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Tour Rundown: Straka’s third | Hatton overcomes | Easy does it

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7 months ago

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Tour Rundown remains the domain of the hardened golf fan, at least until mid-February. American football occupies the consciousness of most sports fans in the Western hemisphere, with hockey building and baseball waiting. Don’t forget the NBA and the upcoming college football championship, along with impending March Madness on the horizon. It’s a lot of sports, but the true golf fan keeps pace with events in Hawaii, the California desert, and the middle east. The three tours in action this week gave us a bit of drama, albeit not the kind that pushes us to the edge of our seats. The virtual league, sadly, was even less dramatic for the second consecutive week. Time will tell if it outgrows the teething of the early, first season. As for the rest of it, let’s have a glance and run down what we learned this third-ish week of February.

PGA Tour @ The American Express: Straka worthy of third tour title

If Sepp Straka had played the par-5 holes at PGA West like the professional that he is, this segment would have written itself about two hours earlier. Despite making his first bogey at the 16th hole, the Austrian ace mustered just four birdies across the remaining holes. As his challengers made birdie after birdie on the long holes, Straka played them like a B-flight participant, barely scraping out a par.

Of his birdies, none was more important than the deuce he made at 14. His tee ball settled eight feet from the hole, and he drained the putt for a stroke saver. His task was made substantially easier by the dunking that his playing partner and closest pursuer, Charley Hoffman, gave to his tee ball moments earlier. Hoffman made six, losing four shots on the hole. By taking himself out of the running, Hoffman compelled Straka to look elsewhere on the leaderboard.

Charging hard was Justin Thomas, who turned in a card of 66 strokes for a 23-under total. With strokes in hand, Straka overcame that 16th-hole bogey (on a par five, doncha know?) and landed safely on the island 17th, known as Alcatraz. He had the luxury of making double bogey for the win at the last, but he only needed bogey for 70 and 25-deep.

DP World Tour @ Dubai Desert Classic: Hatton overcomes challengers for title

It was an odd week at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai. The low score for three of the days was 65, and Australia’s David Micheluzzi posted two of them. Micheluzzi, you may recall, sank the world’s longest putt, late last year, during a DP World Tour players’ challenge. Unfortunately for the many-vowelled golfer, he had 73-75 in the middle rounds, and could fare no better than a tie for eighth rung.

Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson looked like the week’s winner through 36 holes of 12-below golf. His other self showed up on the weekend, however, and posted 74-75 to tumble to 16th place. See what we mean about an odd week? Down the stretch, five golfers closed to within three strokes of each other. Rory McIlroy, who somehow finds his way into the top five, joined Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard at 12-under par after each closed with 66. Laurie Canter, the hero of last week’s Team Cup in Abu Dhabi, edged into third place at 13-deep, thanks to a Sunday 68. Runner-up position, at 14 under par, belonged to New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier.

Hillier had to feel a bit frustrated in the end. He closed with 70-71, after opening with 68-65. Anything in the 60s on Sunday would have won the title outright. For Hatton, there was no heroic finish, no dramatic conclusion. He simply did less wrong than the others. Sometimes, that’s all that matters.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Bahamas Golf Classic: Lebioda outlasts Kim in playoff

Hank Lebioda entered the professional ranks in the Cameron Champ mode: long-hitting college player when long hitters were still not the norm. Lebioda had earned freshman of the year and player of the year during his four years at Florida State, but the onset of Crohn’s Disease his senior year in high school placed a speed bump along his career highway. In 2017, Lebioda won on PGA Tour Canada, and then ascended to the Korn Ferry Tour. Other than one season on the PGA Tour, the southpaw has competed on the KFT. That should change for 2026.

The first week of Korn Ferry Tour 2025 opened the Bahamas Fortnight. For two consecutive events, golfers will compete from Sunday to Wednesday, no doubt amid the winds and sands of the windward islands. A 60 by John VanDerLaan led day-one scoring and featured an inward half of 28 mere strokes. VanDerLaan hung around through Sunday when a score of 42 over the same nine holes relegated him to a tie for ninth place. Surging to the fore were S.H. Kim of Korea, and Lebioda. Kim made birdie at the last to catch Lebioda, who had a putt of his own for three, that missed narrowly.

In the extra frame, Lebioda nearly holed from the fairway with wedge, leaving a twenty-inch tap-in for birdie. Kim was unable to equalize, and the 31-year-old Lebioda had his first victory in seven years. Certainly, there will be more to come.

TGL @ Week Two: The Shank Heard Round The World

When your team absorbs a 12-1 dusting, there’s not much worse out there. Well, unless you have to showcase the worst shot imaginable, the hosel rocket, aka the shank. Jupiter Golf Links had to endure that ignominy, as the least likely player to feature in TGL, hit the most memorable (and not for good reasons) shot of the young season. Kevin Kisner, who will likely earn more this season in the broadcast booth than on the golf course, hit a legendary lateral from the sand, and banked it off the flagstick for better measure. Teammate Max Homa hard core ab-flinched, while team captain Tiger Woods doubled over in disbelieving laughter.

Beyond that moment, it was another unfortunate evening for TGL, in the competition column. The seven-point disparity in week one’s match grew to eleven for week two. The Cali Kids (well, two of them, anyway) from Los Angeles, featuring Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala, and Justin Rose, hung a tanking on Tiger, Max, and Kiz. Two matches in, and the format apparently needs a bit of adjustment. Here’s a notion: While the two players tee off at the screen end of the stadium, have two other guys interview in the center, and have the final two have a one-point putt-off, or sand-off, or chip-off, at the other end. Who cares if they are distracted? TGL is all about distraction and disruption. The less it looks like real golf, the better.

PGA Tour Champions @ Mitsubishi Electric: Easy Does It

Ernie Els earned the Golf Writers Association of America Player of the Year award for senior golfers in 2024. He doesn’t seem the slightest bit interested in handing the trophy off to a successor. Els opened the week with 67, two shots behind co-leaders Ricardo Gonzalez and Miguel Angel Jimenez. The Argentine Gonzalez followed with 73 in round two, tumbling to a T19 finish in the end. Jimenez also had a rough Saturday, posting 71 in round two. His 64 on Sunday was the day’s low round but was not enough to overtake the eventual winner.

The aeonian Bernhard Langer opened 71-63, with the 63 representing the low score for the week. Needing a similar number on Sunday to mount a charge, Langer summoned 66 and tied for second, with Alex Cejka and Jimenez. Els was the most consistent golfer in the field following his 67 with 65 and 66. Despite two bogeys on the final day, the tall South African harvested eight bogeys from the fields of Hualalai, to claim a two-shot victory.

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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.

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

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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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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