News

Tour Rundown: Kim defends in Sin City

Published

2 years ago

Oct 16, 2023

Leaves turned orange and yellow across my American northeast, and golf marched on in Shanghai, Las Vegas, Madrid, and North Carolina. The LPGA is immersed in its swing across Asia, while the PGA Tour has turned the page to the 2023-2024 season. The DP World Tour edges closer to its tour championship, while the PGA Tour Champions winds down its events, in anticipation of the Schwab Cup. International team play is behind us for 2023, and the focus lays on individual exploits. Four events give us plenty to corral in this week’s Tour Rundown. Saddle up, friends.

Lexi Thompson drives the 296-yard, par-4 15th (her sixth hole) and makes her third birdie of Round 2. She's at even par and one off the cut line at the Shriners Children's Open.pic.twitter.com/RjTsDDdYea

— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) October 13, 2023

Oh, did we forget to mention that Lexi Thompson came so-darned-close to making the cut at Summerlin? You just saw one of her best swings. Hopefully, there will be more opportunities for Lexi to tee it up with the lads.

PGA Tour @ Shriners Classic: Tom Kim defends in Sin City

They go low in Vegas, and low wins at every table at TPC Summerlin. Adam Hadwin knew that there would be chasers after him and Kim. Hadwin got off to a slow start (-1 through nine) but had it motoring, until a crushing bogey at the par-five 16th. He managed birdie at the last to ease past a quartet at -18, to finish solo 2nd.

Erik Cole, who seems to be in the mix every week, lit the course on fire with a 62. Cole posted nine birdies, but also walked away from 16 feeling let down by a par. He matched with Alex Noren, J.T. Poston, and Taylor Pendrith for third.

It was Tom Kim, the 2022 media darling and defending champion, who found the victory elixir. After a bumpy front nine of four birdies and two bogies, Kim kruised home in three-under 33, to escape Hadwin’s comeback. After a celebratory piece of chocolate, Kim hopped a 6:30 am flight this morning to Japan for the Zozo Championship.

3 birdies in his last 4 holes ?@JoohyungKim0621 has found his stride. pic.twitter.com/wnnr3R92Kw

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 15, 2023

LPGA @ LPGA Shanghai: Angel collects first tour win

Angel Yin came oh-so-close to her first tour victory last spring, at the Chevron Championship. She matched Lilia Vu through 72 holes, but lost out to Vu’s birdie on the first extra hole. It must have felt like Groundhog’s Day for Yin, when she finished up at 274 in Shanghai, to find that Vu had also reached that number, and that the pair would once again do battle in overtime.

This time, it was Yin who struck first. The L.A. native and best Twitter handle (@angelyinlol) coaxed in a ten-feet putt for birdie and claimed her inaugural tour title. Five golfers tied for third place, one shot out of the playoff. The tour moves on to the BMW Ladies Championship this week in Korea.

The winning putt by @angelyinlol ? pic.twitter.com/HbHLGoBW19

— LPGA (@LPGA) October 15, 2023

DP World Tour @ Spanish Open: Pavon wins a national open

Unlike previous years in Madrid, there was no Spanish presence near the top of the board, which meant that there was no Jon Rahm to fear. Golfers from England, France, South Africa, Germany, and Paraguay were poised to claim victory. In the end, it was first-time winner Matthieu Pavon who ran the table with 64, for a four-shot win over Zander Lombard.

In truth, it was always Pavon. He opened with 63, then stumbled to 68 on day two. Clearly irked, the Frenchman buckled down with 66-64 on the weekend. On Saturday, Pavon made one bogey, to go with his five birdies. On Sunday, he was even better. Seven birdies and nary a bogey separated him comfortably from his chasers.

The professionals will all take the rapid Ave south to Andalusia, where they will reunite at Sotogrande for the Andalucía Masters. Unfortunately for Pavon, we have no good footage from his win, so a man-bun hole-out for eagle will have to suffice as a highlight.

THAT @SiemMarcel hole-out and celebration ? #EmiratesFlyBetterMoments | @emirates pic.twitter.com/0MKyi3OLG7

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 16, 2023

PGA Tour Champions @ SAS: Pampling holds off Alker for #2

In 2022, any appearance by Steven Alker was cause for concern and a dose of stomach-calming medicine. This year, the New Zealand ace has been there, just not there. Alker has missed out on a number of victory opportunities, and the beneficiary of the latest was Australian acrobat Rodney Pampling. Pampling first won on the Tour Champions in Seattle, in 2021. This week, Pampling was the class of the ball with 15-under 201 as his total. Alker was a pair of strokes back, at 203.

Over the course of the week, the champion amassed 19 birdies, and kept his bogey level to a manageable number. His Sunday card was clean through 17 holes, at which point he had a three-shot advantage. Pampling played the final hole safely, in bogey figures, to claim his second tour title. As for Alker, he needed to be perfect on Sunday, and a bogey at the 14th hole, paired with a Pampling birdie, derailed his effort.

Slamming the door ?@RodPampling has a three shot lead with one hole to go @SASChampionship. pic.twitter.com/Qk0XsBoEW9

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) October 15, 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)