News

Morning 9: Rory’s mentality | Zalatoris earning degree | PIF chief to attend Open

Published

2 years ago

Jul 19, 2023

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for the final major of 2023.

1. Rory’s mentality now

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”McIlroy told Golf Channel on Tuesday that he’s in a wildly different place mentally than just two months ago, at the PGA Championship, where he admitted a few swing faults (he still tied for eighth) and expressed fatigue at being at the forefront of the PGA Tour-LIV war. His attitude is more positive now, after some off-the-course reflection, and he’s made a few conscious choices to return the focus to his performance. He has distanced himself from the ongoing drama. He has cut down on some of his media availabilities, as evidenced here at Hoylake. And he has adopted a more carefree mentality between the ropes.”

“I think it’s easier when you feel like you’re in control of everything, you’re not searching for things,” McIlroy said. “When everything feels in a good spot, I think then you can be a little more free and it flows a little more.

“It’s the really the chicken or the egg of what comes first, but when you get that technical stuff right and in control of that, it just makes everything else easier.”

Full piece.

2. “Fantastic job”

Golf Digest’s John Huggan…”Then it was into the politics. Last week Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele discussed players’ trust issues with PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. Rahm’s feelings on the subject of the deal struck with the Saudi Public Investment Fund was always going to come up.”

“There has obviously been big changes for all of us,” Rahm said. “I did get a text from Jay, but I haven’t been able to speak to him. He has behaved so professionally and so well with me and my family. In that sense, he’s a really good man. As to what he’s been doing for us and the PGA Tour, I think he’s done a fantastic job. It was unexpected what happened, but I still think he’s been doing a great job. Right now, I think it’s fair to give them time to work things out. I still think they have the best interest of the players at heart. All we have right now is a framework agreement. It’s an agreement to have an agreement. We really don’t have anything right now that allows us to judge what they’ve done.”

Full piece.

3. BK and ZJ

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”Koepka, whose chances to earn Ryder Cup points has been limited to majors because of his status on LIV Golf, is third on the U.S. points list and he can lock up his spot on this year’s team with a solid week at The Open, otherwise, he would need to be one of Johnson’s six picks.”

“Koepka called the conversation “interesting” and didn’t seem concerned about his status on this year’s team.”

“It was just hearing his perspective and all the stuff he’s got to do. The PGA of America does a really good job in easing it for him, and just kind of talking about the preparation for it, what our team is going to do, where are we going to be, and just a little bit more about the shuffle of guys and the stuff they have kind of behind the scenes, stats, stuff like that,” Koepka said. “It’s quite interesting just hearing about it all. I guess when you look at the standings, where guys are, versus I guess some events don’t count at the end of last year. If you just equate all that as equal, where everybody would stand.”

Full piece.

4. “Koepka world” again

Yahoo’s Jay Busbee…”Koepka sat down for his Tuesday morning British Open press conference looking like a man with the world at his feet. Sporting a snow-white Nike ballcap and form-fitting pullover — the better to show off his very un-golfer-like guns — Koepka radiated the kind of easy jock confidence that was completely missing from his Netflix episode.”

“And why not? It’s been nothing but blue skies since those dark days of last spring. Koepka has signed with LIV and banked millions — perhaps tens of millions, perhaps more — while also finding his game again, dueling Jon Rahm on Masters Sunday and capturing the PGA Championship, his fifth major, in May.”

“That run brought back memories of 2018 and 2019, when Koepka was all but untouchable. During that run, he won three of the seven majors in which he played, and finished in the top four in three more. Asked if he felt like he was maintaining his major-winning form from earlier this year, Koepka responded in his laconic-gunfighter style.”

Full piece.

5. Zalatoris finishing degree during recovery

Max Schreiber for Golf Channel…”So what has he been up to?”

“I’m graduating right now, finishing up my degree from Wake Forest,” Zalatoris said Monday on the “Chris Vernon Show”. “Now, I’m starting to be able to do stuff, it’s great. Because the first eight weeks where I wasn’t able to do anything … I ordered every book I could possibly find and I’m not much of a reader. I’m like signing up for classes. I’m finding stuff to do just because I knew I was going to go insane.”

“The 26-year-old, who forwent his final semester at Wake Forest in 2017 to turn professional, claimed his maiden PGA Tour victory last year at the FedEx St. Jude Championship amid a season of many close calls. However, less than a week later, Zalatoris suffered two herniated disks during a tee shot at the BMW Championship, causing him to shelve his clubs for the rest of 2022.”

Full piece.

6. “Call it whatever the hell you want”

Michael Weston for Golf Monthly…”Former Open champion Collin Morikawa has weighed in on the great ‘What should you call The Open’ debate, saying when you’ve won golf’s oldest Major Championship, you can “Call it whatever the hell you like”.”

Full Piece.

7. Can you blame him?

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”For the better part of two years, in the void of true, public-facing leadership in the PGA Tour’s battle against an existential threat, McIlroy stepped into the role and took a stand for what he believed was right. “Every chance I get, I’m trying to defend what I feel is the best place to play elite professional golf in the world,” McIlroy said last fall on why he was so vocal against the schism caused by LIV Golf. “If you believe in something, you have to speak up, and I believe very strongly about this. I really do. I hate what it’s doing to the game of golf.” By putting himself on the line, he put his performances on the line, and there’s no questioning the gumption it takes to have conviction in both while displaying constant grace through the struggle.”

“There’s an invisible weight that comes with great responsibility, however, a cost McIlroy did not fully realize until this spring. The sport and its civil war and their demands consumed him. McIlroy needed a “reset” after a missed cut at the Masters, realizing he was holding on too tight. “I’ve always thought I’ve had a good handle on the perspective on things and sort of where golf fits within my life, and trying to find purpose outside of golf in some way,” McIlroy said in May. “But I think over the last 12 months, I sort of lost sight of that. I’d lost sight of the fact that there’s more to life than the golf world and this little silly squabble that’s going on between tours, and all sorts of stuff.”

Full Piece.

8. Al-Rumayyan to attend Open

James Corrigan for the Telegraph…”Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the £500 billion Saudi sovereign wealth fund and also the chairman of LIV Golf, is due to attend the 151st Open at Hoylake this week as a guest of one of the R&A’s main sponsors.”

“His expected presence at the weekend will highlight the game’s radically changed landscape after last month’s shock announcement of the merger between the Public Investment Fund and the PGA and DP World Tours.”

“Al-Rumayyan, who is also the chairman of Newcastle United, is establishing himself among the sport’s establishment despite the United States department of justice investigating the alliance. Amanda Staveley, a key associate and co-investor during the purchase of Newcastle, is believed to be joining Al-Rumayyan.”

Full Piece.

9. Photos from the Barracuda Championship

Check out our galleries from this week’s event.

Full Piece.

News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 4, 2025

Ronald Montesano

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.

Card III and Bacha both miss their birdie tries on the first playoff hole.

We’ll play 18 again @OspreyOpen. pic.twitter.com/vNpHTdkHDg

— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) August 3, 2025

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

Jul 29, 2025

GolfWRX Staff

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.

News

BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

Jul 28, 2025

Brian Knudson

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)