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Morning 9: Spieth on injury | Scheffler hungry | Phil on major prep

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as day one of the Charles Schwab Challenge gets underway.

1. Spieth on wrist injury

Blame the kid! Golfweek’s Tim Schmitt…”Spieth told the media at the Charles Schwab Challenge that the cause of his injury wasn’t anything thrilling, but rather a strange tweak while playing with his 18-month-old son, Sammy.”

  • “I was just playing with my son. I wasn’t even holding him or anything. I was just pushing myself off the ground while he was like laughing and going side to side. Something just popped and jammed, and then all of a sudden, I couldn’t move it and got on it right away,” Spieth said. “Ended up with an MRI the next morning and went through a few specialists and tried to figure out the right plan for it.
  • “I was pretty surprised I was able to play last week. … So I thought, if I could get through four rounds and I was not going to make anything worse or jeopardize anything going forward, then I thought it would be worth it and you just never know. Turns out you can’t really kind of fake it into a major. You kind of really need to be as prepared as possible.”
Full piece.

2. Two captains, two different situation

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”For Donald, his “clarity” is the byproduct of the DP World Tour’s decision to essentially fine players off the tour and off this year’s Ryder Cup team. The European circuit hasn’t handed down broad suspensions for players who violated its conflicting-event release policies when they joined LIV Golf, but in the wake of a favorable ruling from an arbiter in the United Kingdom, it has doled out heavy fines that make maintaining membership, at the least, difficult to justify.”

  • “According to various sources, LIV Golf has agreed to pay those fines, but in one case, a player who joined the breakaway circuit last year is on the hook for nearly £500,000 and counting. Last week, Henrik Stenson resigned his DP World Tour membership, which is required to play on the European Ryder Cup team, and others are sure to follow.”
  • “It’s that clarity, for better or worse, that’s made Donald’s job easier.”
  • “Johnson’s gig, however, only became more complicated Sunday thanks to Brooks Koepka’s commanding victory at the PGA Championship. Although the U.S. captain would never admit it, the best scenario is for Koepka to perform equally brilliantly at the U.S. Open and Open Championship to lock up his spot in the team room in Rome.”
Full piece.

3. Scheffler “hungry” at Colonial

Golfweek’s Riley Hamel…”The vibes should be high in Fort Worth, Texas, at the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge for Scheffler, who lost in a playoff to his best bud Sam Burns at Colonial Country Club last season and comes into the week in great form.”

  • “But is the hunger there a few days after a major championship?”
  • “I’m typically pretty hungry to win whatever event it is,” he said Wednesday after his nine-hole pro-am. “I show up expecting to come here and play well and do my best. Yeah, I’m hoping for a good finish this week, but I try not to look too far ahead.”
Full piece.

4. Mickelson: LIV provides the best path to major prep

5. What Waugh said to Koepka

6. Justin Bieber, DJ Khaled, more to invest in TMRW Sports

Dean Straka for CBS…”TMRW Sports, the sports and entertainment venture co-founded Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy alongside former golf television executive Mike McCarley, announced Wednesday that it has added recording artists Justin Bieber, DJ Khaled, Macklemore, Jake Owen and Darius Rucker to its investor group. The lineup of musicians were selected based on their mutual passion for golf, according to a release, with the goal of growing the sport’s interest through their reach.”

  • “Golf is thriving from a surge in cultural relevance that spans generations and demographic groups,” McCarley said in a statement from TMRW Sports. “These entertainers come from different walks of life and have different fanbases, but all share a real passion for golf and, in their own ways, can introduce golf to new fans.
Full piece.

7. Cornwell: Chamblee a “bully”

Our Jason Daniels…”Cornwell told viewers that Chamblee had tried to have her removed from her post several times and that, “When you cross the line you become a chapter in the book, possibly. That’s what happens when cross line on several locations, one of which was actively trying to get me fired for absolutely no reason.”

  • “She then commented on the somewhat heated argument between Chamblee and Brad Faxon, centered on whether newly crowned PGA Championship winner, Brooks Koepka, should play at the Ryder Cup in September.”
  • “He’s [Chamblee] a bully, plain and simple. I mean those of us who have worked closely with him and dealt with his tirades understand it. I mean, I watched it too.”
  • “Cornwell believes that there was an argument for both sides, but indicated that she wasn’t surprised at the manner of Chamblee’s stance.”
Full piece.

8. Bryson wants LIV exemption category at majors

Ben Parsons for Bunkered…”Bryson DeChambeau has called for majors to implement an “exemption category” that ensures LIV golfers can take part in the biggest events.”

  • Speaking ahead of LIV’s Washington DC event, DeChambeau said:
  • “There’s been numerous ideas brought up. One that we’re all looking at right now, at least from my perspective and what I’ve heard so far is just creating an exemption category for LIV players based on how they play during the course of the year.
  • “That would be the most fair and opportune thing for LIV golfers considering the fields that we have, the major champions we have, and the elite level of play that we have each and every week.
  • “If they’re able to do that, I think everything is good. The OWGR points, we’ve gone so far down the list now that it’s really difficult to make us even relevant.
Full piece.

9. Photos from Colonial

  • Check out all of our galleries from this week’s event!
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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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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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

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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

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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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