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Morning 9: Langley, Gay lead Pebble | Phil’s phantastic phairway phinding | Jacklin: Sergio should take a break

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7 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt (ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com)

February 8, 2019

Good Friday morning, golf fans. May your weekends be filled with better-than-Crosby weather.
1. Pebble: Langley, Gay lead
Tom Wright at the Monterey Herald on the first-round action in his backyard…
  • “Scott Langley and Brian Gay opened the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am shooting 7-under to finish atop a crowded leaderboard Thursday, but now must gear up for an earlier start Friday as tee times were moved ahead an hour in anticipation of inclement weather.”
  • “Maybe we can get a lot of it in before the rain comes,” said Gay, who played the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club on Thursday, and is scheduled to play Spyglass Hill on Friday. “I haven’t seen the latest forecast. Spyglass is probably the hardest course so maybe (being) back in the trees will help us a bit over there.”
  • “Friday’s forecast calls for a slight chance of showers early with rain becoming likely by 11 a.m. to go with a chance of an isolated thunderstorm in the evening. Saturday’s forecast calls for scattered showers and showers are likely for Sunday.”
2. Phantastic start
Lefty is off to a roaring start, hitting every fairway at Monterey Peninsula en route to a 6-under 65.
  • USA Today’s Steve DiMeglio…”‘So history was made today,” Mickelson said. “To the best of my knowledge it’s taken me 27 years and a few months to hit all fairways in a single round in a competition. I may have done it before, but I don’t ever recall doing it.'”
  • “Well, Mickelson has done it before. Six times on the PGA Tour, in fact. But let’s cut his memory some slack. The most recent time he accomplished the feat came 20 years ago in the Farmers Insurance Open.”
  • “His total recall aside, Mickelson was impressive throughout his round. His seven birdies swamped his lone bogey on the fifth hole and he stood in a tie for third place”
13 of Mickelson’s 43 PGA Tour wins have come in California.
3. Vic Open update
Golfweek’s Alistair Tate…”Former U.S. Amateur champion Nick Flanagan remains on course to win his first European Tour event, but he’s got company at the top of the $1 million ISPS Handa Vic Open leaderboard.”
  • “Flanagan, who defeated Casey Wittenberg to win the 2003 U.S. Amateur, returned a 4-under 68 to go with his opening 62 to move to 14 under par after 36 holes. He shares the lead with fellow Australian Jason Scrivener, who shot a 66.”
On the women’s side, Kim Kaufman leads the concurrent tournament at 13 under. Karrie Webb sits tied for fifth at 7 under.
4. Cake of wild alternate-ness frosted with Rollins
What? With entrants at Pebble Beach withdrawing from the tournament in an 11th-hour mass exodus, it seemed for a while late Wednesday and early Thursday that anyone with a set of clubs could be called upon to tee it up.
John Rollins, who hasn’t had full status on the big tour since 2014, was slated to CADDIE at Pebble before an early morning call from HQ.
  • PGATour.com’s Jim McCabe writes…”The fact that it was all turned upside-down and Rollins was hitting golf balls for the first time in more than a week and competing in a PGA TOUR tournament for the first time since last August was as improbable an occurrence as he has ever been part of. “Crazy. What a roller-coaster day,” said Rollins, who at 43 has played in just 24 PGA TOUR tournaments since losing his full exempt status following the 2014 season.”
  • “But if you think that accepting the spot in the field at 5:30 a.m. – about three hours before his tee time, by the way – was an easy one, think again. Fact is, “I had to really think about it. I asked myself, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’ Hunter (Mahan) is my friend and I was here to caddie for him, so I called him. Hunter (whose tee time was 10:01)  and his wife, Kandi were more than gracious. Hunter said, ‘There’s a reason you’re here, so go and enjoy.'”
  • “Rollins laughed, because “I had done absolutely no prep work” back home in the Dallas area, but he took Mahan’s advice. He did enjoy himself and was overall pleased with his round of 1-over 73 at Pebble Beach – two bogeys and one lone birdie, at the par-4 11th. “I didn’t play terribly. Actually, I was OK, everything considered.”
5. Jacklin: Sergio should step away for a while
The legendary Tony Jacklin didn’t like what he saw (or didn’t see, as the case may be) from Sergio Garcia in Saudi Arabia.
  • He told the Daily Express…”It was worthy of more than disqualification. I’d have banned him. Damaging greens on a golf course is an offence that deserves a suspension.
  • “The European Tour have said the incident is over and it’s time to move on. Well, if he’s not going to be banned, then I’d like to see him take a self-imposed break from the game.
  • “I think he needs time to realise how fortunate he is, at 39, to have everything money can buy, a young family and everything to be grateful for.”
 
6. Spieth, Finau on Rickie’s Phoenix rules rule-in
Not to fixate on rules fiascos of the past, but Joel Beall’s assembling of Jrdan Spieth and Tony Finau’s takes on what befell Rickie Fowler as his ball, well, befell into the water at the 11th hole at TPC Scottsdale last Sunday are interesting.
  • Finau: “I watched that transpire (the Fowler incident) and couldn’t help but think, ‘This is not what the integrity of the game is about. If the rules aren’t going to protect the integrity of the game, then they’re wrong.
  • “And that’s, I’ll always stand on that side just because I know, yeah, I’ve had things like that happen to me in junior golf, not at the professional level, but I’ve had things like that happen to me where you know you didn’t cause or didn’t, your intentions weren’t bad in any way, but the ball moves and you have to call that on yourself. And I love that about the game. But if the rules don’t protect the player and the integrity of the game then I don’t think they’re the right rules.”
  • Spieth: “I was watching it on the couch...I was, I’m like, wow, that’s another penalty stroke, just knowing the rule. And that’s frustrating because he drops it twice and then places it and he places it without, you can’t like create a lie. You can’t, so he’s doing everything he should be doing, and then all of a sudden it rolls in the water. And if it happens off of a shot, then that’s where the ball was supposed to go. Well, when it happens off of a drop, the idea is to get the ball in play in a location there, and I don’t think anybody wants that to be a penalty. And it certainly shouldn’t be after you’re taking a drop or a penalty stroke”
7. Meanwhile, in Ho Sung news…
Golf Channel’s Randall Mell penned a piece on the South Korean’s opening round.
  • “Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, his playing partner Jerry Kelly and Choi’s playing partner Chris O’Donnell seemed to enjoy the show as much as the fans…”
  • “…The galleries chuckled and cheered with Choi’s every funky follow-through.”
  • “They were fantastic,” Kelly said. “They were yelling, ‘We love you, Hosung.’ They were sending out a lot to him. He was great. He would always turn around and give them a wave.”
  • “Choi, a late-blooming, 45-year-old South Korean with four victories on the Korean and Japanese tours, overcame a sluggish start to shoot a 1-over-par 72.”
8. Signs that golf season approaches
Golf Digest’s Sam Weinman is a veritable Punxsutawney Phil of golf, looking for signs that the season of fairways and greens approaches.
  • Among them…
  • “You shovel snow with exceeding caution knowing your back can’t give out on you now.”
  • “Your pulse quickens upon hearing the first notes of a Masters TV commercial.”
  • “You decide the annoying guy in accounting who happens to belong to a top 100 course is actually just misunderstood.”
9. New Players trophy
Goodbye Waterford Crystal trophy, mainstay of The Players award ceremony since 1982, hello sterling silver/24k gold trophy.
  • Then there’s this from the Tour’s release announcing the new hardware…”Using a process called ‘electroforming,’ Tiffany & Co. and the PGA Tour began with the inspiration of the swinging golfer from the iconic PGA Tour logo. Then, through sophisticated computer modelling, designers incorporated aspects of each of the 38 different winners of The Players – from Jack Nicklaus to Webb Simpson with elements of Phil Mickelson, Calvin Peete, Rickie Fowler, Fred Couples and Tiger Woods mixed in between.”
I’m not at all sure what that means…but here’s the trophy!

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Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

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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

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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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