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Morning 9: Monahan on Premier Golf League | ESPN+ lands PGA Tour Live rights | JT’s Kobe wedges

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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 29, 2020
Good Wednesday morning, golf fans.

 
1. ESPN+ lands PGA Tour Live rights
Geoff Shackelford, adept watcher of media dealings that he is, wrote this…
“The PGA Tour has reportedly made the wise move for all of its TV partners by awarding the PGA Tour Live streaming package to ESPN+, according to this unbylined AP report. The package of pre-telecast coverage is currently offered by NBC Sports Gold through the end of 2019. “
  • He adds…”While I’m a Golf Channel contributor and therefore rooting for their properties to succeed, getting ESPN involved in the next media rights deal is a fantastic coup for all involved with the PGA Tour, including rival broadcasters.”
  • “Not only does this assure coverage on millions of devices having access to the pre-telecast coverage via ESPN+’s app (as opposed to a smaller audience paying one fee just for PGA Tour Live), a partnership with ESPN means continued Sportscenter coverage, a partnership with Disney and a visibility for golf that no one else in streaming can deliver short of Netflix or Amazon. “
2. Els speaks highly of Premier Golf League
ESPN’s Bob Harig…”The South African, who won four major championships during his Hall of Fame career, said he “loves” the idea put forth by the World Golf Group, one in which 48 players would compete in an 18-tournament schedule for $10 million purses in each event.”
  • “But 25 years ago, Els was intrigued by a similar concept put forth by Greg Norman, one that ultimately never got started due to being in conflict with the PGA Tour and the European Tour.”
  • “I was right in the middle of it,” Els told reporters at the Saudi International, according to the Scotsman newspaper. “I remember looking at my future knowing that if I was going with Greg — which sounded brilliant — if anything happened there was no way back for me on to the regular tours.”
3. …Monahan (as you’d expect) does not…
Golf Digest’s Brian Wacker…”Monahan said in the letter that while the PGA Tour has not been in touch with officials from Team Golf Concept-identified as the Premier Golf League-the league’s proposed 18-event season would be in conflict with the PGA Tour’s schedule.”
  • “The schedule for the Team Golf Concept is designed to directly compete and conflict with the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup schedule, and to not conflict with [and would be in addition to] the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and the Open Championship,” Monahan said in the letter. The email warned that under current tour regulations a tour member can’t have a financial interest in another player, which is one of the central elements of Premier Golf League’s team ownership concept. Monahan also noted the strict enforcement of the tour’s policy on conflicting event releases, which the tour typically limits to three per player.”
4. Tiger could qualify for the Olympics…
“…the U.S. is expected to have four participants since all four will likely be ranked inside the top 15 in the world at the June 22 cutoff.”
  • “Woods’ T-9 finish at Torrey Pines, combined with a missed cut from Xander Schauffele and a middling finish from Patrick Cantlay the previous week in Abu Dhabi, proved to be good news for Woods’ Olympic hopes. According to the latest OWGR standings, Woods is No. 6 in the world and the fourth highest-ranked American behind Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson. It means that if the Olympic cutoff were made today, he’d be on his way to Japan.”
  • “But here’s the catch. The OWGR computes rankings based on a two-year rolling window, with point values for tournament results depreciating as time goes on. The Olympic rankings will mirror the OWGR by June, but for now players are receiving points in the OWGR for results in early 2018 that will age off before the Olympic teams are finalized. It also means that some significant results, like Woods’ victories at the Masters and the 2018 Tour Championship, will be worth fewer points by June.”
5. $3 billion in charitable giving
John Davis, Special for Arizona Republic…”Golf is the catalyst but generating charity dollars is the driving force behind the Waste Management Phoenix Open and other PGA Tour events.”
  • “Those efforts have helped the Tour reach a milestone as it announced on Tuesday that it has surpassed $3 billion in charity giving, just six years after reaching the $2 billion mark. The Open, hosted by the Phoenix Thunderbirds, has generated $147 million of that total in its 85-year history.”
  • “The $3 billion total includes $204.3 million in 2019, a single-year record.”
6. Joseph Bramlett
Golf Digest’s Joel Beall on this year’s Charlie Sifford exemption…”Tiger Woods announced on Tuesday that Joseph Bramlett has received this year’s Charlie Sifford Memorial exemption into the Genesis Invitational.”
  • “Bramlett, who in 2002 was the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Amateur, was the first minority player in three decades to earn a card at Q-School in 2010. He ended up losing his card in 2011, then suffered a series of career setbacks due to an annular tear to his L4 and L5 discs, a painful and debilitating injury. He consulted 15 spinal surgeons who offered a unanimous opinion: An operation would more than likely end his career.”
7. King-Collins’ new track
Our Peter Schmitt…”King-Collins Golf’s first design, Sweetens Cove, has received a seemingly endless amount of praise over the last several years. Both the course and the design team have been the darlings of golf social media since the community discovered Sweetens Cove. And yet, it has taken Rob Collins and Tad King a while to add a full 18-hole course to their design portfolio. All of that is about to change.”
  • “King-Collins Golf has certainly received many inquiries in the past few years, but the cold hard truth of the golf course design business is few of them ever really get legs. Then, Will Andersen reached out to King-Collins in April of 2019 through the contact form on their website and things changed rather quickly.”
  • “According to Rob: “I could just tell by the way he was talking that it was the real deal. He said that he had had some other big name architects out there, but none of them really clicked and some of them didn’t even take the project seriously. It sounded like he had a little chip on his shoulder and, to be honest, that really resonated with me because Tad and I have dealt with very similar issues after Sweetens Cove. You know, we’ve been fighting so hard for our big break and it’s like every time a good piece of land comes up, you hear the same four names and just irritates the heck out of me. Anyway, I called Tad and said, ‘Hey, we got a real one here.'”
8. Tiger’s boomerangs 
Golf Digest’s Brittany Romano…”It’s customary at team events for captains to give a gift to players to remember the event by. Typically it is a custom-made item that highlights the tournament course or region. For the Presidents Cup, the PGA Tour worked with the creative minds at Seamus Golf to design an Australian-themed keepsake for Tiger Woods to give to the team. Sources say that Woods requested a boomerang-inspired gift. Seamus took it from there to create a one-of-a-kind steel-mounted boomerang with a hidden bottle opener on the back.”
9. Mamba mentaility 
This week at TPC Scottsdale, Thomas will pay tribute to Bryant in a few ways. Each of his wedges is stamped with a different homage — “81 points” for the number of points Bryant scored against the Raptors in 2006; “Mamba Mentality,” a nod to Bryant’s nickname and approach to basketball; “Black Mamba” for his nickname; and his full name, “Kobe Bean Bryant.” His Scotty Cameron also features a purple and gold headcover with “RIP GiGi” and “RIP Kobe” written in black magic marker on it.

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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

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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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WITB

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