News

Five Things We Learned: Saturday at the Women’s PGA Championship

Published

2 months ago

Jun 22, 2025

Time for a bit of scholarly citation. On Friday, this esteemed yet humble writer suggested in point five that day three at Fields Ranch East could go one of two ways. Either Jeeno Thitikul would extend her lead, or she would fall back a bit, allowing others into the chase.

Thitikul did fall back. Minjee Lee exploded. Now, their places are reversed. They’ll play together again on Sunday. In truth, the tournament should be distilled into this single pair. All other competitors are seven shots back, minimum. Nelly and Leona showed up, but they sit eight shots back of the leader.

The tournament is an odd one. It has been Jeeno and Minjee from the start. There were other contenders, each day, but they were unable to sustain momentum from one day to the next. Today’s prediction will unfold in three parts. Given the events of Saturday, one of three potentialities will take place on Sunday. Confused? You have every right. Let’s have a look at five things we learned on Saturday at the Women’s PGA Championship.

1. Minjee’s Maelstrom

Minjee Lee has an incredible level of fitness and as good a golf swing as you’ll find on any tour. She owns ten tour victories, two of which are major championships. That’s a great percentage: twenty percent of your wins are majors. That’s top-tier stuff. The problem is, she doesn’t win often enough to be in the hall of fame conversation, and she has not won since October of 2023. That all changes this week in Frisco.

On Saturday, Minjee Lee signed for a bogey-free round of 69. Shockingly, that number is the second-lowest posted this week. Should professional golfes shoot lower than 68, even at a major event? Absolutely, but that’s a question for another number. Lee was out in 35 and back in 34. She hit 80% of driving fairways, and 60% of greens. That’s not perfect stuff, but her scrambling was. She missed seven greens, then got up and down each time for par. On the other eleven greens, she had two or one putts.

If the short game accompanies her one more time around the Fields Ranch East course, Minjee Lee will secure her third unique major and her eleventh tour title. We have no problem standing in this scenario’s corner.

2. Jeeno Rejoins

Saturday was unlike either of the first two rounds that Jeeno Thitikul turned in at Fields Ranch East. Both Thursday and Friday, she minimized mistakes and bogeys, and managed to work her way to a sub-par round. Her day-one 68 remains tied for low round of the week. On Saturday, something was off, and shots seeped away, not in one swoop, but bit by bit.

On the third, Jeeno appeared to have recovered from an errant drive, but tugged a middle-of-fairway approach from 140 yards to the left. She ultimately missed from seven feet, and made bogey. On six, she once again missed left with her drive, and was forced to pitch out, leaving 45 yards to the green. She was unable to get up and down, and suffered a second bogey. It might have been worse, as her pitch left her nearly 60 feet for par. She did well to take but two putts.

Jeeno Thitikul was off on Saturday. She had barely more than 50% numbers on driving accuracy and greens in regulation. The number that save Minjee Lee, scrambling, left Jeeno tied for 43rd in the field. With all of that worry, she’s still in second place, four swings behind the leader. The best part is, she’ll spend all afternoon on Sunday with her only foe, and she’ll know what she needs to do, to mount a comeback.

No. 8 isn’t that hard. . . If you’re Jeeno Thitikul ?

Jeeno’s first birdie of the day extends her league to 2. #KPMGWomensPGA pic.twitter.com/AunYyow4il

— KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (@KPMGWomensPGA) June 21, 2025

3. Who wants in?

There’s something eerie about this week in Frisco. Not one player has posted below four-under par on a given day, and only two players (Jeeno and Grace Kim) have done that deed. It feels like the Women’s PGA Championship set-up committee might soften things just a bit, to give a bit of room for some fireworks.

The par-five holes have been brutal this week. None exceeds 520 yards, but they have given players all sorts of difficulty. Perhaps it’s the angle from the tee, or the crossing hazards, but no one is feasting on the fives at Fields Ranch East. The question is, who wants in?

A Lexi Thompson rebound would be a story for all time. The most snakebitten woman in major golf history has a chance to add to her major victory total of one. She won’t have great memories from Saturday’s 75, so that semi-retired Thompson will need to uncork an untested elixir, to find victory on Sunday.

As far as elite golfers like Nelly Korda, Leona Maguire, and Brooke Henderson are concerned. 65 is their number. They need to scare the leaders before the final threesome tees off. That’s right: threesomes. Weather is coming in to northeast Texas, and a split-tee start will have all golfers on the course before noon.

4. What’s holding them back?

I alluded to the daunting, three-shot holes at Fields Ranch East. Par five holes typically offer an opportunity to make up shots and, with three on the outward nine. one would think that someone would get off to a hot start and turn in 32 or 31 strokes.

The first hole bends hard right some 130 yards from the green. The lay-up to 100 yards isn’t easy, and the fact that we’re discussing it is evidence that no one is going for the first green in two shots. A diagonal bunker scheme causes all sorts of sensory distress for a risky fairway metal, so why take the chance? If you miss the fairway off the tee, you lay back to 140 yards or more.The green is narrow, and appears more so, as it is set at an angle to the approach.

The third hole is shorter than the first, turns left at the halfway point, and blocks a daring metal from distance, from having much chance of success. Two par fives in, and two three-shot holes down. Nine doesn’t get much better. Another hard turn at the halfway point, another crossing hazard that impedes a run at the green in two, and another angled green that screams You can’t hold me!

Haven’t had enough of washes, creeks, and bunkers? Meet the 14th. This straight (for a change) hole hasn’t learned from its predecessors, and the same impediments make an appearance throughout the 514 yards. Rather than offering hope for saved shots, the long holes at Fields Ranch East give even only anguish and tension.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see Gil Hanse and company on site soon, to rework some of the angles on these holes.

5. Who wins?

I’m not sure what I love more about this look at Yealimi Noh on the seventh hole. The tee shot is every bit as elegant, as the camera work is bemusing and befuddling The spotter lost the ball, the camera operator lost the ball, but it somehow found the green. Noh converted the eagle putt, then found the green in one at 14, converting another eagle putt. That was her day. Two eagles, six bogeys, 74. A pair of eagles should promote more than on otherwise-defensive round.

I want the person who wins, to do so in dramatic fashion. I don’t know if the course conditions will allow this to happen. I believe that it will be either Jeeno or Minjee in the end, and that it will be the survivor, not the triumphant queen, that hoists the Womanamaker Trophy.

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)