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5 things we learned Saturday at The Open

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3 years ago

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Saturday was fresh again at St. Andrews’ Old Course. Scores were low and high, depending on whom you asked. Neither of the Camerons produced the type of round needed to separate from the chasers. In fact, both were surpassed by two golfers hungry for a major title in 2022. It’s a pity that only one of the many contenders will return home with the Claret Jug as champion golfer of the year. The entertainment and thrills are ours, so it’s time to run a third day down, and look ahead to one last early rise for wondrous golf from the kingdom of Fife. Here are the five things we learned on Saturday at The Open Championship.

1. Two golfers will battle on Sunday for the year’s fourth major title

Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland did their countries and their selves proud on Saturday. Each produced a score of 66 on the championship’s third sunrise, and each earned a spot in Sunday’s final game. McIlroy has been down this road before, and won. Hovland has not done true battle for a major title, and Sunday will reveal just how much character the Norwegian linksman has in reserve.

McIlroy produced the only bogey among the duo. It came at the 17th, where he drove into the left rough, then approached over the green, onto the road that gives the hole its name. From there, the northern Irishman recovered to 30 feet, from which he took two putts to get down. Better are the memories from the five birdies and one eagle that he posted across the rest of the scorecard. At the tenth, from the deepest championship tee, the 2014 Open champion at Hoylake drove into a bunker, but recovered into the hole for an unexpected, eagle two. On the hole called Bobby Jones, McIlroy preserved his place atop the leader’s board.

Hovland surrendered a clean card, and zero shots to the old dame on this day. His birdies came early, with five in the bag before the 11th tee. He added one more at Home, and set a tee time with McIlroy for 2:50 pm Heaven Standard Time.

2. Four golfers are in contention for CGOTY

It’s not an EGOT, but CGOTY is equally as coveted by professional golfers. The two Camerons (Smith and Young) had a finger or two around the Claret, but neither one did much of anything on Saturday. Smith struggled early, while Young stumbled late. Each has the game to post 64 on Sunday, and each will need it to have a shot at victory.

One of the co-leaders might struggle on Sunday, but it’s long odds that both will. Young had two bogeys through 15 holes, then made a clumsy double at the 16th. Smith was simply adrift on the breezes. He had two bogeys and two birdies, and that was all. On a tough weather day, he’d have gained advantage. On this day, he was fortunate to remain in the hunt. Beginning four shots in arrears, the Camerons have work to do.

3. A sextet of golfers will battle for glory on Sunday

If we must include Si Woo Kim and Scottie Scheffler as possibilities for glory in the 150th Open Championship, it will come with a record round. Both are in the antepenultimate game, five shots behind the leaders. Both golfers have shown a penchant for reeling off birdies. Chances are that someone will have set the tone early in the day, perhaps going out in 29 or 30 strokes. This pairing will need to take every risk and leave nothing and everything to chance. Have stranger things happened in the storied history of the Open Championship? Certainly, such as the consecutive eagles turned in by Shane Lowry today. There’s plenty of room for more.

4. English hearts will break again

Either Matt Fitzpatrick or Tommy Fleetwood will post 65 tomorrow, and his total of 16-under par will end up one or two shots shy of the CGOTY. Fleetwood posted 66 today. He began the day with four birdies in six holes, then went stale through the middle of the round, before posting three birdies in his final five holes. He’ll need 63 on Sunday to have a shot. Fitzpatrick stood five birdies against two bogeys, and lost ground to McIlroy and Hovland. He’ll need something special and low on Sunday to hoist the hardware.

5. So…who’s it going to be?

Nearly as demanding as selecting the shot of the day, is predicting the winner of a tournament. If we take the safe bet, it’s McIlroy. If we take the daring route, it’s Hovland. If redemption is our flavor, one of the Camerons regains the magic wand and soars beyond the challengers. If we’re bonkers, we pick someone more than four shots back. Since we are bonkers, we’re going with Si Woo Kim, who becomes the first Korean golfer since Y.E. Yang to win a men’s major title.

 

 

 

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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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