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Zach Johnson Captures Sony Open

Zach Johnson lost his three shot lead after four holes Sunday, starting the back 9 in a tie with David Toms. A familiar foe is Mr. Toms, one who has bettered Mr. Johnson previously. “I expect him to make every putt and I expect him to hit every fairway because quite frankly, he typically does that,” Johnson said. One thing about expectations, they get dashed on the rocks of reality more often than not

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17 years ago

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Zach Johnson lost his three shot lead after four holes Sunday, starting the back 9 in a tie with David Toms.  A familiar foe is Mr. Toms,  one who has bettered Mr. Johnson previously.  “I expect him to make every putt and I expect him to hit every fairway because quite frankly, he typically does that,” Johnson said.  One thing about expectations, they get dashed on the rocks of reality more often than not.  Sunday afternoon was no exception.  A 5 iron to 4 feet on the 11th hole and Mr. Johnson’s lead was back to a shot.  7 iron to 8 feet on the a 14th, make that a two shot lead.  A 2 putt birdie on the par 5 18th completed a final round 65 resulted in a 2 shot win over Mr. Toms and Adam Scott.  Of playing his last six rounds in 30 under par,  Mr. Johnson opined “I’m just riding that wave, I guess,” he said, turning to look out at the Pacific. “That’s really corny, isn’t it? But we’ll go with it.”  Corny…from a guy from Iowa what else would one expect.  Just because it’s corny doesn’t make it untrue. 

Mr. Scott closed with a back 9 of 30 and really could have made it interesting had he not missed a 10 foot birdie putt on the 17th short.  All day he was aggressive with his putter, until that attempt.  I was as surprised as anyone when that stroke stopped a good four inches short of the hole.  Coming off knee surgery (seems to be the thing to have done this past off season eh?) and the breakup with longtime friend Marie Kojzar it seems Mr. Scott has refocused on bettering his game.  Long considered a good player with the large, heavy label of "unfulfilled potential" strapped to his person, there are signs indicating  a renewed  dedication to his game.  He signed trainer  David Darbyshire to an exclusive contract and instituted a twice daily work out regimen, with the first break scheduled the Monday after the Masters.  I’d call that serious. 

 

 Charles Howell III finished alone in fourth place thanks to a final round 66.  At one point he was tied for the lead, until a three putt bogey on the 18th hole dashed his chances of winning.   It seems Mr. Howell has been spending more time in the gym as well as working on his game.  After a substandard 2008 he’s another of those 20 somethings with "great potential" looking to take the next step along the career path.  “This is the first week of school,” Howell said. “It was nice to get the nerves back and get in a position to win.”  Mr. Howell likes the west coast, it’ll be worth watching to see if his good play follows him to California.

The winner of the World’s Largest Emotional Roller Coaster award belongs to Tadd Fujikowa.  Playing his way into the event a week ago, making the cut by a shot, shooting a Saturday 62 to move within a couple of shots of the lead, all while being the center of a Tiger-ish like gallery.  Tough for an adult, harder still for an 18 year old high school senior.  He didn’t make a birdie Sunday until the 9th en route to a 73 and tie for 32nd place.  “I just couldn’t get anything going,” he said.  As often happens on Tour when Sunday rolls around.  Good for the kid!  Tough game, especially if you’re trying to make a living.

So the circus leaves Hawaii and heads for California’s desert and the Bob Hope hosted by Arnold Palmer.  The organizers of this event tossed aside George Lopez like a fast food sandwich wrapper as thanks for his two years of tireless promotion of this event.  Shame on them.  Mr. Lopez deserved better.  I’d really like to hear the explanation of that decision.  Considering he was canned over the phone I have to assume there was a really classy reason behind his removal.  Right. Uh huh. Sure.

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

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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.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 29, 2025

By

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.

 

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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 28, 2025

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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)

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WITB

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