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Morning 9: Why Reed was the right Prez Cup pick | Undercover Tour Pro: We know the cheaters | Jason Day

Published

6 years ago

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1. Reed was the right call
Golfweek’s Adam Schupak praises Captain Woods’ selection of one Patrick Reed…”Woods could have justified the selection of the hot hand, Kevin Na, who has won twice in his past 10 starts, including at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in October. He could’ve picked Rickie Fowler and few would have batted an eye. He could have ignored the standings and current form and gone for veteran leadership and taken Phil Mickelson or went with his gut and Jordan Spieth.”
  • “But Woods made the right call in taking the 29-year-old Reed to round out his team going to Australia this December, despite the fact that, as the saying goes, his baggage doesn’t fit in the overhead compartment.”
  • “Definitely was fired up to get the phone call from Tiger saying that I was a pick and that he can’t wait for me to be a part of the team and that I’d bring a lot to the team,” Reed said in a conference call with media on Tuesday night. “That means a lot, especially coming from one of the greatest golfers ever to live on this planet. For him to trust in me and the team to trust in me means a lot because it means that I’ve worked hard and that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, and that’s try to go out and play the best golf I can.”
2. What’s eating Jason Day?
Golf Channel’s Will Gray…”Day has had a mediocre year by his lofty standards, as the former world No. 1 is down to 29th in the latest world rankings. That’s his lowest position since before the 2013 Masters, and it’s a byproduct of a solid but unspectacular stretch that has included just one top-10 finish since the Masters.”
  • “Speaking to reporters at Mayakoba, Day shared that he didn’t have a trainer for most of the year, a decision he regretted after a back injury sparked his withdrawal at Bay Hill and lingered throughout the season.”
  • “…He also pointed the finger to a revolving door on his bag. Day has employed four different caddies this year, including a short-lived union with Steve Williams. He’s back to friend David Lutterus this week on the El Camaleon course.”
  • “I went through three caddies – I’m on my fourth – and my back was injured. Like, that’s not a good formula for success,” Day said. “What do I need to be successful? I need to not have to worry about any of this. All those things that I was worrying about throughout the year is a distraction.”

Full piece.

3. We know who the cheaters are
The Undercover Tour Pro says on the PGA Tour, everyone knows who the cheaters are but there’s little to be done…
  • “Earlier in the week, I remember nearly spitting out my drink when I read what Phil Mickelson said in his press conference. His quote was, “I know a number of guys on tour that are loose with how they mark the ball and have not been called on it. I mean, they’ll move the ball two, three inches in front of their mark, and this is an intentional way to get it out of any type of impression and so forth, and I think that kind of stuff needs to stop.”
  • “Now, if there’s anyone prone to hyperbole, it’s Phil. The truth is, there’s exactly one guy who is known to mis-mark his ball by two or three inches. Ask any player about cheating, and they’ll all tell you the same name. I was paired with this notorious individual recently, and I witnessed it. Using his hand to obscure the distance behind the ball, he picks up his coin so fast that you almost can’t be certain of what you’ve just seen. But when you see it enough times, it becomes pretty obvious. What’s more, this was just after the anchor ban, and he was using a long putter. He wears baggy shirts, but I could tell that he was anchoring. After the round, we got into a heated debate in the scoring trailer when I refused to sign his card. He claimed that if the end of his grip touched his chest, it was accidental. The way the rule is written, it’s all about intent, and an official signed his card.”

Full piece.

4. Ancer grinding for Prez Cup form
PGATour.com’s Cameron Morfit…”Ancer, 28, made history earlier this year when he was one of eight players to earn a spot on the International Presidents Cup Team, which will take on the U.S. at Royal Melbourne, Dec. 12-15. He is the first Mexican to make the International side.”
  • “It’s a big deal for a Mexican to be on that team,” said countryman Carlos Ortiz. “We’re all going to be watching.”
  • “That’s a sentiment shared by others, but Ancer, who last season finished 21st in the FedExCup, has been admittedly slow to let it sink in. He’s simply been too busy.”
  • “I know it’s big,” Ancer said at El Camaleón Golf Club, where he played a rain-delayed nine holes in the pro-am Wednesday. “I get so caught up in like just playing good every week. I’m just so focused when I’m doing that, kind of (need to) take a step back and really think this is something that’s never been done before, which I’m really proud of and I’m really excited.”
5. Fast Eddie gets his card
Eddie Fernandes, five times a Q-School failure in the early 2000s, reborn as a long driver…
  • “…I’d been to Stage 2 once before, but I’d never felt as optimistic as I did this time. Going into the tournament I’d won seven straight mini-tour events-averaging 67.4 strokes per round. I’d coasted through Stage 1.”
  • “And then I missed the cut. Peaked too early, I guess. I was 34. My wife, Eileen, was pregnant with our first child, and I just thought, Eddie, it’s time. Time to take a break from golf and get on with life and having a family.”
  • “I probably played only 20 rounds between 2004 and 2014. I worked as a video-surveillance consultant and opened my own business. I worked in restaurants. I tried a lot of things. And for a long time, I didn’t miss golf. I was focused on providing for my family. But I guess the itch was hiding there somewhere.”

Full piece.

6. Tough decisions 
Golf Digest’s Keely Levins…”Previously in Q school, any college players who earned LPGA membership had to decide immediately whether they would turn pro and play the next season, forgoing any remaining collegiate eligibility. Starting last year with the launch of the Q-Series, collegiate players could turn pro right away and start the LPGA season with the rest of the Q-Series graduates, or defer their status until the end of May and the completion of their collegiate spring season.”
  • “While more flexible than the old rules, the current choice remains difficult. Turn pro right away, and you leave your college team mid-season and miss out on the chance to play in the NCAA Championship (or the newly created Augusta National Women’s Amateur if you’ve qualified). But wait to start your the LPGA season in June, and you leave yourself fewer events to earn enough to be among the top 100 on the money list at season’s end and keep your status for the next year. Failure to finish in the top 100 then puts those players right back where they started: Q-Series.”
  • “In 2018, the first year of the new deferral option, two collegiate players made the choice of skipping the early LPGA events to stay in school: Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi. Both enjoyed the benefits of remaining amateur; Kupcho won the inaugural ANWA and Fassi claimed the NCAA individual title. And then both also retained their LPGA cards after turning pro in June. Kupcho’s rookie season was highlighted by a T-2 at the Evian Championship, helping her finish No. 38 on the money list. Fassi played in 11 events and earned $129,164, good enough to finish No. 98.”

Full piece.

7. Aidan Kramer: scholar, golfer and philanthropist
That’s how Golfweek’s Adam Woodard introduces the collegiate golfer.
  • In the little downtime Kramer has from hitting the books or golf balls, he enjoys watching football and movies or playing ping pong, like most teenagers. That said, he’s unlike most his age, especially when asked about his dream golf foursome. His answers? Bobby Jones, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer (upon realizing he forgot himself, he would later bench Hogan).
  • For the last two years, his free time has also been spent working with Orlando’s local Fairways for Warriors organization, which is dedicated to decreasing the number of veterans who commit suicide and helping them readjust to civilian life when they return from combat.
  • “They use the game of golf to bring people together and form camaraderie between veterans,” explained Kramer. “It’s really been amazing to see the impact (Fairways for Warriors) has had on veterans in the area.”
  • “Kramer not only volunteers. He also started an equipment drive for the veterans in need through donations from local golfers, equipment manufacturers and clubs in the area.”
8. Video-game based friendship
Excellent stuff on a unique friendship from Cameron Morfit...”Not quite a year after a chance encounter on “Call of Duty,” Harold Varner III finally met gamer pal Arturo at the Mayakoba Golf Classic on Tuesday. Carlos Ortiz, one of seven players representing Mexico here, and Preston Lyon, Varner’s childhood friend and agent – both of whom also know Arturo through the game – were also on site.”
  • “They’ve spent hundreds, maybe thousands of hours together, but this was the first time they had met in person.”
  • “I can’t believe this is happening,” said Arturo, a 22-year-old college student from Mexico, smiling through his braces. He wore jeans and a red Tommy Hilfiger sweater and admitted to being too nervous to have slept much the night before.

Full piece.

9. The man who played too much
Tamar Lapin of the NY Post...”One of Britain’s most exclusive golf clubs gave a member the boot for teeing off too much – and the golfer is striking back with a lawsuit.”
  • “John Cawood, 72, is taking a swing at the Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire over claims the club revoked his membership for allegedly playing more than 30 rounds a year, The UK Times reported.”
  • “The club charges a reported $77,000 to join, with high-profile members including former James Bond actor Sean Connery, Hugh Grant and ex-soccer pro Gary Lineker.”
  • “Cawood, a retired lawyer from Australia, was paying a yearly discounted overseas membership of about $1,500 – until members in 2011 began to gripe that he was hitting the green too often.”

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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.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Dan

    Nov 14, 2019 at 9:57 pm

    Who’s the cheater?

    Reply Report comment

  2. huh?

    Nov 14, 2019 at 11:34 am

    Why is the undercover tour pro article from 2017 being included?

    Reply Report comment

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News

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

on

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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