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Morning 9: Rory: Players could skip majors | Why Jack wore Sunday yellow | Memorial photos

Published

2 years ago

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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 Memorial Tournament gets underway.

1. Nicklaus: ‘I don’t even consider those guys part of the game anymore’

Tom D’Angelo for the Palm Beach Post…”Nicklaus was asked by Golfweek if he was disappointed not to have winners of two of the last four majors — Koepka and LIV’s Cam Smith, last year’s British Open champion — in the field.”

  • “I don’t even consider those guys part of the game anymore,” Nicklaus said Tuesday. “I don’t mean that in a nasty way. This is a PGA Tour event, and we have the best field we can possibly have for a PGA Tour event for those who are eligible to be here. The other guys made a choice of what they did and where they’ve gone and we don’t even talk about it.”
Full piece.

2. Not settled regarding no-cut events

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…“PGA Tour officials said the overhauled 2024 schedule is “90-plus percent completed” and the lineup will be announced later this summer.”

  • The Tour transitions back to a calendar-year schedule in ’24 and the goal was to create a better cadence to the lineup with the addition of designated events.
  • “Our objective is, we used 2023 as a transition and we’d announced our schedule in June 2022. Subsequently, we identified we wanted to create designated events so we boxed ourselves in,” said Andy Pazder, the Tour’s chief tournaments and competitions officer. “It created situations in the current season where you have isolated events, tournaments in between designated events which is far from ideal. The process we have gone through leading up to announcing [next year’s] schedule is we now have the ability to put together a flow to the schedule that will not have isolated events.”
Full piece.

3. McIlroy: Brooks should be in Ryder Cup

James Corrigan for the Telegraph…”Rory McIlroy believes that Brooks Koepka has every right to appear in this year’s United States Ryder Cup team, but maintains it should be a different story for the Europeans who joined LIV Golf.”

  • “Koepka won the US PGA Championship three weeks ago, after finishing second at the Masters in April. However, because he cannot earn qualifying points on the Saudi-funded circuit, and is banned from the PGA Tour, he could still fall out of the top six in the standings who will automatically earn their berths for Rome in September. McIlroy feels US captain Zach Johnson should pick Koepka regardless.”
  • “I certainly think Brooks deserves to be on the United States team,” McIlroy said, speaking at the Memorial tournament in Ohio that begins on Thursday. “I mean, he’s second in the US standings, having played only two counting events. I don’t know if there’s anyone else on the LIV roster that would make the team on merit.”
Full piece.

4. McIlroy: Players could skip majors if purses don’t increase

Golf Digest’s Dave Shedloski…”Should the major championships, including the U.S. Open and Open Championship, find a continual proliferation of purse increases unsustainable, McIlroy said it wouldn’t stop him from competing in golf’s four biggest tournaments, but the organizations that run those championships might risk losing other players. And they can’t afford to do that.”

  • “It wouldn’t stop me from playing a major, but at the same time the major championships basically rent the talent for a week from the PGA Tour, and you could argue from LIV and DP World Tour and wherever else,” he said Wednesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club. “So, the major championships aren’t going to be the product that they are without the top players in the world.
  • “So, would that mean that I would, or anyone would, go to the lengths of not playing a major championship to make a point? No. But that’s just having a reasonable conversation with the governing bodies and the people that run those tournaments and try to come up with a solution.
Full piece.

5. New sponsor for Houston Open

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”The PGA Tour and the Astros Golf Foundation announced Wednesday that Texas Children’s will be the new title sponsor of the Houston Open.”

  • “The event, which has been played in the fall the past four years, is also returning to its historical spot on the spring calendar. Because of the move, the tournament will not be contested in 2023 and instead restart in 2024.”
Full piece.

6. Why Jack wore Sunday yellow

Bill Fields for PGATour.com…”Craig was an outgoing child who made good grades and loved sports and music. His maternal grandparents, Alvie and Earlene Claxton, were avid golfers who moved after retirement to Pinehurst, N.C. where they could enjoy the game. Taught to play by his grandfather, Craig loved golf and had a natural, athletic swing. Knowing the best golfer in the world was a thrill.”

  • “Walking to school one day in 1968 at the age of 11, Craig fell down and later told his mother his leg was hurting badly. He was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, and given six months to live.”
  • “Nicklaus was in Craig’s corner as his illness progressed, doing what he could to lift his spirits during a difficult time. The Golden Bear phoned Craig and sent him notes and souvenirs from tournaments. On one of Nicklaus’s visits to the Smith home, Jack asked Craig about his favorite color golf shirt. Craig and his grandpa believed they played better when they wore yellow, so there was no doubt about Craig’s answer. A plan was set in motion.”
  • “Jack promised Craig that he would wear a yellow shirt during the final round of televised tournaments as a “Hello” to his young pal. “It meant everything to Craig,” Dr. Smith told Golf World in 2011. “When Craig would see Jack on TV in a yellow shirt, he’d say, ‘Hello to you, Jack.’”
Full piece.

7. Jon Rahm’s Muirfield evolution

Jay Coffing for PGATour…”Now world No. 2, Rahm returned in 2020 to defeat Ryan Palmer by three shots. He held a six-shot lead after three rounds in 2021 but had to withdraw because he tested positive for COVID prior to the start of the final round, and he tied for 10th place last year. Oh, and Rahm shot a final-round 64 at Muirfield Village in 2020 to tie for 27th place at the Workday Charity Open during a two-week stretch where the PGA TOUR played two consecutive events here because of the pandemic.”

  • “I think it’s a golf course you kind of need to learn to play a little bit,” Rahm said Tuesday in Ohio. “It gives you a lot of options off the tee on a couple of holes. Getting a couple reps helps. But it’s mainly, it’s a little different to what we play throughout the year. It’s target golf. You put it on the fairway, put it on the proper side of the fairway to give you the best angle to the green.”
  • “Par-3s are all difficult. You have to be really accurate with your iron play. No surprise Tiger has such a success here, right. You just need to come out and be the best. While you’re doing that, it actually makes you think a little bit more than some of the golf courses we go to. So like I said, it’s a fun test and I think that’s why I’ve played well.”
Full piece.

8. Pros to fight roll back of ball

John Turnbull for Bunkered..”Several PGA Tour pros are likely to ‘push back’ golf ball changes from the game’s leading associations, according to Adam Scott.”

  • “The 2013 Masters winner believes proposed changes that could make drives 20 to 25 yards shorter would not go down well with top players.”
  • “Scott, chairman of the Player Advisory Council, said: “I think there’d be some pushback on that from the membership.”
Full Piece.

9. Photos from Muirfield

  • Check out all of our galleries from this week’s 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.

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News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

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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

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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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WITB

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