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Tour Mash: Kyle Stanley ends a five-year drought

Published

8 years ago

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It was a week with two major titles on the line, along with an opportunity for redemption for golfers in dire need of a career revival. A mass of humanity was within two swings of the lead on one tour, and drama echoed across every Sunday fairway on the world’s major professional golf tours. With no more delay, let’s mash it up.

Quicken Loans National to Stanley in playoff

It was a week of “Remember Him?” at the Quicken Loans National near the nation’s capital. Keegan Bradley finished in a tie for fifth, Charles Howell III tied for first and lost in a playoff. No return from the forgotten was greater, though, than Kyle Stanley’s. The 2012 Phoenix Open winner had not challenged for much of anything in the intervening five years, but he caught lightning in a bottle and used it to secure his second career PGA Tour victory.

After opening 65-65, David Lingmerth finished 73-73 and dropped from first after 3 rounds to a tie for 5th. His miscues offered hope to a number of golfers. First there was Rickie Fowler, who made nine birdies on the day, but had two bogeys and one double-bogey to finish two shots out of the playoff. Sung Kang stood on the 15th tee at 7-under par, but made a bogey and a double over the closing stretch to drop back to 4-under.

For the second consecutive week, nerves showed off the tee and into the green in the playoff. Last week, it was Daniel Berger and Jordan Spieth; this week, both Stanley and Howell missed fairway and green. After Howell missed from 11 feet for par, Stanley drained his five-foot effort for 4 and the win.

Women’s PGA trophy belongs to Danielle Kang

Danielle Kang might have expected an inaugural LPGA triumph to come before 2017. When she turned professional, half a decade ago, Kang had won the U.S. Amateur twice. On Sunday, she made the Women’s PGA championship her maiden victory, which probably worked out well. Kang used a four-birdie run on her second nine to separate herself from playing partner Chella Choi, and might have been forgiven for thinking that a win was in the books.

That’s when Brooke Henderson, perhaps feeling the civic pride from Canada’s 150th anniversary celebration on Saturday, began to make a move. Henderson signed for a bogey-free, five-birdie 66, two better than Kang. Trouble was, she started three shots back of the eventual champion. The finish was Henderson’s 2nd superlative finish in three weeks, and moved her from seventh to fourth in the Race for the CME Globe. As for Kang, this major triumph vaulted her all the way from 28th to a tie for tenth in the season-long series.

U.S. Senior Open title is Perry’s latest triumph

One golfer in the 2017 US Senior Open field played both weekend rounds under par at Salem (MA) country club. He was also the only golfer to play four rounds in the 60s, and that was enough to give James Kenneth Perry his ninth Champions Tour win, his 4th senior major and 2nd Senior Open title. Perry rode rounds of 65-64-67-68 to a two-stroke win over Kirk Triplett, who fell agonizingly shy of his first senior major triumph.

Perry was more consistent than anyone else. He might have lacked the firepower of the 62s posted by Triplett (Thursday) and Brandt Jobe (Saturday) but his engine revved the highest when the tally came in. Jobe finished a distant third at 9-under par, five behind Triplett and seven behind the champion.

The Salem country club continued the tradition of classic golf rebirth. The Donald Ross-design, just outside of Boston, utilized slower green speeds in order to counteract greater-than-normal slope. Bombers weren’t the order of the day, and the spoils went to the man who thought his way better than the rest over the course of 72 holes.

Flawless Fleetwood wins Open de France

Tommy Fleetwood played in the final pairing in last month’s US Open. Although he ultimately finished fourth, that experience proved invaluable as his Sunday golf was flawless near Paris, and he stormed from behind to earn his third European Tour win. American Peter Uihlein, still in search of a second Euro Tour victory, nearly caught Fleetwood, finishing one stroke back.

Fleetwood began the day four back of leader Alexander Bjork, who was paired with Uihlein in the final twosome. As the leaders struggle at the start (Bjork 1-over through four, Uihlein 2-over through five) Fleetwood was on the march. He made five birdies against zero bogeys on the day, finishing 12-under for the tournament. A number of players made runs, but it was Uihein and his inward 31 (4-under) that nearly caught the Englishman. Bjork ultimately finished tied for 3rd with Thorbjorn Olesen and Mike Lorenzo-Vera, undone by far too many bogeys and too few birdies.

Le Golf Nationale will be the host site for the 2018 Ryder Cup, and captains Thomas Bjorn (Europe) and Jim Furyk (USA) were certainly paying attention to the performances of candidates for their respective teams. The 2018 playing of this tournament will certainly attract more American players, looking to convince Furyk of their worth as captain’s picks.

Web.Com stalled by lightning, ends in playoff

The bad news was the two rain delays, followed by the playoff, that drove the conclusion of the Nashville Golf Open Sunday’s gloaming. The good news was that, as the second rain delay ended, 22 golfers were within two strokes of the lead. No, not a typo. Four golfers (Guillermo Pereira, Taylor Moore, Abraham Ancer and Adam Schenk) sat atop the board at 13-under. Another five golfers were one shot back, with 13 more at 11-under. No other tour had the potential for this much drama and the Web.Com golfers didn’t disappoint.

In the end, Lanto Griffin was able to follow his sublime 62 on Saturday with a 4-in-5 birdie stretch on the back nine, to reach -16. Joining him at that number was Abraham Ancer, already a winner on the Web.Com tour. Ancer had eight birdies in his closing 67, none of which came on par-5 holes! One stroke out of the playoff were Pereira and Moore. Both birdied the closing hole, but came up just shy of a shot at glory.

On the first playoff hole, Griffin made birdie from 20 feet on the par-three 10th hole. Ancer had missed the putting surface with his tee ball, and could not hole out from off the green.

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

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

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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

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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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