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Scottie Scheffler: 2022 Masters champion

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3 years ago

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Inconceivable. Not the victory. We’ll get to that. Inconceivable that someone would suggest on social media that Tiger Woods withdraw from the final round, to save himself for some future event. That’s the identical mindset for someone not understand how Cameron Smith could bounce back from his triple at 12 with three consecutive birdies, or how Shane Lowry recovered from a triple bogey of his own, to finish at five under par. These are, first and foremost, competitors. Every opportunity to compete is an opportunity to improve, no matter what is on (or off) the line. Lecture over, no quiz, enjoy your break, class dismissed. On to our celebration of the 2022 Masters tournament and its champion,

1. Rory McIlroy nearly proved us partly right

In our Five Things We Learned on Saturday, we predicted that someone would post a 62 on Sunday and win the tournament in a playoff. McIlroy might have been one perfect drive away from that scenario. Standing at seven-under par on the day, and six-under overall at the fifteenth deck, McIlroy put his drive in the one place where the green is blocked: the left side. From there, par was all he could make. Had he dropped a birdie in, and knowing how accessible the traditional hole location at 16 is, McIlroy might have reached nine-under in the clubhouse. Would that have been enough to put pressure on the champion? We think so. McIlroy earned his first runner-up finish at the Masters, and might eventually don the coat that we expected he’d have won multiple times by now.

2. Golden Bell rings and tolls each year on Sunday afternoon

Cameron Smith will remember the tee shot that got away on Sunday for a few hours, and then he will let it go. That’s the sort of competitor he is. We just know. The wee par three doesn’t need to be any longer, for those who suggest lengthening it. At 155 yards, it tempts each competitor way more than an additional 15 yards would, and that is its siren call. Only Hideki Matsuyama was able to make a two on Sunday. Consider that for a moment. The best golfers in the field are given the spot of their choosing, the tee height of their election, and just one was able to save a stroke. It’s a diabolical and brilliant campanilla that figures mightily in the outcome each April.

3. Ted Scott will say “No” a lot this week

Caddying is physically demanding. Caddying for professional golfers, week in and out, is mentally exhausting. Caddying for contenders in major championships, especially the one held each year in Augusta, is emotionally draining. Scott won two of these with one of the most emotional golfers of all time, Bubba Watson. He now has a third flag from the 18th at Augusta National. Many folks will call him this week and beyond, offering pay raises and other temptations, and he will say “No” to each of them. Scott is with the golfer he was meant to find, post-Bubba. Scottie Scheffler is just scratching the surface of how good and historic a champion he might become, and Scott needs to be along for the lift and the ride.

4. Hey, honey – we need a bigger closet, and we need to plan a dinner

We know that his green jacket will remain at the club for time eternal, but let’s pretend that Scottie and Meredith Scheffler need to open up about five more inches in their closet at home, to give a special blazer a home. One thing that the couple does need to do, is plan a dinner for a few guests on a Tuesday in April of 2023. Scheffler will host the annual Tuesday gathering of living Masters champions, as Hideki Matsuyama did this year.

What did Scheffler do to cause the need for room in the closet and a shopping list for a year off? He played spectacular and composed golf from Thursday through Sunday this week. He signed for 21 birdies, nine bogeys, and one inconceivable double bogey on his four scorecards over the past 96 hours. Along the way, he hit 49 of 72 greens in regulation or better, 43 of 56 driving fairways, and averaged 1.53 putts per hole. As he was in wins at Phoenix, Orlando, and Austin this year, Scheffler was the unspoiled creme of the field. With his Masters win, he cements his position as world number one, and turns his sites toward other major venues and more international team competition.

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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.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. HR Fernández

    Apr 13, 2022 at 12:00 am

    To be honest, the Tiger story was good, but not compelling enough for me to care much about it.

    Tiger already has set his place in golf history, that’s enough for me. Now it is time to write a new chapter with new characters.

    Reply Report comment

    • Holdin Tudiks

      Apr 14, 2022 at 7:57 pm

      Scottie Scheffler will never “move the needle”.

      Reply Report comment

  2. HR Fernández

    Apr 12, 2022 at 11:59 pm

    To be honest, the Tiger story was good, but not compelling enough for me to care much about it.

    Tiger already has set his place on golf history, that’s enough for me. Now it is time to write a new chapter with new characters.

    Reply Report comment

  3. Hulieo Aeglesis

    Apr 11, 2022 at 7:52 pm

    With the emergence of Scottie and Cameron, golf just got richer and for these two phenoms, there will be many more battles between them for years to come. Tiger has given us many, many memories and boosted the game to unthought of heights and this Masters showed there ARE new gladiators to salivate over every week. IMHO, Tiger will probably play only the majors here on out and when his eligibility is exhausted, he’ll still have Augusta to entertain us. Will he tie or surpass Jack’s record for major wins? Only time will tell…

    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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