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Morning 9: How will Augusta play? | Exclusive talk with Anthony Kim’s caddie | Brooks Koepka: Course designer?

Published

5 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt
November 5, 2020
Good Thursday morning, golf fans.
1. DJ returns to action after COVID-19
Golfweek’s Adam Schupak…”After spending 11 days quarantined in a hotel room, Dustin Johnson ran out of TV shows and movies to watch.”
  • “There isn’t one you can name that I didn’t watch, I don’t think,” said Johnson, noting that “Yellowstone,” was his favorite. “I was just laying around kind of doing nothing. It was one of those things where I was like waiting to get sick because you know you have it, but for me it was very mild and obviously I’m very thankful for that.”
  • “Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 on October 13, and withdrew from the CJ Cup and Zozo Championship, after experiencing achiness, congestion and a mild cough. He tested positive at an off-site location in Las Vegas run by Sanford Health. During a press conference ahead of the Vivint Houston Open, Johnson, who won three times last season and is the reigning FedEx Cup champion, declared himself a picture of health. As for his game with the Masters looming just a week away?”
  • “My health is good. The state of my game is undetermined,” he said.
2. Koepka tees it up at a course he helped design
Bet you didn’t know BK dabbled in golf course architecture! PGATour.com’s Sean Martin…”Koepka was the player consultant on the dramatic renovation that this week’s venue, Memorial Park, underwent before hosting the Vivint Houston Open.”
  • “To be honest with you, I had no aspirations of ever being like I want to design golf courses, nothing, but then being asked to do this, it’s a really cool idea,” Koepka said. “Obviously, I wanted to help Jim out.
  • “I think any time you can play a hand in having some opinion on a course that we’re going to play out here, I think it’s unique, it doesn’t happen very often. And it’s been cool just to see it evolve. I know this golf course is quite difficult. It’s quite long. You’ll see some high numbers, especially if the wind gets up. It kind of resembles a little bit of a U.S. Open. I think some people would say, which I feel like I’ve done pretty good at.”
  • “Famed architect Tom Doak led the renovation with Koepka providing input during on-site visits and over email.”
3. Ferguson: Why it’s OK 4 top-40 players aren’t teeing it up at the 2020 Masters
The AP’s Doug Ferguson picks up his opinion piece pen…”This is not a time for Berger, Hovland, Palmer and English to wonder what they’re missing, because they were never part of the 2020 Masters. This is the time for them to celebrate what they’ve achieved to at least be part of the conversation, and to look forward to the next Masters. They earned it.”
  • “All four are guaranteed spots at Augusta National next April by reaching the Tour Championship, no small feat for any of them.”
  • “Berger and English were out of the top 125 the previous season.”
  • “Hovland was a PGA Tour rookie. Palmer’s game never seems far off, though he had gone six years since he last played in the Tour Championship.”
  • “Now they’re in the top 40, and not likely to lose much ground with only two tournaments left this year after the Masters.”
4. “Ratings ouch”
Geoff Shackelford writes…”Even with a Masters invitation (somehow) on the line and of course, the all important FedExCup points, Brian Gay’s Bermuda Championship win still had fewer Golf Channel viewers than the Timbertech Championship.”
  • “That event featured Darren Clarke holding off Jim Furyk and Bernhard Langer for his first PGA Tour Champions win.”
  • “Saturday’s third round of the Timbertech “won” the weekend and averaged 43,000 in the coveted none-Villages demo.”
5. Lanto’s story
PGATour.com’s Doug Milne with an interesting look at last year’s Houston Open winner and a special individual in his life…”After turning professional in 2010, he would endure years of losing money and gaining credit card debt. In his first 10 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2017, he earned a collective total of less than $5,000.”
  • “I thought about quitting,” Griffin remembers thinking.
  • “What overtook his skepticism, though, was a stubborn perseverance to succeed. Returning to this week’s Vivint Houston Open as the defending champion, his determination clearly paid off. And, it has paid off in more ways – and to more people – than he ever could have imagined.”
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6. A defense of Election Day golf
Golf Digest’s Sam Weinman wrote yesterday, Election Day…”I am going to play golf. There, I said it. I am going to play golf because I care about the election but I want a break from caring for at least four hours. I am going to vote and then I’d rather be in three feet of fescue than anywhere near my Twitter feed. The spotty cell service at my golf course never seemed like a good thing until now.”
7. How will ANGC play next week?
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…“Thanks to extended forecasts there is some clarity when it comes to next week’s Masters. Following months of speculation, temperatures are expected to linger in the mid- to high-70s for the week with elevated chances of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
  • “For many that’s a welcome reprieve from what could have been for the first fall Masters. Much of the speculation heading into the year’s final major fixated on the potential for much colder conditions in November.”
  • “…Warmer-than-normal temperatures, however, are only part of what promises to make the 2020 Masters a singularly different tournament. Even with spring-like temperatures there are plenty of unknowns when it comes to the game’s most well-known layout.”
8. An exclusive chat with Anthony Kim’s caddie
Our Johnny Wunder spoke with Brodie Flanders…
“JW: What’s your favorite AK moment?”
“BF: I could write a book about my favorite AK moments. There’s so many. He’s been my family for half my life now. I had the pleasure of playing against him in the World Juniors in Japan at 16 to being roommates with him in college at OU, to walking with him for a few years inside and outside the ropes, and even building some businesses together. If I had to single out a moment, it was his back 9 run at the 2010 Masters. AK never feels that he’s out of a tournament and what I always appreciated most about his game was the way he’d close the rounds. It wasn’t unusual for him to go 4-5 under on the last 9.”
  • “On Sunday, he told me on the 13th that if he could go birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, birdie, he’d win.”
  • “He birdied 13, 14, and on 15 he had almost the identical yardage he had from Saturday. He flushed a 5 iron right behind the hole. Walking over the Sarazen bridge I tried to take it all in for probably the first time that day. I was at the Masters on Sunday with my best friend and he’s making a run. He said to me while reading that eagle putt on 15 “these ppl are about to go f*n nuts… watch this” and then he rolled it in. Goosebumps. He did the same thing on 16. I’ll never forget that day for the rest of my life.”
  • “Two weeks later, he hung it up to have surgery finally. One of many to follow.”
9. Anthony Kim’s 2010 Houston Open WITB
Always fun to take a look at WITBs of seasons past. Here’s AK’s setup for his 2010 win in Houston.
Driver: Nike VR Pro LTD (9.5 degrees @10)
Shaft: UST AxivCore Tour Black 79 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Burner TS (13 degrees)
Shaft: UST AxivCore Tour Black 89 X
5-wood: Nike Sasquatch Dyno (19 degrees)
Shaft: UST AxivCore Tour Black 89 X
Irons: Nike VR Pro MB (3-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Wedges: Nike VR Pro “MT Grind” (54, 59 degrees)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Select Circle T Newport 2
Grip: Scotty Cameron Pistol Red Full Cord
Grips: Golf Pride BCT 60R
Ball: Nike One Platinum

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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

on

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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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)

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