Connect with us

News

A Fortunate Sunday For One Foursome

Published

on

On a day thought to be blessed due to its unusual date, 10-10-2010, a cross section of touring pros felt luck fall on their shoulders.

European Tour – Tournament action started early on Sunday morning with the 10th Alfred Dunhill Links Championship underway in Scotland. 

Martin Kaymer once again impressed and fulfilled his dream of winning a golf tournament at St. Andrew’s. The 25 year-old U.S. PGA Champion used a 66 on Sunday to secure his third straight victory and push himself into the top 5 of the Official World Golf Rankings.

Lee Westwood had a chance to take top spot in those rankings with a 2nd place of better finish this week but a flare up of his leg injury forced him into settling for a tie for 11th. Even with him taking an extended break he should attain that No.1 spot as of October 31st despite Tiger Woods being inactive as well.

It was a breezy and cool day in St. Andrew’s but that did not prevent some great scoring. Kaymer, who eventually won by 3 strokes over England’s Danny Willett, made some of the most impressive shots. Among them was a birdie from off the green on the 17th, The Road Hole, and a closing birdie after an approach struck off the road that crosses the 18th fairway, Granny Clark's Wynd. Kaymer exclaimed, “It was always one of my dreams to win at St Andrews. I can still remember my first day here as an amateur and walking down the 1st hole, over the bridge, all those things. They felt very special to me. It was very special for me to win here today. Three in a row, well three-and-a-half if you include the Ryder Cup – it wasn’t just my own win – is pretty good. I was never expecting that I could win three tournaments in a row, so I don’t really have an answer for why I am playing so well at the moment.”

PGA Tour – Across the ocean, along the American shoreline at St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, Heath Slocum prevailed at the inaugural PGA Tour McGladrey Classic. It was far from a sure thing for Slocum who struggled a bit on the day before closing out his 4th PGA Tour victory. 

After cruising through the first 8 holes in four under par Slocum looked to be in fine position but the field would just not let him slip away. Bogeys on the 9th and 12th holes allowed a number of players to get back in contention, including David Toms and Robert Allenby who were enjoying a Sea Island Seaside Course that played to their strength in ball striking. 

Ultimately Toms and Allenby would both falter while the Viking Classic winner from last week, Bill Haas, used an eagle to vault himself into solo second place at 13 under par, one back of Slocum’s final total.

Champions Tour – Up the coast and slightly inland Mark O’Meara had plenty to celebrate on Sunday. The two-time major champion winner got his first solo Champions Tour victory at a senior major, the Constellation Energy Senior Players’ Championship. 

Save for his drive on the 16th hole of the final round O’Meara played very steady at the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farms, the former host for many PGA Tour events located in Potomac, Maryland. O’Meara barely fended off a late charge by Michael Allen, who was coming off a 2nd place finish at the PGA Tour Viking Classic.

A playoff was required and a wayward drive by Allen led to a bogey while O’Meara successfully converted a 4 foot par putt for the long overdue win. 

LPGA Tour – Some of the most impressive golf of the weekend took place in Alabama where Aussie Katherine Hull and “Bam Bam” Brittany Lincicome headlined a final day shootout at the Navistar LPGA Classic. Lincicome threw a 65 up in round four while Hull needed a 67 to surpass her by a single stroke for the win.

Hull’s back nine included four birdies over her closing nine while Lincicome had three of her own over that stretch. Unfortunately Brittany failed to make better than a par on the 17th hole, a par five (which she usually dominates) and missed out a chance to catch Hull by making another par on the final hole.

Overnight leader Cristie Kerr put up an even par final round of 72 that left her in a tie for third with Na Yeon Choi.

This report provided to GolfWRX.com by Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick.com)

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

on

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.

 

Continue Reading

News

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

Published

on

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)

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending