News

Oakmont welcomes Spaun to the ‘Keys and Pews Society’

Published

2 months ago

Jun 16, 2025

I count eight piano keys and twelve church pews. Together, they total twenty. By my count, Oakmont had crowned two women’s open and nine men’s open champions, prior to this year’s 125th playing of the men’s open championship. Oak Hill in New York has its Hill of Fame, and other venues find their own ways of remembering champion golfers. With the addition of J.J. Spaun as the 10th USGA Open champion at Oakmont, it’s time for Oakmont to establish an honorary order of sorts for its open champions. We’ll get to that after we relive Spaun’s sloshy march to victory.

The 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont was a tale of two tournaments. The first two days embraced the firm and fast conditions that the membership treasures. Then came the rains, and the course began to hold water. The 1.5-hour delay on Sunday only added to the softness and, perhaps, the uncertainty. At least one Sam Burns lie was deemed not casual water, despite being the precise definition of casual water. And so it went.

40

5 over par. More bogeys than pars. Zero birdies. One flagstick. One rake. That was J.J. Spaun’s outward nine on Sunday at Oakmont. In any other U.S. Open, in any other tournament, his day was ended. Not today, as Arya Stark famously challenged. Somehow, Spaun had the fortitude to put the struggle behind him and grind out an inward 32, thanks to four birdies and one bogey.

136 Yards

Never you mind how J.J. Spaun righted the ship’s balance after that 40. Never you mind how he went from the middle of the fairway on 12 to the native area wide right with his second. What mattered was that the ball was in the gallery pathway, so the grass was trodden and the lie was manageable. Spaun did enough to get the ball on the green. His tap from 40 feet found gravity and rolled out until it came face to face with an abyss, and down it fell, for birdie. Perhaps here, Spaun felt that not all was lost.

22 Feet

After a standard par at 13, Spaun reached the 14th green in regulation. He faced a 22-foot putt from beneath the hole. As the putt began to move to the left, Spaun’s eyes started to widen. With perfect speed, the ball tumbled downward yet again, for another birdie. It was at this juncture when an entire zip code of contenders was tied at 1 over par, but Spaun had eyes on more heroics.

309 yards

There are moments that define the essence of one’s performance, of one’s self. The inspired plays made by Spaun on recent holes were but an appetizer for the main course. As Spaun stepped to the 17th tee, there was never a consideration to hit anything but driver. Everything about the swing, from the path to the pace to the contact, was flawless. The ball never left the flagstick as it soared, waving hello as it eased past, settling a bit past twenty feet beyond the hole. The eagle putt appeared poised to fall, until it broke a bit in the final feet. The second putt, this one for birdie, was true, and Spaun had the lead for the first time in many a hole. Could he preserve it?

64 feet

Thus struck Spaun, and his strike was again true. J.J. Spaun nutted his power fade 295 yards into the 18th hole’s Elysian Field. Next, he feathered a 6-iron from just beyond 200 yards to the green’s front-left quadrant. With 21 yards between his ball and the hole, what was needed was a nice pair of putts, a nice par, and a nice, one-shot advantage over fast-charging Robert MacIntyre. One of those putts wasn’t needed. Spaun’s cross-country effort was precise in every way, and the ball tumbled home with authority. In total, 131 feet of birdie putts over the final seven holes, a two-shot win over MacIntyre, and a second open championship to his name. This one might count for a bit more than the Texas Open that he won in 2022.

John Michael Spaun has joined Patty Sheehan, Juli Inkster, Tommy Armour, Sam Parks, Jr., Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Larry Nelson, Ernie Els, Angel Cabrera, and Dustin Johnson in what I wish to christen the Keys and Pews Society. It celebrates those infamous church pews and piano keys bunker complexes, nearly eponymous with Oakmont. Membership currently consists of an even dozen.

With the upcoming 2028 and 2038 women’s open tournaments, and the 2033, 2042, and 2049 men’s playings, the storied Pittsburgh club will add five new members, and still have three spots left for the second half of the 21st century. By then, we’ll have a name for the pits of forlorn destiny, alongside holes five and fourteen, which will offer a bit more breathing room. On that note, congratulations once more to J.J. Spaun on his victory in the 2025 U.S. Open championship.

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)