Connect with us

News

Tour Rundown: Cantlay’s playoff heroism, Curtis Cup remains in US hands, Højgaard

Published

4 years ago

on

You’d hardly know that it was the end of August, with all the golf being played. We’ve got PGA Tour playoffs, Solheim and Ryder Cups on the horizon, and a full slate of events on the world’s major tours. As the eighth month of 2021 draws to a close, we’ve a bit of time to present another installment of Tour Rundown. It was an exciting week, filled with unexpected champions, so let’s not waste another moment.

USGA: Curtis Cup remains in USA hands

For a time, Great Britain & Ireland held a lead over the USA, and the world turned upside down a bit. Perhaps it was the home cooking at Conwy in Wales, but that 4.5-1.5 advantage after day one had the local folks smiling. It didn’t last, sadly, but it was a wonderful start to the competition. On day two, the powerful USA side did a 4.5-1.5 number of its own, and the biennial matches came down to the day-three singles. On Saturday, the American side surged and dominated the singles matches by a 6.5-1.5 margin, which led to a five-point victory. Rose Zhang of the Americans turned in the only undefeated performance on the week, losing just a half-point on day one. The two sides will reunite in 2022 at Merion Golf Club, in Pennsylvania. After the 2020 matches were postponed until this year, the R&A and the USGA agreed to return to an even-year slate of challenges.

PGA Tour: BMW Championship ends in six-hole playoff

Bryson DeChambeau came within inches of a 59 on Friday. On Sunday, he came within inches of a win in regulation but made bogey at the last. With that misstep, he and Patrick Cantlay headed into a playoff to determine the winner of the second FedEx Cup Playoff event of 2021. The pair matched pars over the first four holes, then did the same with birdie at the fifth. When Cantlay dropped a birdie at the sixth playoff hole, DeChambeau had no answer, and the battle of California Kids went to Cantlay. One thing is for certain: if he goes extra holes, bet on Cantlay. Four of his five PGA Tour titles have come in extra holes. Both DeChambeau and Cantlay will feature on the USA Ryder Cup side next month, as the Americans attempt to reclaim the treasured trophy that once made a near-constant home on this side of the Atlantic.

Korn Ferry Tour: Nationwide Children’s Hospital trophy heads north of the US border

Vincent Whaley and Stephan Jaeger entered the final round in a first-place tie but, the way this weekend went, an overnight lead meant nothing. Whaley posted plus-1 on day four and dropped three spots, while Jaeger’s even par was good for a tie for second, but nothing more. Bronson Burgoon posted minus-5 on Sunday to jump up a quintet of places, but it was only good for a tie with Jaeger. The big winner (and, truly, the only winner) on Sunday was Canada’s Adam Svensson. The former Barry University golfer was four-under on the day and, despite a one-over 36 on the inward half, escaped with a one-shot victory.

PGA Tour Champions: The Ally Challenge features a surprise titleist

Under Bernhard Langer in the reference book, see GB&I Curtis Cup side, Whaley, Vincent and Jaeger, Stephan. The German champion began the week with an age-matching 64, and ended it with a one-shot loss to a resurgent Joe Durant. Langer was in the driver’s seat after eight holes, but played the final ten in even par. Durant was five under on the day and held a two-shot lead on the final tee. The four-time PGA Tour winner played it safe at the last, closing with bogey for a one-shot advantage. Actually, safe isn’t the proper word. Durant struggled to close the deal, but rolled his yellow golf ball into the jaws of the hole from ten feet at the 54th hole to cement the victory. With the win, Durant earned a fourth Champions Tour win to match his regular-tour tally.

European Tour: European Masters ends in tasty Danish

After American Sean Crocker stumbled to an even-par 70 and a fourth-place tie, the lane was open for anyone to make a run at the 2021 title. First came Henrik Stenson, who managed five birdies on the outward half, but cooled to just two on the inward side, for 63 and -11. Next came Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger, whose day was progressing marvelously at seven-under through 14 holes. He made an unthinkable bogey at the next, but followed it with a birdie at 16. Inexplicably, Wiesberger made double at the last, to fall from 14-deep to 12-under par. With that fissure, the barn door lay wide open for Rasmus Højgaard. The Great Dane kept a clean card on day four and closed 5 under over his final six holes. Højgaard matched Stenson’s 63, emerging the unlikely winner of his third European Tour event in three seasons.

LPGA: Senior LPGA Championship finds an English home

The week prior to the Solheim Cup was a quiet one for the regular tour, so leave it to the senior champions to put on a show. Despite 18 American names in the top 21 spots, the championship came down to an Englishwoman and a Welshlady. On day one, England’s Trish Johnson took a one-shot advantage over Becky Morgan of Wales. On day two, the entire field struggled, with 71 being the low tally. Johnson and Morgan matched 73s and ventured into the final round with a one-stroke degree of separation. Morgan took the lead through seven holes, but couldn’t hold on. Her topsy-turvy inward half of 37 returned the lead to Johnson, who held on for a 69 and a one-shot victory.

Related Topics:

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.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. MHarr

    Aug 30, 2021 at 5:33 pm

    Bryson parred the last hole (72nd hole), not bogied. Patrick birdied to tie Bryson for the playoff.

    Reply Report comment

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

on

Aug 4, 2025

By

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.

Continue Reading

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 29, 2025

By

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.

 

Continue Reading

News

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

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 28, 2025

By

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)

Continue Reading

WITB

Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago

Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)

Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.  Driver: Titleist...
Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago

Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship

Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Whats in the Bag4 weeks ago

Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)

Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
Whats in the Bag4 weeks ago

WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship

Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...

Facebook

Trending