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Morning 9: Good Asia Swing for Rory, PGA Tour | LPGA Q-Series rules controversy | End of an era for Phil

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6 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt
Email me at ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com and find me at @benalberstadt on Instagram and golfwrxEIC on Twitter.

November 4, 2019

Good Monday morning, golf fans. 
 
**Just a reminder we’re looking for advertisers for 2020. Drop me a line if you’d like to talk about getting your message in front of the M9 readership.** 
1. Rory pips Xander, continues strong start to the year
PGATour.com’s Sean Martin…“McIlroy’s FedExCup defense has started with a third-place finish at the ZOZO Championship and now his first WGC win since 2015. He had to work hard for the victory despite shooting the second-lowest score in tournament history and going bogey-free on the weekend. Last year’s champion, Xander Schauffele, may have been under the weather but it didn’t keep him from putting pressure on McIlroy until the final hole.”
  • Schauffele trailed by two with four holes remaining, but birdied 15 and 18 to force extra holes.
  • “Xander pushed me the whole way, or all 73 holes we played together this week,” McIlroy said.
  • “But McIlroy felt he had an advantage as soon as Schauffele pulled a piece of paper from Slugger White’s hat. Schauffele’s slip had a “2” written on it, indicating that he’d hit second in their sudden-death showdown.”
  • “I knew that was the big moment because I could hit a drive down the fairway and put the pressure on him,” McIlroy said.
2. Todd’s drought over
Daniel Rapaport for Golf Digest…”Todd’s chase for 59 ultimately fell short at Port Royal Golf Club, but a nine-under 62 that included seven straight front-nine birdies was still satisfying. Todd finished a magical week at 24 under par, good enough to win his second PGA Tour title by four shots over 54-hole leader Harry Higgs.”
…”While Smylie Kaufman’s slump got all the press, Todd struggled just as mightily. Consider his plight just 14 months ago, when he had shot 75-78 to miss the cut at the 2018 Barracuda Championship. At that point, Todd had missed the weekend in 37 of his last 40 starts. Four years after the best year of his career-in 2014, he won the AT&T Byron Nelson, cracked the world top 40 and almost made the Ryder Cup team-Todd had dropped outside the top 2000.”

Full piece.

3. Q-Series controversy, larger pro golf culture
Forgive the length of the except, but Geoff Shackelford’s take on the Kendall Dye fiasco is required reading…
  • …”Christina Kim witnessed what used to be known as blatant cheating – a player asking a caddie for another golfer what club they hit. She reported it after the round, the LPGA ruled correctly and now two players have missed out on getting their cards. One deservedly, one not.”
  • “Sadly, for the player blissfully unaware her caddie was helping another player – Dewi Weber – this led to her Q-Series downfall even as she did nothing wrong. Fortunately for the spirit of the rules, the player unaware of a basic tenet of competition lost her card. Kendall Dye now has time to read up on the most basic guidelines that govern how the game is played.”
  • “The Rules of Golf can be cruel, as they were in this case for Weber, who trusted her caddie to know you don’t openly share information with players other than your own. And for Kim, who had to be wondering how oblivious her playing partner had to be to so brazenly ask the opposition for advice, she is now unfairly getting blowback for reporting a very basic and simple rules violation.”
  • “That’s pathetic. A professional golfer or caddie at an event as significant as qualifying school must be aware such information sharing is a no-no. More likely, this is another sign of the bizarre, we’re-all-in-this-together mindset in modern competitive golf.”

Full piece.

4. Nelly wins Swinging Skirts, triumphs over potential awkwardness 
Joe Hughes at National Club Golfer...“Korda was in control for the most part and led heading into the final round but, by the time the players reached the green of the 72nd hole, it was Caroline Masson who had a putt for the win.”
  • “The putt was missed and Korda went on to get the better of the German and playing partner Minjee Lee on the first play-off hole.”
  • “There was a little more to it than that though…Masson’s fiance Jason McDede would have undoubtedly been rooting for his partner to win the third title of her career but he was in fact also doing his part to prevent that from happening.”
  • “McDede is actually the caddie of Korda and has enjoyed plenty of success alongside the American but until this point, Korda had never gone directly head-to-head with Masson when vying for a title.”
5. LPGA Q School: Muni He medalist
From the LPGA communications team…“Muni He (Chengdu, China) went under-par every round of the 2019 LPGA Q-Series presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina en route to medalist honors in Pinehurst, N.C. He shot a final-round 70 to finish the eight-round tournament at -21.”
  • “…Two-time LPGA Tour winner Hee Young Park (Seoul, South Korea), finished in solo second at -18 after posting a 2-under par 70 today as well. Yealimi Noh (Concord, California) earned her card with a third-place finish at -15, a relief after the LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage II and then the two weeks at Q-Series on Pinehurst No. 9″ 

Full piece.

6. End of an era
Phil Mickelson has fallen outside the top 50 in the OWGR for the first time in more than 25 years.
  • Golfweek’s Adam Schupak…”The streak is over. Long live the streak…For the first time since Nov. 27, 1993, Phil Mickelson is no longer ranked in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking.”
  • “We knew this day would eventually come, but it doesn’t make the streak any less astounding. Shugo Imahira finished runner-up in the Japan Golf Tour’s Mynavi ABC Championship to vault past Mickelson and end his 1,353 weeks inside the top 50.” 

Full piece.

7. A very good trip to Asia
…for the PGA Tour, that is. 
ESPN’s Bob Harig makes an excellent point: Nobody is happier about the PGA Tour’s Asia Swing than commissioner Jay Monahan…”The week before [Rory McIlroy’s win], at the CJ Cup in South Korea, Justin Thomas won for the 11th time on the PGA Tour.”
  • “Thomas. Woods. McIlroy…PGA Tour brass in Florida could not have asked for much more from the tour’s foray to Asia, even if most of the heavy lifting for these events occurred overnight for American viewers.”
  • “At a time of year when American sports’ fans attention has been focused on the NFL, college football and the MLB playoffs as well as the start of the NBA and NHL seasons, golf managed to squeeze its away into the consciousness, duly helped by Woods’ surprising run in Japan, where he looked like a different player than in recent months in winning his 82nd PGA Tour title to tie the record held by Sam Snead.”
8. Delusions of what it takes to make it in the pro ranks
Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch, amid a stellar piece putting the skill of professional golfers in perspective, and following an anecdote about Padraig Harrington, writes…
  • “That long-ago conversation came to mind this weekend as I waded through a Twitter thread initiated by Denis Pugh, the coach of Francesco Molinari. Pugh worked with Colin Montgomerie at his peak and with Seve Ballesteros. He is one of the more thoughtful men in golf and brooks no B.S. from any quarter, two traits that are assets everywhere except on social media.”
  • “If you think you can make a living as a Tour pro prepare and invest in your future properly,” he tweeted. “This winter find a Challenge Tour player in your area and play him twice a month, home and away courses, for £500 a game. If you can make money from him, you are a potential ‘player.'”

Full piece.

9. Langer didn’t win
Meanwhile, at the QQQ Championship, senior golf’s most dominant force was bested by, well, one of its other dominant forces.
  • AP report…”Colin Montgomerie won the Invesco QQQ Championship on Sunday with a par on the first hole of a playoff after Bernhard Langer took four strokes to get out of a greenside bunker.”
  • “With Langer finally on the par-4 18th green in six shots, Montgomerie two-putted for the victory, with the 56-year-old Scot tapping in from 2 feet to end the second of three events in the PGA Tour Champions’ Charles Schwab Cup playoffs.”
 
Four shots to get out of a bunker? Relatable.

 

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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

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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

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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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