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Morning 9: PAC announced | 6’10’’ and hits it 370

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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.
January 18, 2022
1. PAC announced 
PGATour.com staff report…”The PGA TOUR today announced the 16-member Player Advisory Council (PAC) for 2022. The PAC advises and consults with the PGA TOUR Policy Board (Board of Directors) and Commissioner Jay Monahan on issues affecting the TOUR.”
Patrick Cantlay
Paul Casey
Austin Cook
Joel Dahmen
Harry Higgs
Billy Horschel
Russell Knox
Brooks Koepka
Justin Lower
Peter Malnati
Graeme McDowell
Maverick McNealy
Trey Mullinax
Jon Rahm
Webb Simpson
Will Zalatoris
“Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson have been selected by the Player Directors to run for PAC Co-Chairmen via election which ends February 14”
2. 6’10’’ and hits it 370
Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”One of the longest hitters in professional golf is teeing it up in Palm Springs this week.”
“No, not Bryson DeChambeau. Not Wilco Nienaber, either. Rather, Nienaber’s fellow South African, James Hart du Preez, who at nearly 6-foot-10 and 260 pounds is a slightly leaner Jon Thompson – with Kyle Berkshire’s swing speed.”
“Hart du Preez, the 26-year-old Pretoria native who will make his PGA Tour debut at The American Express on a sponsor invitation, can swing the driver more than 140 mph and last season led the Sunshine Tour in driving distance at an average clip of 373.07 yards. While that number is certainly altitude aided, it was still almost 15 yards longer than Nienaber, who led the DP World Tour in that category last season at 323.31.”
3. Clerkin: Is Netflix golf pro series really a good idea? 
Malachy Clerkin for the Irish Times…”When you’re up close to golfers going about their business, you realise they are exactly as dull as you think they are. That’s not to denigrate them, it’s just the nature of the game. The whole point of golf is to be calm, to expunge all exterior thought, to glide through your round with a plain visage and head that is empty of everything that doesn’t apply to the next shot. Dustin Johnson has earned close $100m in prize money. Now you know how.”
  • “Dull and staid is the Valhalla of golf. The very thing that attracts millions of us to the game is the chance to be still, to be at peace, to be at a remove from the ever-going world. It’s the unspoken truth that drives us mad when we’re playing crap – stupidf*ckingballIamtryingtorelax. If Netflix wants spicy inside-the-ropes chat, it’s duffers like us they need to be chasing with boom mikes. Xander Schauffele has probably cursed four times in his life.”
  • “Content is content, yes. But golf doesn’t do pizzazz and it doesn’t do glamour. Pro golfers are the only people on the planet who look cooler in golf clothes than in normal streetwear. They are, pretty much across the board, a band of well-mannered dorks who happen to have this one unbelievable talent. They are as surprised as you are that it can get them girls.”
4. RIP Dick Ferris 
Laury Livsey for PGATour.com…“Dick attacked life and everything about it in such an admirable way. He was a great leader, who had an energy and drive that was enviable. He also had such great conviction in his decisions. He never took long to size things up and face them head on,” Haas explained.”
  • “For 15 years, Ferris helped shape policy for the PGA TOUR first as an Independent Director and then as the Policy Board’s Chair. In the process, he impressed players, fellow board members and PGA TOUR staff. In his various roles, Ferris had a front-row seat to the explosive growth the TOUR experienced during his tenure. The California native who gave so much of his time to helping grow the TOUR died on Sunday of causes incident to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Ferris was 85.”
  • “What I’ve heard from Tim (Finchem) and many others about Dick Ferris during his time as chairman was how tenacious he was. When he believed in something, he put his full energy and thoughtfulness behind it, and the TOUR was certainly the beneficiary of that tenacity,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Looking back, the growth and acceleration of our business, thanks to his leadership, is simply staggering. Dick was a great friend and mentor to so many, and we will all miss his passion for how he attacked life.”
One for the Memory Banks is a hilarious, and poignant, memoir about Luke Reese’s fascination-turned-obsession with golf and about the friendships forged by a mutual love of the great game played on great courses. Part travelogue, part biography, part memoir, One for the Memory Banks captures the give and take of competition and conjures these memories and relationships in technicolor. Through vignettes, Luke Reese carries readers on a sweeping journey across the UK and Ireland, introducing them to a motley crew of people who share a passion, and reminding them what makes golf so great.
5. Deebo Woods
Our Matthew Vincenzi…”On Sunday, the San Fransisco 49ers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 23-17 to advance to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.”
  • “Niners star Deebo Samuel contributed to the win with 110 all-purpose yards and a rushing touchdown. However, the secret to his success may have come from the shirt he was wearing underneath his uniform.”
  • “Samuel was spotted wearing a “TW” Tiger Woods brand red shirt during the game. Woods famously has worn his “Sunday red” in all of his record tying 82 career victories, and it looks to be the mock neck shirt Tiger wore when winning his 15th major”

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.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. bj

    Jan 19, 2022 at 11:39 pm

    The BIG SA played in front of me in practice round. He hit 2 iron onto 13(365), he hit all his drives no less than that. Guy bombs it

    Reply Report comment

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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

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.

 

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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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