News

Tour Rundown: Scheffler dominant | Tardy arrives early

Published

1 year ago

Mar 11, 2024

With the Ides of March a few days off, it’s a proper time to remember that no lead is ever safe. Close finishes and playoffs aren’t always the case, but they seem to happen with great frequency. Such is the nature of this game of queens and kings. The PGA Tour celebrated events in Puerto Rico and Florida, while the Korn Ferry Tour competed in Chile. The LPGA held court in China, and the DP World Tour took divots in South Africa. Finally, the PGA Tour Champions concluded play in Arizona, long after the other events had wrapped their results.

PGA Tour @ Arnold Palmer Invitational: Scheffler exerts dominance

For a long, long time, the 2024 playing of the API was inconclusive. Shane Lowry took the lead, then Will Zalatoris entered the fray, and Wyndham Clark and Russell Henley both made appearances near the leaderboard’s summit. A wrangler from Texas, by the name of Scheffler, burst from the herd on Sunday. By the time his dust had settled, the 2022 Masters champion had carved space on his shelf for a 7th PGA Tour title.

Scheffler’s final-round of 66 strokes matched the low round of the week, posted by Shane Lowry on Thursday. Lowry gave up six shots to Scheffler on day four, posting 72, and finished in third place. Wyndham Clark signed for 66 on Friday, tying him with a train-car of golfers for the top spot. Round of 71-70 over the final 48 hours were enough to move him past Lowry, but not remotely close to challenging Scheffler.

Sunday saw the Texan turn in two-under 34. He distanced himself from pursuers with birdies at 10 and 11, and drove the final nails home with two more, at 15 and 16. Scheffler’s five-shot victory was the largest margin thus far in 2024. The tour moves north for its flagship event, the Players Championship, this week.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Chile Classic: Overtime selects Dickson

Trey Winstead had a lead through 54 holes in Chile, but he and playing partner Alvaro Ortiz did little to motivate each other on Sunday. Each struggled over the afternoon, amalgamating seven total bogies on the day. Each posted one-over par 73, clearing a path for the field to jump up and stake a claim on the title.

Garret Reband and Matt McCarthy were able to reach 16-under par for the week, but their efforts brought them into a third-place tie, one shot off the low number. Winstead dropped to 17-under par for the week, and was joined there by Taylor Dickson. After making bogey at the par-four 12th, Dickson closed with birdie at three of his last four holes, and joined Winstead for extra holes. The overnight leader struggled on the par-five closer, and a short putt for par handed Dickson the tournament title.

LPGA @ Blue Bay: Tardy arrives early with win

One of the subplots of the 2024 LPGA season is when Lydia Ko will win her next event. With the title will come automatic induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame, the most demanding shrine in sport. This week, Ko had another opportunity to punctuate that saga, but fell short. Despite holding a share of the lead on Saturday evening, the Kiwi was unable to produce a notable final round, and dropped to a tie for fourth position.

Matched on Sunday with the great New Zealand champion was untested Bailey Tardy. Tardy competed for the University of Georgia and made an appearance on the 2016 USA side in the Curtis Cup. She won professionally in 2021, on the Epson Tour, but saved her best work for Sunday at Blue Bay. A Saturday 66 brought her to the final pairing with Ko, but seven consecutive pars had her wonder if this was her week.

Tardy found the green in two at the par-five eighth, and rolled the putt home for eagle. Birdie at the 9th brought the engine to life, but a bogey at ten took her back to neutral. Over the next seven holes, Tardy reeled off five birdies, and separated herself from Ko. Sarah Schmelzel finished strong with 69, reaching 15-under par and solo second. Tardy’s safe par at the last concluded a 19-under week, and her first LPGA title.

DP World Tour @ Jonsson Workwear: Manassero completes comeback

2009-2010 was a lifetime ago for Matteo Manassero. As an amateur, he won the Amateur championship in 2009, and earned the low amateur medal at the Open championship. In 2010, he became the youngest amateur to survive the 36-hole cut at the Masters. With brilliance forecast, Manassero turned professional in 2010, and proceeded to earn a DP World Tour title each of the next four years. At some point in 2014, the faucet turned off and the titles stopped coming.

Ten years later, Manassero found himself in the cauldron in South Africa. Two homebreds named Lawrence and Norris were in the mix. They posted 63 and 68, respectively, on Sunday, and tied Jordan Smith for second at 23-under par. More than a decade since his last tour title, Manassero drank from the fountain of youth and won for a fifth time. At the young age of 30, there is still much potential ahead of him.

PGA Tour @ Puerto Rico Open: Garnett rises to new heights in extra holes

Ben Kohles has been close to PGA Tour glory before. On Sunday, he held the 54-hole lead at Rio Grande, but the 10th of March was not his day. Kohles fell ten shots overnight, from 63 to 73. Bogey at 1 and 18 sandwiched a 15th-hole birdie for Kohles, and he finished two shots out of a playoff for the title, in a tie for sixth spot. One shot better, at -18, was another trio. Victor Perez, Hayden Springer, and Jimmy Stanger were a close shave away from a birth in extra holes.

The playoff drama was left to Bryce Garnett and Erik Barnes, who matched cards at 19-deep. The duo would revisit the par-five closer three times. The first trip down the hole would result in pars. Journey number two was birdies, and the third visit found pars once more. Visit number four offered resolution: Barnes reached the back fringer in three, and was inside of Garnett on the green. Garnett drained his long putt, and Barnes was unable to match.

PGA Tour Champions @ Cologuard: A cup of Joe hits the spot in Tucson

A pro golfer looking at 60 is eerily reminiscent of a pirate looking at 40. Unlike the younger PGA Tour, members of the Champions Tour know that one decade on the elder tour equals three on the children’s one. If you don’t get your work done by 60, chances are you won’t. Joe Durant is closing in on 60, which made this week’s performance so memorable and valuable.

The Cologuard Classic appeared to be Stewart Cink’s opportunity to win a first senior event. At the 13th hole on Sunday, Cink lost his way and his lead. A triple-bogey seven, courtesy of a wayward wedge approach, dropped him out of the lead. He finished in a tie for seventh, after signing for a plus-two 73. Steven Alker, Jerry Kelly and Kevin Sutherland moved to 11-under par, and finished in a tie for second spot.

Surging past all of them was the yellow-ball-striking Joe Durant. The finest golfer to come out of Huntingdon College (Alabama) bounced back from a bogey at 10, with eagle at 11. He closed with seven pars to surge to 13-below and claim a fifth title on the seasoned circuit.

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)