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Five Things We Learned: Saturday at The Open Championship

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2 years ago

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Day three of the 151st Open Championship is etched in time. The rains came and the rains went. The course softened a bit, and the course dried out a bit more. Royal Liverpool gave and took on this day, and a remarkable segment of the tournament field positioned itself for a run at history on Sunday, July 23rd. As things currently stand, nine golfers are within eight shots of the leader. A nine-shot comeback is where we draw the line at miracles. Day four at the home of the Fab Four will be, well, fabulous. Before we watch another sunrise, let’s recap day three with Five Things We Learned.

1. Jon Rahm

Eight birdies. Ten pars. From plus two to minus six in the blink of an eye. Well, if it takes 4.5 hours to blink, I guess. The current Masters champion blistered Hoylake in Game 15 of the third day of competition. A four at the par-five fifth ignited the fire in his belly, and consecutive birdies from nine through twelve added more leña to the fogata. Needing more juice, Rahm closed with another trio of birdies from 15 to 18. Only his 22-feet effort at the penultimate Little Eye stayed above ground. Rahm is the voice of a new generation, and his game will only improve after this week in Liverpool. He’ll play with Viktor Hovland in the penultimate game; could there be a more exciting duo?

2. Those Fitzpatricks

Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick will forever be joined in the memory of golfers who watched the elder brother win the 2013 US Amateur at Brookline. The younger was his looper, and at the age of 14 years, summoned memories of Eddie Lowry on the bag of Francis Ouimet. We will add a second memory to that initial one, thanks to the play of both at Hoylake. Matt was exempt, thanks to his 2022 US Open championship victory. Alex qualified in, and came to Royal Liverpool for another rung of learning on the ladder of professional golf.

Things changed for both when each made the cut on Friday afternoon. Their perspectives evolved more when Alex posted 65, and Matt 67, on Saturday. Those performances brought them to T7 and T11, respectively, in advance of Sunday’s final round. Each had a back-nine bogey on the card, and each closed with birdies at 15, 17 and 18.

3. The gainers of experience

A number of the game’s top golfers played very good golf this week, but not remarkable enough to be in contention on Sunday. No matter what they’ve won prior, each ascent along the arc of greatness requires learning. Xander Schauffele has an Olympic gold medal. Scottie Scheffler has a Masters green jacket. Rickie Fowler has multiple tour wins, and Jordan Spieth aches to return to the echelon he occupied during the mid-201os.

Tom Kim is everyone’s buddy, but wins are what he needs. Nicolai Højgaard and his twin brother Rasmus are eager to earn Ryder Cup consideration. Min Woo Lee will have to wait until April to take a run at a major, but there’s no question that he’s capable. In the end, the love they take is equal to the love they make.

4. The final game

Game 38 will feature Brian Harman and Cameron Young. Harman was able to steady himself after two bogeys through Saturday’s first four holes. Birdies at five and nine, followed by another pair at 12 and 13, brought him a third round in the 60s, and preserved his five-shot advantage. His third-round companion, Tommy Fleetwood, played round the course in even par figures, and sits seven shots behind the leader, tied in a quintet of golfers at minus-five. Harman played the sort of golf that places him firmly as the favorite to claim the Champion Golfer of the Year moniker.

Joining him in the final game is last year’s runner-up, Cameron Young. In 2022, Young came from way back to scare the mullet out of eventual champion Cameron Smith. This year, Young will have the pairing he desires, and will have a chance to break through at a major after coming close twice in 2022. If Young puts pressure on early, he stands the greatest chance of spooking Harman and breaking through. Young played an exquisite round on day three, overwhelming a solitary bogey with six birdies.

5. The Prediction

Only one gentleman will hoist the Claret Jug on Sunday evening, and we know that you are dying to know his name. The first revelation is that it will end in a playoff. Two golfers will match scores and be compelled to dance in overtime over the 1st, 17th, and 18th holes. The format requires four extra holes, so how the R and A will pull this off, will also conjure intrigue. The second revelation is that both golfers will be tied, headed to the final hole. One will make birdie in overtime, but the other will ensnare an eagle in the most dramatic of fashions: a holed bunker shot.

The runner-up? Jason Day. He’ll have another day, somewhere around 64, to leap over a multitude and score a reservation at the after party. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to add a second major title to his 2015 PGA Championship

The winner? Jon Rahm will claim his second major title of 2023. He will be amazed to see Straka chase him down, but he will prove himself to be the great champion of 2023, with two major titles.

Please remember that this writer is the worst prognosticator since Yesstrodamus, so please do not lay any bets, based on these predictions.

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Prime21

    Jul 23, 2023 at 9:17 pm

    Ummmmm……..NO. Harman was in charge from start to finish. Give the man his due & stop wishing make believe moments that will surely NEVER occur. Be a writer, not a science fiction novelist.

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

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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

Published

4 weeks ago

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Jul 29, 2025

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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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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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