Lewis was an unstoppable force at Tom Fazio’s playground for fish.

He began 68-66-66, then dropped a sublime 65 on the field in round four. For those counting, that was the low round of the day, matched only by Kramer Hickock. For Hickok, it jumped him six spots, into third place, guaranteeing him a PGA Tour card beginning this fall. Second spot went to Argentina’s Fabian Gomez, who parlayed a 66 of his own into a runner-up spot. As for Lewis, that filthy 65 gave him a five-shot margin of victory over Gomez, and a chance to sit down and rewrite all of his future plans. Take your protein pills and put your helmet on.

No Montana for Hannah: Green picks Oregon for 2nd tour win of 2019

Hannah Green probably feels two percent bad about spoiling a great story for golf, and 98 percent like a wrecking ball for holding off Yealimi Noh at the Portland Classic. Noh had Monday-qualified and led after each of the first three rounds. She and Green walked the 72nd fairway in a tie for the lead. An hour prior, Noh held a four-shot advantage over the Aussie, but bogeys from Noh at 14 and 16, paired with birds from down under at 15 and 17, established equality. On 18, Noh came undone for yet another bogey, while Green made par to secure the victory.

The bitter lesson should prove to be quite valuable for Noh; for Green, a follow-up to her unanticipated Women’s PGA win in June establishes her as a legitimate threat for 2020. 2019’s stud, Brittany Altomare, sneaked into third place with a closing 69.

Coastal Carolina’s Other Tour Pro: Soderberg ticks off the Omega Masters

Dustin who? Sebastian Soderberg won a wild, five-man playoff that included Rory McIlroy, for his first-ever Euro Tour title. Much like Noh, Soderberg had a shot to win in regulation, but he three-whacked the 17th for bogey. He joined McIlroy, Andres Romero of Argentina, Lorenzo Gagli of Italy, and Denmark’s Kallie Samooja in an overtime quintet.

Samooja looked to have the best of the approach shots at the 18th, tucking his iron inside seven feet. After Gagli plunked in the water, and Romero missed a bomb birdie putt, McIlroy’s effort strayed a wee bit left. Soderberg drained a 20-feet bird to eliminate the triumvirate, then watched as Samooja opened the putter blade a bit too much, pushing his chance to stay alive to the side. Although DJ has a few more wins than Soderberg, at least the Myrtle Beach college can now lay claim to two tour winners. The Grand Strand, indeed!

I Got A Rock: Unlike Charlie Brown, Short grateful for pond gravel in Alberta

Wes Short, Jr. took dead aim at the left side of the 18th green on Sunday. His approach drifted right, toward a watery demise. It connected, dead solid perfect, with a lone stone and bounded onto the putting surface. That’s the best kind of fun. Raised from the dead, Short two-putted for birdie and held off Scott McCarron, despite an eagle from the later at the home hole.

We’ll get back to Short, but we simply cannot get inside McCarron’s head. Just when we think he wants to dominate the old-guys tour, he bogeys 16 and 17 to fall off the pace. Just when we think he has no grit, he eagles the last. What gives, Scott? Back to Short. In 2014, when he was just a baby senior, Short won in Quebec by one shot over Scott Dunlap. So, for all you bettors, if Short is in contention, in Canada, and someone named Scott is in the hunt, bet Short.

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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.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

    Sep 5, 2019 at 7:11 am

    Kalle Samooja is from Finland not Denmark.

    Reply Report comment

  2. aaron

    Sep 3, 2019 at 8:51 am

    “Noh had Monday-qualified and led after each of the first three rounds”

    Noh she didn’t. Green was tied first in round one, solo first round 2. Noh took the lead in round 3.

    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

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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News

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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