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Morning 9: Pete Dye dead at 94 | Reed’s lawyer sends Chamblee cease & desist | Wie expecting

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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.
January 10, 2020
Good Friday morning, golf fans.
**Drop me a line (ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com) if you’d like to talk about getting your message in front of the M9 readership.**
1. Pete Dye dead at 94
From Richard Goldstein’s New York Times obituary for the most well-known (and arguably most polarizing) figure in modern golf course architecture…
  • “Pete Dye, who designed many of America’s most famous golf courses and became known as the mad scientist of golf architecture for his imaginative and supremely challenging layouts, died on Thursday. He was 94.”
  • “His death was announced by the Dye family’s company, Dye Designs, on Twitter. He had been treated for dementia and lived in Gulf Stream, Fla.”
  • “Often collaborating with his wife, Alice, who died in February at 91, and in later years with their two sons, Perry and Paul Burke (known as P.B.) Dye, Mr. Dye designed more than 100 courses.”
  • “He and his wife were best known for the “island green,” the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., probably the most photographed hole in golf history. The green is only some 135 yards from the tee, but it brings dread to even the world’s greatest golfers competing in the Players Championship, an unofficial fifth major tournament. Surrounded by water and connected to the rest of the course by a slender land bridge, it has tormented even the world’s greatest golfers and is one of the most recognized images in the sport.”

Full piece.

2. Pros remember Pete
Tiger Woods called him “the father of modern golf course design,” saying Dye “brought fear into the equation” and “really messed with your mind.”
“He leaves a huge footprint on the game. One of my best experiences with Pete was playing Whistling Straits one of the first times we went there and I was lucky enough he walked nine holes with me in a practice round and I would ask him, “Mr. Dye why would you put that bunker right there… what were you thinking?” and he would look at me and said dryly, “just to piss you off, that’s the only reason.” He was a good man who obviously loved golf and just a wonderful course designer who knew how to make difficult golf courses. If you were going to play well around his places you couldn’t fake it and it’s a sad loss for golf. His footprint was at all of his places, undeniably and not a lot of designers can say that. And boy you knew it was going to be tough.” – Charles Howell III
“Pete and Alice Dye are royalty in golf, no question. My mother was friends with Alice and always enjoyed talking with Pete every chance I could get. I love TPC Sawgrass and my parents were members at The Honors Course which I think is one of his best of all time. He revolutionized golf, changed it, and made it better. We are all lucky to have had him. If you look at the history of golf I’m not sure there is a bigger change in architecture than when Pete Dye came along. It was the most radical change and it was a great change. He is timeless. They’ll be copying him till the end of time.” – Jerry Kelly

Full piece.

3. Reed’s lawyer sends Brandel Chamblee cease & desist letter
Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch…”Patrick Reed doesn’t only have his caddie wading in to defend his badly battered reputation – he’s sending in his lawyer too. Golfweek has exclusively obtained a cease and desist letter Reed had his attorney send to Brandel Chamblee demanding the Golf Channel analyst not repeat accusations that the former Masters champion cheated at the Hero World Challenge last month.”
  • “Chamblee has been a vocal critic of Reed’s hugely controversial actions at the Hero, where video showed him twice scooping sand from behind his ball on practice swings in a bunker, thereby improving his lie. Reed was penalized two strokes by rules officials but denied deliberately cheating, a brush-off that did little to alter the widespread belief that he did just that.”
  • “The purpose of this letter is to obtain assurance that you will refrain from any further dissemination, publication or republication of false and defamatory statements concerning Mr. Reed, including any allegations that he ‘cheated’ at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas,” wrote Peter Ginsberg, a partner at the New York City law firm of Sullivan & Worcester.”
4. Sony: Morikawa in front as play suspended
AP report…”The wind blew so hard that palm trees looked as though they were made of rubber. The Pacific looked angrier than usual. Some of the sights Thursday at the Sony Open in Hawaii made it clear that playing golf in Hawaii was no vacation.”
  • “Collin Morikawa managed better than everyone. He learned enough about the wind last week on Maui to cope with it on Oahua, getting through the relentless 30 mph win without a bogey for a 5-under 65 and a two-shot lead.”
  • “It’s tough out here,” Morikawa said. “If you have a 20-foot birdie putt, you’ve got to factor in the wind, the rain, everything. So playing last week got me prepared for today in the wind, and I look forward to the next few days.”
  • “Ryan Palmer was among four players at 67, with Marc Leishman and Corey Conners among those at 68.”
5. Hall in front in South Africa
EuropeanTour.com report…”The Englishman made his professional and European Tour debut at last season’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and did not disappoint, outscoring playing partner and four time Major Championship winner Rory McIlroy in the final round as he finished in the top 20.”
  • “He moved to nine under on day two at Randpark Golf Club to share the clubhouse lead with local favourite Daniel Greene, who fired a 66.”
  • “That was one shot behind overnight leader Johannes Veerman, who picked up a shot in his first six holes to move to ten under.”
6. Wie pregnant
ESPN report…”Michelle Wie announced on Instagram on Thursday that she is going to be a mother.”
  • “Wie posted on the social media site that she and husband Jonnie West — the son of NBA legend Jerry West — are expecting a daughter.”
  • “Babygirl, we love you so much already and we just can’t wait to meet you this summer!” Wie wrote.

Full piece.

7. Captain Hurst
AP report…”Pat Hurst was selected captain of the U.S. team for the 2021 Solheim Cup on Thursday.”
  • “Hurst, 50, was an assistant to Juli Inkster for the matches against Europe in 2015, 2017 and 2019, and played in the competition five times during a 20-year career on the LPGA Tour.”
  • “Hurst said Inkster was the first person she called after LPGA Tour commissioner Mike Whan told her she was captain.”

Full piece.

8. Officially in
First official start since the Zozo Championship in October…
  • Golf Digest’s Daniel Rapaport...”Tiger Woods announced on Thursday that he will play his first event of 2020 at the Farmers Insurance Open, which begins Jan. 23 at Torrey Pines in San Diego. He also confirmed on Twitter that he will tee it up at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, an event run by his TGR Live venture.”
“See you soon west coast,” Woods said in the tweet.

Full piece.

9. “8-year-old key”
“Last week was one of those instances, though as Howell explained Wednesday during his pre-tournament news conference at the Sony Open, he had a good excuse.
  • “My son now is big into golf and he loves it, so like he has his favorites and the guys that he really likes,” Howell said of his 8-year-old son, Chase. “Justin Thomas is his clear favorite. Not even close. Like watching last week (when Thomas won the Sentry Tournament of Champions), like me seeing golf through his eyes watching Justin in the playoff and rooting him on and all that kind of stuff, it’s kind of reinvigorated my golf career a little bit.”

 

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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.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. JP

    Jan 11, 2020 at 7:34 am

    RIP Pete Dye. Reed is a cheater. No one cares that a has been crybaby like Michele Wie is expecting.

    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

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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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