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Morning 9: McIlroy | U.S. golf update | Today in Bryson | Great field for Colonial? | Challenge of Euro Tour restart

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5 years ago

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1. McIlroy: A Ryder Cup without fans isn’t a Ryder Cup at all
Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine writes Rory says a Ryder cup sans fans is…“Not a Ryder Cup,” said Rory McIlroy.”
  • “Speaking during a TaylorMade Golf-sponsored Instagram Live session, the European team stalwart said he’d rather the 2020 matches, set for Sept. 25-27, be postponed until 2021 than be played at Whistling Straits without fans.”
  • “That’s from a European, going to America, knowing that I’m going to get abuse,” McIlroy said. “Obviously it would be better for Europeans to play without fans because we wouldn’t deal with some of the stuff that you have to put up with, but at the same time, it wouldn’t be a great spectacle. There would be no atmosphere.
  • “So if it came to whether they had to choose between not playing the Ryder Cup of playing it without fans, I would say just delay it a year.”
2. A very strong field for Colonial? 
Cameron Morfit for PGATour.com...Given that the Charles Schwab Challenge currently is the first tournament back on the PGA TOUR’s reconfigured schedule unveiled last week, Palmer thinks Colonial might just have a major feel to it.
  • “I expect a pretty strong, if not the best, field Colonial has had,” Palmer said. “The field is only going to get better as more information comes out about the testing and everything.”
  • “Testing, of course, will be a big part of any tournament in the near-future due to concerns stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. A safe environment is the primary concern of any event, especially the first wave of tournaments. But pent-up demands to watch golf, and players eager to get back to work should make for a memorable week at Colonial – provided the schedule holds, of course.”
3. Difficulty of Euro Tour restart
John Huggan examines the nuances facing Pelley and company and checks in with European pros…
  • “One of the biggest problems Keith Pelley has right now is that he deals with so many different countries and governments,” says Nicolas Colsaerts, a former Ryder Cup player and member of the tour’s tournament committee. “Every country has been thrown into our current situation at slightly different times, so it is difficult to know what is going to happen in those places. Planning anything with any certainty is almost impossible. There are so many different scenarios. While you may be able to play golf or start to play in one place, you might not be in another.”
  • “Rest assured, Colsaerts says, the European Tour has a plan in place, but nothing official yet. “We are waiting for the governments to tell us what we can do. Or can’t do,” he said.”
  • “Despite this, Pelley’s silence does seem to underline the notion that just about any information he has for his members is only going to deepen the prevailing downbeat mood. Which is not to say players are not understanding.”
4. Hogan Award finalists
Golfweek’s Julie Williams…”Typically, the end of April means conference championships and gearing up for the postseason. But with college golf prematurely over, due to the coronavirus pandemic, late April means gearing up for awards season. A long list of distinguished college golfers that made up the Ben Hogan Award finalist list has now been trimmed to three names.”
  • “Pepperdine senior Sahith Theegala, Vanderbilt senior John Augenstein and Florida freshman Ricky Castillo are the remaining candidates for the award, given annually to the top men’s college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions over the past 12 months. This year’s season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that all tournaments played between May 21, 2019, and March 12, 2020, were considered.”
5. BK’s shank and other stories 
Brian Wacker at Golf Digest…“On Tuesday, he discussed some of them, among other topics, in an Instagram Live conversation with his longtime caddie Ricky Elliott.”
  • “Like the time he cold shanked one during his first Ryder Cup appearance in 2016. After playing partner Brandt Snedeker drove into the left rough on the 12th hole at Hazeltine National during their alternate shot match on Saturday, Koepka swung and hit the ball off the hosel of his 6-iron, sending it sideways and just short of a pond.”
  • “I’m not gonna walk over there,” Koepka recalled to Elliott. “I’m gonna let Sneds find it.”
  • “In the meantime, Koepka noticed assistant captain Bubba Watson giggling as he listened to his earpiece. When Koepka inquired what was so funny he let him in on the joke: Tiger Woods, also an assistant that year, had said, “Don’t worry, only 15 million people saw you just shank it.” Then he’d told the group they just saw Koepka shank it again…in slow motion.”
6. Live golf this week?
Golf Digest’s Alex Myers…”the Outlaw Tour, which has continued along with several other mini-tours throughout this Coronavirus-imposed break, made a big announcement of its own.”
  • (Outlaw Tour on Twitter) “The Outlaw Tour…ANNOUNCEMENT: The Outlaw Tour will be streaming live golf via @PeriscopeCo throughout the next three tournaments, starting with the Legacy Shootout (begins Tuesday). Social distancing rules will apply. Stay tuned for details.”
  • And then this incredible morsel….“Except, that wasn’t the last update. Apparently, one of the camera operators was too hungover so there will only be one featured group. Seriously.”
7. Golf course closures update
Our Gianni Magliocco…”The National Golf Foundation are continuing their nationwide course surveys to show the human and business impacts that COVID-19 is having on golf – with their current findings showing 49% of courses currently open for play in the U.S.”
  • “Based on phone surveys of 1,271 golf facilities, conducted between April 14 – April 19, the NGF found that the number of courses open for play had risen by 1% up from 48%. Based on the NGF’s research, the organization also believes that number could soon grow to 57%.”
  • “Golf is currently shut down in 12 states for the week beginning April 20 – with specific mandates in-place disallowing all play in the following states: Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington.”
8. Today in Bryson DeChambeau…
Per Geoff Shackelford, BAD could continue his bulking to the 270-pound mark…
  • Also, per Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”DeChambeau, who has made headlines for his recent gains in the gym and ball speed, said Monday on his Twitch stream that he’s considered putting a 48-inch driver in play.”
  • “I’d definitely use a 48-inch driver if I could control it,” DeChambeau said. “I’d generate so much more speed, but it’d need to be light enough, though. We’re going to mess with that. Trust me, if the USGA allows me to go to 48 inches with the driver – and I hit it just as straight as my 45.5-inch driver – why not? Why not?”

 

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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

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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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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WITB

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