Connect with us

News

Morning 9: Desert winners: Simpson in Phoenix, G-Mac in Saudi Arabia | Shark backs Premier Golf League, Player calls it greedy

Published

6 years ago

on
By Ben Alberstadt
Email me at ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com and find me at @benalberstadt on Instagram and golfwrxEIC on Twitter.
February 3, 2020
Good Monday morning, golf fans. With all due respect to Webb and G-Mac, I’m most excited to see Andy Reid get a (Super Bowl) win under his belt! The Chiefs could be the next football dynasty.

 
1. Finau stymied by Simpson
AP report…”Simpson birdied the final two holes of regulation to force a playoff with Finau, then won with a 10-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole.”
  • “Two strokes ahead with two holes left, Finau missed an 18-foot birdie try in the playoff on the par-4 18th after driving left into the church pew bunkers.”
  • “Simpson two-putted for birdie from the fringe on the short par-4 17th and made a 17-footer for birdie from the edge of the green on the 18th. Finau, after hitting a 366-yard drive and an approach to 8 feet, missed a chance to win when his birdie try slid right.”

Full piece.

2. G-Mac’s Euro Tour victory drought ends in Saudi desert
ESPN report…”Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell has ended his five-and-a-half-year wait for a European Tour title with victory at the Saudi International on Sunday.”
  • “McDowell cared an up-and-down par 70 to finish 12 under for the tournament, two shots ahead of second place American defending champion Dustin Johnson”
  • “The 40-year-old Northern Irishman struggled to a bogey at the first hole, before carding a further two bogeys in a mixed final round. However, back-to-back birdies at the 12th and 13th holes were enough to secure McDowell his 11th Tour win, his first since defending his Alstom Open de France title in 2014.”

Full piece.

3. Shark: Bring on the Premier Golf League
Australian Associated Press report…“Greg Norman believes the mooted Premier Golf League has every chance of succeeding, 26 years after his own world tour proposal was shot down by the powerful PGA Tour. The Australian great says changing times mean the plan for 18 tournaments worth US$10 million (AU$14.9m) each featuring 48 leading players could work despite likely opposition from existing tours.”
  • …”You’ve got to remember back in my day the players were looked on a little bit different,” Norman told The Scotsman at the final day of the Saudi International on Sunday.
  • “Seve (Ballesteros), Jose (Maria Olazabal) and I were trying to tell everybody we were independent contractors who could go and play anywhere in the world we want…”
  • “Restraint of trade is not as prevalent – you can’t do it basically in this day and age – so that’s why this one probably has a little more legs.”
4. Mickelson’s momentum 
Brentley Romine for Golf Channel…“Mickelson fired a closing 3-under 67 Sunday to finish the week at 9 under, just three shots back of winner Graeme McDowell.”
  • “It was so fun to be back in the mix,” Mickelson told reporters afterward. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in contention. It’s been a while since I’ve been playing well and it feels really good. This has been a great week for me, a good step, and it was so fun coming down the stretch to feel the nervousness and the excitement and the opportunities.”
  • …”I haven’t been my best this last year since I won Pebble a year ago, and I’m excited to go back there next week with a little bit of momentum,” Mickelson said. “I feel like I have been playing well, but yet I haven’t had the results. I missed a couple of cuts and this week I really started to put things together and it’s a great week to build off of.”
5. “Bitter”
A bit of what Tony Finau said following his playoff defeat…
  • “Hat’s off to Webb. A couple birdies coming home, and if you’re going to get beat that’s how it should happen.”
  • “I definitely didn’t give him the tournament. He took the lead from me early and I got it late, but unfortunately it’s how the cookie crumbles today.”
  • “It’s a bitter week as I look back on it. But man, lots of stuff to be learned…I had a chance, a great chance to win this week. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, but my game’s better than it’s ever been. I have more confidence now than I’ve ever had. And again, if you know anything about me, I’ll persevere through anything. If you want to say this is a stumbling block or whatever it is, to chase this next one, but I’ll knock it off soon and will be on my way.”

Full piece

6. Player on Premier Golf League and “greed”
Gary Player’s money argument is a curious one in the world of pro sports (Kevin Durant earned more than $100 million in salary last year, for reference)…anyway…
  • Geoff Shackelford pulling from a John McCauley report…”I find a lot of greed in the sport now,” Player added. “When someone comes along like this, what do you do?
  • “Do you discard the PGA Tour where you’ve played all your life? Are you just going to say ‘to hell with you now?’ I don’t like that. It is crazy to say you don’t like money, but it’s not as though they are struggling.
  • “I think Rory McIlroy made $23 million last year without even taking in his contracts. How much money do you want? Loyalty to me is very big.”
7. Motivating McDowell
G-Mac is drawing inspiration from an unlikely source…
  • Golf Digest’s Dave Shedloski writes...”Graeme McDowell was thinking of Drew Brees when he arrived in Hawaii just before the start of the new year to compete in the PGA Tour’s Sentry Tournament of Champions. The former U.S. Open champion always has appreciated the hard-nosed competitiveness of the New Orleans Saints quarterback, but it was something Brees had recently said, not something he did, that got McDowell’s attention as he arrived at Kapalua’s Plantation Course.”
  • “[Brees] just said he’s going to play every season like it’s his last. He’s going to work his ass off and enjoy it while he’s doing it, and that struck a chord with me,” said McDowell, who at 40 is just seven months younger than Brees. “You never know how long you can play, how long you’re going to have out here. So yeah, I like that attitude. I’m going to try and have that kind of an attitude this season. And the next couple of seasons, really.”
8. Haley Moore heads Down Under
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…”Haley, 21, will begin her 2020 LPGA season roughly 8,000 miles away and 19 hours ahead of those she loves. But while she won’t have an entourage, Moore will have some familiar faces in the crowd at the ISPS Handa Vic Open. For two years she competed in the Australian Master of the Amateurs event and her host family, the Sephtons, hope to make the drive over from Melbourne for Thursday’s round.”
  • “The third LPGA event of 2020 will feature a second round of rookies making their first appearance. In addition to Moore, newbies Andrea Lee, Jiwon Jeon, Maia Schechter, Matilda Castren and Linnea Johansson are also in the field. Eight rookies played in the new Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio.”

Full piece.

9. The full WMPO experience
Young Quinn may have been overserved…
Chelsea Curtis, Arizona Republic…“Quinn Jamieson, 20, was accused of stealing alcohol about 11:45 a.m. inside the event, said Scottsdale police spokesman Sgt. Ben Hoster.”
  • “Initially, Jamieson was being chased on foot by event workers, said Hoster. He ran inside the event before scaling a barbed-wire fence of the Central Arizona Project Aqueduct and jumping into the canal, Hoster said.”
  • “Jamieson swam in the canal for about 10 minutes and was unable to get out on his own, according to Hoster. Scottsdale fire personnel threw him a “throw bag” to help him out of the canal just after noon, Hoster said.”

 

Related Topics:

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.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

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.

Continue Reading

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.

 

Continue Reading

News

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

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 28, 2025

By

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)

Continue Reading

WITB

Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago

Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)

Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.  Driver: Titleist...
Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago

Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship

Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Whats in the Bag4 weeks ago

Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)

Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
Whats in the Bag4 weeks ago

WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship

Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...

Facebook

Trending