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Morning 9: Day wins Nelson | PGA CEO on LIV’s pursuit of OWGR points | Unplayable hole

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Monday morning, golf fans, as Jason Day returned to the winner’s circle with a clutch victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson.

1. J-Day ends 5-year winless drought

Golf Digest report…It was anybody’s ball game on Sunday at the AT&T Byron Nelson. And we do mean anybody. Seven different golfers held a share of the lead at some point during the final round at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, including a trio trying to claim their maiden PGA Tour wins.

  • But in the end, it was experience that prevailed. Jason Day, a former World No. 1 who started the round two shots off the lead, rallied with a closing bogey-free nine-under 62 to win for the 13th time in his tour career but the first since 2018.
  • “It’s been a struggling few years, five years since my last win … so to be able to get the win the way I played today was really special,” said Day, who beat Si Woo Kim and Austin Eckroat by one shot with a 23-under 261 total. “I’m very pleased and happy with how things have progressed the last couple years for me.”
Full piece.

2. Jin Young Ko wins dramatic Founders Cup

AP Report…”Trailing by four shots heading into the final round of the Founders Classic, Jin Young Ko got a little inspiration about comeback wins watching fellow South Korean Sung-jae Im rally from a big deficit to win on the KPGA Tour.”

  • “If he could do it, why not her?”
  • “Ko overcame a pair of deficits to win the Founders Cup for the third time in five years, getting the victory on the first playoff hole Sunday when defending champion Minjee Lee three-putted for bogey.”
Full piece.

3. DJ wins in playoff

AP Report…”Dustin Johnson overcame a triple bogey Sunday by making birdie on the 18th hole to join a playoff and another birdie on the 18th to win LIV Golf Tulsa for his first win this year.”

  • “The victory was Johnson’s second since he joined LIV Golf a year ago. He also won outside Boston in a three-man playoff.”
  • “This one required some clutch shots on the closing hole at rain-soaked Cedar Ridge for Johnson to take down British Open champion Cameron Smith and Branden Grace.”
Full piece.

4. DP World Tour: Forsström takes Soudal Open

DP World Tour report…”Simon Forsström recovered from a back-nine wobble with a series of late birdies as he held off the charge of fellow Swede Jens Dantorp to claim his first DP World Tour title at the 2023 Soudal Open.”

  • “Forsström began the day with a slender one-shot lead before extending his advantage to three shots at the turn with birdies on the fourth and eighth.”
  • “But things began to unravel on the back nine as the 34-year-old followed up a double bogey at the tenth with a bogey on the 12th to surrender the lead.”
  • “He bounced back brilliantly, though, holing birdie putts at the 14th, 16th and 17th to take a one-shot lead down the last.”
Full piece.

5. PGA CEO on LIV’s pursuit of OWGR points

ESPN’s Bob Harig…”Waugh said that the OWGR is waiting for the latest LIV response to their application.”

  • “There are certain parts of their structure that can be solved by math, but there may be some pretty fundamental things that are harder,’’ Waugh told the Times. “There’s the potential conflict with the team aspect and then access—how do you get relegated and promoted?
  • “They had our latest response weeks ago and we haven’t heard back. They have made a bad assumption that this will be a quick process. It never has been. Every application has taken a year-plus as far as I’m aware.
  • “I can’t speculate [on how long it will take] because they have not responded. They might have to solve things as well, and it’s not clear whether they’re willing to.’’
Full piece.

6. Unplayable hole at NCAA tourney

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…“The third round of the NCAA Division III Women’s Golf Championship was canceled with almost 60% of the 151-player field finished with play.”

  • “The reason? An unplayable hole.”
  • “While severe weather rolled in and suspended play late Thursday afternoon, it wasn’t rain or lightning that prompted the decision. Instead, it was because of a hole location that was, as the NCAA determined, too severe for play.”
  • “The hole in question was the 308-yard, par-4 sixth at Mission Inn and Resort’s El Campeon Course in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. According to coaches, the hole had been cut on a 5-percent slope on the right side of the green – and later in the day, course staff watered the putting surface in an attempt to soften the severity of the slope.”
  • “It didn’t help much. Around 8 p.m. ET, the NCAA Division III women’s golf committee finalized the decision to revert the championship back to 36-hole scores and, with more thunderstorms in the forecast for Friday afternoon, shorten the event to 54 holes.”
Full piece.

7. Dufner, Kaymer out of PGA

Golf Channel…”Jason Dufner, who won the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill for his lone major title, withdrew from this year’s edition at the same venue, the PGA of America announced on Friday.”

  • “No reason was provided for Dufner’s withdrawal. He missed the cut at this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson. Sweden’s David Lingmerth replaced him in the field.”
  • “Also withdrawing ahead of the championship was Martin Kaymer. The 2010 PGA and ’14 U.S. Open winner had been battling an injury this year, but has competed in each of the last three LIV Golf events, including this week in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His absence reduces the number of LIV players in the PGA Championship field to 17. He was replaced by Callum Tarren, with Eric Cole now the first alternate.”
Full piece.

8. The most unexpected man in the PGA Championship field?

Mark Whitaker for Golf Digest…”What the visitors do see as they drive up the town’s main road, however, is a cute little nine-hole golf course. Built in 1929 on farmland purchased by local businessmen and artists, Woodstock Golf Club takes pride in the fact Gene Sarazen once played a couple of exhibition matches there. But for scratch golfers, it’s hardly an imposing track: It has no practice range, slowish greens, par 4s all less than 360 yards and just one 463-yard “quote-unquote par 5,” as club professional Chris Sanger jokingly describes it.”

  • “Yet in a plot line that could be described as a cross between “Finding Woodstock” with “Tin Cup,” Sanger is now headed 200 miles west to Rochester, one of 20 club pros to earn a spot in the upcoming PGA Championship at Oak Hill. Sanger finished T-17 in a field of 320 at the PGA Professional Championship two weeks ago, grabbing the last qualifying spot for the major. It’s a remarkable feat not just because of the tiny size of the club Sanger represents, but the fact the 37-year-old was anything but a world traveler before he flew to the four-day tournament in New Mexico.”
Full piece.

9. Winning WITB: Jason Day

Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees @ 10)

Shaft: TPT prototype

3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Max (15 degrees)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage 80 X

7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (21 degrees)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage 80 X

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), TaylorMade P7MC (5-PW)

Shafts: KBS C-Taper 125 S+

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (52-08F, 56-10S), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-T)

Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: TaylorMade Itsy Bitsy Spider Ghost

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B X

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Full Piece.

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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Photos from the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

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With the second major of 2026 now behind us, the PGA Tour arrives in Texas for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

GolfWRX Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, is on site at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, and he’s already captured several WITBs and a look at some new colorways of just-spotted L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i putters.

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How much each player won at the 2026 PGA Championship

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Aaron Rai upset the odds to win his first major championship on Sunday at Aronimink, firing a final round of 5-under par to see off his competitors and claim the winner’s check for $3,690,000.

Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley were the best of the chasing pack, with both men sharing runner-up spot which was good enough for each to receive a check for $1,804,000.

With a total prize purse of $20.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 PGA Championship.

Players who missed the PGA Championship cut each received $4,300 each.

1: Aaron Rai, $3,690,000

T2 : Jon Rahm, $1,804,000

T2 : Alex Smalley, $1,804,000

T4: Justin Thomas, $843,866

T4: Ludvig Aberg, $843,866

T4: Matti Schmid, $843,866

T7: Cameron Smith, $637,050

T7: Rory McIlroy, $637,050

T7: Xander Schauffele, $637,050

T10: Kurt Kitayama, $496,707

T10: Chris Gotterup, $496,707

T10: Justin Rose, $496,707

T10: Patrick Reed, $496,707

T14: Matt Fitzpatrick, $364,762

T14: Scottie Scheffler, $364,762

T14: Max Greyserman, $364,762

T14: Ben Griffin, $364,762

T18: Maverick McNealy, $229,128

T18: Jordan Spieth, $229,128

T18: Stephan Jaeger, $229,128

T18: Padraigh Harrington, $229,128

T18: David Puig, $229,128

T18: Harris English, $229,128

T18: Min Woo Lee, $229,128

T18: Joaquin Niemann, $229,128

T26: Nick Taylor, $125,523

T26: Alex Noren, $125,523

T26: Cameron Young, $125,523

T26: Andrew Novak, $125,523

T-26: Daniel Hiller, $125,523

T26: Tom Hoge, $125,523

T26: Sam Burns, $125,523

T26: Hideki Matsuyama, $125,523

T26: Bud Cauley, $125,523

T35: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, $78,805

T35: Patrick Cantlay, $78,805

T35: Ryo Hisatsune, $78,805

T35: Daniel Berger, $78,805

T35: Ryan Fox, $78,805

T35: Haotong Li, $78,805

T35: Aldrich Potgieter, $78,805

T35: Si Woo Kim, $78,805

T35: Martin Kaymer, $78,805

T44: Chris Kirk, $53,743

T44: Matt Wallace, $53,743

T44: Shane Lowry, $53,743

T44: Jhonattan Vegas, $53,743

T44: Denny McCarthy, $53,743

T44: Chandler Blachet, $53,743

T44: Taylor Pendrith, $53,743

T44: Dustin Johnson, $53,743

T44: Nicolai Hojgaard, $53,743

T44: Michael Kim, $53,743

T44: Kristoffer Reitan, $53,743

T55: Collin Morikawa, $34,186

T55: Corey Conners, $34,186

T55: Andrew Putnam, $34,186

T55: Brooks Koepka, $34,186

T55: Mikael Lindberg, $34,186

T60: Sami Valimaki, $29,218

T60: Sahith Theegala, $29,218

T60: Rico Hoey, $29,218

T60: Rickie Fowler, $29,218

T60: Brian Harman, $29,218

T65: Casey Jarvis, $26,900

T65: Jason Day, $26,900

T65: Rasmus Hojgaard, $26,900

T65: Keith Mitchell, $26,900

T65: Sam Stevens, $26,900

T70: Luke Donald, $25,070

T70: Ryan Gerard, $25,070

T70: John Parry, $25,070

T70: William Mouw, $25,070

T70: Kazuki Higa, $25,070

T75: Elvis Smylie, $24,158

T75: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, $24,158

T75: Alex Fitzpatrick, $24,158

T75: Daniel Brown, $24,158

79: John Keefer, $23,970

80: Ben Kern, $23,930

81: Michael Brennan, $23,910

82: Brian Campebll, $23,900

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