News

MORNING 9: Munoz fires 60 | Norman’s “mistake” gaffe | Homa’s dream foursome

Published

3 years ago

May 13, 2022

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco and Matthew Vincenzi.

For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com.

May 13, 2022

Good Friday morning, golf fans, as we head into day two of the AT&T Bryson Nelson.

1. 60

Colby Powell for Golf Channel…”Sebastian Munoz made history Thursday at the AT&T Byron Nelson, becoming the first player in PGA Tour history with multiple rounds of 60 or lower in the same season.”

“Munoz also shot 60 in the first round of the RSM Classic in November. However, that was on a par-70 golf course. Today’s round at TPC Craig Ranch was a 12-under-par 60 for the Colombian, which was highlighted by a 6-under stretch through four holes in the middle of his round.”

Full piece.

2. “Mistake”

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”On Wednesday, during a news conference in London to promote LIV Golf’s first event at Centurion Club, June 9-11, Norman was asked about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s alleged complicity in the 2018 killing of Khashoggi, an American citizen. LIV Golf is being financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which is controlled by bin Salman.”

“From what I heard and what you guys reported, just take ownership of what it is,” Norman told reporters. “Take ownership no matter what it is. Look, we’ve all made mistakes, and you just want to learn from those mistakes and how you can correct them going forward.”

Full piece.

3. Khashoggi’s fiancee on Norman’s remarks

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Today as reported by the Telegraph, Hatice Cengiz who was Khashoggi’s fiancee, responded to Norman’s comments saying how she found them to be “so hurtful”.”

“It is so hurtful when Jamal’s brutal killing is brushed off as a ‘mistake’ and that we should just move on. Would you say that if it was your loved one?“

“How can we go forward when those who ordered the murder are still unpunished, and continue to try to buy back their legitimacy?

“We should not fall for their wealth and lies, and lose our morals and common humanity.

“We should all be insisting on the truth and justice; only then can we look forward with hope and dignity.”

Full piece.

4. Sagstrom takes Founders Cup lead

AP report…”Madelene Sagstrom shot a flawless 9-under 63 during a round she felt holes kept getting larger to take one-stroke lead over Megan Khang after the first round of the Cognizant Founders Cup on Thursday.”

“Nasa Hataoka, who won in Los Angeles in April before taking time off, was third after a 65 on the Upper Montclair Country Club course, roughly 10 miles from New York City.”

Full piece.

5. Homa’s dream foursome

Our Gianni Magliocco…”For those who follow Homa on Twitter, his opening choice of Green Bay Packer’s QB Aaron Rodgers will come as no surprise. The two good friends teamed up together at the 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and Rodgers even sent a congratulatory note on Twitter to Homa following his win on Sunday.”

“For his second selection, Homa turned to NBA star Steph Curry, who the golfer has repeatedly praised for his attempts to grow the game of golf, with the most recent being Curry’s introduction of a new junior golf tour.”

“Finally, Homa plumped for Tiger Woods, and when co-host Brian Knudson remarked that it was quite a group of talented golfers, the Wells Fargo champ stated: “You don’t want to be chasing golf balls all day.” Good point, Max.”

Full piece.

6. Stricker starts strong in Champions major

AP report…??”Steve Stricker shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead over Miguel Angel Jimenez and Wes Short Jr. after the opening round of the Regions Tradition, the first of five PGA Tour Champions majors.”

“Stricker, the 2019 champion, closed his bogey-free round with a birdie on No. 18 at Greystone Golf & Country Club. Jimenez, the 2018 winner, started on the 10th tee and broke out of a 10-player logjam at 4 under with a birdie on No. 8.”

Full piece.

7. From trash to the Tour

Colby Powell for Golf Channel…??”Kyle Wilshire was playing golf in Shawnee, Oklahoma, last week on the All Pro Tour, where he finished T-2 and was rewarded with a check for $8,000. He now finds himself near the top of the leaderboard on the PGA Tour after Monday qualifying into the AT&T Byron Nelson.”

“Wilshire, who turned pro in 2014 out of UCF, is making just his third career start on Tour, with the other two coming in the fall of 2021 and featuring a missed cut and a T-62. He was in fourth place when he signed his card on Thursday, five back of leader Sebastian Munoz.”

“It hasn’t been an easy road for the 29-year-old, who had knee surgery in 2018, didn’t play well in 2019 and then wound up taking a job as a trash porter in the evenings when golf was shut down during the early stages of the pandemic in 2020.”

Full piece.

8. Im out for PGA?

Ryan Lavner for Golf Channel…”Sungjae Im’s status for the PGA Championship is now in doubt after testing positive for COVID-19 in his native South Korea.”

“Im had returned home to play in the Korean Tour’s Woori Financial Group Championship but tested positive hours before the opening round and withdrew from the event, according to local news reports.”

Full piece.

9. Photos from the Byron Nelson

GolfWRX is live from this week’s Byron Nelson, where we have selected galleries including plenty of WITBs in our forum.

Full piece.

News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 4, 2025

Ronald Montesano

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.

Card III and Bacha both miss their birdie tries on the first playoff hole.

We’ll play 18 again @OspreyOpen. pic.twitter.com/vNpHTdkHDg

— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) August 3, 2025

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

Jul 29, 2025

GolfWRX Staff

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.

News

BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

Jul 28, 2025

Brian Knudson

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)