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Tour Rundown: Scottie takes Scottsdale | 44 feet of perfection

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4 years ago

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It cannot be easy to be an athlete this month. With great global conflict rising from the improbable to the possible, the ability to focus on the Ukraine border and on your competition must not be easy to harness. Lord knows it is nearly impossible for those of us with non-athletic jobs to do. Our thoughts and prayers are always with those who sacrifice to protect the lives of civilians across the globe.

With this being the weekend of that big game in that other sports league, the number of golf competitions was reduced to three on the major tours. The always-popular PGA Tour‘s Phoenix Open took place at TPC Scottsdale, while the Korn Ferry Tour touched down in Colombia, and the DP World Tour competed for a second-consecutive week at Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.

Despite the reduced number of events, each proved itself worth of our attention for a different reason. Have a great Tour Rundown!

PGA Tour: Phoenix Open pushes into extra holes and goes to the new kid

Turns out that the hole location on the 18th hole at TPC Scottsdale didn’t just break the internet; it broke the laws of physics. First came Schauffele and Cantlay; each one under-read the break of putts for birdie. Xander finished in a tie for third with Brooks Koepka and Sahith Theegala. Cantlay had a chance to reach 17-under in regulation, but he missed low as well. Along came Scottie Scheffler, whose approach settled five feet from glory. His putt stayed high and never broke, and away did he go with Cantlay. In extra holes, they would settle matters.

After matching pars on the first two extra turns around 18, Cantlay and Scheffler returned for a third go at the watery closer. Despite having zero tour victories to his credit, Scheffler sized up a 15-foot putt and drained it. Just like that, the Ryder Cupper was a tour winner.

DP World Tour: Khaimah Classic sees Fox spring to large win

Ryan Fox won the coolest professional event back in 2019. It was his first then-European Tour title, and it came at the Super Six in Perth, Australia. For those who don’t recall, the super six was a match-play event that anointed match winners after a mere six holes. It was lightning-fast competition, and ensured a high number of matches and a high number of winners. Fox hadn’t yet broken through in traditional medal play, but that changed this week at Al Hamra.

Ryan Fox burst from the practice field on Thursday with 63, assuming a two-shot advantage over Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia. Gouveia posted 13 strokes higher on Friday and missed the cut. Fox faired a bit better, with 69, and preserved his lead. Zander Lombard matched the 63 on day two, and jumped up into second. Day three saw the Kiwi, Fox, blister the course again, this time with 65. At that juncture, he held a six-shot advantage over a quartet of golfers. On Saturday evening, only one thing was certain: Ryan Fox would determine the winner of this event.

To demonstrate how challenging the event was, and how dominant a performance Fox turned in, none of the four chasers maintained position on Sunday. Pablo Larrazábal dropped to third, Adrian Meronk tumbled to sixth, and Adri Arnaus and Scott Jamieson stumbled to ninth. Fox turned to the back nine in par figures on the day, then closed with three-under on the inward half. He posted 266 on the week, good for a five-shot win over fast-closing Ross Fisher. Perhaps the most interesting stat of the week was this: Fox made eight bogeys over 72 holes. He followed seven of those with birdie. A quick recovery, as any medical person will tell you, gets you home fast.

Korn Ferry Tour: Astara Championship goes to Matthews’ remarkable finish

Imagine telling Ryan McCormick and Ben Griffin at tournament’s start that each would birdie the 72nd hole while in contention and settle for second. Each golfer reached the par-5 closer for birdie, and each tied at 18-under par. Along came Brandon Harkins, who decided that he could extract an eagle from those 570 Colombian yards and reach minus-19. Harkins had preceeded his glorious close with three birdies and a bogey, so the rare bird at the last should have come as no surprise.

Griffin was the solo leader after 54 holes, courtesy of a 10-birdie 61 on day two. His other three rounds were 68, and he needed one of them to be a 67. His run at eagle at the last lipped out, and he accepted a co-runner-up finish. McCormick had a 61 of his own, a day earlier than Griffin. McCormick also posted four rounds in the 60s, and like Griffin, needed one of them to be a stroke lower. How did Matthews do it? He kept it in the mid-60s, never higher than 67, nor lower than 65.

The KFT bids farewell to the south and returns to the continental USA next week at the LECOM along Florida’s west coast.

 

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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.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Mike

    Feb 14, 2022 at 11:41 am

    Please correct the KFT story; article references Brandon HARKINS instead of MATTHEWS. Confusing… Harkins did not even play in the event

    Reply Report comment

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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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