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Morning 9: Brooks Koepka has a solution to slow play | No Tiger at Bethpage Wednesday? “No problem,” says team

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6 years ago

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

May 16, 2019

Good Thursday morning, golf fans.
1. Koepka’s slow play fix
A take to be pardoned, indeed…
Via Golf Channel Digital…”Appearing on an episode of Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take podcast, Koepka talks about how he would fix the slow-play issue in professional golf.”
  • “Nobody wants to spend 5 1/2 hours out there,” said Koepka. “I would just make it 15 holes, 14 holes. Because then you get to go to the 19th hole a little bit quicker.”
  • “Koepka then took it a step further, saying he gets bored in the middle of rounds, even during tournament play.”
  • “It gets boring from hole five through 12, you’re just like ‘where am I right now?'” continued Koepka. “I literally can’t tell you what happened during those holes. You kind of black out. Everything is so repetitive.”
2. “All good”
Tiger Woods didn’t set foot anywhere inside Bethpage State Park Wednesday.
  • Golfweek’s Dan Kilbridge...”Woods practiced on property Tuesday and planned to play nine holes Wednesday. But he never arrived to the course one day before his 8:24 a.m. tee time with Brooks Koepka and Francesco Molinari.”
  • “He’s all good. Just getting some rest,” said agent Mark Steinberg, who noted that Woods played the course last week. “All is good.”
  • “Wednesday’s absence means he’ll enter the PGA Championship having played just nine practice holes this week. Woods played the front nine early Monday morning and that will be all until the scores start to count Thursday. Woods usually plays at least 18 holes the week of a major, which he did at Augusta National, but he’s plenty familiar with the course. Woods won the 2002 U.S. Open here when Bethpage first hosted a major and was T-6 at the 2009 U.S Open.”
3. New York brings out Phil’s second best
Jimmy Golen at the AP says that while Mickelson loves NYC…
  • “…it’s the courses in the area that seem intent on torturing him.”
  • “The five-time major champion is back in the area this week for the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black, where he has finished second both times the course hosted the U.S. Open. In fact, of his six runner-up finishes in the Open, four have been in New York.”
  • “It’s the best playing here. It really is,” Mickelson, who did not have a media interview session, told the Golf Channel after his nine-hole practice round on Wednesday. “I would love nothing more than to have a victory here and be able to feed off the energy here that the people have provided me over the years and be able to reward it with a victory.”
4. Singular stuff from Ping’s Marty Jertson
The fact that one of Ping’s chief engineers qualified for and is playing in the PGA Championship is incredible, to say the least.
Golfweek’s David Dusek talked with Jertson…
  • …”Jerston, 38, from Phoenix, Ariz., shot a final-round 69 at the PGA Professional Championship to finish T-8 and earn a spot in this year’s PGA Championship. When he is not playing or spending time with his family, Jertson works for Ping and has held job titles like director of product development and senior design engineer.”
  • “In those roles, he led teams that created numerous woods and irons, including the G410 driver that is in his bag and is also being used this week by Bubba Watson.”
  • “I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into that driver,” he said. “I was the lead designer on that, so I did all the 3D design work, all the short-term research and development, made all the improvements to the turbulators (an aerodynamic-enhancing feature on the crown) and our center of gravity-shifting weight.
5. Spieth’s bid for the grand slam
Andy Vasquez of the North Jersey Record on Spieth’s pursuit of the full set of major hardware…
  • “That would be a dream come true for me,” Spieth said. “But I also recognize that if I continue to stay healthy and play well, I’ll have, I don’t know, 30 chances at it. One of them is bound to go my way, right?”
  • “Nearly two years have passed since his last win at the 2017 British Open. Since then, Spieth has fallen from No. 2 in the world to 39th and he hasn’t had a top-20 finish since September.”
  • “It’s an alarming drop-off for Spieth, who had won 10 events from 2015-17 before falling into a self-admitted slump.”
6. Daly on cart use
A few of JD’s remarks on the subject of his means of transportation this week, via Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…
  • “I wouldn’t have been able to play [without a golf cart],” Daly said. “To tell you the truth it’s not even easy playing with a cart because for me the cart is more of a distraction but I need it otherwise I can’t play.”
  • “…Osteoarthritis in Daly’s right knee prevents him from walking more than six holes at a time and he said there is no short-term option for relief.”
  • …”It won’t get better until I get it replaced and they said I’m too young [for replacement surgery],” Daly said. “If it was broken it would have been much better, but I have Osteoarthritis. It just hurts, especially when I go downhill. I rode in a cart and it’s swelling up like a watermelon.”
 
7. Why not?
USA Today’s Christine Brennan doesn’t want to be the one betting against Tiger Woods winning a second-consecutive major championship…
  • She begins with this…”Is it too much to ask, Tiger winning another major little more than a month after the Masters? Can a man who hasn’t hit one competitive shot between his final putt April 14 at Augusta National and his opening tee shot Thursday morning in the PGA Championship be in the mix come Sunday? Does a 43-year-old golfer with the back of a 70-year-old have it in him to do this again?”
  • “Why not?”
8. “Making golf’s biggest stars forgettable”
The New York Post’s George Willis with a hot take…
  • “…With Woods winning his fifth green jacket last month and first major in 11 years, it’s already Tiger Woods 24/7. Everything is being chronicled, from where his $20 million yacht is parked in Oyster Bay to being presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom to making his first practice round at the Black. It has the feel of the late 1990s and early 2000s again, when it was all about Woods and virtually no one else mattered. It’s getting that way again.”
  • “I would say 99 percent of the people that show up when he’s playing are there to see him,” Jordan Spieth said.
  • “Players like Spieth, Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas have carried the sport while Woods was out battling back injuries and personal troubles. Most of them grew up inspired by watching Woods in his prime. Once they matured into pros, they offered a much-needed injection of youth and bravado that has been good for golf. All but Fowler have won majors and earned their own legions of fans, who have gravitated to them for one reason or another.”
9. Area 313
…and now for something non-PGA Championship related…
Via Matt Charboneau, of the Detroit News…
  • “On Wednesday, the tournament revealed its plans for “Area 313,” which includes holes 14, 15 and 16 at Detroit Golf Club and plays off of the city’s area code. No. 14 is a 543-yard par-5 followed by 160-yard par-3 15th. The run is capped by No. 16, a 450-yard par-4.”
  • “With players aiming to go eagle-ace-birdie – a 3-1-3 on the scorecard – and the fans getting up close to the action, the belief is the cluster of holes, complete with general admission stadium seating and upgraded hospitality venues, will quickly become one of the most popular places to watch golf on Tour.”
  • “Area 313 has been designed to be a stretch of the golf course unlike anything else on the PGA Tour,” said Jason Langwell, executive director of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. “It is an area where fans can watch the action on three different holes, as some of the world’s best golfers make the difficult decision of whether to gamble on going for the green in two on 14, attacking the flag on 15 and pushing their luck on 16.”

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. dj

    May 16, 2019 at 7:45 am

    Excited to see them come to Detroit.

    Reply Report comment

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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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