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Morning 9: A singular champion amid a singular stretch for a singular season | JT peaking for major stretch | Inside the LPGA Tour bubble

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5 years ago

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1. DJ adds the FedEx Cup to his trophy case in a singular season
PGATour.com’s Sean Martin...”Johnson is the champion of a season unlike any other. He did it with a month that reminded us of how easy he can make the game look.”
  • “This season was anything but. Johnson had surgery on his left knee less than two weeks after last year’s TOUR Championship and didn’t play until the Presidents Cup in December. He made just four starts before the season was shut down by the coronavirus pandemic. Even after his first win of the season, he shot back-to-back 80s at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide.”
  • …”After beating just one player at the Memorial and withdrawing from his next start because of a back injury, Johnson put on an impressive performance over his final four starts.”
  • “He closed the season with two wins and two runners-up. He was the 54-hole leader in all four events. Only two 64s – from Collin Morikawa at the PGA and Jon Rahm at the BMW Championship – and two of the season’s most incredible shots could stop Johnson during that closing stretch.”
2. About that 80-80 at the Memorial…
ESPN’s Bob Harig…“The thing about DJ is you never know,” said Thomas, who by sharing second with Schauffele earned $4.5 million. “Hats off to him. I don’t know if he’ll talk about it, but I played with him at the Memorial, and I’ve never seen him as lost, anywhere remotely close to that lost.
  • “He was grinding his [butt] off. He was putting so bad and playing so bad. But he never gave up. He wasn’t quitting. He was just trying to figure it out there and he couldn’t find it again the next week, and then next you know, he’s the FedEx Cup champion and running away.
  • “That’s all you need to know about golf right there.”
  • “And that’s all you need to know about Johnson, who seemingly has the ability to shed disappointment without much energy spent.”
3. When $25K was a big payday
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…“All total Dustin Johnson made $20.8 million in winnings and FedExCup bonuses for the 2019-20 season. To put that context that’s more than all but 77 players have made in their entire PGA Tour careers.”
  • “For Johnson the more telling comparison is the earliest years of his career just as he was earning his way onto the Tour.”
  • “When I went through all three stages of [2007] Q-School and got my Tour card I think they gave me like a $25,000 check,” he said following his three-stroke victory at the Tour Championship which was worth $15 million. “I thought I was rich because I didn’t have but a couple hundred bucks in my bank account probably.”
4. JT feels he’s peaking
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…“Normally the Tour Championship conclusion is a chance for players to exhale after a long season, but because of the pandemic and dramatically rearranged schedule the end of the season marks the start of a busy fall.”
  • “The U.S. Open will be held in two weeks at Winged Foot, followed by the Masters in November, which leaves little time for players to rest. But for those who are playing well, it’s a chance to keep the momentum going.”
  • “I always take a couple days off after a tournament anyway, but I’m excited. I’m really excited how I’m playing, how I feel about my game, how my body feels,” said Justin Thomas, who tied for second place at the finale. “I’m feeling like I’m starting to play some of my best golf of the year, and getting to a pretty important stretch, so hopefully we’ll be able to continue it into next week and then October and November.”
5. …and Jimmy Johnson will be back on the bag
Golf Channel’s (resident content machine) Rex Hoggard…“Along with a game that appears to be peaking at the right time, Thomas will also have a familiar face on his golf bag at Winged Foot. He confirmed on Monday at East Lake that Jimmy Johnson will be back on the bag at the U.S. Open.”
  • “Johnson has been recovering at home since the Memorial with health issues and Thomas had Jim “Bones” Mackay step in for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.”
6. LPGA bubble
Larry Bohannon breaks down the LPGA bubble...”This year, it also takes two negative COVID-19 tests, a color-coded wrist band and a pledge not to dine out during tournament week.”
  • “Since the LPGA returned to play in July after a five-month stoppage because of the coronavirus pandemic, the tour has tried to build a so-called bubble around each tournament. The bubble is intended to isolate players and other tournament personnel from the outside world, limiting the chances of contacting or spreading the virus.”
  • “But no two bubbles, even the one being crafted at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, for the ANA Inspiration this week, have been exactly the same.”
  • “We’ve had to deal with local regulations everywhere we have gone,” said Christina Lance, senior manager of tour media for the LPGA. “Every place is different.”
7. GolfWRX’s shots from the Safeway
GolfWRX is live from Napa Valley at the Silverado Resort and Spa for the Safeway Open.
  • “The par-72, 7,166-yard track saw Cameron Champ emerge victorious in the most recent contesting. This year, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, and Sergio Garcia are all teeing it up, as well as Matt Kuchar, Kevin Streelman, and Erik van Rooyen, to name a few in the 144-man field.”
  • “A tune-up event for the U.S. Open for the first (and almost certainly last) time in its history, the Safeway Open-first event of the 2020-2021 PGA Tour season-is an interesting one from an equipment standpoint. Not only are the new Titleist woods seeding (as well as other equipment, potentially) but players looking for an edge will be motivated to change up their bags ahead of the 2020-2021 campaign, as will 2021 equipment free agents and players who could potentially be facing sponsorship switches.”

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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

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.

 

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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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Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...

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