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Morning 9: Life in the European Tour bubble | Investigations at Golf Channel HQ? | Return of the 9-hole round?

Published

5 years ago

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1. Living in the European Tour bubble 
John Huggan for Golf Digest…”If COVID-19 test results are our guide, the European Tour’s “bubble” system-in which players are required to travel solely between the course and hotel during tournament week and eat with only designated “buddies” at specific locations-has been hugely successful. Only one player, Frenchman Alex Levy, has so far been the subject of a positive result. And only John Catlin, subsequently a two-time tournament winner, has been caught violating the prescribed protocol…”
  • “Perhaps even more happily, the obvious potential for mental health issues has been nullified as much as possible. Many precautions are in place. The tour offers the players access to a support hotline, which operates 24 hours a day. Nutritionist Graham Close has been advising the designated hotels on their menus. And players have the option of withdrawing from events at the last minute, with no threat of financial penalty. Given a ripcord they can pull, any feeling of being “trapped” is mitigated.”
2. Golf Channel HQ closed for investigation 
Geoff Shackelford writes…“A class action lawsuit joined last week by eleven Golf Channel employees has prompted the closing of the network’s Orlando headquarters. The campus is slated for permanent demise this December, with a small number of jobs moving to Stamford, Connecticut where NBC Sports is currently located.”
“In a late Friday email to staff shared by multiple sources, Golf Channel president Mike McCarley cited the lawsuit in announcing the need to investigate.”
  • “In light of the allegations, we are thoroughly investigating the matter to ensure that our campus environment is safe,” McCarley wrote. “While we do so, out of an abundance of caution, we ask that you continue to work remotely as has been the case during the pandemic. Over the next few days, we will communicate with the limited number of employees currently allowed on-site to further limit access, involving moving our production off-site beginning Monday.”
  • “Another sources says a traditional Monday email to staff offered no follow-up news…”
  • “The channel faces at least two known lawsuits but none directly related to the Lockheed Martin class-action suit announced last week and reported on by the Orlando Sentinel.”
3. Spotlight on Vegas
Cameron Morfit for PGATour.com talks to the players who call Sin City home ahead of two-tournament stint in town.
  • “My coach Butch Harmon is out there in Henderson (a 20-minute drive south),” says McNealy, who finished a career-best 68th in the FedExCup last season. “And there’s actually an incredible amount of young players that are out there now. They’re calling it the Jupiter of the West – lots of PGA TOUR, LPGA, Korn Ferry, Canada, Latin America, high school players, college players.
  • “It’s pretty motivating to be out there,” McNealy adds. “Everybody is working hard, and I know there’s a lot of people out there trying to get my job, too.”
  • “Las Vegas is where Tiger Woods notched the first of his 82 (and counting) TOUR wins in 1996, beating Davis Love III in a playoff. It’s where Chip Beck shot 13-under 59 at the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational at Sunrise Golf Club. It’s the home of UNLV, which has helped hone the skills of future TOUR pros like Adam Scott, Charley Hoffman and Ryan Moore. And, yes, it’s the home base for Harmon, who advised seemingly every No. 1 player for some 30-odd years…”    
4. Should TV help in the lost golf ball search? 
Geoff Shackelford…“Twice during the Sky Sports/Golf Channel telecast of the Aberdeen Standard Scottish Open (at least that I saw) Lee Westwood was aided by television sharing the approximate coordinates of a lost ball. Both were found.”
  • “…I don’t believe this is a Rules issue as much as it’s a philosophic question of what role should television play? With betting projected to become a prime revenue source and the fan based connected to the proceedings via capital, these weird little first world dilemmas take on a different edge with outside money on the line. We already know how upset viewers get when they perceive a slight when tallying up shots shown, so imagine if one player is seemingly helped more than another?”
  • “This topic may be moot when spectators return and any television assistance will return to its former role as the equivalent of fans identifying where a ball went. But for a while attendance will be light, cameras will still roll and I suspect, there will be a randomness to lost balls identified with the help of television.”
5. Are 9-hole rounds seeing a comeback?
Erik Matuszewski writing for the Links Magazine…“I’ve discovered, or maybe rediscovered, the joy of 9-hole rounds-and I’m not alone. The National Golf Foundation recently shared data that showed the percentage of 9-hole rounds is up 15 percent over last year.”
  • “The pandemic has reshaped behaviors and led people to rethink where they go and how they spend their free time. This has proven to be good news for golf, which has experienced record-setting surges in play as avid golfers, former golfers, and new golfers opt for a safe, healthy, outdoor activity. Amid uncertain and unprecedented times, golf has provided a valuable mental and physical escape-when you can find a tee time, that is.”
  • “My local public course seemingly had a full tee sheet all summer, which meant getting a little creative. I’d occasionally ask to play the back nine first thing in the morning, ahead of the grounds crew and before returning to my home office for work. Most of the greens would still be untouched and covered in dew, but that just meant you could satisfyingly see the putting line if a ball tracked into the hole. I’d slip out in the evening when the summer days were long, squeezing in nine holes after (occasionally instead of) dinner. Sometimes I’d bring my kids and not even get in a full nine. And that was fine.”
6. In ‘wild, wild West’ created by COVID-19, college golf coaches ponder the uncertain future of their sport
Tod Leonard for Golf Digest checks in with UCLA coach Derek
Freeman…”If the coronavirus didn’t exist, all of Freeman’s golfers would be on the Westwood campus in the Los Angeles suburbs, going to class, practicing at some of the city’s finest country clubs and preparing for top-level competition.”
  • “But that all changed with COVID-19, which first gummed up the turning wheels of college sports in March, when play came to a shocking halt. Championships in all winter and spring sports were canceled. Classes were switched to online. Many of the students, still in their teens, faced the first deep crisis of their lives.”
  • “The sadness, confusion and sense of upheaval has softened in some regions of the country, but it weighs as heavily as it ever did in others. The same can be said for college golf, where the NCAA, conferences and universities are in the strange, unprecedented position of relying on states, counties and even the beliefs of individual families to determine their competitive fate in the 2020-’21 season and beyond.”
7. One pairing to rule them all…and then the normal humans
Golf Channel’s Will Gray on the groupings for the Shriners…“DeChambeau won this event two years ago, and he returns to TPC Summerlin to make his first start as a major champion after bombing his way past the field last month at Winged Foot. Wolff finished second at the U.S. Open for his best-ever major result, and like DeChambeau he’s returning to competition after two weeks off. Rounding out the group will be Champ, another of the Tour’s longest hitters who will missed the cut at Winged Foot but will be looking to win his second start of the new season for the third straight year.”
  • “Kevin Na, Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler…This group features the two combatants from last year’s playoff, where Na won on the second extra hole. Two of Na’s four career wins have come at this event, while Cantlay’s affinity for TPC Summerlin includes his maiden Tour win (2017) to go along with a pair of runner-up finishes. Joining them will be Fowler, who finished T-4 at this event in 2018 but has dipped to No. 41 in the world rankings and enters off a T-49 finish at the U.S. Open.”
8. WOTW: Sergio’s Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light”
Our resident watch expert, Brian Knudson on the Spaniard’s wristwear…“Sergio was wearing an Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Co-Axial “Ultra Light” in green (Ref: 220.92.41.21.06.003) after winning the Sanderson Farms Championship. Sergio has been an Omega athlete for 17 years, sporting many of their luxury timepieces on tour. This week he not only wore the Seamaster Aqua terra “Light Weight” during the trophy presentation, but he wore it while playing.”
  • “At a minuscule 55 grams, this Seamaster weighs just slightly more than a golf ball. The watch is all about weight with sporting a Gamma Titanium case, ceramic bezel, grade 5 titanium dial, and even a movement made from titanium. Omega created the manual winding Calibre 8928 out of titanium and it is a certified Master Chronometer. The telescoping crown gets tucked away when not in use for comfort and protection. The iconic lined dial is made from grade 5 titanium and sandblasted for a matte finish. A lightweight fabric strap with green contrast stitching held tight through all four rounds of the Sanderson Farms Championship.
  • “The price of the Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Co-Axial “Ultra Light” is $48,600 and you already have to join the waiting list to get your hands on one.”
9. Wunder: Launch season is coming – Top 4 things I’m excited about
Here’s JW’s take on the new Srixon ZX7 irons…“Ask any fitter across North America, and I’d bet a good majority would say Srixon more or less rules the conversation in the players iron category. Not to say that other OEMs aren’t competitive, but for the last four or five years, Z series irons have been the darlings for fitters and builders. Feel, quality and consistency are the keywords used and now finally the popular Z785 has its new iteration. The ZX7.”
  • “No details as to when they will hit the market or the story behind them, but what I’ve heard is, they took the cult classic Z745 and last year’s Z785 and blended them together to make an iron that finally converts the die-hard Z745 user into the ZX7. The 745 has been an iron that even Tour staff have had a hard time getting out of. Keegan Bradley, Graeme McDowell. Jerry Kelly, Brian Gay, and a few others still have them in play-and keep in mind Srixon has launched two new irons since that time. That’s why the ZX7 needed to be a game-changer.”

 

 

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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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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.

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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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News

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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