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Morning 9: Barstool to broadcast KFT event | RIP John Bland | Byron Nelson photos

Published

2 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we head towards the AT&T Byron Nelson.

1. Ferguson: Westwood did this to himself

The AP’s Doug Ferguson on Lee Westwood’s apparent incredulity…“So no, I never would have believed it had ended like this,” he said, “and there has to be a bit of sadness, of course.”

  • “There also must be the harsh realization that he did this to himself.”
  • “He was free to choose, and Westwood chose instant riches from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to play in a rival league that threatened the very tour to which he had been loyal all these years.”
  • “That can’t be overlooked. There has to be consequences. He should have known that, even if LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman told players they could have it both ways.”
  • “Remember, it was Norman who said in a text to Sergio Garcia some 15 months ago about the PGA Tour: “They cannot ban you for one day let alone life. It is a shallow threat.”
Full piece.

2. Barstool Sports to broadcast Korn Ferry Tour event

Dan Rapaport at Barstool with the announcement…“We got tired of complaining about all the things we don’t like about golf broadcasts. So we’re going to do one ourselves.”

  • “It’s been hard to keep this one quiet, but the news is now official: Barstool Sports will be the sole provider of live coverage for the NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank, a golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour, from July 27-30 at The Glen Club in Glenview, Ill. We’ll be live from 3:30-6:30 p.m. EST on Barstool.tv, and the broadcast will feature Riggs, Trent, Frankie, myself and a bunch of other Barstool personalities.”
  • “This is obviously a huge step for the Fore Play brand and for Barstool Sports as a whole. It’s no secret that the company is looking to move further into the live-sporting events business, as evidenced by the Barstool Arizona Bowl and the Barstool Sports Invitational basketball tournament we held earlier this year.”
Full piece.

3. RIP John Bland

Golfweek’s Adam Schupak…”South African golfer John Bland, who won twice on the DP World Tour before coming to prominence in the U.S. on PGA Tour Champions, has died. He was 77.

  • Bland’s death was announced by South Africa’s Sunshine Tour golf circuit. He died Tuesday “after a battle with cancer,” the Sunshine Tour said.”
  • “Born Sept. 22, 1945, in Johannesburg, Bland turned pro in 1969 and won his first of 36 titles at the 1970 Transvaal Open. He won the South African PGA Championship in 1977, one of three victories that year and a total he matched again in 1983 when he claimed the European Tour’s Benson and Hedges International over Bernhard Langer.”
Full piece.

4. 62 and a self-DQ

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Tommy Kuhl, who’s currently a fifth-year senior at the University of Illinois, recently shot 62 at a U.S. Open qualifier. The incredible round broke the course record.”

  • “Unfortunately, Kuhl was forced to disqualify himself after the round.”
  • “Once his 62 was in the books at Illini Country Club in Springfield, he went out to watch one of his teammates, Adrien Dumont De Chassar, compete in a playoff to get the final qualifier spot.”
  • “Kuhl told mondayq.com that was when he heard another teammate talk about the aerated greens, which reminded Kuhl that he’d broken a rule by repairing multiple aeration marks.”
  • “I felt sick to my stomach,” he said. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t tell the rules official.”
Full piece.

5. 9-year-old attempts USWO qualifying

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”What were you doing at 9 years old?”

  • “Bella Simoes, a 9-year-old from Brazil, began her quest of qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open on Tuesday in Naples, Florida.”
  • “Simoes is one of 68 players who will take part in the 36-hole qualifier at The Club at Mediterra. The top two finishers advance to the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach.”
  • “Should Simoes qualify, she would become the youngest competitor in U.S. Women’s Open history, breaking the mark set by a 10-year-old Lucy Li in 2013.”
Full piece.

6. Why USGA’s water conservation efforts matter

Cameron Jourdan for Golfweek…”Last month, the USGA announced a multi-year, multi-million-dollar investment toward reducing golf’s use of water.”

  • “Efforts to reduce water usage are nothing new in the game, but it’s more vital now than ever.”
  • “There’s only going to be more competition for our water resources as population increases,” said Cole Thompson, the USGA’s Director of Turfgrass and Environmental Research. “That’s really what this initiative is, is the USGA committing to hopefully leading the industry toward water resiliency.”
  • “The USGA’s $30 million commitment over the next 15 years will advance underutilized strategies and technologies that golf courses can use to economically reduce their use of water, a vital and increasingly regulated natural resource with near- and long-term cost and availability concerns. The work will focus on irrigation optimization, advanced conservation innovation and water sourcing and storage.”
Full piece.

7. Faster than Augusta’s greens?

8. Golf rounds up

Jason Lusk for Golfweek…”The National Golf Foundation, using data from Golf Datatech, reported this week that combined first-quarter rounds played from the past three years in the U.S. are up 17 percent compared to the same first-quarter periods of 2017-2019, pre-COVID.”

  • “The monthly comparisons for this year versus 2022 and 2021 aren’t quite as rosy, mostly attributed to weather. A recent NGF/Golf Datatech report showed that overall, rounds played in March 2023 were down 2.3 percent compared to March 2022, which trailed March 2021 when rounds spiked 45 percent as players looked for a break from COVID restrictions. Much of this year’s dip versus 2022 was attributed to the vast rainstorms that slammed parts of the Pacific Northwest and California.”
  • “Rounds played were also slightly down in February this year versus February 2022, also attributed mainly to weather. That follows a great January in which rounds played were up 7.1 percent versus January 2022.”
Full piece.

9. Byron Nelson Photos

  • Check out our galleries from this week’s tour stop!
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.

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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.

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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.

 

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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)

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WITB

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