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Tour Rundown: Return of the Spieth

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3 years ago

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Long before the term vibe became standard in the lexicon of multiple generations, South Carolina’s low country essentially owned the rights to its essence. Imagine being the tournament that follows the first major of the year, and that major just happens to be the Masters. The week actually opens on Masters Sunday, when the band formerly known as Hootie and the Blowfish hosts the Monday After The Masters pro-am event in Myrtle Beach. On its heels comes the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island, a bit farther south in the Palmetto state. Both events have a calm to their demeanor, and they allow golf fans and competitors to segue from the intensity of a Grand Slam event to a sequence of tour events. In their honor, we should call this week’s installment Tour Strolldown. Let’s take a stroll and recap the week’s professional golf.

PGA Tour: The Return of Spieth

The freeze of Patty Ice melted a bit for the second time this season. After Scottie Scheffler defeated the 2021 Team USA hero in extra holes in Phoenix, it was Jordan Spieth’s turn this week in Harbor Town. Seven golfers, including first-round leader Cameron Young, finished the week at 12-under par. Only Spieth and Cantlay were able to reach 13-deep, and the two headed off to the 18th tee at Pete Dye’s Low-Country masterpiece to settle matters.

Both golfers found greenside sand on the monstrous par-four hole, but Cantlay’s lie was the stuff of nightmares. Impossibly plugged, he was unable to get the ball up and in for par. Spieth drew a better lie, and succeeded in exploding out and near for a tap-in four. The quick end to the overtime session was Spieth’s 13th on tour and first since Valero, a year ago.

LPGA Tour: LOTTE Championship to Hyo-joo by two

A week in paradise, along Ewa Beach in Oahu, Hawaii, proved doubly-so for Hyo-joo Kim. The 2014 Evian champion won her second tournament in the past year, this time over Japan’s Hinako Shibuno. The tournament seemed destined to finish with Kim at the head of the podium. She sat second with five others to Hannah Green’s opening 66. While the others fell far away, Kim followed with another 67 in round two, to take command. The final two rounds were a case of hold on against the winds. Hyo-joo closed with 72-71 to reach 11-under par. Only Shibuno was able to keep her in sight.

Kim and Shibuno played conservative golf on day four. Shibuno had two birdies against 16 pars for 70. Kim had three birdies against two bogeys for 71, enough to preserve a comfortable margin of advantage. The most exciting golfer on course on Sunday was Somi Lee. She tossed four birdies at the scorecard, but the course bit back with five bogeys. Lee finished in solo fifth, six behind the champion, despite her brave run.

Korn Ferry Tour’s Veritex Bank trophy on Tyson’s shelf

Tyson Alexander’s goal, like that of every Korn Ferry competitor, is to leave that tour behind for the PGA Tour and its series of events. Should he get there, Alexander might want to make room in his schedule each year for a return to Arlington, Texas. The former UFlorida golfer has won the Veritex Bank event there for two consecutive years, and certainly feels at home on the Texas Rangers golf club course.

MJ Daffue opened the week with 62 for a two-shot lead. He could not preserve that level of play, and ultimately finished in a tie for 26th place. Alexander sat three behind on day one, after an opening 65. He followed with 66 and remained inside the top five overall. Another 66 on Saturday brought him to third position, and the stage for a Sunday gunslinger’s battle was set.

Third-round leader Chase Parker had all sorts of trouble with the outward nine, and tumbled to a tie for 12th spot. Alexander went out in four-under 32, and added two more birdies coming home for 65. He reached 22-under par, with Pontus Nyholm and Byeong Hun-an two back, in second place.Nyholm was the story of the day, with twin 31s for 62. Only a bogey at the 71st hole kept him from making a last-ditch run at Alexander.

With the win, Alexander became the first player in the nearly 30-year of the Korn Ferry Tour to defend his title. It’s nice to be first, twice in one weekend.

Asian Tour: Sihwan Kim wins in Stableford style in Thailand

The Asian Tour took a break from medal play for a week, and Sihwan Kim took full advantage. Kim absolutely lit up the Siam country club course on days one and three, garnering 22 points each day. Days two and four weren’t nearly as productive, coming in at -2 and +7. Those five points ultimately gave him a two-point advantage over Maja Stark, and his second tour title in five weeks.

What made the event compelling was the mixed format. Maja Stark plays regularly on the Ladies European Tour, and this event brought male and female golfers together in competition. The final round was delayed for 90 minutes by rain, and the players returned to the course with enough light to complete the final round on schedule.

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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. Dean Willobey

    Apr 19, 2022 at 3:22 pm

    When I watch him, it looks like he’s got fire ants in his pants 24-7. Either that or he has like 7 nicotine patches on. Christ, watching him is the worst.

    Reply Report comment

  2. Funkaholic

    Apr 18, 2022 at 10:10 am

    There wasn’t much competition and he is still a head case.

    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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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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