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Morning 9: Brooks with high praise for Bryson | Rahm’s new reality | Rose on Ryder Cup snub

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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.
October 7, 2021
Good Thursday morning, golf fans.
1. Brooks with high praise for Bryson
ESPN’s Bob Harig…”Asked at the Shriners Hospitals for Childrens Open how the event came together, Koepka said, “You’ll have to ask Bryson.”
  • “He did, however, have some complimentary words for the man he has feuded with for much of this year, marveling at DeChambeau’s ability to hit the ball great lengths and also be competitive in last week’s Long Drive Championship.”
  • “I think it’s going to change the game of golf forever, personally,” Koepka said. “But if you’re going to hit it that far and you find a couple fairways, it’s tough to beat. It does get very difficult when you got wedge into hole where guys got 6-iron. Your odds are going to be in your favor. That’s what he’s done”
  • “…So the fact he’s able to do that, the fact he did at the Long Drive, I don’t think anybody really thought he was going to get that far, but the fact he did was quite impressive,” Koepka said. “I think you’re just going to continually see that type of distance come from the kids that are in college or high school now that will be out here in five, six years.”
2. Emulating Seve 
Reuters report…”World No. 1 Jon Rahm is hopeful that he can emulate compatriot Seve Ballesteros by becoming only the second three-time winner of the Spanish Open when he tees off on home soil on Thursday.”
  • “Rahm, 26, is aiming for a hat trick of titles at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, having previously won in 2018 and 2019. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
  • “It would be very unique. I know names like Ollie (Jose Maria Olazabal), he couldn’t win it… I would hope to be able to get to a third not only to tie Seve but to win it three times in a row,” Rahm said.”
3. Things have changed for Jon Rahm 
AP report…“His U.S. Open triumph and rise to No. 1 golfer in the world has turned him into a star transcending sports in the country, on the same level as the likes of Rafael Nadal, Pau Gasol and Fernando Alonso.”
  • “…It took 30 seconds from the time I arrived at the hotel and went for a walk before someone recognized me,” said Rahm, who this weekend will try to defend his Spanish Open title.
  • “He is making his first visit to Spain in nearly two years, and finally seeing up close the impact of his sporting deeds.”
  • “It’s hard to realize it when you are not living here,” he said on Tuesday. “My parents tell me about it, my friends tell me about it, but you don’t really get it until you can see it for yourself.”
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4. Mickelson on RC assistant experience
Golf Channel’s Max Schreiber…”The 51-year-old, who this week will become the first-ever reigning major champion to make a PGA Tour Champions start, said on Wednesday at the Constellation Furyk & Friends that he was happy contributing in a new way.”
  • “I had a blast not having the pressure and the anxiety that you have as a player,” Mickelson said. “I really enjoyed the week. Obviously, we had a really strong team and the guys played really well and it was fun to be a part of that and see it from a different view than what I’ve been used to. I would have obviously loved to have been a player, but conversely, the experience of not having that kind of pressure was also very enjoyable.”
5. Kevin Nat playing in the Shriners, unfortunately 
Golfweek’s Riley Hamel…”Kevin Na’s first PGA Tour win came back in 2011 at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He then went on a seven year winless drought before breaking through in 2018. He’s now won a golf tournament in three of the last four years, including the 2019 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.”
  • “On Tuesday, the two-time champion announced on Twitter he had withdrawn from this week’s field at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. Although he was seen practicing throughout the day, his absence this week is due to a rib injury.”
6. Long, slow goodbye of the Dinah Shore
Larry Bohannon for the Desert Sun…”Make no mistake, the tournament most recently known as the ANA Inspiration had its problems, not the least of which was the looming loss of All Nippon Airways as a sponsor after 2022. As an international airline, ANA was hemorrhaging money like all airlines in the pandemic era, and no fans at Mission Hills the last two years because of COVID-19 didn’t help the event or its sponsor.”
  • “The conflict with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur was a bigger problem than the LPGA or tournament officials first believed. Augusta National, home of the Masters, is the 800-pouind gorilla of golf, and the minute the Georgia club announced the ANWA for dates that conflicted with the LPGA major, smart people in golf knew a date change for the LPGA would be necessary. Augusta National could hold a cornhole tournament and people would watch.”
  • “Crowds that seemed smaller and smaller each year also were a problem. After the LPGA brought ANA to the event, saving the tournament for 2015, a high-ranking LPGA official looked at the sparse crowds during the third round of the tournament and wondered if desert fans understood how hard then-commissioner Mike Whan had worked to keep the tournament in the desert.”
7. Rose on Ryder Cup snub
Our Andy Lack…??”For the first time in over a decade, British professional golfer Justin Rose was not a part of this year’s European Ryder Cup team.”
“In an exclusive interview with the Telegraph‘s James Corrigan, the 24-time world-wide winner reflected upon European captain Padraig Harrington’s decision to go in another direction.”
  • “In the final tournament before the selections were made, Rose finished sixth at the BMW PGA Championship, and closed on Sunday with an eagle on the par-five 18th hole. “When I walked off that last hole I felt good about things, but I quickly got the vibe it wasn’t so good. There was a weird atmosphere on that Sunday afternoon. In the players’ lounge, all the vice captains were around Padraig and yeah, I got a bit of a strange feeling,” Rose remarked.”
  • “The Englishman continued, “I was discovering I’d dug myself a hole deeper than I realized and I’m not going to lie, I was gutted. It was interesting, maybe I could have done more in that final run of tournaments, but it was a slightly awkward time for me as well in terms of not playing [the European Masters] and in Italy.”
8. Eyes on the prize for Nelly Korda
Golf Channel’s Amy Rogers…”Nelly Korda has a chance to make history with four events remaining in the LPGA Tour season.”
  • “Korda, the No. 1 ranked player in the world, leads nearly every points race and statistical category as the season winds towards its finale at the CME Group Tour Championship. Should she maintain the form that earned her three wins, a major championship and an Olympic gold medal over the first half of the year, she could add her name to the record books.”
  • “Ahead of the Cognizant Founders Cup, Korda sits atop the money list, the Rolex Player of the Year standings and the Race to the CME Globe points list. Korda has an opportunity to become the first American since Stacy Lewis, in 2014, to win multiple season-ending awards. That year, Lewis won the Vare Trophy (lowest scoring average), Rolex Player of the Year and the money title.”
9. Shriners photos
GolfWRX has an assortment of photos from the 2021 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, including in-hand photos of equipment, shots from the range, exclusive looks at new shafts, 17 WITBs, and more.
  • With the meat of the 2022 season far off on the horizon and the equipment launches for the year ahead still months away, the antsy and searching of the PGA Tour are keen to experiment.

Related Topics:

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

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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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)

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Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
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Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
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Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...

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