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Tour Rundown: Cam Smith’s Monday magic at Sawgrass | Super 6 for Larrazábal

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3 years ago

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Don’t let anyone tell you that the wretched weather of Thursday and Friday was the only story at The Players championship. Every time you turned right, it seemed like a ball was going in the water for double or worse.

Each time you turned left, someone holed out for eagle. It was a nutty week at Sawgrass, and the winner wasn’t a certainty until the twilight of the end. Same happened in Thailand and South Africa, where the other two tour not on vacation went to playoffs. Everyone loves extra holes, and we get to run them down for you in this week’s Tour Rundown on GolfWRX.

PGA Tour: The Players Championship comes down to two guys from far away

Anirban Lahiri has played for the world President’s Cup side, as has Cameron Smith. It’s safe to say that representing their countries on that team, has meant not just pride, but experience as well. On Sunday, both Lahiri and Smith stuffed shots into that thimble of the 17th green, to mark down clutch birdies on their cards. For Smith, it gave him a three-shot advantage at the home hole. He needed those shots. Smith drove into the trees, then pitched across the fairway, into the water on the left side. In a scene eerily reminiscent of what Adam Scott did in 2004, Smith got up and down for bogey, to finish at -13.

In the day’s final group, Lahiri’s deuce at Pete Dye’s Locker brought him to 12-under par. He drove in the fairway, but came up short of the green with his approach. Needing to hole the pitch to force extra holes, Lahiri’s effort just missed, and he settled for par. The runner-up finish at The Playerswas the best-ever for a golfer from India, and signalled Lahiri’s return from the muddy depths of professional golf. One day you have it; the next, it’s gone. For Lahiri, it’s back. And for Smith, well, it just keeps getting better.

We show you enough shots. Here’s what really matters in life.

LPGA: Honda LPGA Thailand is Koerstz Madsen’s first Tour title

Nanna Koerstz Madsen began day four with an eagle, and she ended it with a second of those rare birds. With two bogeys in her final three holes of regulation, however, she nearly lost the chance at that second eagle. Koerstz Madsen stood seven-under par on the final day when she hit two speed bumps on the way to the clubhouse. France’s Celine Boutier posted an eagle of her own at the last, to reach 25-under par. China’s Xiyu Lin notched birdies on three of her final four holes to edge past Boutier, closing at 26 deep.

NKM, meanwhile, appeared to lose the elixr that brought her to 28-under on the week. Her struggles over the closing holes didn’t take her out of the running for the title, but they did force her into extra holes with Lin. On the first extra visit to the dramatic 18th, Lin nearly ended matters with a pitch-in eagle. Her toss somehow stayed out, and she tapped in for birdie. NKM holed from three feet, and to the tee they returned. On the second go-round, Koerstz Madsen ripped her second to eight feet, and converted for the aforementioned eagle, to end the day’s events.

 

DP World Tour: MyGolfLife Open is super sixth for Larrazábal

Pablo Larrazábal has made a career of taking breaks between DP World Tour titles. He debuted in 2008, won again in 2011, then paused until 2014. He lost his mind in 2015, winning in consecutive campaigns, then postponed victory again until 2019. Now that’s it’s 2022, the Spaniard felt the itch to ascend the podium again, and he did it with flair. After allowing countryman Adri Arnaus and Englishman Jordan Smith to catch him at bucolic Pecanwood, the Catalonian comet twice made birdie in overtime to claim the MyGolfLife Open title.

Both Arnaus and Smith finished with six consecutive pars to conclude at 22-under par. The mercurial Barcelonian Larrazábal, however, included three bogeys, three birdies, an eagle, and two pars in his back-nine tally, to reach the same total. Away the trio went to the 18th, where Arnaus stumbled with bogey and was gone. Smith scored his first birdie since hole 12, but was matched by Larrazábal. On the second bonus trip down 18, Larrazábal was solid again with another three, but Smith could not halve another time, and the match was done.

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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.

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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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

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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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