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2021 Virtual PGA Merchandise Show kicks off today

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As all GolfWRXers well know, the PGA Merchandise Show is the veritable candy store in which we are annually all wide-eyed children.

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 68th edition of “the major of the golf business” is a virtual one—and a tremendous amount of credit is due to the PGA of America and Reed Exhibitions for ensuring the show, indeed, will go on.

We at GolfWRX remain dedicated to scouring the floor of the convention center to bring you new and notable golf equipment—even if we’re trading in our comfortable shoes for computer screens.

We’ll bring you highlights of the show ala our “things we loved” and daily recaps of years past throughout the week, and we look forward to returning to the Orange Country Convention Center in 2022.

For more on the specifics of the virtual show, check out the full press release from the PGA below. 

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (Jan. 25, 2021) – The 2021 Virtual PGA Merchandise Show Week will begin on Tuesday, Jan. 26, with a special Product Preview & Launch Day to spotlight the latest merchandise and services of nearly 400 participating golf companies and brands. The 68th edition of the PGA Show transitions to a virtual event in 2021 to connect the international golf industry online, allowing PGA Professionals, golf buyers, manufacturers and industry leaders to drive forward the business of the game from the safety of their homes, facilities and workplaces during the ongoing global pandemic.

The PGA Show, organized by Reed Exhibitions in partnership with the PGA of America, remains an industry-only event with complimentary industry registration and event details available at www.virtual.PGAShow.com.

Exhibitor Showrooms:
Nearly 400 participating golf companies and brands are staging robust exhibitor showrooms; presenting merchandise education sessions and video demonstrations; and hosting group and one-to-one buyer meetings. The virtual PGA Show marketplace features vetted new companies, as well as traditional market leaders and established manufacturers, including some of the most well-known brands in golf, such as Callaway Golf, FootJoy, Titleist, Cobra PUMA Golf, Bridgestone Golf, Cleveland/Srixon/XXIO, Mizuno and many more.

Product Preview & Launch Day:
The 2021 Virtual PGA Show Week begins on Tuesday, Jan. 26, with a special Product Preview & Launch Day to spotlight the latest merchandise and services of participating golf manufacturers. Several companies have special plans that day to present live and on-demand product launch events, including BioWave, Callaway Golf, Cobra Golf, DPP Golf, E-Z-GO, Focus Golf, Golf Ireland, Golf Skate Caddy, Golf Surprize, Homestretch Golf, Prestwick Golf Group, Range Servant America, True Score and TrackMan A/S.

Industry Programming:
A compelling schedule of live and on-demand industry presentations and valuable educational sessions also will be available to golf industry professionals, beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 27, through Friday, Jan. 29. All programming presented live during PGA Show Week will be made available on-demand beginning the next day, allowing attendees to view content and participate during times most convenient to their schedules.

Programming Highlights:
PGA of America Industry Presentations – Phil Mickelson, 2020 Ryder Cup Captains Steve Stricker and Padraig Harrington, PGA Champion Collin Morikawa and CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz are among program speakers. The PGA of America, PGA TOUR, LPGA, NGCOA and additional industry leaders also will present sessions on growth initiatives and pressing industry matters.

PGA Show Education Conference – Influential, national-level experts from the world of business, golf operations, teaching & coaching and retail will lead succinct education sessions delivering key tools, insights and valuable takeaways. PGA Professionals will have numerous MSR education credit opportunities through daily event participation and additional credits for each educational session. While access to the virtual marketplace and industry presentations are free of charge, the full PGA Show Education Conference of more than 30 live and on-demand virtual sessions is available to PGA and LPGA Professionals for $95, and all other industry professionals for $125.

Exhibitor Events/Programs – Many exhibitors are hosting special demonstrations, presentations and Q&A sessions in the Exhibitor Track of events, while multiple Callaway Golf Sessions, Titleist Workshops, a special FootJoy Launch Event and TPI Performance, Fitness and Wellness Presentations are offered each day for attendees.

Exhibitor Education Sessions – Several exhibitors are providing exclusive golf merchandise and service solution educational sessions for participating industry professionals. Insights on technology, software solutions and innovations will be shared by companies including 9-Eighteen Solutions, aboutGolf, FlightScope, Lightspeed, Sik Golf, Tagmarshal and Trackman.
PGA Show Trend Panel & Virtual Fashion Show – The latest golf, resort and sportswear collections will be in the spotlight of the PGA Show Trend Panel & Virtual Fashion Show on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 5 p.m. (ET). Participating fashion show brands include 2UNDR, 7 Diamonds, Anatomie, Boston Scott Golf Apparel, FootJoy, IBKUL, Katherine Way, Kinona Golf & Life, Le Club, PUMA Golf, Sunderland, Tzu Tzu and Under Armour.

Golf Group Travel Post Pandemic – Golf Ireland, Los Cabos Tourism Board and The Three Royals Golf Experience are panelists for the Golf Group Travel Post Pandemic session, moderated by Farhad Heydari, the editor of NetJets Magazine and Founder & CEO of House of Heydari, on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 2:35 p.m. (ET).

The NGCOA’s Golf Business Conference continues its strategic alliance with the PGA Merchandise Show and will be delivered on the PGA Show virtual platform, Jan. 25-27, 2021. Registration for the virtual GBC21 is available online when registering for the PGA Show at PGAShow.com .

The virtual PGA Teaching & Coaching Summit is being held Monday, Jan. 25, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. Registration is now closed for this event.

The PGA Merchandise Show is the largest annual global summit for the business of golf. The easy-to-use virtual platform for the 2021 PGA Show features new product launch events, dynamic exhibitor showrooms, e-commerce applications by RepSpark, education sessions, industry presentations, one-to-one meetings, group networking, special events and PGA/LPGA player engagement programs. PGA Show programming will be available on demand for an extended period of time after the PGA Show concludes. PGA Show exhibitor showrooms will remain open on an ongoing basis to help exhibiting companies and buyers drive commerce throughout 2021.

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

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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

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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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