News

Tour Rundown: JT in 73, all in with Ingrid, and more

Published

4 months ago

Apr 21, 2025

With the Masters behind us and the apparent fullness of spring’s arrival to the northern hemisphere, golf season is truly here. We have major champions in the women’s and men’s games, and we have slates of four, five, and six tournaments each week. We see shots like the one below with greater frequency, and the sense of rebirth is once again upon us.

There’s nothing quite like golf. It can’t really be played indoors, as other sports can. It demands that its practitioners demonstrate patience,as the Earth orbits into position for another season. We here at Tour Rundown are grateful to bring golf’s results to you, and we hope that you get to play with increasing frequency. Let’s share this moment and run down four events in this week’s edition of TR.

PGA Tour @ RBC Heritage: Thomas tops Novak on 73rd hole

Justin Thomas had not won a golf tournament since the PGA Championship in 2022. He had gotten married and become a father, and maybe those two, life moves, had changed him as a golfer. Maybe not. This week, on Hilton Head Island, Thomas took the first-round lead with 61, never left the 60s, gave the lead away, then retrieved it on day four. As often happens, he didn’t do anything spectacular over the final 18 holes, but he didn’t lose the event, as others did.

Andrew Novak hasn’t performed particularly well in major events during his brief career as a professional. Reaching a playoff was glorious enough, but the Charleston native wanted more. He wanted a win in his home state, and he nearly grabbed a plum one. Novak found himself in Sunday’s final pairing, with Si Woo Kim. While the Korean stumbled to 74 and a tie for eighth, Novak posted 68 to reach 17-under par. He had putts of 16 feet at 17 and 35 feet at 18, to win in regulation, but could not coax either into the hole.

Thomas and Novak returned to the coastal 18th to decide matters. Each reached the green in regulation two shots, but Novak faltered on a 34-foot putt for three. Thomas was true in his effort from 21 feet and secured a 16th career title on the PGA Tour.

LPGA @ LA Championship: All in with Ingrid

About two hours before the lead group made the turn, Nasa Hataoka signed for 63, posting a clubhouse lead of 18 under par on the week. No one thought that the number would hold up, but…nah. An hour later, Olympic silver medalist Esther Henseleit rocked a 64 of her own, to eclipse Hataoka’s 18-deep by one. Among the final two groups, Ingrid Lindblad had opened up a lead with an outward nine of 33. Her pursuers took note and stepped up their games.

First came Akie Iwai of Japan, followed by the USA’s Lauren Coughlin. At the same time that the duo began to surge, the birdie faucet ran dry for Lindblad. She posted just one birdie coming home, against eight pars. Turns out that solitary birdie was just enough. Coughlin arrived at the final tee on 20 under par. Needing birdie, she pressed and made bogey. She would end in a tie with Henseleit and Miyu Yamashita for third post. After reaching 21 under to match Lindblad, Iwai posted bogey at the last and fell to solo second. With the win, Lindblad joined the illustrious group of first-time LPGA champions.

DP World Tour @ China Open: WuChat comes back in Shanghai

While Eugenio Chacarra looked to win for the second time in a month, China’s hopes rested on a trio of its finest, young golfers. Haotong Li, Zechen Dou, and Wenyi Ding all range from 20 to 29 years of age, and each held the promise of a powerful nation, on the rise in the world of golf. By Sunday’s end, a native son had won the 2025 edition of the national open championship, but it was none of the aforementioned three.

Instead of rising in the moment, Li, Dou, and Ding each had trouble over the path of the final 18 holes. Another shining light, from a half generation older, found his way to the top step of the ladder. Ashun Wu, all of 39 years old, posted a seven-under par round of 65 on day four. He climbed from eighth place to the winner’s parking space, hoisting the Chinese Open title for the second time. Nearly ten years to the day since he won the same event for a first DP World Tour title, Wu came home in 31 strokes to ease past Jordan Smith of England, winning by one shot.

Haotong Li needed an eagle-eagle finish to catch Wu, and he nearly pulled it off. Li spanked a fairway metal onto the green of the par-four 17th hole, then holed the putt for a two. On 18, his approach nearly found the green, before descending into a pond fronting the green. Li finished three shots back of the winner.

Korn Ferry Tour: Shipley wins big in overtime

In 2023, Neal Shipley rose to the top of the amateur golf world. He found his way to the final of the US Amateur championship. Although he was unable to topple the top-ranked Nick Dunlap, Shipley gained spots in the subsequent Masters and US Open tournaments. He made the cut in each, finishing as a two-time, low amateur, before turning professional.

As of today, Shipley is a winner in the professional ranks. He summitted the Suncoast Classic field at Lakewood National, finishing in a tie for first at 18-under par. KFT verteran Hank Lebioda nearly caught Shipley and Seungtaek Lee, posting 17-under par for solo third place. Shipley and Lee returned to the 18th tee, where Shipley missed the green and could not get up and down for par. Normally, matters would have concluded there, but Lee took three putts on the green, matching Shipley’s bogey. Six more pars from the duo brought them back to the tee for a fifth time in extra holes.

With the calm of a veteran, Shipley banged a thirty-feet putt up to, then in, the hole. Lee was unable to match and Shipley took a step toward earning a PGA Tour card.

“I mean, the kid’s got it.”

Neal Shipley’s caddie expects big things the rest of the season. pic.twitter.com/T086q4mPCP

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) April 20, 2025

PGA Tour @ Puntacana Championship: Move along, please

With competitive golf comes the potential for crushing defeat. It was that way for Joel Dahmen in the second PGA Tour event of the weekend. None of the leaders on Sunday did much of anything. None of them broke par, allowing Alejandro Tosti to creep eleven spots into a tie for 2nd, with a round of 68. Dahmen stood even par for the day, on the 13th tee. The wheels, as they say, simply came off. Dahmen took three putts on the green for bogey, then proceeded to close the week with consecutive bogeys from 16 through 18.

At 16, Dahmen missed the green from the fairway. At 17, he again erred on his approach, and did so again at the last. The result was a spot in the second-place quintet, one shot back of Garrick Higgo, a young South African itinerant golfer. Higgo did half of what Dahmen did. He made bogey at 13 and 17, but saved par the rest of the way. Higgo had previously won on the PGA Tour in 2021 at the Palmetto Classic. He was able to survive a battle of the fittest, edging out Tosti, Dahmen, Keith Mitchell, Jeremy Paul, and Michael Thorbjornsen by a single shot.

The thrill of victory ?

The moment Garrick Higgo became a champion once again. pic.twitter.com/Kp5yo57BEX

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 20, 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)