News

Tour Rundown: What’s Sepp? What Jeeno about that?

Published

3 months ago

May 12, 2025

I was tempted to sneak the word catachresis into this week’s episode title. Borrowed from Greek, it means “the use of a word in a way that is not correct.” I’ve been on a linguistic binge of late, adding to the idiolect, one word at a time. I then reconsidered. Don’t lead with polysyllables two consecutive weeks. Catachresis did make its way into the opening paragraph, with good reason.

In golf, we see players choose the wrong shot at the wrong time, and the results are often disastrous. At times, they hold themselves to a higher standard or the standard of another player. Sometimes, they don’t possess the proper shot, or don’t trust its accessibility with the given circumstances. At others, they believe that too much is at risk to execute the most desirable play.

After the strong performances of overnight leaders on the LPGA and PGA Tours, the rest of professional golf saw come-from-behind victories. In other words, there was some catachresis, golf-style, going on. Read about all that and more in this week’s Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour @ Truist Championship: Straka in a walka, sort of

Josef Straka earned his second win of 2025 in the City of Liberty. Known to his friends and the world as Sepp, Straka avoided the mistakes that others made on Sunday and cemented his place among the European elite in the men’s professional golf world. With that, he most surely will earn a spot on the European side for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage.

Straka played for the fat and the short coming down the stretch. He partnered with Shane Lowry, an Open champion, on Sunday, and he outplayed him. Straka wasn’t flawless on Sunday. He had eagles and bogeys, but that stretch from hole 12 to 18 saw him home in minus one. His challengers were not so fortunate. After recording birdie at 15, Lowry chased a back-left location on 16, and paid for it. His tee ball found the short-side bunker and dropped a shot. He lost one more at 18 and tied for second with Justin Thomas. His catachresis was the overcooked draw at 16, instead of the safe play to the middle of the green.

As for Thomas, he also had a bogey at the antepenultimate hole. Not even a birdie could bring him back to true contention, but a tie for second in what felt like a major championship (classic course, wonderful field) had to make the Kentuckian smile.

LPGA @ Mizuho Americas: It’s five for Jeeno at Liberty

Jeeno Thitikul underwent more than just a recognition change in 2024. She went with her nickname Jeeno for all to use, abandoning her given name of Atthaya for public purposes. She also found a closer’s cool, winning the Tour Championship and its ambitious check. This week, she showed up at Liberty National and took the tour to task. Thitikul sandwiched a less-than-73 with rounds of 64 and 65, then posted 69 on Sunday, to win by three.

Jeeno had a one-shot edge over Celine Boutier and two over Andrea Lee heading into the final round. Boutier had as many birdies as Thitikul on day four, but she also sprinkled three unfortunate bogeys into the recipe. Lee also had an up-and-down day, pairing two birdies with two bogeys. Thitikul, meanwhile, went bogey-free on the day and won by four over Boutier and five over Lee.

DP World Tour @ Turkish Airlines Open: Couvra wins as a professional

Martin Couvra made headlines in 2023, when he won on the European Challenge Tour as an amateur. His Challenge de España compelled him to turn professional, and at the age of 22, he won an inaugural DP World Tour title in Turkey.

On Sunday, Couvra made nine birdies against two bogeys to post 64 and reach 17-under par. Overnight leader Brandon Robinson Thompson began the day at 14-under par, needing a 69 to tie and a 68 to win. The Englishman ran dry at the dock, finding just one birdie on the day. His 73 dropped him to solo fourth.

Both Haotong Li and Jorge Campillo began the day a shot ahead of Couvra, and both posted 67 on day four. There was little more to do than shake their heads in the face of the winner’s 64. They finished two back of the lead, at 15-under par.

PGA Tour @ ONEflight Myrtle Beach: Fox is on the run

If there ever was a trio of golfers to root for in a PGA Tour event, you met them today at Dunes Club in Myrtle Beach. Ryan Fox, the Popeye of New Zealand, met up with Harry Higgs (a Seth Rogan lookalike) and Mackenzie Hughes (the lifter of Canada’s curse) in overtime. The trinity reached 15-under par over the waterlogged course, one clear of Kevin Yu. Away they went, to the 18th tee for resolution.

Over the course of the day, third-round leader Carson Young faded fast with 73, dropping 12 places to a tie for 13th place. He wasn’t alone in the struggles. Victor Perez and Davis Shore also dropped out of the top five, tumbling to the same place as Young with a pair of 70s.

In the playoff, Fox looked lost from the start. He hit the shortest tee ball and was the only golfer to miss the fairway. Fox’s approach missed the fringe on the right, again the only golfer to miss the green. With Hughes looking at 15 feet for a birdie, and another 25 left for Higgs, Fox calmly chipped his ball into the hole. Neither Hughes nor Higgs could match, and the kollosal Kiwi had his first PGA Tour win on his belt.

PGA Tour Americas @ Bupa Championship: JMB wins the BUP

The second-most famous John Marshall Butler stormed from behind to capture his first professional title. A year ago, JMB was a senior at Auburn University, competing in amateur and collegiate events. After graduation, he joined PGA Tour Americas. This week, Butler posted birdies on three of his final five holes, to edge past Vicente Marzillo by one.

Another John Marshall Butler was a lawyer and senator from Maryland, departing the Earth in 1978. Despite bearing the names of two important universities, this JMB eschewed both Marshall and Butler for the War Eagle community. Butler stood two behind Trip Kinney through 54 holes, then fired up the fans with an eagle three on Sunday’s second hole. Despite a bogey at four, Butler stood strong and mustered five more birdies on the way to the title.

The Kentucky kid comes out on top ?@JMButler2020 wins the 2025 Bupa Championship! pic.twitter.com/wHOodLxdTu

— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) May 11, 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)