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Morning 9: A Rocket to the top | DeChambeau’s slow play take | Full membership for women at Muirfield

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6 years ago

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

June 28, 2019

Good Friday morning, golf fans.
1. Rocketing to the top
AP report…”Nate Lashley birdied the final three holes and five of the last six for a 9-under 63 and the first-round lead Thursday in the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the PGA TOUR’s first event in Detroit.”
  • “The 36-year-old Lashley had the lowest score in his PGA TOUR career, a day after getting a spot at Detroit Golf Club as an alternate. Ranked 353rd in the world and No. 132 in the FedExCup standings, Lashley’s only top-10 finish in his two-year PGA TOUR career is a tie for eighth in the Puerto Rico Open in February.”
  • “Ryan Armour and Nick Watney were a stroke back at 64. Chez Reavie, the Travelers Championship winner last week in Connecticut, Charles Howell III and Stewart Cink topped the group at 65.”
2. Stricker, Toms
AP again…”Defending champion David Toms was looking for a good start in the U.S. Senior Open. Steve Stricker was looking for a fresh start.”
  • “Both got what they wanted Thursday with rounds of 8-under 62 to share the lead in an opening round that yielded a record number of scores under par on rain-softened Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame.”
  • “I saw some good scores from this morning before I teed off, and it looked like there were birdies to be made out there,” said the 52-year-old Stricker, who made his Senior Open debut with seven birdies and a 30-foot eagle putt on the 17th hole to catch Toms.”
3. An in-gracious host
EuropeanTour.com report…”Sergio Garcia continued his remarkable love affair with Real Club Valderrama to sit just one shot off the lead after day one of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation.”
  • “The Spaniard has won the last three stagings of this event in 2011, 2017 and 2018 and has ten other top tens from 14 appearances at a course he admits is his favourite in the world.”
  • “An opening 66 in Sotogrande left him at five under, one shot behind Frenchman Victor Perez.”
  • “I love this place, there is no doubt about that,” he said. “It kind of has something with me that helps me.
4. Reed’s putter tuneup
Unpaid Club Champion spokesman Patrick Reed had this to say… but really, interesting tidbit (via Golf Channel).
  • “Monday he made a quick detour with hopes of solving his putting woes. But rather than visit a private club or instructor, he walked into a local Club Champion store, which offers club-fitting options to the public.”
  • “According to Reed, the draw to that specific store was their Science and Motion (SAM) putting lab, and it’s something he’s done before when on the road for long stretches of time.”
  • “I went just to check to make sure that my specs were right,” Reed said. “For me personally, the best way to do it is if I can find a SAM lab. Club Champions have those, and those have high enough cameras and stuff that you can actually see what’s going on. So you can tell by that rather than machines, since every machine has a different variance. But cameras don’t really lie.”
5. A check on the U.S. Open champion
Golf Channel’s Will Gray…”Woodland nearly holed his final approach shot Thursday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, tapping in and smiling at greenside fans as he scooped his fourth birdie over his final six holes. But that rally still left him with a 1-over 73 on a day when most of the field bettered par, as the U.S. Open champ at one point found himself in last place among the 156-man field before bouncing back.”
  • “I was off from the start,” Woodland said. “Probably had the best warm-up session of the year, was great on the range. My timing was off. I was probably really excited to play today, I was excited to be out there. … I was just quick.”

Full piece.

6. Women as full members at Muirfield at last
Golfweek’s Alistair Tait…”The club announced Thursday that it has extended invitations to women to join its ranks.”
  • “It is my great pleasure to announce that 12 women have been formally invited to join the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers this month,” said Alistair Campbell, captain of the Honourable Company. “This marks a milestone in the club’s illustrious history, and we look forward to welcoming all of our new members to share in the great values and traditions of our club.
  • “This year marks the 275th anniversary of the club’s first recorded golf competition. We are proud of our club’s rich history but equally excited for its future and the part all of our new members will play in the club’s cherished traditions.”
  • “Campbell did not name the 12 women invited to join the club, but they’ve gone through the same membership process as men. That means they have been “proposed and seconded by existing members and five referees. The club’s membership is then invited to write in support, or otherwise, of those put forward, who are personally known to them or have golfed with them.”
7. When do player/caddie spats go too far?
Golfweek’s Dan Kilbridge…”Some players use their caddie as an outlet for frustration, and the caddies understand that ,” Stewart Cink said. “It’s hard for me sometimes to hear the players that treat their caddies like that.”
  • “Caddies have always had to wear a lot of hats out there. Amateur psychologist, part-time motivator, full-time numbers guru, etc. They need to know when to speak up and when to stay quiet in exactly the right moments. Giving yardages and reading putts is the easy part.”
  • “Fans don’t often see the other side of that dynamic unless cameras are rolling and microphones pick up the on-course discussions in the heat of competition.”
8. 50-year-old Walker Cupper?
Mark Townesnd at National Club Golfer….”The amateur golfing world is generally a sea of teens and 20-somethings, logoed and often identical clothing, gelled hair, bouncy gaits, rapid and beautiful swings and dreams of the European Tour and, most likely, beyond.”
  • “It’s the week of the Brabazon at Alwoodley and, come the end of it, a 16-year-old from Rotherham, Ben Schmidt, will breeze to the title by five shots after an incredible four days.”
  • “But the person I’m on the look out for is far removed from most of his peers and is comfortably old enough to be everyone’s dad.”
  • “For Euan McIntosh, who turned 50 in February, this is his second coming. Just this past weekend he landed the Tennant Cup, the oldest open amateur strokeplay competition in the world, with a closing round of 62 at Killermont.”

Full piece. 

9. DeChambeau’s slow play story
Our Gianni Magliocco…“Speaking to the New York Post, DeChambeau disclosed that walking faster between shots should allow for extra time over the ball and criticized authorities for penalizing him for taking an additional “10 seconds longer over the ball”.
  • “I can take 10 seconds longer to hit a shot, but if I walk 10 seconds faster the total aggregate time is the same, yet they’re penalizing me because I took 10 seconds longer over the ball. It doesn’t make sense”
  • “For some people to say, ‘I just go up there and hit it,’ well that’s good for you. If it works for you, it works for you. But I want to be as precise as possible heading into that shot. I want to be right on point and that just requires me to be a little faster walker.”

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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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

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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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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