News

Tour Rundown: Thomas gains 14th tour title at Sawgrass, Rozner ignites victory

Published

4 years ago

Mar 15, 2021

The middle of March arrived with two professional events on the schedule. The European Tour celebrated the Qatar Masters, while the US PGA Tour hosted its flagship event, The Players Championship. One year ago, The Players Championship completed its first round on Thursday, then shut down for three months. This year, with limited spectator entrance, The Players completed all four rounds and reminded the US golf world that proper adherence to regulations will allow competition to continue.

With hope that the rest of the world will soon return to similar measures of competition, we invite you to join us as we run down this week’s pair of tournaments in Tour Rundown.

Thomas gains 14th tour title at Sawgrass

Justin Thomas has a habit of showing up at the big events. Of his 14 tour titles, two are World Golf Championship events, one is a major (the 2017 PGA) and another is a FedEx Cup playoff win. To that list can now be added the 2021 Players Championship by one stroke over Lee Westwood. As Sunday dawned near Jacksonville, a number of potential storylines lay in wait of a culmination. Here’s how each of them broke out.

Wily veteran completes biggest win – This one would have been Westwood who, at age 47, has found a calm on the course, including a win on the European Tour last year. The Englishman had come quite close over the years to sealing a major title, only to be outplayed by the eventual winner. This year, Westwood led the Players after three rounds, and stayed ahead of last week’s winner, Bryson DeChambeau. Unfortunately for Westy, he was chased down and surpassed, despite a 72nd-hole birdie of his own. We think that Lee will make the 2021 Masters his first major title, and we cannot wait to write that story.

Young upstart makes Players his first Tour title – Led by Talor Gooch, who posted a final-round 67 to earn a tie for fifth place with Paul Casey, a number of young stars-in-the-making made their presence known at this year’s Players. Will Zalatoris, the top player on the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour, fired four rounds under par to tie for 21st. Corey Conners, the hottest player without a win in 2021, had a 66 on Sunday to move up 15 spaces, into solo seventh spot. We predict that Conners and Zalatoris will have 2021 wins before June 1st.

Beleaguered pro earns victory with stellar play – Justin Thomas has had a difficult 2021. A hot microphone picked up an utterance that he regretted, apologized for, and suffered for. Since that episode in Hawaii, Thomas has lost sponsors, stayed away from the press, and struggled to find the game that elevated him to the number-one ranking in the world. This week, Thomas opened with a pair of 71s that snuck him inside the even-par cut line. On Saturday, Thomas opened his round with five birdies in the first six holes, then added two more early on the second nine. At the 16th hole, a short par five, Thomas nearly recorded an albatross. His approach from 204 yards settled seven inches from the hole, for a tap-in eagle. On Sunday, the Kentucky native posted another back-nine eagle, this time at the 11th hole. Four birdies and two bogies brought him to 68, four strokes better than the runner-up’s even-par effort on Sunday.

The Florida Swing finishes up its 2021 run this week at the Honda Classic, before the tour heads to Texas for the second WGC event of the year, the Dell Match Play championship.

Rozner ignites victory with explosive putt at 72nd hole

Antoine Rozner may be forgiven for one day constructing a replica of the 18th green at Education City golf club, in Qatar. The French golf professional made a pair of birdies there on the weekend, finishing off the tournament with a 60-feet monster to claim a one-shot victory over three runners-up. Rozner’s win was his second on the big tour in four months, after claiming two Challenge Tour titles in 2019. Here’s how the trio came up short, and how Rozner came up big.

Gaganjeet Bhullar – The pro from India made birdie at the 72nd hole, but two back-nine bogies did him in. Bhullar had 5s at the 10th and 14th holes, to crush any momentum he was building. To his credit, he bounced back after each one, but came up one slim shot shy of a playoff.

Darren Fichardt – The South African journeyman opened and closed his Sunday round with birdies. Unfortunately for him, he dug himself a hole with three bogies in five holes around the turn. Fichardt had the lead to himself on Saturday evening, but the pure round he hoped for on Sunday, did not materialize.

Guido Migliozzi – The Italian recorded the best score of the day on Sunday, with six birdies for a clean 65. Migliozzi moved up 16 stations in the final round, to post his best finish since 2019, when he won twice. All that he could have hoped for was one more birdie, but the seventh never found its way onto his card.

Antoine Rozner – Rozner wasn’t perfect on Sunday (he ended a three-birdie run with a bogey at the eighth) but he was darned close. Rozner teed off in the penultimate group in round four. His playing mates, Jamie Donaldson and Joachim B. Hansen, fell away, but Rozner stayed the course and gave himself a chance at the win. No one expects to make a twelve-meter putt at the last, but Rozner’s was fairly straight, and his pacing was impeccable. Just like that, Rozner had a second European Tour title on his resume.

News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 4, 2025

Ronald Montesano

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

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

Jul 29, 2025

GolfWRX Staff

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.

News

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

Published

4 weeks ago

Jul 28, 2025

Brian Knudson

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)