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Tour Rundown: Casey, Pendrith, Walker Cup, and WLD
How about a mixed bag of tricks for this week’s Tour Rundown? For starters, we watched a European Tour event in Germany, a Canadian event in Montreal, a Walker Cup in England, and a World Long Drive championship in Oklahoma. Football may be back, but GOLF NEVER LEFT! You’ll need a speedy pair of kicks to touch down in all these spots, and we’ve got just the slorps do get the job done.
Casey’s mom has got it going on…at European Open in Germany
It’s just Paul Casey, but, you know, that song thing… Paul Casey showed the young’uns how its done at the European Tour’s European Open in Germany. What started out as a potential coronation for either Bernd Ritthammer (home-country hero) or Robert MacIntyre (media darling of 2019) finished as a reminder of how good Paul Casey can be. Casey tossed 3 birdies on each side at the competition, resulting in no-bogey 66 and a 1-stroke win over Bernd, Bobby, and Mattias Schwab.
In truth, Schwab was never “in it,” as he needed a 72nd-hole eagle to reach 13 deep. Both Ritthammer and MacIntyre arrived at the 18th green on Sunday with putts to tie Casey. MacIntyre was 45 feet below the hole for eagle … and left it short, dead in the jaws. Ritthammer stood 20 feet above the hole for birdie … and left it short, dead in the jaws. As they say, don’t fall in love with the line and forget to hit it. But you can fall in love with Casey’s mom’s son, and his 14th Euro Tour title, first since 2014.
Pendrith angling for the big stage
This writer first saw Taylor Pendrith punish a golf ball at the 2013 Porter Cup. This week, on the Mackenzie PGA Tour Canada, Pendrith put his entire game on display. Pendrith offset his bogies with eagles (4 of the former against 2 soaring birds) on the week, and chipped in 28 birdies over the remaining 68 holes. He began Sunday with a 5-shot cushion, thanks to consecutive 62 in the middle rounds. Sunday wasn’t nearly as explosive, as the Ontario native signed for 67. Playing partner Kyle Mueller knew the odds were long as round 4 began. His 2-under 70 was enough to hold off David Pastore (67 for -19) and secure 2nd place at 20 under par.
The victory moved Pendrith into 2nd spot on the tour’s Order of Merit, heading into next week’s Canada Life Championship in London, Ontario. He needs a little more than $5G differential to overtake leader Paul Barjon. The top 5 members of the Order of Merit receive the coolest promotional item on record: a hockey sweater (not called a jersey up here!) and receive Korn Ferry Tour cards. Hayden Buckley has a $28K lead over Dawson Armstrong for the 5th card, but that $40Large first prize will go a long way toward closing that gap for 6 potential upstarts.
Walker Cup shimmies back to states after Sunday near-sweep
Tyros will look at Sunday’s 8-2 singles dusting of the GB&I squad by Team USA, and consider that set the exigent one of the 2019 matches. In truth, it looks good, but it came about because of Saturday and Sunday mornings. Eschewing four-ball for two braces of foursomes, the strategy backfired on the host country at Hoylake, when Team USA more than held its own in the alternate-shot format. On day one, the colonists tied Team Brexit, 2-2. On day the second, they went a wee bit better, winning 2 and tying 1 for a 2.5-1.5 advantage. Ryder Cup aficionados know exactly how badly the professional team plays, well, team formats. Perhaps they could learn a bit from their amateur counterparts, except for the Sunday pants part.
Brandon Wu and John Smalley each went 3-1 for team USA. Wu and John Pak were the heroes that only history and this writer will remember. On Saturday, as the Brits and Celts were handing the USA its collective sombrero in singles, Wu got out front early, and Pak came through late. Although the Americans lost that round by a total of 3-5, it should have been 1-7. Only John Augenstein, US Amateur runner-up, was in control of his match the entire day. In 2021, the Walker Cup returns to the shores of America, where it will be held in the springtime, due to fabled Seminole’s role as host club. Note to my editor: I plan to be there. Save up for my plane ticket.
Samson wins World Long Drive championship, refuses to cut hair
You can keep your Matthew Wolff; I’ll take a Kyle Berkshire swing, at least this week, anyway. The shifting sands of Berkshire, who rocks forward with a right-foot lift, backward with a left-foot rise, then unleashes a perfect swing, found a way to beat the odds, as the man to beat. He won his 1st-round match on his VERY LAST SWING, having gone 0 for 7, against Tommy Hug. So that you know, it’s not like Hug was 290 off the tee, and Berky needed a hybrid to beat him. Hug ripped it 413, but He of the Flowing Locks annihilated that effort with a 420-plus bomb. Phil, you think you hit bombs? Lefty, por favor. After sneaking past Hug, Berkshire dispatched Texan Mark Costello, then sent England’s Jordan Brooks home with a 423-yard effort. In the finals, Berkshire’s rise to #1 in the world was validated beyond any doubt. He overcame former champion and 2nd seed Tim Burke of Florida, thanks to a 2nd-ball launch of 407 yards.
The women’s bracket featured a bit of an upset. Crowd favorites Troy Mullins and Alexis Belton were sent packing by New Zealand’s Phillis Meti, the world number one, and South Africa’s Chloe Garner. Meti had won the belt 2 of the past 3 years, but Garner connected on a 347-yard rocket to upset the reigning champion.
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.
Card III and Bacha both miss their birdie tries on the first playoff hole.
We’ll play 18 again @OspreyOpen. pic.twitter.com/vNpHTdkHDg
— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) August 3, 2025
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
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #2
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Scotty Kennon – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Austin Duncan – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Will Chandler – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kevin Roy – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ben Griffin – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ryan Gerard – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Adam Schenk – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kurt Kitayama – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Camilo Villegas – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matti Schmid – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
Pullout Albums
- Denny McCarthy’s custom Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Swag Golf putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Karl Vilips TM MG5 wedges – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- New Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matt Fitzpatrick’s custom Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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)
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
