News

Tour Rundown: Matsuyama defeats Morikawa

Published

8 months ago

Jan 6, 2025

The new year and new seasons have arrived. There’s even a new league on stage for liftoff this Tuesday. It might be brutally windy and brutally cold where you are (it’s both where I am) but the screen brings us to the warmth and the sun. That’s uplifting.

I’m going to enliven Tour Rundown in 2025. When it’s a light week for events, I’ll preview upcoming ones on the major tours. I’ll add coverage to the one or two events that do take place, to bring us all one step closer to the action. If you want more, tell us about it in the comments. We’ll continue to workshop this crowdsource thing, to ensure that Tour Rundown is living its best, virtual life. Now, on to the show!

PGA Tour @ The Sentry: Matsuyama defeats Morikawa in championship flight

Early Sunday afternoon, I posted on social media that the consolation flight of The Sentry was shaping up for a dramatic finish. The insinuation (not a veiled one) was that Hideki Matsuyama and Collin Morikawa were matched in their own battle for the title to the first PGA Tour event of 2025. Indeed, that’s how it played out, as the pair were the only two to reach 30-under par over the four days.

The sexy Sunday hole on Hideki Matsuyama’s card was the third, where he holed a 107-yard wedge for eagle, to reach red figures on the day. The two holes that defined his performance were quite different. Matsuyama made his only official bogey on the seventh hole, then followed it with birdies at the eighth and ninth holes. That was the first glimmer of hope for Morikawa, but Matsuyama quickly snuffed the flame.

On the inward half, Matsuyama made a par at the three-shot 15th, but it had to feel like a bogey. Undaunted, he ripped an approach to a yard at the 16th, and drained the putt to reach -34. Two holes later, Matsuyama made his final birdie of the day, at the roller-coaster closer, and finished on 35-under 257. The 65 was his third of the week, and was two shots better than his pursuer’s 67. Morikawa fought bravely, but was never close enough to throw a scare into the eventual winner.

Oh, and in the aforementioned, consolation flight, Sungjae Im posted a 65 of his own to finish at -29, good for third place overall.

Buckets from the fairway! ?
@HidekiOfficial_ holes out for eagle and leads by three @TheSentry.

? NBC/Peacock pic.twitter.com/CxrX4NVjUc

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 5, 2025

TGL debuts in West Palm

Power centers shift in golf. The PGA of America moved its home from Palm Beach Gardens to Frisco. The LPGA shifted base from Sugar Land to Daytona Beach. The USGA built a southern space in Pinehurst. The Tomorrow Golf League (TGL to its friends) established itself this year on the campus of Palm Beach State College, in the elegant SoFi center. For those in the know, December 2023 saw a power outage occur during construction of the domed playground, which ultimately forced a one-year delay of the league’s bow.

TGL is a simulator-based league, but the one you play on has little in common with what you will see on screen. The SoFi center has a massive screen (24X the size of a typical sim), and players will hit toward it from as far back as 35 yards. For shots around the green, squads will transition to a movable, flexible, putting surface with sand bunkers. Again, not the sheet of turf stretched over concrete, that you might find in your local dome.

Six teams of four golfers each, will compete on Mondays or Tuesdays, for the first month. In February, there will be a three-match day and a two-match day. Each team will face the others once during the regular season. Playoffs? You bet we need some stinkin’ playoffs! We’ll have more on that phase as the season continues.

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Precision is key on Pinery. An aggressive tee shot over the water will reward players with an ideal second shot on this lengthy par 5. pic.twitter.com/wcQnRO3nQO

— TGL (@TGL) January 5, 2025

Schedules for Other Tours

The PGA Tour shifts islands to the SONY Open In Hawaii at Waialae. That must be a tease for other, SONY Opens to come. The LPGA Tour debuts in late January, at its Tournament of Champions in Orlando. The DP World Tour fires up the engine on January 10th, with a team challenge. Korn Ferry circuit waves the green flag on January 12th in the Bahamas, while PGA Tour Champions loads the van at the Mitsubishi in Hawaii on January 16th. PGA Tour Americas has the latest start date, in late March at Argentina.

What do I love about this run of events? I’m a huge fan of non-traditional elements, and nothing is edgier than the back-to-back Bahamas events, running Tuesday to Friday, on Korn Ferry. I love caring about pro golf midweek. For a fortnight, I get that fix. I also love the team event on DP World Tour, that pits the Islanders against the Continentals. It’s not a featured team event, and it doesn’t have to be. How many great players never had an international cap, because of the exclusivity of Ryder, Prez, and Solly Cups? Playing for your country, your region, your town, is there anything more exhilarating? Nah.

“It went in twice!”

How rare is this from Casey Jarvis ? pic.twitter.com/xQDgC7G0Ua

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 5, 2025

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)