Connect with us

News

Tour Rundown: Henderson, Rahm, and Perez hoist trophies

Published

3 years ago

on

Four tournaments featured during January’s middle week. The LPGA and the Champions Tour opened their seasons, while the DP World Tour celebrated its first individual event, on the heels of last week’s Hero Cup team competition. The PGA tour moved stateside, after two bucolic weeks in Hawaii, and reached the California desert to inaugurate a five-week stretch in the American southwest.

LPGA: Henderson opens 2023 with a title

Brooke Henderson, the pride of Smith Falls (and most of) Canada, made an equipment switch in the off season. Moving from Ping to Taylor Made, the 12-time champion is now a 13-time champion, thanks to a four-shot win in Orlando. Henderson led from start to finish, after opening 67-66. Her final two rounds were 69-70, and they were good enough to hold off Maja Stark and Charley Hull by a quartet of strokes.

No golfer was able to stitch a pair of low weekend rounds together. Nasa Hataoka posted 66 on Saturday; another on Sunday would have put her one beyond Henderson’s 16-under tally. Instead, the Japanese star stumbled to 74. 68 was the low number on Sunday, just two better than the winner’s total. No comebacks were in the cards on day four, and Henderson wasn’t giving anything back to the field.

PGA Tour: Rahm proves again that he’s the best in the game right now

Jon Rahm gave a clinic on how to hold onto a lead without having your best game at La Quinta. The grand Basque played the inward half on Sunday in one stroke under par, but it was that birdie at the 16th that put his final challengers away. Davis Thompson and Taylor Montgomery, among others, threw everything they had at the big Iberian, but Rahm refused to wilt. Montgomery faded away to solo fifth, while Xander Schauffele put the finishing touch on a stellar 62 that vaulted him into a tie for third with Chris Kirk.

The show came down to the final pairing of Rahm and Thompson. At the last, Rahm found himself in a fairway bunker off the tee. His approach was crisp, settling inside twenty feet, below the hole. Fighting adrenalin, Davis Thompson flew his approach beyond the hole at the 18th, into a swale. His birdie pitch had the proper pace, but was two inches wide right. He tapped in for par and finished at 26-under par, alone in second place. Rahm calmly putted twice from about 18 feet, and clinched his second victory in three weeks.

One day, when Davis Thompson wins his first tournament, he may do so with lessons learned from the day when he nearly eclipsed the game’s biggest name.

DP World Tour: Perez makes case for Ryder Cup team with Abu Dhabi win

Victor Perez began the week with a 71, and found himself a stout, six shots behind leader Jason Scrivener. Each day, Perez chipped away at those in front of him, ultimately clawing to one shot behind Francesco Molinari with one round to play. Molinari, buoyed by his Continental team’s win last week at the Hero Cup, looked for all the world a winner. His final-round 71 undid his fine work, relegating him to a tie for fifth with Alex Noren.

Among the top three golfers, none distinguished himself over the closing holes. Sebastian Soderberg reached 17-deep with three holes to play, but could not find one more birdie. Min Woo Lee stood one behind Perez on the 17th tee, but made bogey at the par three. His closing birdie moved him into a tie for second, but no higher. Even Perez stumbled home. His birdie at 17 was followed by a bogey at the last, but with a two-shot advantage, bogey was enough.

You might wonder why we haven’t mentioned Perez’ inexplicable bunker shot on penultimate hole. Trust us: you have to see it (below) to believe it. The win was Perez’ third on tour. It doesn’t qualify him as a lock for the European side of the Ryder Cup, but it does firmly seat him in the equation. If he keeps up this level of play, he’ll feature in Rome in late September of this year.

PGA Tour Champions: Stricker rides 60 to 12th Champions title

If you ever wondered how good these guys are, lesson one is in the books. After a few-months layoff, Steve Stricker rebounded from a first-round 68 with 12 birdies on Saturday. No, he didn’t make any bogies. Yes, he made six pars. That round of 60 gave him a three-shot advantage over Darren Clarke. Sure, Clarke had a chance on Sunday, as did a bunch of other guys. Stricker made sure that their chance was short-lived, and closed with 65 to eliminate all suspense.

Over the course of 54 holes, the champion made exactly one bogey in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. That blip came on the fifth hole on Thursday (round one) and didn’t set well with the pride of Wisconsin. Stricker played the next 49 holes without a misstep, and finished the week at 23-under par. Tied for second at 17-deep were Clarke, Steven Alker and his new Sub 70 clubs,  Ken Tanigama and Mike Weir. Alker’s day-three 63 was low for the orbit, but was never going to gain ground against that Stricker 65. The TC resumes in two-weeks time in Morocco.

 

Related Topics:

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.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

on

Aug 4, 2025

By

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.

Continue Reading

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 29, 2025

By

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.

 

Continue Reading

News

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

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 28, 2025

By

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)

Continue Reading

WITB

Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago

Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)

Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.  Driver: Titleist...
Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago

Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship

Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Whats in the Bag4 weeks ago

Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)

Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
Whats in the Bag4 weeks ago

WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship

Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...

Facebook

Trending