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Morning 9: Na way he wasn’t winning | Rahmbo: Spanish Open Part II | Bryson bulking up?

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6 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt
Email me at ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com and find me at @benalberstadt on Instagram and (reluctantly) now at benGolfWRX on Twitter.

October 7, 2019

Good Monday morning, golf fans.
1. Na way was he letting this one get away
Golfweek’s Adam Woodard with the black letter of Kevin Na’s victory…”Na won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, the fourth event of the 2019-20 PGA Tour schedule, on Sunday at 23 under par after a two-hole playoff against Cantlay.”
  • “In an emotional post-round interview with Golf Channel, Na gave an impassioned answer in Korean, where he said he was very happy and confident after the win and thanked everyone in Korea for “believing in him,” according to a quick Google translation.”

Full piece.

  • Really, this was a win about a guy with grit and swagger capping an often sloppy final round by going to a well that should have been dry and filling his cup-and walking a playoff-extending putt in with the stones of Tiger at Valhalla. Far from the fragile psyche and cruel caricature of the recent past, this version of Kevin Na is a confident winner.
2. Open de Rahma 
The details on Jon Rahm’s repeat Spanish Open W via Europeantour.com, which saw him become the fastest Spaniard ever to 5 wins, besting the maestro, Seve Ballesteros…”The World Number Five carded a closing 66 that saw him finish at 22 under and enter the record books with a fifth European Tour victory in just his 39th start.”
  • “Rafa Cabrera Bello was his nearest challenger as Spaniards dominated the leaderboard, with World Number 1,413 Samuel Del Val at 15 under in just his fifth European Tour event.”
  • “The victory moved Rahm to the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex as he looks to become the first Spaniard to win the Harry Vardon Trophy since the late, great Seve Ballesteros in 1991.”

Full piece.

3. An unexpected day for Knight 
AP report on the action on LPGA Tour...”Cheyenne Knight struggled so much her rookie season that she made the cut in only half of her tournaments and figured she was headed back to the LPGA Tour qualifying series. One week changed everything.”
“In the only LPGA event in her home state of Texas, in what she thought would be her last tournament of the year, Knight played bogey-free Sunday and closed with a 5-under 66 for a two-shot victory in the Volunteers of America Classic.”
4. Phil’s pleased
Golf Channel’s Nick Menta...”Mickelson closed Sunday with a 4-under par 67, which is about even par this week at TPC Summerlin.”
  • “Phil entered the weekend just three off the 36-hole pace but tumbled down the leaderboard Saturday with a third-round 74 on a day when the scoring average was 67.75.”
  • “Asked to sum up his play, Mickelson said: “I came out and had two good rounds out of four. I didn’t obviously compete, but the road back to playing well is a process, and today or this week was a good start on that process, and I’m looking forward to going to Korea and continuing improving. I identified a few areas to continue to work on, but there were some areas of strength as well.”
5. Bryson bulking?
This is…not totally surprising… Per Ben Everill at PGATour.com, Bryson DeChambeau is taking the next month to seriously get his swole on.
In terms of the specifics, well, who the hell knows. Here’s a bit of Bryson per Ben.
  • “I’m going to come back next year and look like a different person. You’re going to see some pretty big changes in my body, which is going to be a good thing. Going to be hitting it a lot further,” DeChambeau said after finishing his title defense at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open with an 8-under 63.
  • “Bigger. Way stronger. Just stronger in general. I am going to look probably a lot bigger, but it’s going to be a fun month and a half off. I have never been able to do this, and I’m going to go do things that are going to be a lot of fun.”
  • And…”We make sure the neurological threshold is just as high as the mechanical threshold…”
  • “In layman’s terms, pretty much whatever muscle potentially you have, how big and the muscle spindles you have, you can recruit every single one of them to their full potential throughout the whole range and training the whole range of motion.”

Full piece.

6. Scott Herbert survives
Golfweek staff report…”Not only did Scott Hebert come from behind to win the 31st Senior PGA Professional Championship Sunday, he matched a Championship record for lowest 72-hole total with 16-under 270.”
“With rounds of 70-70-63-67 at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa’s Fazio Foothills Course, Hebert finished four strokes ahead of Jerry Haas, Jeff Hart and Frank Bensel Jr. Hebert’s third-round 63 set a Championship record for lowest third round and tied for the best 18-hole score in Championship history.”
7. LPGA card drama 
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…”the last player to secure an LPGA card for 2020 didn’t even play at LPGA International.”
  • “Mind Muangkhumsakul got her pro-am time wrong on Wednesday and was forced to withdraw from the competition. She came into the finale 10th on the money list (the top 10 secure LPGA cards), $10,176 ahead of South Korea’s Min Seo Kwak.”
  • “According to a tour official, Muangkhumsakul thought the pro-am began at 9 a.m. and arrived at the course 20 minutes to the hour. With the 8 a.m. shotgun running late, play officially began at 8:17 a.m. Officials tried to get her out to the tee of her second hole in time (had she made it, Muangkhumsakul would’ve only been given a $500 fine). But she didn’t make that either and was forced to WD.”

Full piece.

8. Tee box demons
Mark Townsend at National Club Golfer...”This week in Spain Scott Gregory did likewise during the first round in Madrid. The 2016 Amateur champion, he beat Bob MacIntyre in the final at Royal Porthcawl, has endured an horrific season having come through Q School at the end of last year with just one made cut in 17 starts. His Challenge Tour efforts haven’t realised much better.”
  • “When we see ‘DISQ’ next to a player’s name it always catches the eye, sadly for Gregory it wasn’t a wrong scorecard, as he explained via Twitter.”
  • “I haven’t been DQ’d for anything sinister, it was more a withdrawal. Those closest to me know I’ve been battling some mental demons both off the tee and personally for a while now and today everything kind of fell apart. I ended up struggling to pull the trigger and seeing a shot off the tee, resulting in some quite large misses,” the 25-year-old said.
  • “Because of this my only option was to walk away, it’s not fair on my playing partners with the speed I was playing due to the issue. I’m never one to quit and this is the first and last time in my career it will happen. I want to thank you for all your support and I hope to come back stronger once I’ve got the help I need.”

Full piece.

9. A hole-in-one for Jimmy Buffett! 
Golfweek’s Adam Woodard…”The 72-year-old singer shared a photo on his Instagram page celebrating a hole-in-one, rocking a New Orleans Saints hat and playing a Titleist 2.”
“We unfortunately don’t know what club was used, nor the yardage, or even where Buffett was playing on Saturday. Or if he aced a hole in his backyard? What we do know is, Come Monday, Buffett will still be Havana Daydreamin’ about his ace”
The puns! See the photo here, Parrotheads.

 

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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

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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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