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Morning 9: Senate scrutiny for Tour-PIF | Cam Smith on merger | Rory cancels presser

Published

2 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for the third major of the year.

1. Remembering, contextualizing Homa’s LACC 61

PGATour.com’s Sean Martin…”Max Homa’s 61 in the first round of the 2013 Pac-12 Championship shocked everyone on site.”

  • “Los Angeles Country Club, a clandestine club hidden in the midst of a city obsessed with fame, had not hosted an outside tournament for a half-century. But a new generation of members, with one eye toward hosting even bigger events, was eager to show off its recently-renovated course and change the reputation of a club once described as ‘aloof’ and ‘a cloistered enclave.’”
  • “The proceedings did not begin as planned, however. Not after a college kid – not even the best player on his team – broke the course record in the opening round.”
  • “Hosting a U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club had been discussed for decades. That score left some wondering if the new course could fulfill such aspirations.”
  • …”The work on Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course had been performed by one of golf’s leading architects, Gil Hanse. He resuscitated a design blunted by the passing years and buried under soil and silt, restoring a rolling, rustic layout that blended beautifully with the surrounding topography while confronting players with the strategic quandaries that designer George C. Thomas was famous for.”
Full piece.

2. Senate scrutiny

Steve Gardner for USA Today…”The PGA Tour and LIV Golf may have already finalized the terms of their planned merger, but it won’t take place without a closer look from Capitol Hill.”

  • “Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said Monday the deal raises concerns “about the Saudi government’s role in influencing this effort and the risks posed by a foreign government entity assuming control over a cherished American institution.”
  • “Blumenthal sent letters to both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf seeking records and emails about how the deal was reached and how the newly formed entity will be structured and operated.”
Full piece.

3. Final 6 in the field

Reuters report…”Emiliano Grillo was among the final six golfers to gain entry into this week’s U.S. Open.”

  • “The USGA on Monday announced the three final exemptions as well as three alternates who will compete in the 156-man field in Los Angeles.”
  • “Grillo, Pablo Larrazabal and Adam Schenk made the field once the updated Official World Golf Rankings were released, with the trio in the top 60.”
  • …”The final three spots in the field went to Bastien Amat, Michael Kim and Maxwell Moldovan, who were first alternates coming out of qualifying.”
Full piece.

4. “Little 17”

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”As the world’s best navigate the rookie U.S. Open venue’s par-4 17th hole, look right of the green and you’ll discover, somewhat hidden in the trees, the green to another hole, the one they call “Little 17.” The short par-3 was part of W. Herbert Fowler’s 1921 creation, but the controversial one-shotter went away as part of George C. Thomas Jr. and William P. Bell’s 1928 redesign – and it remained hidden until being brought back as an alternate hole in a 2010 restoration by Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner and Geoff Shackelford.”

  • “The only word that I can think of to describe the hole is extreme,” Hanse said in a 2021 Fowler biography, comments that were reprinted in a recent USGA feature. “It’s extreme in its location, its diminutive nature, its contouring and the penalties it can extract. However, it is also extreme in the sense of joy it brings to those who are fortunate to be able to take on the challenges of this rediscovered gem.”
  • “However, when it was first imagined by Fowler, who enlisted Thomas to supervise the 1921 reimagining of the original Beverly Course, “Little 17” incited more fury than joy. Prior to Thomas’ redesign, the North Course hosted the 1925 Cal State Open and 1926 Los Angeles Open, the inaugural edition of what is now called the Genesis Invitational, which the PGA Tour contests annually at nearby Riviera Country Club, another Thomas gem.”
Full piece.

5. Lynch: PGA Tour-PIF deal measured in lost reputations

Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch…”Regardless of what twists in the road lie ahead, the perception now exists that Saudi Arabia owns professional golf. Dunne has dismissed that notion, but he who signs billion-dollar checks – Al-Rumayyan, in this case – usually doesn’t concern himself with counting votes on the board. Once a safe place for corporations to park their marketing dollars, the sport is now a tainted space in which those who do business will face uncomfortable and unanswerable questions from their own stakeholders about human rights abuses, mass executions and sundry other atrocities.”

  • “Monahan can point to savings in the deal – chiefly the billable hours at white-shoe law firms – but in so many other ways the costs are immeasurable. The association with an abhorrent regime will surface in every partner meeting, in mocking commentary every time the Tour positions itself as inclusive or forward-thinking. This moral aspect matters less to Tour members and executives. Monahan torched their trust, but anger dissipates. If the settlement promises money, then he can survive as commissioner. But his faintly anguished look while sitting next to Al-Rumayyan revealed a man fully aware that his reputation won’t endure the abject about-face he performed.”
Full piece.

6. Aiming for the HyFlyers

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”LIV Golf and Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers team have been sued for copyright infringement.”

  • “In a federal lawsuit filed at the end of last week in district court in New Jersey, Cool Brands Supply, a corporation in Argentina that specializes in skateboard lifestyle merchandise, accused LIV Golf and Mickelson of using a “nearly identical logo.” Attorneys for Cool Brands Supply allege “defendants’ adoption and use of their knockoff logo nearly twenty years after Plaintiff commenced use and in the face of Plaintiff’s federal trademark registration is not just reckless and inexplicable—it is willful infringement and unfair competition.”
Full Piece.

7. Cam Smith thought golf’s merger news was a joke

Sky Sports Report…”Cameron Smith revealed he initially thought the news of golf’s merger was a joke before receiving a phone call from Yasir Al-Rumayyan outlining the situation.”

  • “The announcement last week of the agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the backer of LIV Golf, took many within the sport and outside it by surprise.”
  • “Smith, who defected to LIV after winning the Open Championship at St Andrews last year, admitted he was one of those who had no idea it was coming and did not believe it until PIF governor Al-Rumayyan contacted him.”
  • “I guess the first reaction was I thought it was kind of a joke that had come out, and then [Al-Rumayyan] gave me a call and kind of explained what was going on,” Smith said at his press conference ahead of this week’s US Open.
  • “He didn’t really explain too much. I think there’s still a lot of stuff to be worked out, and as time goes on, we’ll get to know more and more. But there are definitely a lot of curious players, I think, on both sides as to what the future is going to look like.”
Full Piece.

8. Rory cancels pre-tournament press conference

Bunkered.co.uk Report…”Rory McIlroy was due to speak to the media on Tuesday ahead of this week’s US Open Championship.”

  • “That now looks like it WON’T be happening.”
  • “The four-time major champion has reportedly cancelled his scheduled pre-tournament press conference.”
  • “The move comes just a week after the PGA Tour announced its intention to partner with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in a surprise move that promises to bring an end to a year of division in men’s professional golf.”
Full Piece.

9. Rory to play with Brooks

Ryan Young for Yahoo Sports…”The golf gods (or NBC) were smiling Monday when the pairings were released for the 123rd U.S. Open.”

  • “Teeing off together in the afternoon at Los Angeles Country Cub will be Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka, two of the central players in the PGA Tour versus LIV Golf battle that has been waged over the last year and a half.”
  • “Naturally, that should make for some extra entertainment in Southern California this week.”
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.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Brent

    Jun 13, 2023 at 9:53 am

    Schumer just wants his cut.
    $500k to approve the merger.

    Reply Report comment

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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.

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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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