News

Tour Rundown: Thee one | Air New Zealand

Published

2 years ago

Sep 18, 2023

Week two of the NFL season did not impact the execution of tournaments on the DP World Tour, PGA Tour, Korn Ferry, and Tour Champions. With the Solheim Cup in Spain this week, followed by the Ryder Cup in Italy at the end of this fortnight, team golf is on the horizon. For the moment, it’s all about individual play, and we have that nearly to excess. Sit back, sit up, and strap in for this week’s Tour Rundown.

DP World Tour @ BMW PGA Championship: Air New Zealand pulls into port

After three days of seven birdie-and-eagle tallies, the flighted creatures left Ludvig Abers’ nest. The wunderkind on the European Ryder Cup side went dodo with a two-birdie 76 on Sunday, dropping to a 10th-place tie. His forced landing cleared the skies for a number of other airlines. British Airway, Iberia, Qantas, and other planes attempted to land on runway number one, but in the end, it was cleared for Air New Zealand, piloted by Ryan Fox.

Fox looked for all the world like a non-winner, after his triple bogey on the third hole. His mental reset allowed him to post eight birdies over the next fifteen hole, including six on the inward nine. Nearly chasing him down was the English duo of Aaron Rai and Tyrrell Hatton. The pair posted 68 and 66, respectively. Rai had a pair of bogeys offset his six birdies, while Hatton began the round on fire, with five birdies in his first seven holes. He could not preserve the pace, and came up one shot shy, in a tie with Rai.

A shot worthy of winning any golf tournament ?#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/hDizle3dq3

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 17, 2023

PGA Tour @ Fortinet Championship: Thee one we longed to see win, has won at long last

Sahith Theegala was Thee Stallion this week. The California native and recipient of more family love than any other human knows, broke through for his first victory on the PGA Tour. Theegala had been mentioned in some circles as a long-shot Ryder Cup selection, but the knock was that he had not yet proved that he could win. Check that box for now.

Theegala and S.H. Kim finished 1-2 this week and the tournament was about their duel, from the 36th hole forward. Kim and Theegala held the halfway lead at 132, but Theegala jumped ahead by two after Saturday’s third round. On Sunday, Theegala made seven birdies against four bogeys, but three of those birdies came in the opening five holes. Those notches stretched his lead to five, and forced Kim to do better than the nine consecutive pars that opened day four.

To his credit, Kim played a strong inward half. He posted three birdies to separate from Cam Davis and catch a glimpse of the top spot. Theegala was too consistent coming home, however. He bookended bogeys at 10 and 18, but stuffed the turkey with three birdies in between. His final margin of victory was two strokes, and now we look to see if victory number two is soon to come.

The moment @SRTheegala became a champion ? pic.twitter.com/AcmqXlQSd2

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 18, 2023

Korn Ferry Tour @ Simmons Bank Open: Murray finds redemption in Nashville

Grayson Murray finish 169th on the 2022-2023, ensuring that he would need some Korn Ferry Tour assistance to return to the big circuit. He came through big time in Tennessee, winning a guitar trophy for the tournament title, and a move inside the top six, heading into two final playoff events.

Five golfers began round four in a tie for first. None of them was able to do what Murray did. Max Greyserman fared worst, posting 79 to drop 43 spots. TJ Vogel dropped 11 spots, to 12th, while Pontus Nyholm dropped four shots, to fifth position. Jamie Lovemark and Carter Jenkins posted 70s on day four, to finish T2 with Mason Andersen. The playoffs are the time of year when pressure pushes emotions to the surface, and competitors react differently.

Murray seemed to find the proper cocktail mixture of patience and risk. He played the front nine in one-under par, then jumped into the fray with birdie at 11, followed by four more over his closing five holes. None was able to match him coming home, and Murray hoisted not just a trophy, but the continuance of his professional dreams.

Grayson Murray slams the door! ?
@simmonsbankopen pic.twitter.com/TfzQz2oN9N

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) September 17, 2023

PGA Tour Champions @ Sanford International: Mr. Midwest wins sixth of the year

You need to be flawless to beat the man from Wisconsin, Steve Stricker, when he is on his game. KJ Choi played a wondrous 53 holes of golf this week, but made an ill-timed bogey on the final green, and missed a chance at a playoff. Choi tapped in for five and finished on 15-under par. Behind him, in the middle of the fairway, stood Stricker. He now had a two-shot lead (whether he knew it or not) and played a bad iron shot from 120 yards, some 60 feet shy of the hole. He then hit a bad approach putt, leaving himself eight feet for par. His recovery putt was dead in the hole, one revolution shy of perfection. Despite that trifecta of less-than-Stricker shots, Super Steve tapped in for bogey and a one-shot margin of victory.

Stricker had that wiggle room, thanks to a 62 on Friday. He followed that with a 66 on Saturday and, despite his last-hole tarantella, another 66 on Sunday. Stricker is currently number one on the season-long Schwab Cup list, with double the money of Bernhard Langer, his closest pursuer. To say that he has been the cream of the competitive crop in 2023 is about as accurate a statement as anyone will make today. The only other question is, how many more years and wins does he have in him?

The eagle has landed ?@SteveStricker drains an eagle putt to move into a tie for the lead @SanfordIntl. pic.twitter.com/BFoY0RGaZ9

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) September 17, 2023

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)