Connect with us

News

Morning 9: Simpson the formidable Father’s Day golfer | Ryu’s win, incredible gesture | Is Brooks back? | Tiger sighting

Published

5 years ago

on

 
By Ben Alberstadt
June 22, 2020
Good Monday morning, golf fans.
1. Webb wins
What do you get the father of five who has it all? How about a plaid jacket! …AP report…”Webb Simpson celebrated another victory on Father’s Day, this time with a tartan jacket instead of a U.S. Open trophy.”
  • “In a wild sprint to the finish after a three-hour storm delay, Simpson ran off five birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine at Harbour Town and closed with a 7-under 64 for a one-shot victory over Abraham Ancer.”
  • “Simpson won the U.S. Open at Olympic Club in 2012. The U.S. Open has been scheduled to end on Father’s Day every year since 1976, but it was moved to September this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
 
2. Ryu wins Korea Open, donates check 
Steve Eubanks for LPGA.com…“It seemed like a jaw-dropping gesture to those who don’t know her, the kind of spontaneous generosity that brings a sudden, unexpected flood of emotions to those who bear witness. But to those who have known So Yeon Ryu for the better part of a decade, no act of kindness, big or small, comes as a surprise.”
  • “Ryu won the 34th Kia Motors Korean Women’s Open Championship on Sunday, her nation’s national championship, shooting a final-round, even-par 72 for a 12-under total, good enough to edge fellow LPGA Tour member Hyo Joo Kim by one shot.”
  • “…At her post-round press conference, the 29-year-old announced that she was donated her entire winner’s check, 250 million won ($206,000), to COVID-19-related charities.”
3. Is Brooks back? 
ESPN’s Bob Harig…”Can it really be 10 months since the four-time major champion has contended in a tournament?”
  • “It’s just nice to feel something again,” Koepka said after a final-round 65 at Harbour Town Golf Links helped him to his first top-10 finish since he finished fourth at the Tour Championship.
  • “…Koepka ran out of birdies and holes on Sunday, eventually finishing four strokes behind winner Webb Simpson but not before a two-eagle final round and a couple of early back-nine birdies had him just a stroke back of the leaders. He finished seventh.”
  • “The reason that was so satisfying is the only thing Koepka had felt for most of the past eight months was pain. He basically missed six months of golf, three due to injury, and another three due to the pandemic.”
4. Lynch: Work, luck needed
Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch…”Tour officials knew Watney was symptomatic before he arrived at the golf course so they had an obligation to isolate him from other competitors and people. Instead, he was able to stroll to the practice area while awaiting his test result. Perhaps there was a misguided notion that he could prepare to play should his test be negative, but that’s a laissez-faire luxury the Tour can ill afford in this hyper-sensitive environment.”
  • “Watney should have been handcuffed to a chair in the medical office, not chatting with Rory McIlroy on the putting green.”
  • …”In response to Watney’s positive test, the Tour announced tests of 11 people who were in contact with him, all of which were negative. (Secondary test results are pending.) All credit for the rapid contact tracing efforts, but given the incubation period when the virus might not be revealed in tests, and the incidence of false negatives, the Tour cannot declare case closed with all the haste of a Moscow coroner who finds Putin’s worst enemy on his slab. Any trickle-down impact of Watney’s positive test might not become apparent for days, by which time the Tour circus will have moved on to Connecticut.”
5. Sergio, oh no…
Golf Digest’s Daniel Rapaport…“You know the cliché: It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Sergio Garcia believes this age-old adage applies to the current plight of Nick Watney, who on Friday became the first PGA Tour player to test positive for COVID-19.”
  • “…Had it been someone else, perhaps someone “more deserving,” it seems Garcia would feel differently.”
  • “I felt terrible for Nick because he’s probably one of the nicest guys on Tour,” Garcia said after shooting 65 on Saturday. “Unfortunately, it had to happen to him. So there’s a lot of other people that probably deserved it a lot more than him, and he’s the one that got it.”
6. ICYMI: Michelle Wie is a mother
AP report…”Michelle Wie West now has a little one of her own.”
  • “The former U.S. Women’s Open champion announced on Instagram that she and her husband, Golden State Warriors executive Jonnie West, are parents of a daughter born Friday.”
  • “Kenna baby, I have waited my entire life to meet you,” Wie wrote on Instagram.
7. Tiger sighting
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…“Tiger Woods spent part of Saturday playing golf with his son, Charlie, at Frederica Golf Club on St. Simons Island, Ga.”
  • “Pictures emerged on social media late Saturday of Woods playing Frederica, and a source close to the club confirmed the round. Woods’ boat, Privacy, was docked on St. Simons Island earlier this month sparking rumors Woods might play this week’s RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island, S.C., which is about an hour’s drive north. Woods did not play the Heritage.”
8. Rory might not be returning to Harbour Town for a while…
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…“Once I got here and I played the golf course, I sort of remembered why I haven’t been here for a while,” said McIlroy, who had only played Harbour Town once before this week, tying for 58th in 2009. “It’s tough. Like it’s a lovely place. There’s other courses on Tour that probably fit my game a little bit better, and obviously the week after the Masters is always a tough one.”
  • “Some of that indifference can be attributed to McIlroy’s play. The world No. 1 struggled on Day 1 to a 1-over 72 and needed a second-round 65 just to make the cut. Weekend rounds of 66-70 left him T-41, his worst finish on the PGA Tour since the WGC-HSBC Champions in October 2018.”
9. Webb’s winning WITB
Driver: Titleist TS3 (10.5 degrees, A1 setting, draw setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue 65 TX (45.25″)
3-wood: Titleist TS2 (15 degrees, A1 setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Blue 70 TX
5-wood: Titleist 913Fd (18 degrees, B1 setting)
Shaft: UST Mamiya VTS 86 TX
Hybrid 1: Titleist 913Hd (21 degrees, B2 setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X
Hybrid 2: Titleist 915Hd (23.5 degrees, C3 setting)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Irons: Titleist 620MB (5-PW)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design Raw SM7 (54-14), Titleist Vokey Design Raw SM5 (60-06K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey Tank Cruiser V-Line
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Related Topics:

We share your golf passion. You can follow GolfWRX on Twitter @GolfWRX, Facebook and Instagram.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

on

Aug 4, 2025

By

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.

Continue Reading

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 29, 2025

By

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.

 

Continue Reading

News

BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 28, 2025

By

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)

Continue Reading

WITB

Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago

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...
Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago

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...
Whats in the Bag4 weeks ago

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. ...
Whats in the Bag4 weeks ago

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...

Facebook

Trending