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5 things we learned on day one of the Presidents Cup 2019

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6 years ago

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The 2019 Presidents Cup, the 13th playing of the match between an international squad and one from the USA, began in precisely the manner that American playing captain Tiger Woods had desired. The first round of five matches closed exactly as International captain Ernie Els had hoped. The Royal Melbourne golf course, a composite layout that blends the best of the storied club’s East and West 18s, provided an unpredictable yet ideal stage for what all involved expect to be an unforgettable, four days of matches. Although we could write for hours on the shots, decisions, conditioning, and uniforms of the squads, we’ve distilled our thoughts to a succinct five things that we learned on Day One—Wednesday evening (USA time) and Thursday morning (Australia time)—of the 2019 Presidents Cup. Come join us.

1. The golf course matters

So often in team events, the golf course is sold to the highest bidder. If funding is needed, that’s the trade-off of modern, professional sport. The West course belongs to the wit of Alister MacKenzie, while the East fell under the mastery of Alex Russell and M.A Morcom, in the spirit of the master of the West course. The two meld seamlessly, allowing a composite course to host the club’s most important events. The course plays akin to a links, in an Australian Sandbelt manner. The fairways and greens are firm, fast, unforgiving yet welcoming. The bunkering is equal parts apparent and subdued. The entire course is at the mercy of capricious winds, and it is those putting surfaces, with their cant and roll, their spines and splines, that provide the culminating interest to each hole. If you’ve not been an architectural aficionado until now, sit back for the next three days and four rounds, and devour all that you can learn about exquisite, golf course design.

2. Captain Tiger came to play, and he may have found a partner

In days of yore, Severiano Ballesteros and José María Olazabal were an unbeatable partnership for team Europe in the Ryder Cup matches. Since then, as pundits are wont to do, anticipation and prediction for the next, unstoppable duo have been commonplace and unwelcome. No one has fallen under that looking glass with more frequency, than Tiger Woods. Say what you will about Seve and Olly; neither was in the conversation of the greatest player of all time. Such is the burden that Woods wears on his shoulders. In 2019, the latest partner in the firm is Justin Thomas. A major champion and multiple-times, tour winner himself, Thomas does not shrink from the bright light of fame. On Thursday, he and Woods began the event with a convincing, 4 & 3 victory over homebred Marc Leishman and ingenuo Joaquín Niemann of Chile. Woods made an impeccable birdie at the first: perfect drive, elegant pitch, conceded putt, and the duo was away with the sun. Their lead reached 3 up by the 5th, but the Internationals rallied to 1 down, with 2 consecutive, won holes at 6 and 7. Unmoved, the Americans won the 9th and the 11th to again reach 3 up. Back came the rest of the world at the 12th, but birdies at 14 and 15 concluded the day for the westerners.

One thing was learned from match one on day one: follow Tiger Woods. 12 holes were won outright in his pairing. If you want drama, excitement, back and forth, follow the Woods.

3. Fortunately for Els, Tiger can’t play in every match

Much has been made about the metrics that Ernie Els and his assistant captains utilized in the selection of numbers 9 through 12, and the subsequent pairings for practice and matches. When the gifts are wrapped and the planning concluded, the tell is the conduct of the golfers on course. Perhaps Marc Leishman’s sole job was to acclimate Niemann to the greatest pressure of the international stage; that much, and anything more, is unknown. What is known is this: the other four teams were unanticipated, and their performances, unknown. Sungjae Im and Adam Hadwin had the nervy task of following the opening match with Woods, and righting the international ship. Im’s unfathomable eagle pitch at the first found the bottom of the cup, and that lead held until the 6th. The Korean and the Canadian went 1 down with consecutive losses, but won the 9th to square the match once more. Even they stood until the difficult, par-four 16th, when Hadwin made a gutsy par as the other three went off into neverland, and the International side hung on for a 1-up victory. Others would follow.

4. The others that followed

Byeong Hun “Ben” An and Adam Scott dispatched the length of Tony Finau, and the newly-expanded muscles of Bryson DeChambeau, by 2&1. Much like the 2nd match of the day, match 3 was a chess battle. Just 6 holes changed hands, and the International lead of 2 up stood from the 14th hole to the end. If an approach is to find the neighborhood of the hole, it won’t arrive with spin and back-up. Instead, it will trace a roundabout corridor along the ground, allowing it to complete its revolutions as it nears the flagstick. This golf is fun!

C.T. Pan and Hideki Matsuyama jumped out early, by 2 up after 4 holes. Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed did manage to win 3 holes on the day, but were never able to do so consecutively, to build momentum. As the sun seemed to finally shine on the American side, with Reed squaring the match at 16, Pan made birdie at the penultimate hole and reclaimed the lead for Chinese Taipei and Japan, and the pair held on for a 1-up win.

Depending on your taste, the final match was done before it began. Someone turned the heat too high on the panini maker, and Abraham Ancer (Mexico) and Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) jumped out to a 4-up lead after 4 holes. Even thought Ancer on Louis’ shoulders matches Dustin Johnson in height, on this day, Gary Woodland and Johnson were outclassed. They attempted to fight back, as major champions do, but when your side wins a solitary hole on the day, that match ain’t going your way. Mercifully, it ended at the 15th green, a complete flip-flop from how the day began.

5. The Ins and Outs of day two

Who’s in and who’s out? Aussie Cameron Smith moves into the lineup, with C.T. Pan dropping out for the International squad. Interestingly, China’s Haotong Li will not make an appearance, meaning he might be on the slate for 36 holes on Saturday, followed by 18 more on Sunday. For the Red, White and Blue, Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar step up for roll call on day two, with Bryson and Tony taking a rest. What’s up with Li? Who knows. Here’s what’s important.

The captains are taking entirely opposite strategies for the Friday foursomes (alternate shot) competition. Captain Tiger will preserve 3 of his 5 pairings for the 2nd day of matches He and JT, Webb and Pat, and Xander/Cantlay will return as partners. Kucher will lead off with DJ, while Fowler will accompany Woodland in the day’s last dance. In complete contrast, Captain Ernie changed all five of his partnerships, in what could only be described as a series of amicable breakups. Scott and Louis will lead off, followed by Niemann and Hadwin. Ancer pairs with Leishman in the 3rd match, with Matsuyama joining An in the 4th. The closing duo will be Smith and Im, and let me tell you this: the final duo might birdie every hole on the course.

You need to watch this. You need to Tevo this (does anyone Tevo anymore?). The golf is spectacular, the venue is the best we will see this decade or next, and the players are motivated in the most positive of ways. Join us.

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. Henny Bogan

    Dec 12, 2019 at 11:01 am

    TiVo

    Reply Report comment

  2. Prime21

    Dec 12, 2019 at 9:18 am

    If the final duo makes 5 birdies it will be AMAZING. Please spare us the “birdie every hole on the course” stuff.

    Reply Report comment

    • Ronald Montesano

      Dec 12, 2019 at 12:06 pm

      Prime21

      Thank you for writing. I issue a gentleman’s wager that they will make 9 birdies, minimum. That’s ‘twixt Im and Smith.

      #WontBackDown

      rm

      Reply Report comment

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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

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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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