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Tour Rundown: Kokrak spoils Spieth’s party, LPGA Match Play winner, Senior PGA surprise

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4 years ago

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I’m packing for a nifty, three-day trip as I type. Fear not, you’ll read about it here in the next few weeks. This week features a five-pack of tour events, including the first LPGA match-play battle in, where else, the gambling capital of the USA. The Champions Tour features its second major title, and the PGA, KF, and European tours were also battling for supremacy. Knowing that different events finish up at different Sunday hours is every golf fan’s gift. Time to run down this week’s quintet, in our #GolfWRXTourRundown for Memorial Day weekend.

PGA Tour: Charles Schwab at Colonial

How to explain the inability of a former wunderkind to close out a tournament? Jordan Spieth did win in Texas in April on the PGA Tour. So we wondered: With a third-round lead at Colonial, with rounds of 63-66-66 behind him, what could possibly stop him? He could, turns out. Spieth stumbled out of the gate with bogey at 2, 3, and 4. He would play even-par golf the rest of the way, and that trio of slips would haunt him at round’s end.

Jason Kokrak, a first-time winner on tour last fall at Las Vegas, was the beneficiary of Spieth’s spill. Kokrak did nothing spectacular on Sunday, but he didn’t have to. The Ontario native struggled early as well but found a way to make a few more birdies than his counterpart. In the end, his lead was such that he could afford bogey at the 15th and 16th holes, and still win by two. Third place went to the compass of Hoffman, Kizzire, Poulter, and Muñoz, tied at 10 under, two back of Spieth.

LPGA Tour: Bank of Hope Match Play at Shadow Creek

What do you call the woman who defeats the giant killer? In the run-up to the final match at Shadow Creek, Sophia Popov had defeated Inbee Park, Patty Tavatanakit, and Shanshan Feng. Two long-standing champions and the winner of this year’s first major. That’s not a shabby trifecta for the 2020 British Open champion. Popov was not unheralded by any means, but she was not recognized as the favorite in any of those three matches.

On the other side of the draw, Ally Ewing compiled an even more incalculable sequence of triumphs. In her round of 16 match, she took down equally under-the-radar Jenny Coleman, but that’s where the spotlight turned on. In the quarters, on-fire Danielle Kang succumbed to Ewing’s game. In the semifinals, Ewing dispatched Ariya Jutanugarn, nearly everyone’s choice to triumph. That win set up a final between a medium shot and a way-long shot.

As often happens in match play events, the week’s lesser golf is played in the final match. Blame sheer exhaustion, both mental and physical, as both combatants have played more holes and dealt emotionally and mentally with more scenarios, than any others. In the Sunday afternoon tilt, Ewing was able to scribble four birdies on her card for the 17 holes of the match, against two for Popov. Three holes were won by Ewing, while Popov was able to claim but one. The German-born Popov posted six 5s on her card, including the final three holes, while Ewing had seven of her own. The match ended on the testy, watery 17th, a par three that extracted double bogey from both contestants. Had Popov but made a four, the match would have gone to the dramatic 18th hole.

As it was, the two shook hands on the penultimate green, and Ally Ewing made a bit of history with a victory at this first match-play event since 2012 on the LPGA Tour.

PGA Tour Champions: Senior PGA at Southern Hills

It’s hard to imagine how a fellow who toiled for years on the PGA Tour with a solitary title to his name, could win two Champions Tour titles in the space of a month. Alex Cejka conquered a restored Southern Hills golf club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and won the Senior PGA by four shots over recent tour winner Tim Petrovic. Cejka began the final round in a tie with Steve Stricker, the man he dispatched in a playoff at the Regions Tradition three weeks ago.

This time around, Stricker imploded, tumbling to 11th place after a final-round 77. Stricker played marvelously last week at Kiawah Island, and repeated the performance through 54 holes in Tulsa. Round four was when the engine ran out of gas, and the 2022 USA Ryder Cup captain had nothing left to generate energy.

Beyond Cejka, the story of the week was PGA professional Bob Sowards. The Ohio native works as a club professional and has qualified for the PGA Championship 10 times, most recently in 2020. This week, he stunned the touring brethren by opening with 67 for the lead. He also closed with that figure. In between, Sowards etched 75-70 on his scorecard, and the resulting 1 under total tied him with John Riegger for fifth position.

European Tour: Made in Himmerland at Himmerland

It was back around 2019 that Bernd Wiesberger established himself as a threat each week he pegged his tee. Three victories on the European Tour that year made him rue the missed Ryder Cup opportunity. Then, 2020 happened and the Austrian went a year without a title (and nearly a year without competition). 2021 sees him rounding into form, and he will give European captain Padraig Harrington much to consider after his performance this week in Denmark.

Wiesberger was the it guy all week long at the Himmerland golf club. The Tyrolean seized the round-one lead with 66, improved on Friday with 65, and held the top rung for the next 36 holes. Although Italy’s Guido Migliozzi closed fast with 63 on day four, Wiesberger gave him little room for improvement with a 64 of his own. With his eight-under effort, the Venetian edged the trio of Jordan Smith, Richard Bland, and Jason Scrivener by one for second position.

Korn Ferry Tour: Evans Scholars Invitational at The Glen Club

I’ve known Cameron Young since he was a high school golfer at Fordham Prep. My Buffalo-area guys would meet his downstate mates at the state championships each spring. When he went off to Wake Forest, my alma mater, it gave me even more reason to maintain interest. It’s ironic, then, that I had no idea that he won his first Korn Ferry Tour event last week, so fixated I was with the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.

Young caught our attention again this week with a second consecutive triumph, this time in Illinois. The son of Sleepy Hollow professional David Young started round four lit with birdie at each of the first three holes. Whether it was malaise, or uncertainty, or something else, the former Demon Deacon settled into a mundane stretch of holes, and saw his lead reduced to two strokes. As champions do, Young reached deep and found overdrive. He made birdie at 17 and 18 to re-establish a five-shot margin of victory over runner-up Adam Svennson of Canada. The second triumph all but secured a 2021-2022 PGA Tour card for Young, where he will join former college teammate Will Zalatoris, in the big leagues.

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

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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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News

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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