Connect with us

News

Morning 9: PGA Tour Americas | Perez takes credit for quote | Bryson: Rankings not accurate

Published

2 years ago

on
By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we head south of the border for the 2023 Mexico Open.

1. PGA Tour Americas

AP report…”PGA Tour Canada and the PGA Tour Latinoamerica are merging to form one circuit that will be called PGA Tour Americas. It will have a season divided by two swings — South America and the Great White North — that offer at least 10 spots on the Korn Ferry Tour.”

  • “…Still to be determined is the 16-tournament schedule for both regions in 2024 that will run from February through September, and the size of the purses.”
  • “The fields will be populated by the leading 60 players from this year’s PGA Tour Latinoamerica and from the PGA Tour Canada season. Other spots will be available through the early stages of Q-school this fall.”
Full piece.

2. Pat Perez said it

SI report…”It was me.” That was Pat Perez’s text Monday to Sports Illustrated when asked if he was the one who made comments about PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour in the 4Aces’ press conference after winning LIV Golf’s event in Australia on Sunday.

  • “A story from the Australian Associated Press on Monday reported that Dustin Johnson made some full-throated comments about Monahan when asked about Monahan’s thoughts about him or LIV Golf.”
  • ‘We don’t give a damn how he feels,” read quotes attributed to Johnson. “We know how he feels about us, so it’s mutual.”
  • “…DJ said nothing, it was all me,” Perez said in a text from Singapore, where LIV Golf plays this week. “I said we don’t care what Jay thinks cause we know how he feels about us and when I say WE, I mean me. I can’t speak for the whole group.”
Full piece.

3. Koepka, DJ want to play Ryder Cup

Evin Priest for Golf Digest…“I have no idea [if we’ll be eligible] and it’s not up to me so I can’t make that decision. But if they choose us, we’ll be ready to go,” Koepka told the Sydney Morning Herald after finishing T-11 among the 48 players who competed at LIV Golf’s Adelaide event.”

  • “Koepka and his fellow LIV recruits would almost certainly need one of Johnson’s picks. Despite being able to earn U.S. Ryder Cup points through their performances in the major championships, LIV players are well outside the six automatic qualifiers. Koepka is the highest-ranked LIV player, at No. 17 in the Team USA standings, while Phil Mickelson, who tied with Koepka for second at Augusta, is 22nd. Previous Ryder Cup stars Dustin Johnson (30th) and Patrick Reed (34th) are even farther down the ladder.”
Full piece.

4. “A real major feel”

Elliott Heath for Golf Monthly…”Marc Leishman, one of the home favorites for Ripper GC, said his playing partner Carlos Ortiz compared the atmosphere and feel of the event to a Major, and he agreed. He also described the week as a “highlight” of his career and said that the Aussie event “certainly verified” his decision to join the Saudi-backed tour.”

  • “This was on a different level. This was everything like Carlos was saying today, that this had a real Major feel to it, even more than some Majors, and I feel the same way,” Leishman said.
  • “A special week I think for Australian golf, a special week for LIV. Me and Cam will have a bit of a hug later on tonight. If we weren’t, which we were, we were already very happy with our decisions, but this has certainly verified it, if it needed verifying, which I don’t think it did.
  • “I think I expected it to be huge, somewhat like this, but I was saying this morning, I’ve had chances to win Majors, albeit not in Australia, to have the home crowds like that, that was a highlight of my golfing career, along with all my wins.”
Full piece.

5. A forbidden Masters souvenir

Our Jason Daniels…”On Saturday, reddit user ‘skinow84’ posted a photo of what looked a standard piece of turf in a pot. It’s a “so what?” moment until you see the headline.”

  •  “Small divot from the 13th hole at Augusta National landed next to me two weeks ago, took it home in a chip bag. It’s thriving.”
  • Knowing just how security conscious the Augusta committee is, ‘skinow’84 was jokingly advised, “Augusta is going to send an assassin for it,” before replying that he was “well within the patron rope, it was going to die anyway, yet I was nervous for some reason. I put it in the potato chip bag with a couple drops of water and planted it the day I got home.”
  • “For a bag of official $1.50 Masters chips, our hero may well have something very special on his hands. Or in his pot.”
  • “Replies were as amusing as you would think.”
  • “Many offered a glowing vision of the future – “With the right fertilizer, we can have Second Augusta in a few thousand years,” said one, whilst we had a bit more of a long-term option from another – “You all realize it automatically grows into a full Augusta, it first will be a small par 3 after a few seasons then it will grow to full size just give it some time! Common sense here gentlemen!”
  • “Still, it appears that some of the comments have the user spooked and they have now since deleted their Reddit account.
Full piece.

6. Bentleys, Rolls Royces, and other upgrades at the Chevron Championship

Tim Schmitt for Golfweek…“The reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Stipends of $5,000 were added for players who missed the cut, marking the first time in the tournament’s history that was offered. Players received courtesy cars for the week, with returning champs rolling around town in Bentleys and Rolls-Royces.”

  • “And those are just some of the perks the new partnership between Carlton Woods and Chevron has cooked up. LPGA players often aren’t given an option when it comes to practice balls, meaning they often have a different feel on the range. Salzman and his staff reached out to ball manufacturers and while some did provide extra balls for the range, a few did not.”
  • “That didn’t sit really well with us,” he said. “So we contacted all the ball manufacturers to get balls. Most of the big ones came through, but there were a few that didn’t, so we dug into our own stock and made sure that was the case, so that they can practice with the balls that they play with. And I think that’s the first time that’s ever been done. The gals are walking up there and seeing their balls in boxes and they’re really happy.”
Full piece.

7. Furyk to captain at World Champions Cup

Garry Smits Florida Times-Union…”Jim Furyk will be a match-play captain again, this time against the world.”

  • The PGA Tour Champions announced this week that the inaugural World Champions Cup Dec. 7-10 at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton will bring together 50 and over players from the U.S., Europe and an International team for three days of match play.
  • The European captain will be Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland and the International captain Ernie Els of South Africa. Furyk and Clarke are past Ryder Cup captains and Els captained the 2019 International Presidents Cup team. All three will be playing captains.
  • The event will be aired on ABC and ESPN. Peter Jacobsen, a seven-time PGA Tour winner and TV golf analyst will be the chairman.
Full piece.

8. Bryson: OWGR not accurate

Michael McEwan for Bunkered…”Talor Gooch won last week’s LIV Golf League event in Adelaide but fell two spots on the Official World Golf Ranking.”

  • “According to Bryson DeChambeau, that’s not right.”
  • “Speaking ahead of this week’s tournament in Singapore, the former US Open champion took the OWGR and its powerbrokers to task, insisting that it needs to start accommodating LIV golfers – for its own good as much as anything else.”
  • “You should realise that the OWGR is not accurate,” said the 29-year-old, now ranked 178th. “I think they need to come to a resolution or it will become obsolete. It’s pretty much almost obsolete as of right now. But again, if the majors and everything continue to have that as their ranking system, then they are biting it quite heavily.”
Full piece.

9. KFT Photos

  • Check out our galleries from this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event!
Full piece.

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.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Chuck

    Apr 26, 2023 at 9:38 pm

    I’m going to keep watching the OWGR-LIV controversy. That’s the real choke-point for the LIV League trying to be connected to the major championships.

    It’s going to be a real serious legal fight. On this one, I am not predicting an OWGR legal win. I would like to. I hope the OWGR beats LIV, I really do. And I am by no means expecting that OWGR will lose. But I just don’t know. I wish I did. The stakes on that outcome are really enormous. Greg Norman knows it. The LIV players know it. The major championship organizers know it.

    Reply Report comment

  2. Brandon

    Apr 26, 2023 at 8:14 pm

    Pretty simple Bryson, play 4 rounds and your league would have a leg to stand on when it comes to OWGR. Until then, you don’t.

    Reply Report 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