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Tour Mash: Rose continues to roll, Cantlay gets first win

Published

8 years ago

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Justin Rose and his faux “I’m looking for a game” GolfNow commercial will have everyone booking with that service, hoping for a meet-up, given his stellar play over the last fortnight. Rose wasn’t the only one to serve up tremendous play this week, so let’s get after some of our weekly Tour Mash and read about the rest of them.

PGA Tour: Shriner’s Open

If painful lessons are the most valuable, J.J. Spaun’s double-double finish will be worth a lot. The third-round leader was 1 up with two to play, but dropped all the way to a tie for 10th. With the clubhouse door wide open, Alex Cejka, Whee Kim and Patrick Cantlay headed off to a playoff.

How the west was won by Patrick Cantlay

When the playoff hole is 456 yards, with trees right and desert scrub left, the premium is on the drive. Cantlay, Cejka and Kim sawed the first playing with bogeys, so the threesome headed back to the tee for a second overtime go. Cantlay’s drive ended behind a tree, but he took it and the greenside pond on and conquered them both. His putt for birdie from the rear fringe just missed, and his tap-in sealed an unforgettable Sunday, which included a final-round 67. Had he lost, Cantlay might have suffered nightmares from his bogey-bogey finish in regulation.

How Kim and Cejka lost their way in the playoff

Whee Kim’s double-cross drive did him in. Teeing off from the right side of the deck, he hooked his tee ball into the scrub and took an unplayable penalty. His putt for bogey missed, and he was relegated to a tie for 2nd spot. Cejka’s pitch from greenside rough did the unthinkable: it checked up! His 10-foot putt for par broke low, setting the stage for Cantlay’s 2-foot putt for victory. Both Kim and Cejka had to feel fortunate to be in the mix at all. Both played spectacular final rounds (66 and 63, respectively) and earned deserved applause for their work.

European Tour: Turkish Airlines Open

How Rose went back to back

You don’t have to birdie every hole on the final 9 these days; it simply feels that way. Justin Rose had a bogey on Sunday, but it was super-early (3rd hole) and didn’t seem to impact him that much. Unlike last week, when he was chasing 2nd, Rose was always in the mix in Turkey. His 7 final-round birdies (three in the last four holes) propelled him to a 64-65 weekend and the Turkish title. The Olympic champion jumped from 3rd to 2nd in the Race To Dubai sprint, and don’t you believe that leader Tommy Fleetwood doesn’t hear the footsteps.

How close the others came

If you want to improve your short game, watch the final-round highlights for inspiration. In addition to a Rose chip-in, co-runner up Dylan Fritelli chipped in for birdie on THREE CONSECUTIVE HOLES. Padraig Harrington chipped in for one of his own, then holed a wedge shot for par (after dunking his approach in a pond.) Fritelli had 64 on Sunday, while 36-hole leader Nicolas Colsaerts rebounded from a dud Saturday with 66 on Day 4. Both came up 1 shot shy of the champion. Harrington didn’t lose; he simply ran out of holes.

LPGA Tour: Toto Japan Classic

Shanshan Feng couldn’t make up her mind on the type of Sunday she preferred. Beginning bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie does that to a golfer. Once she opted for birdies, the runway was clear for landing, and Feng secured her second win of the year, and eighth overall.

How Feng found her way

Feng had finished 3rd-2nd in her last two starts, and she was the defending champion at Toto. In other words, the stars were aligned. She had to do a little more than simply show up, and when she played her final 11 holes at 4-under par on Sunday, the chasers had little input into the conversation.

How Ai almost thrilled the home crowd

Suzuki had to wonder what she needed to do, to win the Toto. Birdies on 16 and 17 brought her to 18-under, but there was Feng, also birdieing the penultimate hole to preserve her lead. Suzuki’s bogey at the last secured 2nd place, and marked her as a player to watch at next year’s event. Anna Nordqvist had an ace (watch it below) at the 3rd, and closed with 66 to vault into solo 3rd spot.

Asian Tour: Panasonic Open India to Kapur

Kapur and Kumar didn’t go to White Castle. Instead, they went to duel city, where Shiv Kapur’s 68 was enough to hold off Chirgah Kumar and six others by 3 strokes. The win was his third career Asian Tour and fifth professional win.

How Kapur capped off the win

He did nothing erratic. Kapur was a model of consistent excellence, with 5 birdies and 1 bogey on the day. By not making big numbers, he forced the field’s hand, demanding that someone shoot 61 to have a shot at victory.

How seven golfers gave it their best

Of the second-place septet, Chiragh Kumar gave the greatest chase. He birdied half of his day-four holes, but needed to be perfect to have a glimpse at the top spot. A 3rd-hole bogey toughened his task. Unbelievably, 9 of the top 10 golfers hail from Indonesia, with only the USA’s Paul Peterson crashing the party.

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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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News

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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