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Morning 9: Tour updates | Bryson refutes $135 million offer story | Phil doubles down

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4 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt
For comments—or if you’re looking for a fourth—email me at ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com.
February 4, 2022
Good Friday morning, golf fans.
1. Pebble: Hoge ahead
AP report…”Tom Hoge enjoys being at Pebble Beach even in a frigid wind and relentless rain. He loved it even more Thursday in brilliant sunshine, especially with nine birdies on his card.”
  • “Hoge began his day along the Pacific Ocean with a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 10 at Pebble Beach. He made the last of six straight birdies with a 40-foot putt on the daunting eighth hole. It added to a 9-under 63, by four shots his best score at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.”
  • “…Jonas Blixt had a 7-under 64 on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula. Patrick Cantlay, the reigning FedExCup champion, birdied his last three holes for a 65 on the Shore.”
2. Alex, Hataoka in front
AP report…“Marina Alex closed with a birdie on the par-5 18th for a 7-under 65 and a share of the first-round lead with Nasa Hataoka on Thursday in the windy LPGA Drive On Championship at Crown Colony.”
  • “Alex birdied all four par-5 holes and had five birdies in a row on Nos. 9-13 in her bogey-free morning round. The 31-year-old American won the 2018 Portland Classic for her lone LPGA Tour title.”
  • “…Hataoka, also playing in the morning wave, finished with a birdie on the par-5 ninth. The 23-year-old Japanese player, ranked No. 9 in the world, won twice last year and has five career LPGA Tour victories.”
3. Saudi
BBC Report…”Italy’s Matteo Manassero leads the Saudi International by two shots after an opening eight-under-par 62 at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.”
  • “Two-times Masters champion Bubba Watson and England’s Sam Horsfield are among a group of players on six under par.”
  • “Dustin Johnson, who is seeking a third win in what is now the Asian Tour’s flagship event, hit a five-under 65.”
  • “Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Reed and Henrik Stenson are all four under”
4. Meanwhile, on the DP World Tour…
From the day he first set foot on the property, Tom Doak knew that the second course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort was the project he had spent twenty years training for.
In The Making of Pacific Dunes, Doak shares his experience in building the course from that first day, explaining how he found each hole and put the routing together, and what his crew did and didn’t do to build this ‘distractingly beautiful and unfailingly challenging golf course’.
Doak’s own journal entries, sketches of greens, and memos from his client, Mike Keiser, are combined with stunning photography [before and after] to supplement his recollections of how the course was built, and what it’s meant in the twenty years since it opened.
If you have played Pacific Dunes – this book will enhance your memories of it. If you are going to play Pacific Dunes, you need this book to heighten your awareness and insight of how to play it.
5. Bryson denies $135 million offer 
Our Gianni Magliocco…”On Wednesday, a report from SportsMail claimed that Bryson DeChambeau had been offered $135 million to be the poster boy of the Saudi Super League.”
  • “Bryson is the biggest name thus far to be linked with the Saudi backed league, with Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson also reportedly having been offered in the region of $30 million each to make the switch.”
  • “Phil Mickelson stated this week that “Pretty much every player in the top 100 in the world has been contacted”, while Dustin Johnson and Lee Westwood revealed that they had signed NDA’s regarding the Super League.”
  • “The claim that Bryson has been offered $135 to trade allegiances have today, however, been refuted by the man himself.”
  • “On Instagram, the Californian responded to the claim by simply writing “Wrong” in a post that contained the report.”
6. Phil doubles down
Via the Golf Channel Digital Team…??”Mickelson didn’t retreat on Thursday after his opening round, either.”
  • “When asked by a reporter about the added “buzz” this week in Saudi Arabia, where 20 of the top 50 players in the world are competing, Mickelson said: “There’s a lot of complexities that are working themselves out right now in the sport of golf. Because of some opportunities that create leverage for the players, we have a chance to get in a more equitable position with other major sports. We’re so far behind because we don’t have player representation like the Players’ Association and collective bargaining and all those things, and we have such differing views, and for the first time in my 30 years there’s some leverage.”
  • “I don’t know where we’re headed. I don’t know, because there’s so many different parts that need to be addressed. I think, in the end, all the things are going to be very positive, but there’s a lot going on, which is a good thing.”
7. Spieth’s shaft switch 
Our Andrew Tursky…When Fujikura’s new Ventus TR Blue shaft launched in January 2022, we learned all about the updated construction and potential performance benefits compared to the original Ventus Blue. It was unclear at the time, however, exactly who would make the switch into the new TR design on the PGA Tour.
“Well, we’re starting to get some answers.”
“Jordan Spieth, who’s been relatively slow to change into new products throughout his career, is among a handful of names making the change. Spieth conducted recent testing with a Ventus Blue TR 7 X shaft in his Titleist TS2 15-degree fairway wood, and he put it in play this week at the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.”
  • “Titleist Tour representative J.J. Van Wezenbeeck, who works closely with Spieth on his equipment, said that Spieth came to the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) on Friday before the 2022 Pebble Beach Pro-Am for a check-up on his equipment. Since Spieth was previously playing Ventus Blue shafts in his Titleist metalwoods, he was intrigued by the new TR version.”
  • “As it turned out, Spieth found the new shaft to help with his transition and directional control.”
  • “Coming from Ventus Blue, anytime they update a shaft you’re just intrigued on that, and he liked how [the Ventus TR Blue] loaded compared to the original Ventus Blue for him,” Van Wezenbeeck told GolfWRX on Tuesday. “He felt like when he mishit it, there was a little more control. So that was a good option for him…we did a little bit of internal work on the head to make sure there’s enough spin, because want to make sure his 3 wood doesn’t have too low of spin. He liked how the TR reacted on mishits where the spin didn’t drop, and it had more consistent spin from swing to swing.”
8. ICYMI: Ryuji returns
Our Andrew Tursky…”After a nearly seven-year hiatus, Ryuji Imada has finally returned to the PGA Tour; he’ll be teeing it up this week at the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.”
  • “The last time we saw Imada play in a tour-sanctioned event in the United States was back in 2015, and while he played in the 2021 Zozo Championship in Japan, he’s largely stepped away from the professional game.”
  • “Imada, who was born in Japan and is currently 45 years old, captured his lone PGA Tour victory in 2008 at the AT&T Classic in a playoff against Kenny Perry; Imada also won the 2000 Buy.com Virginia Beach Open and the 2004 BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs on the then-Nationwide Tour.”
  • “During Tuesday’s practice round day at Pebble Beach, Imada was greeted with hugs and hellos from fellow players and caddies; he was all smiles catching up with old friends.”
9. Photos from Pebble Beach
Check out amateur/celebrity WITBs, what the pros are playing, a new PXG driver, and more in our photos from Pebble.

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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

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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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News

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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