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Tour Rundown: Five victors over long weekend
Across the USA and Canada, it’s a long weekend that marks a celebration of fall. Across the golf world, victors were anointed in England, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Florida, and North Carolina (OK, mainly across the USA:) The colorful passing of leaves from trees forewarns the arrival of cold temperatures, snow and, in some places, a break from the golf. For us, we chase the sun as Hogan did, running down professional tournaments wherever they are played. Have a nice cup of something warm and enjoy this week’s Tour Rundown.
Hatton claims homeland PGA Championship
The great debate rages on, as to why the USA is home to three of the world’s four major men’s golf titles. Important events are played across the globe, and the British PGA must certainly be counted as one. The uncontainable Tyrrell Hatton withstood an early charge from France’s Victor Perez, then countered mid-round with a volley of his own. He then closed firmly, to claim a 5th European title and second professional win of 2020.
Hatton had stamped himself as the frontrunner over three days, but when Perez stood minus-six on the day through twelve holes, the Englishman was compelled to seek something deep. His lead was a single stroke at the time, thanks to consecutive birdies at 9, 10 and 11. Perez simply wouldn’t go away … until the next hole. The man from Gaul had emptied his storehouse of birdies, and two closing bogies brought him back to -15. After a hiccough at 13, Hatton finished off a -19 performance with birdies at 15 and 18. The closing hole was kind to him all week; he made birdie each of the days, and secured a coveted, homeland title of importance.
Sei-young Kim finds major glory at Aronimink
With this taste of fall major championships, golf’s followers might lobby to do this more often into the future. First the US men’s open, and now the Women’s PGA! The scattering of events of magnitude throughout the calendar year is compelling, and might encourage the admins to rethink the way (and the places) that they shape their schedules.
Sei Young Kim won four of her ten previous LPGA titles in playoffs. She is money in extra time, but came nowhere close to needing a playoff in Philadelphia this weekend. Kim entered Sunday with a two-shot advantage over Brooke Henderson, and the Canadian would have needed 61 just to reach one of those aforementioned playoffs. That’s due to the monstrous 63 that Sei-young etched into history on Sunday. Three birdies on the front nine to preserve the lead, as Henderson struggled. Four more over the closing six holes, to reach -14 over a stored Donald Ross course. It’s a lengthy, one-paragraph summary; in essence, it was a one-woman event. Despite the heroics of Carlota Ciganda and Inbee Park (65s on Sunday) and Nasa Hataoka (64 punctuated by a hole-out eagle at the 1st), WPGA 2020 will be forever known for the separation of Sei-young Kim from the field. Welcome to the Major table, SYK!
Martin Laird is a winner once more
Unlike Sei-young Kim, Martin Laird is not Money Martin in playoffs, unless they take place in Las Vegas, kind of. Laird has been involved in three Shriners playoffs (2009, 2010, 2020) and has won two of them. Take him away from the desert, and he is zero for two. Time to focus on what he did brilliantly this week, holding off Matthew Wolff and Austin Cook in extra time for a 4th tour title.
Laird entered round four in a tie with Patrick Cantlay, at -20. After a 63 and two 65s, Cantlay went somewhere mysterious with a front-nine 39 on Sunday. He had two birdies coming home, but the damage was done. Laird soldiered on, as many around him made mid-6os runs at the lead. In addition to the aforementioned Wolff and Cook, Peter Malnatti and Bryson DeChambeau had 66s, and burst into the top ten. With the tournament in his hands, Laird made bogey at the watery 18th, falling into a three-way tie and a lagoon of doubt.
Regrouping quickly, the Scotsman headed off to extra holes with two associates. All three made par at the first playoff hole, with Wolff and Laird excruciatingly close to a winning birdie. At the 2nd playoff hole, the par-three 17th, Laird’s putt never looked like it would stay high enough, until it caught the lower edge and dropped for a winning birdie. Seven years after his last tour win, the now-gray Laird had a fourth title, and one to share with his young family.
Mullinax locks gate on Korn Ferry 2020 with Orange County win
Trey Mullinax was a part of those Justin Thomas-led, University of Alabama teams of the early 2010s. Since his time in Tuscaloosa, Mullinax has ground out a living across America’s PGA Tours. He has two victories on the Korn Ferry Tour, along with a stint on the big tour, to show for his efforts. This weekend, Mullinax claimed that second KFT victory, by one stroke at the Orange County National complex in Orlando.
Round four was an unstable one for the man from Birmingham. Five birdies were offset by three bogies, and he closed with 69 for -23. Fortunately for Mullinax, one of those birdies came at the par-five finishing hole. Gaining ground behind him were Brandon Wu and Stephan Jaeger. After forging his seventh birdie of the day at the 15th, Wu could summon no more, ending at -22. Jaeger was the antithesis. After dropping a stroke at the par-five 14th, he closed with three birdie along the four-hole, finishing stretch. After reaching the last in two, his putt for eagle and a tie came up shy, and Mullinax had a victory to close the 2020 campaign.
The Big Easy plays well in Cary
The SAS Championship celebrated its 20th playing this week, all of them in Cary, North Carolina. The little town that could has grown up, and what better champion to celebrate two decades of success than Ernie Els? Situated west of Raleigh, and south of Durham and Chapel Hill, Cary makes no claims on enlarging the triangle into a quadrilateral. It likes who it is, just fine, and should serve as a fine host to the PGA Tour Champions for years to come.
Els came oh-so-close to being one of those winners in his first senior event, earlier this year. He has now won twice in his maiden campaign on the Champions Tour, by one shot this week over Colin Montgomerie. In truth, the SAS appeared to be a reset to the early 2000s, with Els, Monty, Vijay Singh and Bernhard Langer giving chase. After 74 on Sunday, it appears that the the great German champion Langer might be finally showing signs of passing the torch to a new generation of old guys.
For all the world, it seemed that Singh and Montgomerie would do battle for the title. Both had 70 on day four, and finished at -10 and -11, respectively. Els stood +1 through five holes on Sunday, apparently out of the picture. Along came the seven-birdie train, however, punctuated by gained shots at the final two holes, and just like that, the South African hero had snatched the title from the mitts of Scotland and Fiji. The title boosted Els into the Schwab Cup lead, with two events left before the grand finale in Phoenix, in November.
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.
Card III and Bacha both miss their birdie tries on the first playoff hole.
We’ll play 18 again @OspreyOpen. pic.twitter.com/vNpHTdkHDg
— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) August 3, 2025
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
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #2
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Scotty Kennon – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Austin Duncan – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Will Chandler – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kevin Roy – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ben Griffin – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ryan Gerard – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Adam Schenk – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kurt Kitayama – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Camilo Villegas – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matti Schmid – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
Pullout Albums
- Denny McCarthy’s custom Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Swag Golf putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Karl Vilips TM MG5 wedges – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- New Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matt Fitzpatrick’s custom Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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)
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
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...
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...
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. ...
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...
