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Morning 9: Green Wave cometh (what’s a Green Wave?) | Who’s buying all this golf equipment? | “When Dustin Johnson stayed at my house”

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5 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt
Email me at ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com; and find me on Twitter and Instagram.
November 17, 2020
Good Tuesday morning, golf fans. I had the date wrong in yesterday’s newsletter and didn’t get a single email about it, which either means you all are very kind for overlooking my shortcomings or were as bleary-eyed as I was. Either way, today is the 17th of November. Pencil it in and sign at the scorer’s tent.

1. A tradition unlike any other

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard with a final note on the peculiarity of this year’s Masters experience…”There’s a reason why this was the first Masters played in November. A pimento cheese sandwich just doesn’t go with a pumpkin spice latte, and something was slightly off about Augusta National, too. The fairways didn’t have the familiar bounce and the greens were fast but soft, players explained. It had something to do with different grasses and growing seasons, but the entire effect was strangely disorienting.”
  • “It felt wrong in terms of kind of like the ball plugging or a putt being really slow or something not being very fast,” Xander Schauffele said. “I was talking to Henrik [Stenson], I’m sure it was harder for him to deal with. He’s been out here more than I have. I’m not scarred by what Augusta is normally like.”
  • “There was nothing normal about this pandemic Masters, and the common theme among players was one of gratitude. If patrons are allowed back on Augusta National next April, there will be a greater appreciation for what the galleries mean to the tournament.”
  • “The atmosphere, the crowds, the patrons, the feelings that you normally have here that you didn’t quite have. More than any other week of the year I feel like you’re nervous a little more often, and it didn’t quite have that,” Rory McIlroy said.”

2. Green wave rolling in?

Shane Ryan, who is, respectfully, the king of paragraph length, at Golf Digest observes…”It’s the story of the transformation of men’s professional golf by a group of young players not yet 30 who come from the large swaths of the globe that are not the United States or Europe, and would fall under the “International” umbrella as defined by the Presidents Cup. For convenience, let’s call it the “Green Wave,” after their uniforms in Australia last December. The Green Wave encompasses budding talents like Sungjae Im and Abraham Ancer, both of whom made the final group with DJ at Augusta National; Cameron Smith, who became Johnson’s biggest challenger on Sunday; and Sebastian Munoz, Hideki Matsuyama and C.T. Pan, all of whom hung around near the top of the leader board with varying degrees of success in the final round.”
“What five of those six players have in common (all but Munoz) is that they played together at the 2019 Presidents Cup, an event that looks likely to grow in significance historically as a turning point for things to come. At Royal Melbourne, the out-gunned Internationals, armed with a woeful record over the history of the matches and a massive deficit in World Rankings, stunned the jet-lagged Americans during the first three sessions before Tiger and his charges found their feet on the brink of elimination and squeaked out a 16-14 win. Despite the eventual American victory, there was some degree of shock at the close outcome, and the fearlessness of the youngest Internationals.”

3. Fowler’s drought continues

John Feinstein asks one of golf’s lingering questions, now that the answer is “not in 2020.” When will Rickie Fowler win a major? “Fowler has never wanted to be one of those guys who made millions off his name, charm and looks and not off his golf. In 2014, he hired Butch Harmon as his teacher, and his game took off. He finished in the top five in all four majors that year—he had one top five in a major previously—when he finished T-5 Masters, T-2 at the U.S. Open, T-2 at the Open Championship and third, after a back nine duel with McIlroy and Mickelson, at the PGA.”
  • “He had arrived … almost”
  • “When he came from behind late to win the Players Championship the following May, it seemed he had taken another step forward, that the elusive first major victory wasn’t far off.”
  • “Five years—and 22 majors appearances later—he’s no closer. In fact, he is trending in the wrong direction. While he did finish second to Patrick Reed at the Masters in 2018 and was T-6 in 2019 in Ireland when Shane Lowry won the Open Championship, his best post-COVID major finish this year was Sunday’s T-29.”

4. Better understanding the rise in play and purchases

David Lorentz for the National Golf Foundation’s Q…”There’s an adage in business that 80% of sales come from 20% of customers. This phenomenon – known also as “the law of the vital few” – may not be the universal truth that some suggest, but it does have pretty broad acceptance and application, and is viewed by many as a powerful tool for growing business.”
“Coincidentally or not, this principle applies nicely to the pandemic-induced lift that golf has experienced over the past five months, as it’s become pretty clear that a certain 20% of existing customers are contributing disproportionately to the outcome. (What follows begins to answer the question we’ve been asked more than any other in recent months: who’s driving the surge?)”
  • “Since March we’ve surveyed several thousand Core consumers, chronicling their sentiments and behaviors and drawing distinctions between different groups, time periods and locations. Within this pulse survey we’ve also inquired about current and expected 2020 golf spend, asking respondents to compare these amounts to 2019 and/or their “typical” annual spend. The data here is more directional than scientific/projectable, but it’s showed us that 20% of Core golfers will be “over-spenders” this year, while roughly 30% will be “same-spenders” and, believe it or not, half will actually underspend this year versus last (or typical).”

5. “The time Dustin Johnson stayed with my family”

Claire Rogers of Golf Digest on Dustin Johnson’s brief residence at her residence…”Every June, Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, R.I., hosts the Northeast Amateur Invitational Golf Tournament, an elite amateur event that brings future stars to our small town outside of Providence. Most members live in Rumford and will often host players, which is both fun for the family while helping the amateurs save some money and a commute.”
  • “In 2006, my family had just moved to a bigger house in Rumford and we were excited to finally host two players for the first time. With four kids between 5 and 14, my mom was a little uneasy about having two college kids stay with us for a week, but my dad got a call on Sunday morning that our first player had arrived at the course and was ready to be picked up. We drove to Wannamoisett and met Dustin Johnson in the parking lot. He was in workout clothes and flip flops, and looked more like a basketball player than a golfer. His hair was spiked up, which made him look even taller as he squeezed into the passenger seat of my dad’s Volvo.”
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6. The saga of Christiaan Bezuidenhout

“At the 2014 British Amateur, I took a drug test, and they found a substance in the medication that was banned for golf. We obviously didn’t know it was illegal. I had been using the medication for 10-plus years and had no idea. I got banned for two years from all competitive golf. It was a shock. I was hurt and confused. I’d stayed amateur that year just to play for the Eisenhower Trophy for South Africa. I worked my entire amateur career for that tournament, and then I couldn’t play it.  I was heartbroken. I took a couple weeks off to reflect on what happened, to try to sort it out with the national team and clear my name. That was the worst part, being treated like I was a cheater when I didn’t even know what I did was against the rules. Luckily I had the right people on my side, we got my name cleared and my ban shortened to nine months. I was 21 years old, and I turned professional. I gave my game my full attention, did a lot of short-game work, kept my play sharp. I knew I would return. When I came back to competitive golf, I wanted to be ready to try to dominate. My first event back was an event on the Big Easy Tour, a mini-tour in South Africa. I won by five.”
More of his first-person account at Golf Digest, below.

7. LPGA Tour returns to Tampa this week for Pelican Womens Championship

Ron Sirak for LPGA.com…”Like many things, the Pelican was put on hold, pushed back from its original date in May. And, appropriately, the area where the Tour started 70 years ago will be where the No. 1 player in the Rolex Rankings, Jin Young Ko, makes her 2020 LPGA debut after remaining in South Korea during the pandemic.  “I think it’s important for not only the area, but women’s golf and women’s sports in general, given everything that’s going on,” Scott Reid, the tournament’s executive director, told the Tampa Bay Times about rescheduling the event.”

8. $70 million man

Todd Kelly for Golfweek with the details of Dustin Johnson’s ascent of Mt. $70 Million….”His 2020 Masters win was worth $2,070,000 and that amount puts him over the money milestone of $70 million.”
  • “Johnson becomes the fifth golfer to surpass that mark in career on-course earnings. He is now at $70,710,215 and that leaves him just $526,001 behind Vijay Singh, who is in the No. 4 spot. Singh has earned $71,236,216.”

9. Best three hole nicknames in golf

Erik Matuszewski, writing for Links Magazine…”Amen Corner. For true golfers, just saying the name evokes a wistful smile and a rush of mental images at one of the game’s most historic and celebrated courses: Rae’s Creek, the Nelson and Hogan bridges, the pond fiercely guarding the 11th green, azaleas blooming behind the par-three 12th hole, and the 13th tee box tucked away in the farthest reaches of Augusta National Golf Club…”
  • “Technically, the way Wind described Amen Corner (inspired by a jazz song he’d heard years earlier) was the second shot on 11, the 12th hole and its swirling winds, and the first half of the par-five 13th. But the name has evolved over time to become synonymous with perhaps the most well-known three-hole stretch in the nation. In honor of Amen Corner, here are a handful of our other favorite nicknames when it comes to three-hole stretches in the golf world…”
  • “The Bear Trap…“Holes 15–17, PGA National Resort & Spa—The Champion Course (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)”
  • “Jack Nicklaus is known for some challenging course designs and, outside of Amen Corner, the Bear Trap might be the most well-known (or best-branded) stretch of holes the pros play every year. A life-size statue of a bear and a plaque precede this daunting trio of holes that includes two tough par threes sandwiched around a par four and a heck of a lot water…”

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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

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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

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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

Published

4 weeks ago

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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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