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Five Things We Learned: Friday at the Masters

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2 years ago

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Nothing marks an athlete’s career like a return to form from injury. In men’s golf, we speak in hushed tones of the Hogan comeback, as well as the Woods one. Thanks to opening rounds of 65-67, our second-round Masters leader of 2023 has given us reason to consider a third, monumental return from physical damage. Added to this story line is one about a golfer who doesn’t play for prize money quite yet, although his NIL stock will rise after what he did through 36 holes. The next big event will be determined by the only woman in the field: Mother Nature. What she has in store for the Augusta region is anyone’s guess. If we are to believe the weather folk, it’s ominous. We learned just shy of six pm, local time, that round two would resume on Saturday morning. On that wet note, let’s learn of five things that we gathered from Friday at the Masters.

1. Brooks reminds us that he owns four major titles

There is a fair amount to like and dislike about the current tournament leader. He can come across as supremely arrogant, and he can also make our collective hearts flutter with his golfing brilliance. Brooks Koepka was out early on Friday, and he made the most of his thirty-minutes-earlier start. The lad from Florida posted three birdies and an eagle on day two, bringing his two-day total to 12 strokes below old man par. Koepka was away at 8:18, and finished by lunch time.

You’ll easily find tales online and in print, of the excruciating rehabilitative process that Koepka underwent. His left knee was already damaged from a 2019 injury when he … well, you can dig up the details. Suffice it to say that it reads like a minor combat injury, and that’s saying a lot. Fast forward to 2023, and Koepka appears to be all the way back. If any golf course will lay bare your physical stamina, it’s the hills of Augusta National. Koepka will find himself in the final group on in round three, and we will learn if his mental game is on par with his physical one.

2. An amateur did what?

A long time ago, nearly 70 years back, Ken Venturi was the third great amateur challenger for the green jacket. He followed in the footsteps of E. Harvie Ward and Charlie Coe, non-professionals at the time who gave the professionals in the field a run for their money. Sam Bennett is a long way off from joining their ilk, but his performance over the first 36 holes marks a clear reminder that amateurs at the Masters are not a ceremonial note. Each year, an amateur or two make the cut, but they don’t challenge for the title. They are an homage to the great amateur himself, Augusta National founder Bobby Jones.

Sam Bennett appears to have a bit of the original master in his blood and his game. He is the reigning US Amateur champion, an event that Jones won five tines in his career. He is a student at Texas A & M University, and began round two at four-under par, a feat in itself. Bennett dropped a birdie putt at the first to reach minus-five, but dropped back to his original number with a bogey at the fourth. At this point, most amateurs go away. Not Bennett. Birdies at eight and nine were followed by another pair at 13 and 14. Pars filled his card on the remaining holes, and the Madisonville Marauder found himself at minus-eight, in second place, four behind the leader. Somewhere on course eternal, Bobby Jones and Mark Bennett (Sam’s dad) have stopped paying attention to their game, to look earthward.

SAM BENNETT: Yeah, it was before he passed, I got tattooed on my left arm. So I see it every time I’m gripping the club, it’s right there, “Don’t wait to do something.”
You know, I thrive on it. I use it for some motivation. I know how happy he would be seeing me out here at Augusta National doing what I’m doing. You know, this week, I’ve used it to just stay focused and really be locked in to that one shot.
I haven’t played great this college season, which is kind of expected after being U.S. Am Champion, if you look back at the records. But this week, I felt like I was really locked in on what I was able to accomplish.

3. Patience in Euskera is spelled R-A-H-M

The Euskera language is older than pretty much everything. That’s what Fontañeda, my co-worker, tells me. It’s the language of the Basque people of north-central Spain and south-west France. It’s the language of Jon Rahm, and patient is what Rahm has been, through his first nine holes. He drew an afternoon start time on this Good Friday, the seventh of April. Arratsaldean, or la tarde en castellano, or afternoon in English, is when the rains came. To that point, the 2021 US Open champion had made seven boring pars to start his day. He knew that Koepka had gone off, and he also knew that the morning had been kinder to the field.

So, Rahm guarded his pazientzia and found birdies at eight and nine, to reach nine-under par. Comparatively, he is one shot back of Koepka, who stood minus-ten at the end of the first nine.

4. If a tree falls in the rough …

Three trees (or one, or two) fell adjacent to the 17th hole. No one was injured. Nothing to see hear. Move along.

5. Who’s left and who’s going home?

Well, we know that these golfers are going to be around for the weekend, and will certainly make things interesting: Morikawa, Day, Spieth, Mickelson, Rose, Fitzpatrick, Scheffler, Johnson.

We also know that these golfers are down the road, but at least they had Thursday-Friday: DeChambeau, McIlroy, Willett, Conners, Watson, Oosthuizen, Kokrak.

The jury is certainly out on these golfers, so good vibes to them as they try to survive the cut: Power, Mitchell, Cantlay, Pieters, and some guy with 15 major titles.

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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.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. BK IS KING

    Apr 8, 2023 at 2:35 am

    1. Brooks. 2. Brooks. 3. Brooks. 4. Brooks. 5. Brooks.

    Reply Report comment

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

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

on

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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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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