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What I think Bryson will hit off each tee at Augusta National

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The title says it all. Everyone seems to be weighing in on what golf Hulk is going to hit from the tee boxes of Augusta National,  I’ll offer my perspective.

To make it easier, we will do this hypothetical under normal wind conditions, but factor in the November dampness, so for that exercise we will add in five percentage points of extra yardage to each hole.

Let’s do this.

  1. Par 4, 445 yards: Bryson will always hit driver here. The right bunker could be a non-issue if he clips one.
  2. Par 5, 575 yards: BOMBS AWAY! Bryson’s miss is typically right, which is no problem here. Driver that finds the middle will leave him 200-225 max.
  3. Par 4, 350 yards: I don’t think there is any scenario that he doesn’t hit driver. Usually, it’s pin-dependent on whether you lay up with a 4 or 5-iron or hit the big stick. Not here. Bryson will hit Ddiver every day as the 2nd shot will be a simple pitch back up the hill from the front of the green or the back depending on the wind direction.
  4. Par 3, 240 yards: Into the wind from the back tee, this hole is a monster even for Bryson. It’s not the length, it’s the length combined with the small window you have to land it all while hoping the hole doesn’t play into the wind. He will hit anywhere from a 5 to a 7-iron.
  5. Par 4, 495 yards: Maybe the first hole BAD “might” hit 3-wood, the reason being is a right miss is pretty penalizing as is left. His driver “could” carry the left bunker although if its north wind (meaning #5 will play into), it’s a no go.
  6. Par 3, 180 yards: Downhill mid-to-short iron shot for most depending on pin location. Bryson will have 8-iron to a back flag, 9-iron to a middle flag, and PW into a front one.
  7. Par 4, 450 yards: Driver or 3-wood depending on how the first few drivers play out. Either one leaves him a flip wedge or shorter into the green.
  8. Par 5, 570 yards: This will be where his advantage truly shows up. The left side of the right bunker is the line, and he can hit it as hard as he can with zero worries of catching it. This will leave BAD with a 4-iron maybe even 5 or 6 depending on flag location. Back in the day if you had iron in you killed it, Bryson will dip into the mid irons I believe. It’s a big advantage to the middle and back flags as he can hit something high and fly it back.
  9. Par 4, 460 yards: ZERO problems anywhere he hits it here. Once the driver flies past the trees at 500 mph, it’s nothing but wedge in. However, that second shot can be as squirrely from up close as it is from 160.
  10. Par 4, 495 yards: Rope hook 3-wood like everyone else. The only difference is he will have 8 or 9-iron in if he hits the fairway.
  11. Par 4, 505 yards: Driver. Bombed. He rarely misses left and a big right miss isn’t all that awful. If he hits it down the center, he’s left with an 8 or 9-iron while his colleagues are ripping 4, 5, and 6-irons in.
  12. Par 3, 155 yards: Wedge under most circumstances unless the wind is swirling to the right pin, it will be a 9 iron.
  13. Par 5, 480 yards: He hit driver over the left trees a few days ago and had 127 in…
  14. Par 4, 440 yards: Driver or 3-wood will give him a PW or  SW in. I imagine with where he would hit driver, a SW or LW into that green will be enticing. Most players will have a mid-to-short-iron in.
  15. Par 5, 530 yards: Driver as hard as he can hit it. Will have 6-iron max into the green.
  16. Par 3, 170 yards: Short iron. 8 or 9-iron to a back flag. Wedge for the front pins.
  17. Par 4, 440 yards: I think he will hit 3-wood most days, driver unnecessarily could put him in weird spots and a good 3-wood gives him 9-iron or wedge in.
  18. Par 4, 465 yards: Driver, driver, driver. I don’t think the left bunker is much of a concern to any of these players, and if BAD can hit a hard slinger around the corner, he’s got wedge in.

These are my opinions, and yes I will be off on some, but it was a fun exercise nonetheless. The funny thing is,  when I look back at 1997 Tiger on the old Augusta and match up with what I think BAD will do, it’s eerily similar.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. JP

    Nov 11, 2020 at 12:46 pm

    The article makes it sound like an easy win for BD. Now explain why his second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth shots all take 15 minutes to set up and hit?!? And what happens if he’s in a bad lie, but spots an ant 7 feet away? Will the ant habitat mess with his head? Wildlife shanks?

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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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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Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

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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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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

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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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