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Morning 9: Hud Swaff | Finau’s former backer sues | Gene Parente: Hero | Tiger backup putter fetches $150K

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5 years ago

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1. Hud Swaff!
A big win…and some interesting victory headwear. 
 
Golf Channel’s Will Gray…“Thanks to a timely birdie on the penultimate hole and a clutch par putt on the final green, Hudson Swafford got back into the winner’s circle at the Puntacana Resort & Club Championship.”
  • “Swafford started the day two shots behind Adam Long, but he quickly became the man to beat in the Dominican Republic after playing the first eight holes in 5 under. At one point Swafford held a four-shot lead on the back nine, but a double bogey on No. 13 let a handful of players back into the tournament. After dropping another shot on No. 16, Swafford stepped to the tee at the par-3 17th tied for the lead with Mackenzie Hughes and Tyler McCumber.”
  • “But he went on to hit the shot of the tournament, stuffing his approach inside 15 feet to set up a decisive birdie.”
2. Catlin closes in Ireland
AP report…”John Catlin birdied three of his last four holes Sunday to close with a 6-under 64 and storm from behind for a two-shot victory in the Irish Open, his second in three weeks on the European Tour.”
  • “Catlin, a 29-year-old American who until this year had only won on the Asian Tour, will move into the top 100 in the world for the first time in his career.”
  • “Aaron Rai never got anything going in favorable conditions at Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort. A birdie on the 17th hole pulled him within one shot of Catlin, and a birdie on the par-5 closing hole would have forced a playoff. Instead, Rai made bogey and closed with a 70.”
3. Gene Parente’s in-flight heroics
Mike Stachura at Golf Digest with a heckuva story featuring Golf Laboratories’ Gene Parente as protagonist and hero.
“…Relaxing in a mostly empty business section on a return trip from Incheon, South Korea last Thursday, Parente found himself called on to wrestle down an unruly passenger on a Korean Air flight who was threatening he had a bomb and was trying to break down the cockpit door…”
  • “I was probably a little groggy so I really wasn’t sure what was going on,” he said when reached by phone on Sunday after initial news reports of the incident. “But then I saw this guy up ahead of me in business class yelling, maybe not psychotically but he’s clearly upset. And then I see that’s he’s got a plastic bag on his head.
  • ….”Parente said as he reached for the man he was nearly knocked out when the man punched him in the chest, but then he began returning punches and shouting in the galley at the front of the plane, an area Parente said felt about two feet square. “I’m doing all of this while wearing a mask, but I can assure you we were not social distancing,” he said. “I don’t know if this was going on for 10 seconds or 10 minutes, it was all a blur. I push him against the wall and we’re screaming and punching each other and just at that instant both my arms are grabbed from behind.”
  • “Two Korean Air pilots who were traveling on the flight had jumped in to break up the disturbance not realizing that Parente was the good guy. When the man had been subdued by Parente and the pilots, he refused to speak to anyone but Parente. “We had been fighting each other like five seconds ago, but when we got him he sat down, I could see in his eyes that he was mentally ill,” Parente said. “And then the guy bolted for the cockpit again, and ran through another flight attendant like NFL linebacker hitting a middle school kid.”
4. Another winning wolf
Golfweek’s Jared Wolfe…“Make that two Korn Ferry Tour players who are now one win away from promotion to the PGA Tour.”
  • “Jared Wolfe captured the Wichita Open on Sunday at Crestview Country Club to join Davis Riley as two-time winners this season on the developmental tour. The 32-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky, shot 1-over 71 and hung on at 16 under for a one-shot victory over Taylor Pendrith.”
  • “Wolfe made no birdies during his closing round in cold, wet and windy conditions, but his eagle at the par-5 14th hole gave him the cushion he needed, as he bogeyed Nos. 15 and 16. Pendrith, who now has five top-3 finishes since the restart, also bogeyed No. 16 before making two pars coming in for a closing 69.”
5. Finau sued by former backer
Mike Sorensen for the Desert News…“Utah professional golfer Tony Finau is being sued by Molonai Hola, a former business associate, for more than $16 million.”
  • “The suit, which was filed last week in 3rd District Court, claims Hola paid Finau and his family’s expenses for several years with the agreement of being paid back, but was never compensated.”
  • “Hola became acquainted with the Finau family around 1997, and as the owner of Icon Sports began financing expenses for Tony and his younger brother Gipper, according to the suit.”
  • “Also named in the lawsuit are Finau’s brother, Gipper, his father, Gary, his agent Christopher Armstrong and the Wasserman Media Group.”
6. A Tiger Woods backup putter fetches $150K
Tom VanHaaren at ESPN…“A Tiger Woods backup putter from 2001 sold at Golden Age Golf Auctions early Sunday morning for $154,928, which is believed to be the most a putter of this caliber has ever sold for.”
  • “The putter is a Scotty Cameron Newport II produced for Woods as a backup to the putter he has used to win 14 of his 15 major championships. Scotty Cameron made Woods a backup putter nearly every year if something were to happen to the putter he used in tournament play or he decided to make a switch.”
  • “This putter was produced in 2001, the year Woods completed the “Tiger Slam” in which he won all four majors consecutively after winning the Masters that April.”
7. Will Zalatoris’ impressive run continues
Adam Stanley for PGATour.com writes Zalatoris is…”inching closer to special temporary membership on the PGA TOUR.”
“Zalatoris, who is tops on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, shot a bogey-free 65 Sunday at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship to finish T8.”
  • “With the top-10 result, the former Walker Cup team member will earn a spot in next week’s Sanderson Farms Championship. He got into the event in the Domincan Republic after an impressive T6 at the U.S. Open.”
  • “Zalatoris is in the midst of a record-setting season on the Korn Ferry Tour but admitted he was “drained” this week after finishing inside the top-10 at Winged Foot.”
8. Mel Reid opens up
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols with an excellent piece on Mel Reid’s journey…A morsel: “Four years before that, Reid lost her mother, Joy, in a car accident in Munich. Mel was there to compete in the UniCredit Ladies German Open. She’d go on to win in Prague one month later.”
  • “Yet the healing process was anything but a straight line. Reid, a six-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, nearly quit the game twice and only recently said she’s starting to come to grips with so many struggles from the neck up that have held her back.”
  • “One week before she left for Royal Troon in August, Reid spoke with sports psychologist Howard Falco for the first time. She immediately felt comfortable with Falco, and opened up deep-rooted wounds she’d been reluctant to address.”
  • “Understanding her self-worth was at the heart of it.”
  • “I think that has been a big issue for me,” she said, “whether I deserve stuff.”
9. Hudson Swafford’s winning WITB
Driver: G400 LST (8.5 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila NV 60 TX
3-wood: Ping i25 (14 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue 125 MSI 80 TX
5-wood: Ping i25 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Tour Blue 85
Irons: Ping S55 (4-9)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (46-10F), SM7 (52-12F, 56-10S), TaylorMade MG Hi Toe (60-09LB)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Putter: TaylorMade Spider X Tour
Grip: SuperStroke
Ball: Titleist Pro V1

 

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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

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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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News

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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