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Tour Rundown: Spieth nearly defends, but Fitzpatrick finds a way | Brief playoff goes Grace’s way 

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2 years ago

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The week after a major championship eases the vibe a bit, if only to prepare the world of golf fans for the next premier event. That one is coming this week, at he Chevron Championship, the first major for the LPGA. The PGA Tour found itself on Hilton Head Island, while the LPGA was on another island, in the Hawaiian chain. The Korn Ferry Tour was in Texas, at Texas Rangers golf club. Two of the three events went to extra holes, and the third was headed that way, until the winner drained his eighth birdie of the day on the 72nd green. Tour Rundown has an abbreviated, three-event synopsis for you, so enjoy our quick tour of the professional golf world.

PGA Tour @ RBC Heritage: Spieth nearly defends, but Fitzpatrick finds a way

The first news of the week out of Harbour Town, was the announcement of Rory McIlroy’s withdrawal. The pain was eased when Masters champion Jon Rahm confirmed that he would compete. He finished in a tie for 15th, at 11-under par. The week began with Jordan Spieth teeing off into Callabogue Sound, accompanied by the thunder and smoke of a cannon blast. Such is the trapping of the defending champion. Spieth went out and gave the greatest attempt at a title defense possible. He was the second-last man left standing.

The final round began with Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion, a shot ahead of Patrick Cantlay. Given the nature of the Pete Dye-designed course at Sea Pines Resort, no one was going to run away with the tournament. Jordan Spieth gave it his best, reaching a two-shot advantage with five to play. Cantlay had consecutive bogeys at 13 and 14, and his birdie at the last was one stroke more than he needed to match the Texan. Fitzpatrick avoided bogeys down the stretch, and his pair of birdies at 15 and 16 were enough to catch the leader.

Spieth and Fitzpatrick went off to the 18th to settle things, but despite legitimate birdie opportunities at the first two playoff holes (they went to 17 next) there was no winner. On the third extra hole, Matt Fitzpatrick did what you see below, and Spieth could not match him. The victory was Fitzpatrick’s second on the PGA Tour, and his ninth overall as a professional.

 

LPGA @ LOTTE: Brief playoff goes Grace’s way 

No matter who came out of the three-way playoff at Ewa Beach, the LPGA was going to honor a first-time champion in Oahu. China’s Yu Liu, Australia’s Grace Kim, and South Korea’s Yu Jin Sung (playing on a sponsor’s invitation) finished 12-under par 272. Taiwan’s Peiyun Chien and Sweden’s Linnea Storm just missed out with their 11-under 273 totals.

Sung had the 54-hole lead, despite her relative inexperience on the big tour. She and Kim each made birdie at the 72nd hole, to catch Liu. The trio headed back to the 18th tee,  The par-five closer, a mid-length hole that normally plays as the course’s ninth, offered a chance at an electric conclusion to the playoff. Liu struggled from tee to green, and posted a bogey six. Sung played the hole well, but was unable to coax her birdie effort into the cup. It was left to Kim to assess a six-feet putt for the win, and she got it right. The victory was the first for the 22-year old now-champion golfer.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Veritex: Spencer Levin resurfaces for first Korn Ferry title

Spencer Levin was all the rage a decade and a half ago. After three wins on the Canadian Tour (now PGA Tour Canada) Levin graduated for a time to the PGA Tour. He reached a playoff at Mayakoba in 2011, but came up short in extra time. Over the next dozen years, the term grinder saw Levin’s picture added in every dictionary in the world. Levin never gave up on his dream of playing and winning in professional golf.

He came to Texas for the Monday qualifier, and briefly considered withdrawing. He soldiered on, earned a spot in the field for the week, and survived the cut with 66-68. Levin entered the final round six shots behind the leader, Brad Drewitt, who showed no sign of easing back on the accelerator. Sunday was a different game. Drewitt had zero birdies, a bogey, and a double through his first ten holes, to let a host of players back into contention. Levin was one of them. Through ten holes, the New Mexico alumnus had posted five birdies and made up eight shots on the leader. To his credit, Drewitt bounced back with birdies at 11, 12, 14, and 18. His bogey at 17 was the blow that knocked him down.

Levin added birdies at 11, 15, and 18, to sign for an eight-under par 63, the second-lowest round of the week. He emerged from the fracas one shot clear of Drewitt, with a long-awaited PGA-sanctioned victory.

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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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