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Tour Rundown: Rahma-Lamma-Double-DingDong in Dubai | Ignorance is victory | Duncan’s debut W
All that is professional golf, has ended for 2019. No, the Parent-Child and other silly-season events don’t count. Not even that little get-together that somehow offers world ranking points, but is an unofficial event. In Dubai, Georgia and Florida, the finest golfers on the LPGA, Euro and PGA tours holed their final putts for the last year of this decade. So much happened in 2K19, including the arrival of Lee6, the major return of Tiger, the dominance of Brooks, and the awakening of Scott McCarron. Raise a toast at year-end gatherings to their entertainment of us all, and to the realization of their hopes and dreams. For now, allow us to run down the tours, one last time, before we hopefully meet again in 2020, with the clearest vision.
Rahma Lamma Double DingDong in Dubai
That’s waaaaay too much of an Animal House reference (and also gives away my age) but it sure is fun to say. Jon Rahm won his 3rd European Tour event of the season in unique fashion. Following earlier wins in the Open championships of Ireland and Spain, Rahm arrived in Dubai in a position to challenge for world supremacy. He did not disappoint.
Rahm seized control of the climactic event of the European Tour with 5 birdies in his first 7 holes. Then, golf took over and the Spaniard let Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Tommy Fleetwood back into the tournament. 4 bogies over the next 8 holes (offset by a 2 more birdies) and some heroics from the French and English, made this finish a nail-biter. Fleetwood sliced 5 strokes off par over his last 7 holes, including birdie at the watery 18th. Never a winner on tour, Lorenzo-Vera closed within one with 2 consecutive birdies, midway through the inward nine. Unable to make additional dents in par over the closing four holes, MLV finished alone in 3rd spot, 1 putt behind Fleetwood and 2 back of the champion.
With his victory at Dubai, Rahm matched previous Race leader Bernd Wiesberger for wins (3) on the season. He jumped two spots over the Austrian, into 1st spot on the season. Fleetwood also elevated his stature with his runner-up finish. The Englishman moved into 2nd place in the season-long Race, relegating Wiesberger to a 3rd position on the podium. Shane Lowry (Ireland) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (England) round out the top 5. The wins at Dubai will no doubt cause pundits across the globe to ask, when will Rahm step up in a major way. We, of course, won’t ask that question, as we hold ourselves to a higher standard. For certain, the Spaniard has improved every facet of his game, allowing himself to be considered in every event in which he competes.
Ignorance is victory at LPGA Tour Championship
Sei Young Kim thought she was up against Nelly Korda in the final round. She didn’t know that Charley Hull had stormed from way behind tor each 17-under par, the figure where SYK stood on the 72nd green. 25 feet from birdie, Kim needed two putts to reach a playoff with the Englishwoman. Her putt found the bottom of the cup, for what she thought was a 2-stroke victory. Never mind that it was only a 1-shot margin of triumph; Sei Young was the holder of the largest tournament check in the history of women’s golf. The CME Race To The Globe, the season-long points race, went to her countrywoman, Jin Young Ko. Ko was also the Rolex Player of the Year, and holder of 4 tournament titles in 2019, 1 more than Kim.
Most aficionados expected Nelly Korda to offer the greatest challenge to the 3rd-round leader, but Korda and Kim each struggled throughout the round. Each had three bogeys on the day, including silly 6s on the par-5 14th hole. Meanwhile, Hull and Danielle Kang were lighting the Tiburon golf club’s gold course on fire. Hull had 6 birdies on the day, including the final 3 holes, and the 5 of the final 7. Kang had 5 birdies on the opening nine holes, then nothing until the 17th hole, where she made an eagle 3. Her 65 moved her from 9th to a tie for 3rd, while Hull moved from 4th to solo 2nd. Korda’s final-hole birdie returned her to red figures for the 4th consecutive day, out of a tie for 4th with Brooke Henderson, into the 3rd-place tie with Kang.
Sea Island site for Duncan’s debut victory
The fall series on the PGA Tour is known to be the proving ground for the unheralded, or the formerly-heralded. Thus far in 2019, Joaquin Niemann, Sebastian MuÑoz, and Lanto Griffin notch inaugural wins. Cameron Champ and Kevin Na earned important victories in their respective resurgences. No one had made more of an impact than Brendon Todd, who had won his last two tournaments and was gunning for a 3rd consecutive at Sea Island. For a time on Sunday, it appeared that he might do just that. Sadly for him, an incredible, 11-round streak in the 60s came to an end. From Bermuda, through Mayakoba, and up to Sunday morning in Georgia, the UGeorgia alum had played the best golf of any golfer, all year long. On Sunday, Todd came undone, to the tune of 72, and wound up in 4th spot. Not bad, but not what he wanted.
What Tyler Duncan wanted, was to rebound from a Saturday 70. No one finds it easy to follow up a 61 with a similar round, but the Purdue alum was hoping for something a bit better than … 70. On Sunday, as Todd struggled and Webb Simpson moved into the lead, Duncan sneaked up on everyone. Simpson came home in the final pairing with 67, for a total of -19. He overcame a 14th-hole bogey with birdies at 15 and 16. Imagine his surprise upon learning that Duncan made birdie at 3 of his closing 4 holes, to also reach the prime minus 19. Into sudden victory did the pair enter, and on the 2nd go-round of the par-4 18th, Duncan made another birdie to shut the door on Simpson and stand atop the PGA Tour podium for the first time.
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...
