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Tour Rundown: Champ re-emerges, Victor Perez, MJ Hur, feather in a bucket cap
While this writer’s quarterback was being headbutted out of a game by those law-abiding Patriots, golf was being played around the world. Not the greatest opening line for a Tour Rundown, I’ll admit, but I need to blow off some steam. You know, vent a little. #ThanksOfficials. Moving along, a playoff concluded this week’s Champions Tour event, while a Frenchman with a Hispanic name conquered St. Andrews…all of it! Japan took all three podium positions at the Asian Tour’s Panasonic Open, while MJ Hur hit the bricks at the Brickyard. Oh, and Champ champed again. Run run run it all down right now with the final Tour Rundown of September 2K19.
Champ re-emerges on PGA Tour with a walkoff win at Safeway
After Cameron Champ bogeyed the 71st hole to slice a 2-shot lead to 1, he watched Adam Hadwin tie him on the 18th hole. 11 months after his first tour triumph (Sanderson Farms 2018), Champ rebounded with a birdie of his own at the last, for a 2nd victory in the show. At Sanderson last year, Champ held off Canada’s Corey Conners by 4 shots. This year, another Maple Leaf made it a bit closer, but the result was still the same. Many expected the young launcher to make a run at a major this year, but the surge never materialized, until late September. Champ never went mid-60s low in Napa, but his collection of top-shelf vintages (2 67s, a 68 and a 69) made him the only guy to complete all 4 rounds in the 60s. Hadwin went 10 deep on the weekend, but a 14th-hole bogey on Sunday proved to be his undoing. Still, birdies at the final 3 holes says something about his guts. Champ had 5 birdies on the final day, but those 2 pesky bogeys kept the field within striking distance. Still, to follow up bogey with a bounce-back at the last, suggests that the bomber from Sacramento might have some cache on tour, after all.
Victor Perez continues move up European Tour ladder with victory at Dunhill
Victor Perez epitomizes the road warrior. He graduated from the Alps Tour (whatever that is) with a victory in 2016, then won each of the last two years on the Challenge Tour (that one, we’ve heard of.) In 2019, Perez journeyed to the home of golf and played Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and the Old Course like a fiddle. In what should have been a playoff-decided event, Waring essentially gave back 2 shots over the closing pair. He bogeyed the Road Hole, then failed to birdie the eminently-birdieable Home hole at The Old Course. Wait, what do you know? Southgate did the same thing. As for Perez, he did nothing spectacular like Luke Donald (holed wedge for 2 at the last on Saturday) on Sunday, but he did enough correctly to win his first European Tour event at the home of golf. Nice memories were made this weekend by the Frenchman with the Hispanic name.
Indy Women In Tech to MJ Hur on the LPGA Tour
You don’t get much more heart of the USA than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Its Pete Dye-designed golf course concludes in the heart of the oval, a hybrid away from the famed bricks, where the winner of the Indy 500 drinks milk in celebration. No telling if MJ Hur of South Korea imbided this Sunday; what is known is that she held off young Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Denmark by 4 shots. Hur began the day in what looked like a showdown with New Jersey’s Marina Alex, but the Vandy grad could only muster an even-par 72. That meager effort dropped her to 3rd spot, 6 behind Mi Jung. Madsen, meanwhile, put together a 5-under 67, with birdies at the final two holes enough to vault her past Alex, into the runner-up position. Hur won the Scottish Open in August, her third victory in ten years on tour. Her every five years streak (prior wins in 2009 and 2014) came to a happy end, with this 2nd victory of the season.
Pure Insurance on PGA Tour Champions is another feather in Triplett’s bucket cap
I won’t say that I’m thrilled that Kirk Triplett won this week. Good guy and all…love the bucket hat. His 8th PGA Tour Champions title (and 2nd of this campaing) came at the expense of my old college chum (and frequent interview subject) Billy Andrade. Eight golfers ultimately finished within 3 shots of the top spot. Both Andrade and Triplett birdied the 18th to reach 9-under par. Paul Broadhurst also made 4 at the 18th, but came up one shot shy of extra time. In the playoff, Triplett made after Andrade missed, and thus the west was one. It was a 3rd victory in this event for Triplett, but more important was the victory of his The First Tee playing partner in the junior boys competition. Sometimes a little distraction is a good thing.
Asian Tour title rests in hands of Toshinori Muto
Shugo Imahira and Hosung Choi, aka the Fisherman, each posted 4 rounds in the 60s this week. Choi never reached deep enough into that decade to challenge for the title. He tied for 5th spot with 3 others. Imahira finished 17-under par, 5 better than Choi and last week’s winner (Jbe Kruger) but still not good enough. There was this guy, see, named Muto, Toshinori Muto, and he lit up the Higashi Hirono golf club like an opera chandelier. Muto had 65 on day one, and 64-64 over the weekend. In truth, he might have won by 10, had he not slipped on Friday with 4 bogies in one round. Over the remaining 54 holes, Muto made but 2 bogies. Not a bad week’s work, nor paycheck. The victory was Muto’s 7th career title, with the other 6 coming on the Japan PGA Tour.
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...
James
Sep 30, 2019 at 4:30 pm
Who pours milk on themselves? Must be one of those crazy Koreans.