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Tour Rundown: Burns defends, Carl’s choice

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3 years ago

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In two of three events this week, the gods of golf were not kind to the overnight leader. No matter how hard you try to delude yourself into being the chaser, and not the leader, you are still the leader. Davis Riley and Peter Uihlein learned a few lessons on Sunday, while Shaun Norris stood apart as the exception to this notion. Our last three-event week for a while featured events in South Africa, Florida, and Louisiana, so take a break with us as we run down a trio of tour trips this week.

PGA Tour: Valspar Championship defended by Burns

Sam Burns takes nothing for granted. He stood on the 17th tee with a two-shot advantage over playing partner Justin Thomas. They were the penultimate pair, and after JT yanked his tee ball left, SB yanked his lefter and shorter. He did well to make bogey from the far bunker, and lost half his lead to Thomas’ par. As they made their way up the 18th fairway, both Davis Riley (overnight leader) and Matthew NeSmith (overnight follower) made birdie at the daunting 17th, to enter the fray.

Burns narrowly missed his birdie try at 18 for the outright win, then held his breath as Riley missed an even shorter try. They returned to the final tee for the first extra hole, and each made par. On the 16th hole, their second overtime trace, Burns drained a thirty-feet putt from the left fringe to defend his 2021 victory at Innisbrook. To Riley’s credit, a day after posting 62, he held his game together enough to tie for the top spot. Victory for the former UAlabama golfer should come soon enough.

Korn Ferry Tour: Louisiana Open is Carl’s Choice in extra holes

Yechun Yuan, aka Carl, is a 24-year old professional golfer from Dallan, China, and the University of Washington. His experience is far-ranging, from PGA Tour China to the 2020 Olympics to the Korn Ferry Tour. Prior to today, Yuan had a trio of runner-up finishes on the feeder tour. Now, he is a KF Champion and one step closer to a stint on the PGA Tour.

Yuan trailed overnight leader Peter Uihlein by five shots when he began round four. After a bogey at the third erased his birdie at the first, Yuan fired off four birdies in five holes to jump up the leaderboard. Uihlein’s round was one of frustrating pars: he made 15 of them on the day. Yuan added two more birdies on the inward half to reach 14-under par. Uihlein was force to earn a birdie of his own, at the 17th, to tie. Both golfers finished one shot ahead of José de Jesús Rodríguez and Trevor Werbylo, who tied for oh-so-close third position.

The playoff lasted all of one hole. Yuan snuck his approach in close for birdie to dispatch Uihlein. In his post-round interview, he revealed that the win came on his birthday, and that he could not envision a greater gift to his own self. Happy Birthday, Yuan. Welcome to the winner’s circle. Oh, and thanks for the warm-up drill that we can all practice below.

DP World Tour: Steyn City Championship sees a first-time Tour winner in Norris

It would take a sleuth of legendary skill to uncover an event with more of a topsy-turvy conclusion than this one. Shaun Norris took a handful-of-strokes advantage into the final round in his home town. Any seasoned competitor will tell you that such a scenario is not usually advantageous. Norris did his best to prove that hypothesis correct on the outward half. Bogey at holes two and four dropped him out of the lead, as fellow South African pro Dean Burmester gained five strokes with a three-under effort heading to the turn. Burmester added birdies at 10 and 11, and assumed control of the tournament.

As if someone flipped an electrical breaker, Norris suddenly found his game while Burmester went into hibernation. Norris uncovered four birdies on holes 11 through 18, while Burmester played the same stretch in two-over par. It was a crushing double bogey at the penultimate green that undid all of Burmester’s fine work on the afternoon. He would finish in solo second position, three behind Norris.

For the champion, the win at Steyn City was his first on the DP World Tour, after numerous triumphs on the South African and Asian tours. Norris had his brother on his bag this week, making the victory more special than ever.

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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.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Greg Norman

    Mar 23, 2022 at 9:25 pm

    Nelly got the clot shot.

    Reply Report comment

  2. HR Fernández

    Mar 20, 2022 at 10:05 pm

    I’m a big fan of the DP Tour and watched this awesome first victory by Shaun Norris.

    The DP Tour players are so much different than the spoiled brats of the PGA Tour. They are a big family and you can see the love and respect they have for each other.

    PGA Tour players could learn a thing or two about true sportsmanship from these fellas.

    Reply Report comment

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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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