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Tour Rundown: Rai surprises (Garcia, too) | Finally, a win for Mel Reid

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6 years ago

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The major golf news this week was more agronomic in nature, as the Instagram world marveled at how the Augusta National could go from beautiful brown to…green, in a matter of days. Seems it has to do with rye over-seeding and witchcraft; we’ll get back to you on the specifics. Meanwhile, back at the 18th green, four golfers walked away with massive smiles, thanks to tournament victories. We’ve run them down the best that we can, and are happy to share them with you in this week’s version of Tour Runbrown, err, Rundown.

Scottish Open to Rai in surprise victory

If someone, say, me, had suggested that three English golfers would take the top three spots at this week’s Scottish Open, you’d have been surprised that one of them wasn’t Lee Westwood. If offered the names Tommy Fleetwood, Robert Rock, and Aaron Rai, you’d probably have done nothing to the order. Fairway Jesus is one of the top 20 players in the world, and Rock has multiple wins on the European Tour. Before this week, Rai was known as the two-glove guy, a fellow who had won a few times in Asia.

In regulation play, Rock decided to chip from just off the 18th green, rather than putt. He failed to get up and down, dropped from -11 to -10, and came third. Tied at -11 were, you guessed it, the mashie messiah and Rai. Away they sailed, to the 18th tee of the Renaissance Club, to settle matters. Fleetwood drove into the fairway, while Rai found trouble left. He recovered to leave a challenging pitch, which he tossed to four feet. After converting his par putt, Rai watched in disbelief as the putting paragon flinched from three feet. Just like that, Aaron Rai was no longer two-glove guy.

The tour moves to the toney Wentworth Club this week for the PGA Championship.

Sanderson Farms rates just behind Masters for Garcia

Perhaps not, but let’s be realistic: even though Sergio Garcia Fernandez had won three times since his major breakthrough in 2017, he had not won on US soil, where victories matter more. And, even though his major opposition came from guys named Malnatti, Poston, and Norlander, this win had to mean much to his psyche, as the 2020 version of the little gathering at Augusta looms.

Garcia hit a titanic metal approach to the par-five 14th hole. The ball hit either on the grassy upslope of a greenside bunker, or just past it, and bounced forward to the green, settling inside ten feet. No word on whether he putted with eyes open or closed (the second big story of the week, after the browning of Berckmans) but el adulto made the putt and moved into a tie for the lead. On the 18th hole, with the sun setting quickly, Garcia did the thing that made him famous: he hit an iron approach to within two feet. Garcia started walking after it, as though he knew. The ball landed one foot shy of the hole, and rolled out three feet. With the tap-in, the pride of Borriol had his 11th tour title in 20 seasons.

The PGA tour moves along to Las Vegas for the next two weeks. The Shriners Open will be played first, at TPC Summerlin. It will be followed by the relocated CJ Cup the next week, to be played at fabled Shadow Creek.

Shoprite Classic, finally, is a win for Mel Reid

Mel Reid knew how to win. She had won six times on the Ladies European Tour, albeit not in the past 3.5 years. She also knew how to not win, and had specialized in that in the USA. Reid had so many ways to not win a tournament, and each loss ate away at her confidence. She entered the final round of the annual New Jersey tilt within striking distance once more. In her way were Jennifer Kupcho. winner of the inaugural Augusta Women’s Amateur two years back; Jennifer Song, Nasa Hataoka, and world number two Nelly Korda. It would be no walk in the park.

After opening with a pair of birdies, Reid faltered with bogies at six and seven. Steadying herself, she recorded two more birdies at eight and nine, to finish the outward half in minus-two, still in the mix. Reid had two more birdies at 11 and 12, but stumbled again with bogey at 17. In that mysterious way that sometimes defines golf tournaments, no one had separated from the field, and Reid was tied for the lead as she stepped to the final tee. Her drive found a bit of rough, but Reid lashed at it with all the fury built up from those losses over the years. The ball found the edge of the green, and after two putts, Reid was finally an LPGA champion.

The LPGA Tour moves across state lines to Philadelphia, for the Womens PGA Championship at Aronimink.

Savannah Golf Championship is Harmeling’s first Korn Ferry title

The closing hole was double kind to Evan Harmeling on Sunday, and twice cruel to Kevin Dougherty. Harmeling made birdie there twice, while Dougherty was able to manage pars, despite having two cracks at the par-five finisher. If you’re an astute student of the game, you know that I’m hinting at a playoff, but let’s hold off on the result for a moment. Harmeling entered the final round with a one-shot advantage over Dougherty, but neither did much to separate from the other, or the field. George Cunningham and Austen Truslow made runs on day four, each turning in a seven-under 65. Those numbers were good enough to reach -19, and earn them a tie for third spot with three other competitors.

Harmeling’s round could be described as a three-part drama. He managed three birdies over his first six holes, then followed that with three bogies over the next six. Finally, he concluded with three more birdies over the closing third of the round, to reach 21 deep. His playing partner, Dougherty, fared much better over the first sixteen holes. After a bogey at the fourth, Dougherty reeled off six birdies over the subsequent 11 holes, to seize a two shot lead with two to play. In an eye’s blink, it slipped away. A bogey at the 17th, followed by the aforementioned, first birdie at 18 by Harmeling, erased the two-shot advantage, and away to the playoff they went. Harmeling ended matters quickly, but not without a little providence. His second to the par five bounded over the green, but fell into a sprinkler head just off the back edge. Instead of facing a testy pitch from down below, a flattish chip awaited. Two shots later, another birdie was in hand, along with a first-place check and trophy.

The Korn Ferry Tour concludes its 2020 campaign this week, at the Orange County national championship, in Orlando, Florida.

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Pingback: Tour Rundown: Rai surprises (Garcia, too) – LPGA Gameday

  2. Lrn2journalism

    Oct 5, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    Reid wasn’t tied for the lead on the 72nd tee. She led her two playing partners by two strokes.

    Reply Report comment

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News

2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

1 day ago

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May 12, 2026

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Scottie Scheffler leads the betting ahead of the second major championship of the year, with the World Number One a +345 favorite to get his hands on a second PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy who won the Masters back in April is a +800 shot to complete half of the calendar slam at Aronimink Golf Club this week, while Jordan Spieth can be backed at +5900 to become a career grand slam winner.

Here is the full betting board for the 2026 PGA Championship courtesy of DraftKings.

Scottie Scheffler +345 – (Check 0ut his WITB here)

Rory McIlroy +800 – (Check out his WITB here)

  • Jon Rahm +1300 
  • Cameron Young +1500
  • Bryson DeChambeau +1700
  • Xander Schauffele +1850
  • Matt Fitzpatrick +1950
  • Ludvig Aberg +2000
  • Tommy Fleetwood +2600
  • Collin Morikawa +3500
  • Brooks Koepka +3900
  • Justin Rose +4300
  • Russell Henley +4600
  • Si Woo Kim +4700
  • Justin Thomas +4800
  • Robert MacIntyre +5300
  • Patrick Cantlay +5300
  • Viktor Hovland +5400
  • Tyrrell Hatton +5500
  • Jordan Spieth +5900
  • Sam Burns +6000
  • Hideki Matsuyama +6200
  • Adam Scott +6400
  • Rickie Fowler +7000
  • Chris Gotterup +7400
  • Patrick Reed +7400
  • Min Woo Lee +7800
  • Ben Griffin +8000
  • Sepp Straka +8400
  • Shane Lowry +9000
  • Akshay Bhatia +9200
  • Maverick McNealy +9200
  • Joaquin Niemann +9200
  • Jake Knapp +9200
  • Jason Day +9600
  • Kurt Kitayama +10000
  • J.J. Spaun +10000
  • Harris English +10500
  • Nicolai Hojgaard +11000
  • Gary Woodland +11000
  • David Puig +11000
  • Michael Thorbjornsen +12000
  • Jacob Bridgeman +12000
  • Keegan Bradley +12500
  • Corey Conners +14000
  • Alex Fitzpatrick +15000
  • Sungjae Im +15500
  • Sahith Theegala +15500
  • Harry Hall +15500
  • Alex Noren +16000
  • Thomas Detry +16500
  • Marco Penge +16500
  • Kristoffer Reitan +17000
  • Alex Smalley +17000
  • Wyndham Clark +17500
  • Sam Stevens +17500
  • Keith Mitchell +17500
  • Daniel Berger +18500
  • Ryan Gerard +20000
  • Nick Taylor +20000
  • Rasmus Hojgaard +21000
  • Dustin Johnson +21000
  • Pierceson Coody +23000
  • Aaron Rai +24000
  • Jordan Smith +24000
  • Angel Ayora +24000
  • Bud Cauley +25000
  • Matt McCarty +26000
  • Jayden Schaper +26000
  • Brian Harman +27000
  • Taylor Pendrith +27000
  • Ryan Fox +27000
  • J.T. Poston +27000
  • Cameron Smith +29000
  • Ryo Hisatsune +29000
  • Michael Kim +29000
  • Max Homa +29000
  • Denny McCarthy +29000
  • Tom McKibbin +30000
  • Rico Hoey +32000
  • Matt Wallace +32500
  • Ricky Castillo +33000
  • Haotong Li +33000
  • Michael Brennan +34000
  • Max Greyserman +36000
  • Stephan Jaeger +37500
  • Christiaan Bezuidenhout +37500
  • Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +39000
  • Aldrich Potgieter +40000
  • Andrew Novak +42000
  • Patrick Rodgers +42500
  • Daniel Hillier +42500
  • Max McGreevy +46000
  • Billy Horschel +48000
  • Chris Kirk +48000
  • Ian Holt +49000
  • Casey Jarvis +49000
  • William Mouw +50000
  • Steven Fisk +50000
  • John Parry +50000
  • Nico Echavarria +52500
  • Garrick Higgo +52500
  • John Keefer+55000
  • Matthias Schmid +57500
  • Austin Smotherman +57500
  • Sami Valimaki +60000
  • Andrew Putnam +60000
  • Lucas Glover +62500
  • Daniel Brown +62500
  • Jhonattan Vegas +75000
  • Emiliano Grillo +80000
  • Mikael Lindberg +85000
  • Adrien Saddier +100000
  • Bernd Wiesberger +100000
  • Elvis Smylie +110000
  • Stewart Cink +130000
  • Kota Kaneko +130000
  • David Lipsky +150000
  • Chandler Blanchet +150000
  • Andy Sullivan +150000
  • Joe Highsmith +180000
  • Adam Schenk +200000
  • Travis Smyth +200000
  • Davis Riley +225000
  • Martin Kaymer +400000
  • Brian Campbell +400000
  • Padraig Harrington +450000
  • Kazuki Higa +450000
  • Jordan Gumberg +450000
  • Ryan Vermeer +500000
  • Austin Hurt +500000
  • Tyler Collet +500000
  • Timothy Wiseman +500000
  • Shaun Micheel +500000
  • Y.E. Yang +500000
  • Michael Block+500000
  • Mark Geddes+500000
  • Luke Donald+500000
  • Bryce Fisher+500000
  • Jimmy Walker +500000
  • Jason Dufner +500000
  • Jesse Droemer +500000
  • Jared Jones +500000
  • Garrett Sapp +500000
  • Francisco Bide +500000
  • Zach Haynes +500000
  • Paul McClure+500000
  • Derek Berg +500000
  • Chris Gabriele +500000
  • Braden Shattuck +500000
  • Ben Polland +500000
  • Ben Kern +50000

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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News

How much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

Kristoffer Reitan held his nerve at Quail Hollow on Sunday to claim his first PGA Tour victory and the $3.6 million winner’s check that came with it. The Norwegian fended off a packed leaderboard on a dramatic final day, with Rickie Fowler and Nicolai Højgaard both taking home $1.76 million for their runner-up finishes.

With a total prize purse of $20 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship.

1: Kristoffer Reitan, $3,600,000

T2: Rickie Fowler, $1,760,000

T2: Nicolai Hojgaard, -$1,760,000

4: Alex Fitzpatrick, $960,000

T5: Tommy Fleetwood, $730,000

T5: Sungjae Im, $730,000

T5: J.J. Spaun, $730,000

T8: Ludvig Aberg, $600,000

T8: Harry Hall, $600,000

T10: Patrick Cantlay, $500,000

T10: Matt McCarty, $500,000

T10: Cameron Young, $500,000

13: Justin Thomas, $420,000

T14: Min Woo Lee, $360,000

T14: Chris Gotterup, $360,000

T14: Nick Taylor, $360,000

T17: Alex Smalley, $310,000

T17: Gary Woodland, $310,000

T19: Austin Smotherman, $242,100

T19: Rory McIlroy, $242,100

T19: Keegan Bradley, $242,100

T19: Sudarshan Yellamaraju, $242,100

T19: Kurt Kitayama, $242,100

T24: Patrick Rodgers, $156,643

T24: Pierceson Coody, $156,643

T24: Adam Scott, $156,643

T24: Andrew Novak, $156,643

T24: Harris English, $156,643

T24: J.T. Poston, $156,643

T24: David Lipsky, $156,643

T31: Brian Harman, $114,416.67

T31: Viktor Hovland, $114,416.67

T31: Alex Noren, $114,416.67

T31: Tony Finau, $114,416.67

T31: Nico Echavarria, $114,416.67

T31: Corey Conners, $114,416.67

T37: Sam Burns, $82,187.50

T37: Maverick McNealy, $82,187.50

T37: Akshay Bhatia, $82,187.50

T37: Taylor Pendrith, $82,187.50

T37: Matt Wallace, $82,187.50

T37: Andrew Putnam, $82,187.50

T37: Bud Cauley, $82,187.50

T37: Lucas Glover, $82,187.50

T45: Justin Rose, $60,000

T45: Daniel Berger, $60,000

T45: Ryo Hisatsune, $60,000

T48: Denny McCarthy, $50,000

T48: Aldrich Potgieter, $50,000

T48: Webb Simpson, $50,000

T48: Michael Kim, $50,000

T52: Mackenzie Hughes, $45,187.50

T52: Max Homa, $45,187.50

T52: Brian Campbell, $45,187.50

T52: Jhonattan Vegas, $45,187.50

T52: Matt Fitzpatrick, $45,187.50

T52: Chandler Blanchet, $45,187.50

T52: Jordan Spieth, $45,187.50

T52: Jacob Bridgeman, $45,187.50

T60: Xander Schauffele, $42,500

T60: Robert MacIntyre, $42,500

T60: Ricky Castillo, $42,500

T63: Ben Griffin, $41,250

T63: Sepp Straka, $41,250

T65: Ryan Gerard, $40,250

T65: Si Woo Kim, $40,250

67: Ryan Fox, $39,500

68: Jason Day, $39,000

69: Sahith Theegala, $38,000

70: Sam Stevens, $37,500

71: Hideki Matsuyama, $37,000

72: Tom Hoge, $36,000

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