News

Playing Away – Day Two

Published

18 years ago

Jul 30, 2007

The day dawned on 4 seedy looking individuals desperately practising on the putting green, trying to figure out how to hit a golf ball when there appears to be two of them and neither is keeping still.

Our planned quiet night had turned into a long night of eating too much, drinking too much and making fun of each others hair or lack thereof. Waking up bleary eyed we tramped down to the worlds most expensive breakfast (what is it with hotels? What they give you with cheap beer they more than take back with the ludicrously priced breakfasts that you then need to keep the beer down the morning after) before gathering our things and shuffling off to the practise green. With dew still on the ground and aching heads we were so wrapped up in practise that we forgot the time. Only when someone glanced at their watch did we realise that we were due on the tee did we grab our bags and hightail it.We reached the first tee with only a minute to spare, where we were greeted by the unimpressed starter and the 2 foursomes that would be following us. Now you’ll excuse me for saying that turning up late having run several hundreds yards with a full golf bag and feeling hung-over is not the best way to prepare for any first tee. Let alone the first tee of a top quality course in front of a knowing audience, all of whom are secretly hoping that you make a tit of yourself for their amusement.

I was just about to ask the others if it was a good idea for me to go first as I hadn’t bothered to do any stretching or even take any warm-up swings when I was shoved forward onto the tee by 4 pairs of hands (the starter must have seen this sort of thing before and decided to join in the fun) as the sacrificial lamb.

Going off first in the group on the first tee is never my favourite thing to do, especially in front of an audience, especially on a course I’ve never played before and especially when I have the starter waving his hands at me to hurry up and my friends waving their hands at me in a way that I would like to think was wishing me well but in all accuracy was wishing me to screw up as much as humanly possible.

The first hole at Penina is an absolute beauty. Four hundred and twenty seven yards of a dog-leg left, you tee off from a highly elevated tee right next to the hotel onto a tight fairway with OB on the left, thick trees down the right and a couple of bunkers in the landing zone to catch any drives that are almost, but not quite, good enough.

Curiously I could see none of this. All I could see was the apparently tiny head of my 3 wood, a white ball bearing on the tee and a gun barrel narrow fairway. In the tradition of hackers everywhere, I prayed to whatever golfing gods there are – ‘Please, please let me get it on the fairway’. I made a couple of shaky practise swings. I gripped my club, closed my eyes, remembered myself and opened them again and made my swing. By some fluke and some deft manipulation of my hands when I realised that I was more likely to hit the hotel rather than the fairway, I caught it flush and it flew sweetly down the middle. It was even good enough to rouse a smattering of applause and some appreciative nods from the waiting foursomes as it got a kick away from the bunkers and stopped in what I can modestly describe as position A.

Ha, this lamb had kicked back! My so called friends were now the hunted and not the hunters. The glee in their eyes at the prospect of me having to tee of first was gone. What they had forgotten was that while it’s tough being the first off, that it’s nothing compared to being the last off when everyone else has hit great shots. Now the question was – who would be the first to crack?

Alex strolled up, and befitting a man who lands tin cans full of hundreds of human beings every week, stroked a drive down the middle as it was nothing (although he later admitted that he had been, in his words ‘cacking’ his pants’). He doffed his imaginary pilots cap in the way I’m sure he does after every safe landing and sauntered back.

Homer strode onto the tee next. Annoyingly, he is one of those people who seems to be unaffected by imbibing excessive amount of beer/wine/spirits/all of the above. While everyone else is talking to God on the big white porcelain telephone, Homer is standing there bright eyed and bushy tailed (although when pushed he might admit to feeling a little tired) with a big grin on his face. So of all of us, Homer was the one in best shape, or more accurately in least bad shape. Having convinced himself that his massive hybrid shot of the day before was completely normal rather than the miracle that the rest of us knew it was, he thought that this was the time to repeat it. Showing that golf has a way with the golfer who is feeling cocky, he promptly shanked the ball 90 degrees from the intended direction.

It is interesting to know that when you are 6ft 5 and built like a brick outhouse, nobody makes fun of your bad shots. There was only a respectful silence from the gathered crowd as he re-tee’d, glared at the ball, watched it fall off the tee in terror, re-tee’d again and smashed it down the middle. The only people to make a noise was us, quietly sniggering. Myself and Alex because it could have so easy been us and Billy because it wasn’t him. Billy, free from the pressure to hit a good shot following Homer’s effort, hit a gentle fade into the edge of the short stuff and we were off.

Once we were away from the pressure cooker of the first tee, we could finally relax and enjoy ourselves. Playing on a stunning course in great condition in good weather is a fantastic experience, even more so when you are playing with your best friends. The laugher started as soon as we were out of earshot and continued all day.

There are something like 400,000 trees on the Penina courses and we spent more time wandering in them that we did on the immaculate fairways. On such an impressive course, you get much more of an idea of the demands made on professionals: the tight landing areas, the glass slick greens, the risk/reward options on reachable par 4’s and shorter par 5’s. It would have been difficult to pick any one hole as the best but special mention must be made of the par 3 13^th. At 204 yards from the back there is water all the way down the right hand side. Starting from the right of the tee box the water encroaches more the further you go towards the hole, curving right out into the middle of what would be the fairway before straightening to meet the centre front of the green. That day the flag was reasonable accessible, being on the left side of the green but I only can imagine how difficult a pin tucked away on the right side would be. Yours truly managed to thin a shot onto the left side of the green, Alex was just short, where he could easily chip up and make par, while Billy and Homer got wet. Billy’s shot was by far the best, skimming across the water like one of Barnes Wallis’ finest and almost making it to the far bank and the 14^th fairway before finally sinking.

A few more visits to other water hazards and many more visits to the trees later, we finally finished our round. Tired and happy (and especially happy that the walk from the 18^th green to the bar is all of 50 yards) where we could talk about our best shots, the putts that lipped out and how we nearly pulled of that miracle escape and more importantly, how we were going to play the course tomorrow, our final day at Penina.

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)