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Morning 9: 4 more elevated PGA Tour events | Saudi Exec threatens ‘new majors’ | Rahm calls out Phil’s comments

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October 19, 2022

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for the CJ Cup…and more fallout from Zach Helfand’s New Yorker piece.

1. Report: Four more elevated PGA Tour events

Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch with the exclusive…“The PGA Tour is set to announce a further four tournaments with elevated status for 2023, Golfweek has learned. The additions will bring to 13 the total number of Tour events designated as “elevated,” meaning the presence of the game’s biggest stars will be guaranteed as they compete for lucrative purses of at least $20 million. The Tour plans to communicate specifics on the events to players later this week.”

  • “In August, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced the first nine elevated events for the 2022-2023 season. Those were the Players Championship; three FedEx Cup playoff stops (FedEx St. Jude Championship, BMW Championship, Tour Championship); the three invitationals (Genesis, Arnold Palmer, Memorial); the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play; and the Sentry Tournament of Champions.”
  • “The four additional tournaments to be elevated this season are the WM Phoenix Open, the RBC Heritage, the Wells Fargo Championship and the Travelers Championship, according to five sources familiar with the discussions. Several sources said the Tour is still in the process of finalizing negotiations with the events. A spokesperson for the PGA Tour declined to confirm the details or to comment on potential announcements.”
Full piece.

2. In other words…

3. “I will create my own majors”

Be sure to check out the full piece — “Will the Saudis and Donald Trump Save Golf—or Wreck It?” —  from Zach Helfand at the New Yorker …but the most eye-popping portion is excerpted by our Matt Vincenzi…”Majed Al Sorour, the chief executive of Golf Saudi who’s heavily involved with LIV Golf, has an idea of his own.”

  • “According to Zach Helfand of The New Yorker, LIV Golf will create their own major championships if the players can’t participate in the traditional ones.”
  • “In the interview, Sorour states that he believes the major championships are leaning towards siding with the PGA TOUR and keeping LIV golfers out.”
  • “For now, the majors are siding with the Tour, and I don’t know why,” he said.
  • “Sorour then added: “If the majors decide not to have our players play? I will celebrate. I will create my own majors for my players. Honestly, I think all the tours are being run by guys who don’t understand business.”
  • “If LIV is forced to create their own majors, Sorour didn’t specualte as to whether their “own majors” would be tournaments that are currently scheduled or additional events.”
Full piece.

4. Pepperell on why DP World, LIV talks fell through

James Hibbitt for Golf Monthly…“Eddie Pepperell has recalled a conversation with DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley and why a proposal to incorporate LIV Golf into the European circuit’s season fell through.”

  • “Having spoken to Keith, and I trust his word on this, he said to me that one of his proposals was to the guys at LIV was to take the autumn and have eight events and put your product in that part of the year,” he told the Stripe Show Podcast.
  • “It’s a part of the year that the PGA Tour famously suffers. It’s actually, ironically, one of our strongest parts of the year. He [Keith Pelley] was prepared to accommodate LIV at the expense of our own Tour because he could see that LIV was going to be part of the furniture moving forward.”
  • “Despite Pelley’s efforts, it would seem they were not part of LIV Golf’s plans. “They didn’t want that,” the Englishman said. “They wanted 14 events. They wanted their own thing.”
  • “It comes to the point where if you’re Keith Pelley, and this is where I see it and agree entirely with Keith, if you put yourself in Rory McIlroy’s shoes, if you’re going to sign up to play 14 times plus four Majors, you might play three or four other times per year – which is not going to satisfy, in any way shape or form, the needs commercially of the PGA Tour or the European Tour. You have to go back to LIV and say, this is not going to work for us.”
Full piece.

5. Rahm on Mickelson’s comments

Our Matt Vincenzi…”At last week’s LIV Jeddah, Phil Mickelson blasted the PGA TOUR. The four-time major champion said his former league was on the decline, while his new employer, LIV Golf is on the rise.”

  • “I see LIV Golf trending upwards, I see the PGA Tour trending downwards, and I love the side that I’m on,”
  • “Jon Rahm, who’s remained fairly neutral throughout the PGA TOUR vs. LIV Golf saga, disagrees with Mickelson’s assessment. In his pre-tournament press conference at this week’s CJ CUP, he spoke out in support of the changes being made to the PGA TOUR schedule.”
  • “I love Phil but I don’t know what he’s talking about. I really don’t know why he said that,” the Spaniard said ahead of this week’s CJ Cup.
  • “There’s been some changes being made but that doesn’t mean it’s going down. I think there are some great changes being made for the tour and the players.”
Full piece.

6. Willie Mack III rewarded with exemption into Butterfield Bermuda Championship

PGATour.com staff report…”Willie Mack III, the APGA Tour star and winner of last week’s Butterfield Bermuda APGA Championship in Southampton, Bermuda, has been granted an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship coming up at the end of the month.”

  • “The two-time APGA Tour Player of the Year, Mack has over 70 wins in professional golf with two made cuts on the PGA TOUR among his accomplishments as he pursues opportunities at the highest levels of the sport. He won the APGA Tour event in Bermuda in a three-way playoff Oct. 12 and was surprised with the announcement of the exemption at the awards ceremony later that day.”
  • “The Butterfield Bermuda Championship, in its fourth year as the first PGA TOUR event in the country, is set for Oct. 27-30 at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, where Mack won the APGA Tour competition. Lucas Herbert won his first PGA TOUR event last year at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. The PGA TOUR debuted there in 2019 as the Bermuda Championship.”
Full piece.

7. Vijay’s Bryson trollery

Full Piece.

8. Sand courses, oiled greens

An interesting morsel on the origins of golf in Saudi Arabia from the previously mentioned Zach Helfand New Yorker item…”Golf has always been about money and power, but in Saudi Arabia it literally came with the oil. The country’s first courses, and almost half its current ones, were “sand courses” improvised from the desert landscape by the Americans who helped build Aramco, the state petroleum giant. There was no grass, so golfers carried around little squares of artificial turf to hit from. A woman is said to have killed a sheep with an approach shot. (She had to pay the shepherd.) The ingenuity required just to complete a round was almost inspiring. Landmarks moved with the wind. Balls could be red. Greens were brown. Reading them was tough; camels stomped across. Putting, at least, didn’t require the turf mat. To maintain the requisite firmness and speed, the greens were slicked with oil.”

Full Piece.

9. Na Yeon Choi’s Last Dance

Steve Eubank’s for LPGA.com…”This week, another major champion is waving goodbye to her colleagues and countrywomen on the LPGA Tour. Nine-time winner and major champion Na Yeon Choi announced last month that, “After a long deliberation, I decided to end my career as a golfer and start a new chapter in my life. It was not an easy decision, but I believe I made the right choice for my future.”

  • “The 35-year-old golfer wrote a letter to fans that said, in part, “There were a lot of happy moments (in my career) but at the same time I always felt lonely spending my entire 20s playing golf in the U.S. There were times when I loved it so much and also hated it so much… I believe I did my best throughout my career, so there are no regrets.”
  • “This week at the BMW Ladies Championship in Gangwon Province, Choi will play her final LPGA Tour event. In the BMW media center on Tuesday, she said, “Starting this season, I really gave myself to this season, and around midseason it crystalized into this decision to retire. There was no one single moment where I decided this was the time to announce my retirement.”
  • “I have been playing for a long time and I think on the bright side, I really want to start something new as fast as I can. What that’s going to be, I have no idea. But I have no regrets with my career as a golfer.”
Full Piece.

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Chuck

    Oct 20, 2022 at 3:56 pm

    Lee Trevino story about gallery ropes…

    He almost never walked under a rope. Ever. He would very pointed tell marshals, fans, caddies, whomever, to not hold up a rope for him. He wanted — demanded, really, that the rope be lowered. And then he would step on it as he crossed. That’s how you make sure it doesn’t get you. As usual, he was right.

  2. DS

    Oct 20, 2022 at 6:49 am

    The writer of this article is an absolute joke. Nothing more than copy and paste. The content is also nothing but PGA Tour pandering. That’s all these little woke clowns do.

  3. PJ

    Oct 19, 2022 at 6:12 pm

    This article should read “PGA magically finds tens of millions for elevated tournaments in bid to compete with LIV”

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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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

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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

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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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