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Morning 9: LIV ratings | Match Play format | Masters video game challenge

Published

2 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com
March 21, 2023

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as attention now turns to the WGC Match Play.

1. A WGC Dell Technologies Championship Match Play format reminder

It’s match play this week, folks! Via Golf Channel Digital…”The 64 players are divided into 16 groups of four (click here for this year’s groups). Each player will compete in match play against the other three players within his group over the first three days. A match victory is worth one point. A tied match is worth a half-point. A loss is worth zero points.”

  • “The player with the most points in his group after three days of round-robin play will advance to the knockout stage…”
  • “If two or more players are tied in their group after the three pool-play matches, then those players will compete in a stroke-play, sudden-death playoff to determine who advances.”
  • “Sixteen players will qualify for the single-elimination portion.”
  • Wednesday: Group play…Thursday: Group play….Friday: Group play…Saturday: Round of 16 (morning); quarterfinals (afternoon)…Sunday: Semifinals (morning); finals and third-place match (afternoon).
Full piece.

2. LIV Golf ratings

Alex Raskin of the Daily Mail…“LIV Golf is already losing its limited viewing audience in its first season on the CW Network.”

  • “The controversial Saudi-backed tour held its second event of the year in Tucson, Arizona last weekend, not that many seemed to notice. LIV drew only a 0.14 rating across 33 markets in the 18-49 demographic, according to Kevin Van Valkenburg of No Laying Up.”
  • “That is somehow worse than the tour’s debut on the CW network, which drew a 0.2 rating in late February.”
Full piece.

3. Pros demand ball rollback…in 1983

From the Golf Digest archives…”Here’s a look back at what some top players from 40 years ago thought of the golf ball distance debate. The arguments for and against a rollback hit on the same points as today, even as the average driving distance on tour has increased by 30 yards since 1983.”

  • “I’ve told the USGA that I think the balls are going too far and that it has to pull them back. It’s wrong for the game of golf.” — Jack Nicklaus
  • “If the golf ball is cut back in distance, we are going to have fewer people playing golf. There will be less need for a USGA to rule the game, because people are going to go play tennis or something else.” — Davis Love Jr.
  • “They’re at the limit right now. The ball shouldn’t go any farther. We’re getting stronger and stronger people out here, and we’re obsoleting courses. This has been building up for about 10 years now, what with two-piece balls that bore through the wind and so forth. Things are getting out of hand. The performance of a ball has to be consistent. We can’t have a ball that goes through the air and isn’t affected by conditions.” — Tom Watson
Full piece.

4. Smart! Remote workers are working at night so they can golf in the afternoon

Steve Mollman for Fortune…”Remote workers are taking a cue from college students. Rather than working 9 to 5, they’re spreading work out to off hours. That means that late afternoons, for instance, are fair game for doing something fun. If you’re planning to work later that night, after all, why not?”

  • “One beneficiary of the shift to remote work, it appears, is golf courses. According to Stanford researchers, working from home “has powered a huge boom in golfing.”
  • “The researchers, Nick Bloom and Alex Finan, studied data from the company Inrix for 3,400-plus golf courses and shared their findings in a recent research paper entitled “How Working from Home boosted Golf.”
  • “Comparing Wednesday in 2022 to the same day in 2019, they found a 143% increase in golfers playing more golf on that day, and a 278% jump in them playing on that day in the mid-afternoon.”
Full piece.

5. “It’s sad”

6. Simpson, long-time caddie split

7. Poulter hits out at Ryder Cup decision makers

Michael McEwan for Bunkered…”Ian Poulter has hit out at the prospect of he and fellow LIV golfer being denied the chance to play on and captain future Ryder Cup sides.”

  • “In a Q&A with Instagram followers, Poulter was asked for his thoughts on LIV’s longevity and the prospect of never becoming Europe’s Ryder Cup captain.”
  • “[The] LIV Golf League is here to stay,” he said. “It’s only 30 rounds old and every start up business takes time.”
  • “I’m so proud to see how far it’s come in such a short space of time. It’s an incredible business and product and it will be incredible.”
  • “And if the DP World Tour chose to not have any LIV golfer as captain after they have supported them and still do for over 25 years, then shame on them. Sad but that’s on them.”
  • “Time will tell and once all the info is out things will change I’m sure.”
Full piece.

8. Masters to host video game challenge

Christopher Powers for Golf Digest..”Between using the word “meh” in a Masters promo last Friday and letting the boys from Dude Perfect through the gates last year, it’s quite clear that Augusta National is dead serious when it comes to getting with the times.”

  • “The club announced its latest “How do you do, fellow kids?” move on Monday, revealing it would be hosting the Road to the Masters Invitational inside of the Press Building on Sunday, April 2, the eve of the 2023 Masters. It is a livestream, video game tournament that pits participants from the sports, entertainment and gaming worlds against one another in the new EA Sports PGA Tour: Road to the Masters video game.”
  • “The event will begin at 6 p.m. ET on April 2, and will run until 8 p.m. ET. It will be streamed on the following platforms and channels: Masters.com; @TheMasters on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook; @EA on Twitch; @EASportsPGATour on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube; @EASports on Facebook; ESPN+ and the ESPN app. For those who can’t tune in that Sunday evening, an edited version of the show will be broadcast on Wednesday, April 5 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.”
Full piece.

9. Iykyk

Related Topics:

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.

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News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

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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.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

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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.

 

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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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