Connect with us

News

Morning 9: Incredible win, winner at Women’s Open | Dominant DJ | TW finishes strong, misses fans

Published

5 years ago

on

1 Popov triumphs for shock Women’s Open win
Only in the field thanks to a T9 finish at the Marathon Classic…which she only earned a spot in because so many players were sitting out due to COVID-19 concerns…
  • AP report…”The first professional victory of Sophia Popov’s career came at a major championship on Sunday when the 304th-ranked German won the Women’s Open at Royal Troon.”
  • “Popov recovered from a bogey on the first hole by making five birdies for a 3-under 68 in the final round, leaving her 7 under par overall and two strokes clear of Jasmine Suwannapura of Thailand (67).”
  • “Wiping tears from her eyes, Popov tapped in a bogey putt at the last to complete one of the most unlikely wins in the tournament’s history”
2. From LGPA card loser, Lyme Disease sufferer to Women’s Open winner 
Some context for Popov’s surprise win from Golf Digest’s Keely Levins…”A battle with Lyme disease that went undiagnosed for three years and resulted in a 25-pound weight loss, and a game that wasn’t up to the standards she knew she was capable of left the 27-year-old German questioning whether she should continue on as a professional golfer. But Popov instead pushed forward into the 2020 season, believing that this is what she was meant to do…”
  • “In 2019, Popov lost her LPGA card, sending her back to the tour’s Q Series. But that didn’t go well. She missed getting her LPGA card by a shot, landing her on the Symetra Tour. At a time when she wanted to be moving forward with her career, it was a step backward. Then the global pandemic hit, and the shortened Symetra and LPGA schedules resulted in the tour carrying over players’ 2020 status into 2021. Popov was suddenly looking at two seasons on Symetra. Unless, that is, something seemingly impossible happened, and she was able to win a major-one of only two ways to get from Symetra to LPGA for 2021.”
Plenty more worth reading in the full piece.
3. DJ: Winner by 11, World No. 1 again
AP report…”Johnson played the final two holes in near darkness after a late storm delay and finished with a birdie for an 8-under 63 and an 11-shot victory over Harris English.”
  • “It was the 22nd victory of his PGA TOUR career, and he never made it look easier. Johnson won his fifth FedExCup Playoffs event — tied with Rory McIlroy for most — and now leads the FedExCup standings and also returned to No. 1 in the world. He finished at 30-under 254.”
  • “Staked to a five-shot lead over Harris English going into the final round, Johnson sent a towering 7-iron over the water to a front pin on the par-5 second, the ball settling 8 feet next to the pin for an eagle. Two holes later, his 3-wood was placed perfectly in front of the fourth green for a simple up-and-down for birdie.”
4. TW: Final-round 66…T58 finish
PGATour.com’s Jim McCabe writes…“Today,” said Woods, “was good all the way around.”
  • “Indeed, the numbers support that, as he hit 10 of 14 fairways, 16 of 18 greens, and while he would have preferred to have taken fewer than 31 putts, he did make 100 feet of them. That was a vast improvement from Friday (68 feet) and Saturday (45 feet) when he scored poorly, rounds of 71 and 73 digging a massive hole that left him a whopping 21 strokes behind Dustin Johnson through three rounds.”
  • “Not that a round of 66 was going to be called an instant classic, because in this week of deep red numbers, a 5 under effort was ordinary. Indeed, three pairings later, Kevin Na matched the 66, then came a 65 by Troy Merritt and 63 by Robby Shelton.”
  • “In other words, the 66 wasn’t going to open much room for Woods, who started the day 67th and was still tied for 55th after signing for 6-under 278. More to his concern, he knew he was going to lose ground in the FedExCup standings.”
5. …missing the fans
Nick Pietruszkiewicz for ESPN.com quoting the GOAT…“Obviously the energy is not anywhere near the same,” said Woods, who finished at 6 under for the event, near the bottom among those made the cut. “There isn’t the same amount of anxiety and pressure and people yelling at you and trying to grab your shirt, a hat off you. This is a very different world we live in.
  • “You hit good shots and you get on nice little runs, we don’t have the same energy … the same fan energy. It is different. Normally you may have like a Thursday or Friday morning round when there’s no one out here. By the time you get around the turn, people start coming around. But it’s been like that from the word go. And yeah, it is very different.”
  • “In fact, with the absence of fans, Woods revealed he likely has lost a bit of an edge that he held over much of the field. The usual swarm of people on every tee, fairway and green when he’s on the course doesn’t currently exist. Long have playing partners — those alongside him and those playing in front or behind him — had to deal with the commotion that comes with thousands of people following his every move.”
6. Romain! 
AP report…Romain Langasque captured his first European Tour title after shooting a bogey-free, 6-under 65 to win the Wales Open on Sunday.
  • “It tied the lowest round of the week at Celtic Manor and saw him finish on 8 under par overall and two strokes ahead of Sami Valimaki of Finland, who shot 69.”
  • “Sebastian Soderberg, who started the day tied for the lead with Connor Syme, went to the par-5 18th needing a birdie to take Langasque to a playoff.”

Full piece.

7. Lynch: PGA Tour Champions needs Phil
Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch…”His presence in Missouri will boost the profile of a circuit that, for all of the fine players peddling their wares out there, thrives most when legends come along. Legends aren’t real plentiful, of course, especially among the generation now graduating to the Champions Tour that had their résumés impoverished by Tiger Woods. Mickelson says he’ll play only a few senior events each year, a listless embrace similar to that of Greg Norman and Nick Faldo, but better than Johnny Miller’s no-show.”
  • “The PGA Tour Champions needs more, because the next superstar in its queue doesn’t turn 50 until December of 2025, and a man with young kids, a healthy portfolio and an unhealthy body isn’t a good bet to be pegging it against a 68-year-old Bernhard Langer every week.”
  • “It also deserves more. Sure, it may be littered with guys who couldn’t get your pulse racing if they were clapping you with a defibrillator, but the Champions Tour still brings big-time golf to small-town America and permits Cinderella stories worth rooting for. Exhibit ‘A’: Scott Parel.”
8. Curtis Luck: KFT winner
Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…“When Curtis Luck stepped on the first tee Sunday afternoon at Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio, he and playing competitor Cameron Young, just a shot off of Luck’s lead entering the day, shared a common aim: Let’s put on a good show.”
  • “…If Luck’s even-par 71 lacked the type of fireworks accustomed on the Korn Ferry Tour, it made up for it in grit. Luck’s clutch up-and-down par on the 72nd hole earned the 24-year-old Australian his first victory as a professional, a one-shot triumph over Young (71), Theo Humphrey (67) and Taylor Montgomery (68) at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.”
9. Today in freak injuries on the PGA Tour…
“Nick Pietruszkiewicz at ESPN.com…PGA Tour rookie Scottie Scheffler’s wild week took another turn Sunday in the final round of The Northern Trust, when his caddie, Scott McGuinness, went down in the ninth fairway with a leg injury and had to be carted off the golf course.”
  • “Eric Ledbetter, one of the assistant golf professionals at TPC Boston, was soon handed the caddie bib and took over on the bag on a day when temperatures hovered in the high 80s. Ledbetter, wearing pants while the rest of the caddies had on shorts, grabbed a bottle of water and headed off to join Scheffler on the 10th tee.”
  • “Scheffler said he thinks McGuinness will be OK.”
9b. DJ’s winning WITB
Driver: TaylorMade SIM (10.5 @10 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 661 X 
Fairway woods: TaylorMade SIM Max (15 degrees, 21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X, Fujikura Ventus Black 105 proto
Irons: TaylorMade P730 DJ Proto (3-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 
Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 (52-09, 60-10 @ 62 degrees)
Shafts: KBS Tour Custom Black 120 S
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Limited Itsy Bitsy
Grip: SuperStroke Traxion Pistol GT 1.0
Ball: TaylorMade TP5X
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 

 

Related Topics:

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.

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