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Morning 9: Nicklaus: “Tough” for TW to catch me | Chamblee qualifies for Senior Open | Real talk: It’s too hot for pants in sports

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6 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt (ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com; @benalberstadt on Instagram)

July 23, 2019

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans. Plenty of barstool discussions on the subject post Open, but if we assume authentic links golf is possible in North America, what is the finest example? 
1. Chamblee qualifies for Senior Open again
Love him or hate him, you have to respect him in the booth and on the golf course.
  • Golf Digest’s Alex Myers…”For a second consecutive year, Brandel Chamblee’s trip to the UK to cover the Open Championship will include playing in an Open himself.”
  • “On Monday, the NBC/Golf Channel analyst swapped his microphone for his golf clubs and qualified for this week’s Senior Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club. Chamblee earned his spot in the field by shooting a one-under-par 72 at Fairhaven.”
2. Brought together
Rhapsody on a theme, sure, but when there’s a (potentially) transcendent sport story, it’s worth continued dissection…
  • Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”For a country that’s been defined for far too long by walls – most notoriously the looming “peace walls” that meander through Belfast and more subtly the flags that frame and define neighborhoods, the British Union Jack for the protestant majority and the Republic of Ireland standard for the catholic enclaves – it didn’t go unnoticed that, at least for one week, Northern Ireland was a country without borders.”
  • “It was there late Sunday as Ireland’s Lowry put the finishing touches on his major masterpiece to a cacophony of thunderous applause at every turn. As the Champion Golfer of the Year climbed the hill at the par-3 16th hole, a young lad waved a Republic of Ireland flag that had been hastily fastened to an umbrella. It wasn’t that long ago such a display would have been unwise, if not unwittingly dangerous.”
  • “Despite the differences that continue to split Northern Ireland – even two decades after the Good Friday Agreement ended the violence to the masses – at least for one breathless moment, the country was equally and unequivocally united behind Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, native sons who honed their game on the country’s rolling links, as well as Lowry, who grew up four hours to the south in Ireland across a transparent border.”
3. “Tough”
Jack Nicklaus seems to have a more measured take on the process of TW joining him at 18 majors.
  • BBC report…”But having missed the cut at the PGA Championship in May, he again failed to make the final 36 holes at The Open.”
  • “He’s getting older – we all do that,” Nicklaus told BBC Radio 5 Live. “He’s had a lot of surgeries, those things add up.”
  • “Asked if it was now less likely Woods will break his record, Nicklaus said: “I don’t know, probably.”
  • “I don’t want to put down Tiger by any means, because Tiger – what a work ethic he’s got and how great he’s been. What he’s done has been fantastic, and we certainly can’t fault any of that. But it’s tough [to beat the record]. It’s tougher.”
4. It’s too hot for sports with pants!
Shane Ryan fights the good fight in this Golf Digest piece (golf in shorts: absolutely. But can baseball really be played in shorts? Head-first slides only?)
  • “…There’s a weird irony in American sports, where two of the three most prominent summer outdoor sports-golf and baseball-require their players to wear pants, while sports like basketball that are played in cool arenas allow shorts. It probably has something to do with the slower nature of golf and baseball, but as anyone who has ever stood out in extreme heat for 10 minutes understands, you don’t have to constantly run around like a tennis player to feel like your body is slowly being drained of its vital fluids. Time and the relentless sun are plenty potent, and that’s not even considering poor souls like Chance Sisco, who have to wear full catcher’s gear.”
  • “Things are only going to get worse in the coming years, and if you wanted more bad news, the humidity is going to increase with the heat. (In fact, we’ve already seen that phenomenon at tennis’ U.S. Open.) If we want to avoid drastic solutions-every golf tournament is played in northern Europe, all our baseball franchises move to Alaska and the Yukon, or we simply stage every baseball game in depressing domes and cancel golf for the summer-we need to let these athletes dress how they want. And if shorts keep them a few degrees cooler, so be it. We’ve already seen steps in this direction from the PGA Tour, and hey, it sure beats heat stroke and potential death!”
5. Presidential putting advice
Interesting stuff in this AP report illuminating President Trump’s unseen role in Jim Herman’s Barbasol win…
  • “Trump’s regular golf partner while working as an assistant professional at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey, Herman changed to a conventional putting grip and clubhead at the president’s suggestion following a recent round.”
  • “Encouraged by Trump more than a decade ago to pursue a playing career, Herman won the 2016 Shell Houston Open for his lone tour title – a victory that also followed a friendly round with Trump.”
  • “I think I need to see him again soon,” the 41-year-old Herman said on the 18th green after his winning tap-in par. “He motivates me and puts me in a good spot.”

Full piece.

6. Hurry it up! 
Ted Berg of For The Win offered this perspective on J.B. Holmes’ deliberate pace…”Almost nothing in this world makes me feel more uncomfortable than inconveniencing strangers. If I get the dreaded “SWIPE CARD AGAIN AT THIS TURNSTILE” message at a busy NYC subway station, my heart races with distress until I successfully get the machine to process my fare. The most important lesson I want to teach my young child is to get out of the way after he steps off an escalator.”
  • “I don’t know what that says about me, but I can’t see how it could be a bad thing to feel a sense of responsibility to people who don’t know me and don’t want to stand around waiting while I sort out my stuff. I’ve got things to do, and they matter to me. But I just can’t understand the sense of entitlement and obliviousness necessary to let my own nonsense stand in anyone else’s way.”
  • “Obviously I don’t know this guy J.B. Holmes, and I try not to judge strangers for actions I don’t fully understand. But, honestly, I judge this guy. It seems obnoxious. Hurry it up, bruh.”
7. If Jurassic Park had a golf course…
Johnny Wunder introduces GolfWRX’s third video in our series with PXG, which examines Scottsdale National’s diabolical Bad Little 9 par-3 course.
  • “I have had the good fortune of playing some unbelievably awesome tracks in my time-places like Cypress Point, Olympic, Sahalee, LACC, Riviera, and a bunch of others.”
  • “However, the Bad Little 9 is the most fun golf course I have ever played…period.”
  • “Imagine standing on the first tee of a 975-yard track and praying to God almighty you finish with all your golf balls, your confidence, and more importantly, your soul. Imagine, again, for example, standing on a 75-yard par 3 with NOWHERE to hit it beyond an eight-foot circle around the flag, where any miss buries you in a pot bunker or down into a gully of TIGHTLY mown grass.”
  • “…I have played the BL9 twice at this point, with the first time being on a Challenge Day in November. It was cold, windy and playing as tough as it can. My playing partners Chris N., Tony C., and I barely made it out alive. I made four pars that day-shot 40-and played well. Do the math, that’s 13 over in five holes on a course where the longest hole is 140 yards.”
8. Perspectives on Woods contending in future majors… 
ESPN staffers discuss this subject and others…
“Going forward, in how many majors each year is it reasonable to expect Tiger Woods to be a factor?”
  • “Bob Harig: Given what we saw play out this year after the Masters, Woods is going to have a difficult time peaking every major week. Certainly we can expect him to give it a run, if healthy, at Augusta National. But the one-month turnaround to the PGA Championship has done him no favors, along with the change in temperature from August to May. The thought here is that Woods should be able to compete at The Open venues. They suit a more strategic outlook. Of course that, too, depends on weather and fitness. Bottom line, it’s difficult to see him contending in more than two per year.”
  • “Michael Collins: One. The Masters. As great as the new condensed schedule is for some of the younger players, for Woods and his body, there just isn’t enough time for both recovery and then proper preparation. Temperature will be such a big factor for Woods in the future, which we saw at the PGA and The Open. Don’t expect it to get easier the older he gets. Even Woods said that the less he plays, the longer he can play. That’s great — except the cost will be competitiveness.”
9. Stop hitting balls into the lake!
…that’s the direction from the powers that be at Arcadia Bluffs in Michigan. And really, this shouldn’t be an issue, should it?
Joel Beall at Golf Digest…”This practice is not necessarily unique to Arcadia Bluffs; plenty of courses, be it written or not, have traditions of this sort. However, the Detroit Free Press took issue with it after sending a diver to collect golf balls off the 12th hole. The diver/photographer discovered 200 balls in an hour, which sounds like a great deal, although a sum that constitutes an afternoon at Pebble Beach’s eighth, ninth and 10th holes….But, citing environmental impact, the Free Press raised its findings to the course, which promptly took down the description from its site.”
“In the past, a sign posted at the 12th tee discouraged guests from this practice, however we discovered this sign actually had the opposite effect as players actually hit more balls into the lake,” read a statement to the Free Press. “The vast majority of our guests do not hit golf balls into Lake Michigan. By not drawing attention to the issue, we believe that the incidents of hitting balls into the lake have decreased. We take our environmental responsibilities seriously.”

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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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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)

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