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A New King Of The Hill?
One thing is for certain this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational – there will be no defending champion. In fact the absence of Tiger Woods is a gaping one at Orlando’s Bay Hill Club and Lodge – in the last ten times this event has been played Woods has once six of them, including the last two.
Prior to Tiger Woods the winner was Vijay Singh in 2007 and the mighty Fijian is also absent this week due to a back injury.
So besides the King, Arnold Palmer himself, who will be the focal point this week on the PGA Tour? It might be less of whom and more of a what. The big story might just be the arena itself – the newly renovated Bay Hill golf course and how the players adapt to the changes.
The 7381 yard behemoth (142 yards longer than 2009 now sports 103 bunkers but be assured, the latest changes at Bay Hill were far more than window dressings. The layout was tackled and revamped specifically with the PGA Tour players in mind. With holes number 6 and 12 now playing as par fives the par has returned to 72.
Arnold Palmer spearheaded the rebirth of the golf course with his design team, taking into account just how the best players in the world now take on golf courses. That included using all resources available to determine proper bunker placement. "PGA Tour Shotlink data was used extensively to properly site bunkers and now reflects the new distances of the modern game." said architect Brandon Johnson.
Emerald Bermuda grass now graces the putting surfaces for more consistent maintenance. And around each of those 18 green spaces the player will now have to test their short game even more due to firmer conditions that will require exquisite and precise touch.
Having hosted the PGA Tour since 1979 Bay Hill looks to be a better test of golf now, even with the generous fairways still intact. Always a second shot golf course, it will be even more now with greenside hazards pulled closer to the greens. The green changes also allow for a larger variety of hole placements – leaving players, spectators, and media lots to talk about besides the golfers themselves.
Surely this all will help identify a quality new champion, which is exactly what Mr. Palmer was looking for when he prompted the renovation.
"I love the Bay Hill course, it's my home, which is why it was so important to me to be involved with everything." said Palmer. "The renovations really add some new dimensions of play for Tour players and our members."
"I've introduced firm, fast playing conditions on slopes around greens mowed at fairway height that run away from the green surface and take the ball farther away from the intended target instead of stopping it, like the previous heavy rough did." said Palmer. "With these new conditions we hope to add creativity to recovery shots.”
With that in mind the new conditions might just narrow the list of players capable of becoming the new King of the Hill – at least until Mr. Woods returns to seek his 7th title that is.
Heavy favorites would have to the cadre who can keep the ball away from the 4 inch rough, a nasty mix of Bermudagrass over seeded with perennial ryegrass. Although Phil Mickelson has a tendency to visit the tangle more often than others, the liberal fairways width and the requirement of creativity might just suit the 1997 Bay Hill champ and help to usher him back into the winner’s circle.
With recent wins and fine spells of play you cannot also ignore a couple other guys who can really move the ball – Dustin Johnson and Ernie Els. They are among the 2010 PGA Tour winners (11 of 13) set to tee it up Thursday in pursuit of the $1.044 Million first place prize.
Seeing how the best players in the world adapt to the new layout should be quite interesting but one player will prove he is up to the challenge.
The true King of Bay Hill, Arnold Palmer, has laid out a quite a test for 120 players in the championship this week and how they work their way through that exam should be quite a show to behold.
Notes:
FedEx
The top four players in the FedEx Cup standings are playing this week: Dustin Johnson, Steve Stricker, Camilo Villegas and Ben Crane
West Penn Connection
Rocco Mediate is making his 22nd appearance at the tournament. He grew up in Western Pennsylvania idolizing Arnold Palmer.
Am Champ
2009 United States Amateur Champion Byeong-Hun An makes his first PGA Tour appearance this week.
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This report provide to GolfWRX.com by Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick.com)
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
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
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #2
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Scotty Kennon – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Austin Duncan – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Will Chandler – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kevin Roy – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ben Griffin – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ryan Gerard – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Adam Schenk – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kurt Kitayama – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Camilo Villegas – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matti Schmid – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
Pullout Albums
- Denny McCarthy’s custom Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Swag Golf putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Karl Vilips TM MG5 wedges – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- New Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matt Fitzpatrick’s custom Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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)
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
Mayre
Nov 3, 2012 at 9:35 am
This review is from: If you play golf once a week or every day this book is a must read, espelialcy if you are in the over 50 crowd and your range of motion has suffered from years of neglect, meaning stretching, weight training, fitness walking, biking etc. To jump out of the car and into the cart is an invitation for injury even if you are young and fit. It’s just that the young and fit don’t break as easily or quickly as the older and stiffer like myself. What I like about this book is that he covers all the aspects of how to play good golf without injury. It is not a cookbook of exercises to make you stronger and more flexible. He really wants you to understand what you are doing to your body when you swing a club and how if not done correctly it can lead to injury. He guides the reader through the process of evaluating how to better care for yourself both off the course, just before you play, and the importance of what comes after a game. The book is divided into three parts. Be sure to read the first part about performance enhancement as it does more than tell you how to get that extra 20 yards off the Tee but how to do it without throwing your back into a spasm. He goes through the mechanics of how your body works for the more challenging part of the game which is mostly the long game. Most golfers are safe from injury when putting but wouldn’t it be nice to be able to squat on the ground and read the green? This section goes through the pre game warm up of 5 minutes, the 15 minute warm up if you have time, how to stay limber through 18 holes exercises, and then the cool down. I espelialcy like the mental game exercises as too many golfers raise their blood pressure when the wheels come off their game. It not only ruins their game and a good day of golf but often the people that are playing with them get affected by negative attitude. Staying mentally calm is really important in golf and critical to the short game when it comes to controlling adrenaline. Part 2 goes into a series of exercises that you can build a regime around based on your fitness, flexibility, and time. They range from simple stretching to some more robust near calisthenics. It is his advice to do what you feel comfortable doing and build up to the harder exercises if your doctor says it is ok. Part 3 goes through the injuries that happen to golfers. It is a good summary of why they happen, what they feel like, and how to avoid them. The book is well written, not preachy, and easy enough to understand and follow the principles he advises for golfers.