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Morning 9: British Open qualifiers | Backstory to Lashley’s spot in Rocket field | Tiger Woods’ special delivery

Published

6 years ago

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

July 3, 2019

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, and happy Independency Day eve.
1. Open qualifying
Keith Jackson at Sky Sports…
Three amateurs were among 12 players to book their places at The 148th Open after Final Qualifying on Tuesday.
The day began with 288 players bidding for just 12 places in the field at Royal Portrush later this month, with three places up for grabs over 36 holes at the four venues in England and Scotland.
Golf Channel’s Will Gray put together a rundown that includes, well, more than just the names of who punched a ticket to Portrush, but here are just the names…
  • Notts Hollinwell...Who’s in: Andrew Wilson (-7), Thomas Thurloway (a) (-6), Ashton Turner (-5)
  • Prince’s…Who’s in: Curtis Knipes (a) (-9), Callum Shinkwin (-9), Austin Connelly (-8)
  • St. Anne’s Old Links…Who’s in: Garrick Porteous (-10), Jack Senior (-10), Matthew Baldwin (-9)
  • Fairmont St. Andrews…Who’s in: Brandon Wu (a) (-9), Connor Syme  (-6), Sam Locke (-4)

Full piece.

2. Brandon Wu 
Golf Digest’s Ryan Herrington on Wu’s impressive feat…“The 22-year-old, who qualified for last month’s U.S. Open and made the cut at Pebble Beach-only to have to miss his college graduation at Stanford because it was also being held on Father’s Day Sunday-went overseas to take a shot at Final Qualifying for the Open Championship. On Tuesday, 72 golfers finished up 36 holes at four different U.K. sites, all hoping to grab one of three spots available at each course. Wu, competing at Fairmont St. Andrews, shot 64-67 to finish at nine under, taking medalist honors by three strokes over Scotland’s Connor Syme and earning a trip to the British Open at Royal Portrush.”
3. From NFL linebacker to PGA Tour rules official 
Stellar piece from Sean Martin at PGATour.com profiling rules official Mark Dusabek…
  • “…He blew out his left knee in the first game of the 1991 season, tearing his ACL and meniscus. Surgery and rehab were unsuccessful.”
  • “After the fourth operation, I just realized that I couldn’t pass a physical and my knee wouldn’t come around,” he recalls. “I had to retire.”
  • “He worked in finance for a few years, but golf kept pulling him back. He made a move after reading a book entitled, “Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow.” To gain industry experience, he moved to Southern California and spent a year as a volunteer with the Southern California Golf Association. One of his early mentors told him that a knowledge of the Rules of Golf would be useful in a variety of positions.”
  • “His unpaid tenure with the SCGA led to a job with the PGA of America’s Metropolitan Section. He returned to Southern California in 2001, spending four years with the SCGA before being hired by the PGA TOUR.”

Full piece. 

4. Tough decisions ahead for captain Inkster
No Wie, Lincicome, Lewis, Piller, Creamer, Stanford, and more…
  • Golf Channel’s Randall Mell…”With an influx of young players who have little international team experience, Inkster is looking at a major overhaul of the American roster fans have grown accustomed to seeing in the event.”
  • “The turnover’s a bigger deal with the United States traveling to Scotland for a road game with the Europeans.”
  • “Inkster likes the young talent she sees emerging, but . . .”I also have to think about who will be able to handle the pressure of playing a road game,” she wrote Tuesday in her Solheim Cup captain’s blog. “It’s going to be really hard playing overseas. The fans are going to be loud and loyal behind Europe, and I need to find players who can handle that situation. It takes a special player who can take the cheers for her opponent and turn them to something that motivates her and not distract her.”
5. Unselfish act, unlikely victory
Nate Lashley was an alternate, not a qualifier, for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, and as it turns out, David Berganio, Jr. was the player between Lashley and a start, and, well… this weird bit of providence
  • AP report…”Berganio has been on a medical extension since 2004 because of a bulging disk in his back that took 11 years to be diagnosed as a problem in his hip. He has played only 28 times in the last 15 years on the PGA Tour.”
  • But…”His golf clubs never made the connection in Dallas and Berganio didn’t get them until Tuesday night. The course is occupied all day Wednesday with the pro-am.”
  • “I wasn’t able to play a practice round,” Berganio said. “A friend of mine always says, ‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.’ I’m 50. I know some kid behind me was waiting to get in, and I didn’t want to take up a spot. And then this happened. He’s a former Wildcat, as well. The situation couldn’t have been better.”
 
6. Garrigus: PGA Tour marijuna policy is too strict 
Golf Digest’s Joel Beall...”In March, the tour announced that the 41-year-old had violated its Anti-Doping Program. Although the tour used the term “drug of abuse,” Garrigus-who overcame substance issues to become a PGA Tour winner in 2010 and finish T-3 at the 2011 U.S. Open-confirmed he had tested positive for marijuana in a statement of his own. Speaking to the Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, Garrigus said that marijuana should not be considered in the same category as other performance-enhancing items.”
  • “I wasn’t trying to degrade the PGA Tour in any way, my fellow professionals in any way. I don’t cheat the game,” Garrigus told the Golf Channel. “I understand HGH [Human Growth Hormone], anything you are trying to do to cheat the game you should be suspended for 100 percent. Everything else should be a discussion.”
7. A check on the field in Tahoe…
Golfweek’s Adam Woodward…”For the 30th year, some of the biggest names in the sports and entertainment worlds will flock to Lake Tahoe’s Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course for the 2019 American Century Championship.”
  • “The field of 93 players in headlined by Golden State Warriors star and two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry (seventh appearance), former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and CBS NFL analyst Tony Romo (sixth appearance) and Grammy Award-winning musician and actor Justin Timberlake (fourth appearance).” 

Full field for the July 12-14 event, here.

8. How to improve at golf
Matt Strube at True Motion Sports advances his “it takes a village to really improve at golf” theory…
…”Each part of your Village can be thought of as a cog in a machine, and if you remove a cog, or it gets rusty or doesn’t fit right…you get the picture, your Village won’t help you hit the ball straight or score well. While adding additional villagers is important, to improve, you need to have exposure to every one of the following
factors.”
“1. Find a Coach – My Golf Coach, Tim Overman, is my friend and has a diversified set of golf knowledge from various sources, aka a high #Golf-IQ. He’s also someone with good communication skills and has a ‘Village Philosophy’ as opposed to a “My Way” of doing things. He is a voracious researcher of the golf swing, is agnostic to one “swing theory”, and isn’t afraid of the process of creative destruction, which means he’s constantly searching for ways to get better and utilize input from a multitude of sources. [Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t wavering and doesn’t change my move each week, he is simply a knowledge sponge.] He listens more than he speaks, has a training plan that is focused on making students “do the reps”, and participates in playing lessons and situational practice routines with each of his students. Tim also explains the “why?” of what he’s teaching, and arms me with the knowledge to be my own coach when he isn’t around. Be selective because unfortunately, Tim is part of a small subset of quality instructors, so do your homework! Tim is also a huge contributor to this, and future, articles by the way.”
9. Special delivery!
Clad in his green jacket, Tiger Woods hoisted the Masters trophy on that now-famous Sunday in April. He did not, however, take home the Masters trophy… winners receive a replica, and apparently it takes a while to arrive!

 

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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

on

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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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

on

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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