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Morning 9: Denny 63 | The real father of Bethpage Black? | Icher’s message to the USGA

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6 years ago

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

May 10, 2019

Good Friday morning, golf fans.
1. 63 for Denny
Golfweek’s Roxanna Scott on D-Mac’s (can we call him D-Mac?) strong start…
  • “Playing on a course softened by about 2 inches of rain the previous day, Denny McCarthy shot an 8-under-par 63 to take the early lead at the AT&T Byron Nelson in Thursday’s opening round.”
  • “Seeking his first PGA Tour win, McCarthy made six birdies on the back nine, capped off with a birdie on the par-3 17th when he hit his tee shot to within 16 feet of the hole. It was his 10th birdie of the day after he recovered from a double bogey on the fourth hole. The 63 was McCarthy’s lowest round in 41 Tour individual starts.”
 
2. Making the most of his invitation
AP Report…
  • “Matthew Jordan made the most of his late invitation to the British Masters by shooting 9-under 63 Thursday to take a two-stroke lead after the first round.”
  • “Playing just his 12th event as a professional, the 23-year-old Jordan defied wet and chilly conditions at Hillside in northwest England to make nine birdies in a bogey-free round.”
  • “Matt Wallace and Marcus Kinhult were tied for second place.”
3. Day 1: Day’s day
AP report on the action from the first senior major of the year…”Glen Day was 7 under through 16 holes to top the Regions Tradition leaderboard Thursday when bad weather halted the opening round of the first PGA Tour Champions major of the year.”
  • “After a two-tee start to try to beat the weather, lightning stopped play just after noon when Day was aiming for his second straight long birdie putt on Greystone’s Founders Course. Tour officials announced more than four hours later that the first round would resume early Friday.
  • Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez and David Toms were two strokes back. Jimenez played 17 holes, and Toms finished 13.”

4. A woman scorned

Karine Icher didn’t receive the same consideration from the USGA as the Lewises and Lincicomes of the world. Randall Mell on how she became a woman on a mission…
“Icher blazed her way through the qualifier at Rush Creek in Maple Grove, Minn. She routed the field, taking the lone spot available among the 35 entrants. The five-time LET winner and four-time Solheim Cup veteran from France won medalist honors by five shots.”
  • “Icher, 40, did this while still freshly smarting from the rejection she felt after the USGA turned down her request for a special maternity exemption, something like the ones Stacy Lewis and Brittany Lincicome were offered this year. Lewis accepted, Lincicome declined and Icher fumed over why an exception couldn’t be made for her, too.”

 
5. The man behind Bethpage
Was Tillie merely a consultant?
Golf Digest re-runs a 2002 article that makes that case…
  • “Joe Burbeck had given up his crusade years ago, but after hearing that Bethpage Black would be the site of the 2002 U.S. Open, he gave it one last shot. He wrote a letter to this magazine, urging us to correct the record. The Black Course, he insisted, was designed in the 1930s by his father, Joseph H. Burbeck, the longtime superintendent of Bethpage State Park, and not by the famous golf architect A.W. Tillinghast. What proof do you have? he was asked.”
  • “I have no proof,” Joe confessed. “I was there but was a very young boy. I have recollections of going into my father’s office, seeing rolls of blueprints everywhere, and him at his drafting table. I remember he used to take me in his car, and we’d go visit crews out on the course. We lived on the property. He was out there every day. That was his job
6. My Shot: Seth Waugh
The CEO of the PGA sounds off in Golf Digest’s “My Shot”
  • “My favorite type of golf is the simple two-on-two stuff you see in every foursome. But two or three times a year, I’ll tee it up individually, in tournaments-the club championship at Seminole, the singles events at National or, in the past, the Travis at Garden City. I like to feel on occasion that uncomfortable sensation that comes when you have to post a number, no Equitable Stroke Control, no excuses and nowhere to hide. It’s a little scary, given my day job and a Handicap Index of 8.6, and there’s always the possibility I could go completely off the rails toward Humiliation Station. But I like it. My friend Vinny Giles said it best: “Golf’s a lot different when you’ve got a pencil in your hand.”
7. Despite eagle, Romo shoots 76
A recap of his round via ESPN’s Todd Archer…
  • “Romo opened with a 14-foot birdie putt on the par-5 first hole. After a bogey on No. 5, he got to 2 under on the seventh hole when he chipped in from 66 feet off the green for eagle, letting loose with a huge fist pump and loud “Let’s go!” as the gallery roared in approval.”
  • “Romo followed the eagle with an impressive up and down to save par on No. 8, but his round turned quickly on the 505-yard, par-4 ninth hole when he badly hooked his tee shot into the woods, leading to a double-bogey.”
  • “He made another double-bogey on No. 13 when his drive ran through the fairway into the tall native grasses. He made bogeys on Nos. 14, 15 and 17 mostly because of poor tee shots. He hit just six of 14 fairways and only eight of 18 greens in regulation.”
8. Ko’s perspective
Always interesting to see where top players’ heads are at when things haven’t exactly been going their way…
Via One News Now…
  • “A lot of things came to me that I didn’t really expect. The things that I’d dreamt of and more happened,” she said.
  • “Because of [how my career started] and now things aren’t going so great, I get compared to that. One player told me and I think it kind of came to me, that I’m never going to be the same.
  • “I might play as well as I did then or better or not as good, but I’m never going to be the same. Through every experience you change and you learn.”
9. Cobra Q&A!
A friendly reminder. The GolfWRX Cobra Live Q&A is today @ noon ET
Official details:  Join GolfWRX for a Live Q&A with COBRA Golf about their 2019 lineup. The experts at COBRA Golf HQ in Southern California will gather to answer your questions LIVE! Ask anything about COBRA PUMA GOLF you’d like. Have a question about the new COBRA King F9 Speedback Driver? The latest in golf R&D? The equipment that COBRA athletes Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau and Lexi Thompson play? Ask away! Here are the details…
Who’s On The Chat?
Tom Olsavsky, VP of Research & Development
Mike Yagley, Sr. Director of Innovation / AI
Doug Roberts, Sr. Director, Club Design
Karl Clausen, Senior Manager – Irons (KING F9 Irons)
Joseph Skupnjak, Senior Design Engineer (KING F9 Driver)
Tim Beno, Principal Research Engineer & Pro Tour Support
Jose Miraflor, VP of Marketing
Ryan Roach, Senior Principal Innovation Engineer
Bonus COBRA Giveaway!
A few lucky GolfWRX members who have their questions answered will win some awesome gear from COBRA Golf! Posts chosen at random. Grand prize is a CUSTOM COBRA KING F9 Speedback Driver.

Full piece. 

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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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News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

By

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

By

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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WITB

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