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Morning 9: Kiz best of six at Wyndham | U.S. Am: Piot takes it 2&1 after rally

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4 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt
For comments—or if you’re looking for a fourth—email me at ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com.
August 16, 2021
Good Monday morning, golf fans.
1. U.S. Am: Piot takes it 2&1 after rally
AP report…”??Facing his largest deficit of the week and running out of time, James Piot won four straight holes to start the back nine at Oakmont and went on to win the U.S. Amateur on Sunday over Austin Greaser.”
  • “Piot closed out his 2-and-1 victory by going bunker to bunker on the reachable par-4 17th hole and saving par with a 20-foot putt. Greaser, who was 3 up at the turn, had an 8-foot birdie putt to extend the match. It spun off the left lip.”
  • “Piot, a 22-year-old senior at Michigan State, was mobbed by friends and teammates in their Spartans gear off the green, and before long he was holding the gold trophy.”
2. Kiz best of six 
Helen Ross for PGATour.com…”And you thought it was hard to keep up with all the FedExCup projections this week. What about a six-man free-for-all to decide the winner of the Wyndham Championship?”
  • “Well, that’s just what happened at Sedgefield Country Club on Sunday. Turns out, Kevin Kisner, Adam Scott, Si Woo Kim, Roger Sloan, Kevin Na and Branden Grace needed two more shots at the 18th hole to decide the winner of the PGA TOUR’s Regular Season finale.”
  • “Kisner, who had finished in the top 10 in three of his last four appearances at the Wyndham Championship, finally prevailed when he made a 3-footer on the second extra hole.”
  • “…The victory was the fourth of Kisner’s career. It also broke a playoff drought for the affable South Carolinian. He’d lost five previously — most recently at the RSM Classic earlier this year…”
3. 228 starts later
AP report…”Ryann O’Toole won her first LPGA Tour event in 228 starts, closing with a bogey-free 8-under 64 at Dumbarnie Links for a three-shot victory in the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open on Sunday.”
  • “After tapping in for a closing par, the 34-year-old O’Toole was showered with champagne and greeted with a kiss by her fiancee, Gina Marra.”
Surprised to see a quarterly print publication advertised in a daily email newsletter? Don’t be.
The idea behind the Morning 9 is a roundup of the day’s most significant storylines presented in an easy-to-digest format. The Golfer’s Journal occupies the other end of the spectrum: long-form, photo rich essays from some of the best writers in golf discussing all elements of this beautiful, maddening game.
More a collection of essays than a magazine. More a coffee table book of first-rate photos than a glossy, ad-filled monthly — GJ is a must-have for true lovers of golf.
GolfWRX may earn a commission of “GolfWRX Recommends” products.
4. Meanwhile, at the Cazoo… 
BBC report…”Scotland’s Calum Hill secured his first European Tour title with a one-shot win at the Cazoo Classic in Kent.”
  • “The 26-year-old began the final round three strokes adrift but edged victory with a 67 to finish on 16 under par.”
  • “After Grant Forrest’s success in the Hero Open at St Andrews, Scots have now won back-to-back European Tour titles for the first time in nine years.”
5. Wild stuff for Hadley 
Golf Channel’s Mercer Baggs on the path Chesson took to edge out Justin Rose by a single point for the No. 125 spot…”Chesson Hadley needed something special in order to earn his PGA Tour card for next season. Having started the Wyndham Championship at 132nd in FedExCup points, he languished in tie for 51st through three rounds at Sedgefield.”
  • “…Starting on the back nine, he birdied three of his first four holes, before a bogey at the par-4 14th. He bounced back with a birdie at No. 15 and then recorded the first hole-in-one of his life at the par-3 16th.”
  • “…Hadley turned in 6-under 29 and added two more birdies – to no bogeys – for an 8-under 62. That put him at 12 under for the tournament and projected 126th in the FEC standings.”
6. Meet your playoff participants
Via ESPN staff…”Golf’s regular season came to a close on Sunday, with a lot of last-day jockeying to get into the field when the FedEx Cup playoffs start next week at the Northern Trust. Only the top 125 advance to the first event. After that, the top 70 make the BMW Championship. And lastly, the top 30 get a spot into the lucrative season-ending Tour Championship.”
“Here are the 125 players who earned a spot in the playoffs”
1. Collin Morikawa
2. Jordan Spieth
3. Patrick Cantlay
4. Harris English
5. Jon Rahm
6. Abraham Ancer
7. Bryson DeChambeau
8. Louis Oosthuizen
9. Justin Thomas
10. Sam Burns
7. Let it die
Eamon Lynch says it’s time for a ceasefire Brooks-Bryson bro war…”This adolescent spat has far outlived its entertainment value, though probably not just yet for Europe’s Ryder Cup team. Three things should happen to defuse a situation that is growing increasingly ugly.”
  • “First: Koepka needs to stop jabbing and understand that hecklers use his antipathy to justify the unsporting harassment of a fellow professional. Second: DeChambeau has to quit the whiny overreactions in difficult situations and learn to ignore feeble taunts from the peanut gallery. Third: the PGA Tour must group them together Thursday and Friday, thereby lowering the temperature for the inevitable day when they play their way into a weekend pairing with considerably more at stake.”
  • “Two years after it began, three parties are contributing to this spectacle, none of whom are eager to acknowledge their responsibility. All three have a role in ending it.”
Seriously — check out the spread above. Subscribe to the Golfer’s Journal (or give it as a gift to the golf aficionados in your life!).
8. New PGA Tour members
PGATour.com staff assemble the first of 25 card earners…”The first 25 of 50 available PGA TOUR membership cards for the 2021-22 season were secured on Sunday upon the conclusion of the Korn Ferry Tour’s final Regular Season event, the Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna, contested at The Club at Indian Creek.”
  • “Stephan Jaeger…City plays from: Chattanooga, Tennessee. Won two events (2020 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron, 2021 Emerald Coast Classic at Sandestin) and posted three runner-up finishes. Making his third trip to the PGA TOUR.”
  • “Mito Pereira…City plays from: Pirque, Chile. Became the 12th player in Korn Ferry Tour history and the first since Wesley Bryan (2016) to achieve the Three-Victory Promotion, as he won the 2020 Country Club de Bogota Championship, 2021 REX Hospital Open, and 2021 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation – with the last two making him the 11th player in Tour history to win back-to-back tournaments.”
  • “Chad Ramey…City plays from: Fulton, Mississippi. Earned his first Korn Ferry Tour victory at the 2021 Live and Work in Maine Open, and amassed 21 top-25s en route to his first PGA TOUR card.”
9. Kevin Kisner’s winning WITB
Driver: Callaway GBB (8.5 degrees @9.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X
3-wood: Callaway Epic Speed Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 X
Hybrid: Callaway Apex Pro (18 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Black 130 MSI 80 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex UT (21, 24 degrees), Callaway Apex Pro 2014 (5-9)
Shafts: Nippon Pro Modus3 120 TX
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (46-10F) Callaway Jaws Forged (54-12 @52), Vokey Design SM8 WedgeWorks (60-T)
Shafts: Nippon Pro Modus3 125
Putter: Odyssey Exo Seven
Grip: SuperStroke Traxion Tour 2.0
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

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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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News

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

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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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