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Five Things We Learned: Day One of the 2022 Presidents Cup

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3 years ago

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The 2022 Presidents Cup, like so many other aspects of golf, fell victim to the shadows that currently threaten the professional game. Players from both sides were ineligible to compete, but that’s not the worst thing in the world. Rewind a year or so, and it’s safe to say that neither Mito Pereira nor Taylor Pendrith imagined that he would be part of a final-hole resolution of a first-round match. As a high school coach, I know that players transfer, and I also know that opportunity then knocks for others. With that optimistic outlook as our hood ornament, let’s break out the five things that we learned on day one of the 2022 Presidents Cup.

1. Mixing it up is good for a golf course

It takes a great mind to reroute a golf course known for its three-hole, closing stretch. The Green Mile consists of the 16th, 17th, and 18th holes at Quail Hollow, and features more water than a storm cloud. Since the Presidents Cup features match play as its format, the potential existed that those holes might be missed in a route. The set-up committee put its collective heads together and found a way to set the triumvirate as holes 13, 14, and 15, ensuring that they would play a bigger role in match outcomes. The next time you visit your home course, stop by the superintendent’s office and ask about alternative routings. Could be fun!

2. Cam Davis and Si Woo Kim earn the World Team’s only point

It’s not the heading that anyone wanted to write, but alas, it’s a fact. The mildly-decimated World team was able to secure but one point on Thursday. Kim and Davis won the last four holes to turn a two-hole deficit into a two-hole victory. It’s difficult to pinpoint what compelled Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns to play the closing quadrilateral in three strokes over par, but that’s precisely what happened.  On Friday, Scheffler and Burns will return to make amends, while Davis will partner countryman Adam Scott. Kim will watch from the sidelines, before returning in a subsequent round.

3. Young and Younger take match three for USA

Collin Morikawa is officially three months older than Cameron Young, but in terms of golf, the Californian is a sage, with two major titles. Not that Young is that far off, mind you, but Morikawa seems to wear the mantel of decorated veteran quite well. The pair matched up well on day one of the matches. Facing the Korean pair of Tom Kim and K. H. Lee, the USA pair took a 2-up lead into the back nine. A streak of malaise brought the match all square through twelve, but the Americans regained the lead at 13, then closed out the match with another birdie at 17. On Friday, Young will pair with Kevin Kisner in fourball, while Morikawa will sit the morning round out. Kim will partner Hideki Matsuyama, while Lee will rest for his next match.

4. Cantlay and Xander obliterate Scott and Hideki

The tee shot below was about the only imperfect thing that Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele did all day. Their 6 & 5 annihilation of Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama was a resounding bell call for the sons of the Red White and Blue to ready, aim, and fire. The American team won 7 of the 13 holes played, against one for the pair of Masters champions. The bad news for Team World is that Patty and Xander will join forces again on day two. Scott and Matsuyama will find new partners, in an effort to steady the ship.

5. Where does the World get its Friday wins?

The Canadian duo of Connors and Pendrith needs to close out the anchor match against Horschel and Burns, but wait ~ we’re getting ahead of things. Adam Scott must play like a young Adam Scott, and Cam Davis must again set fire to the course, in order to derail the featured USA pair of Spieth and Thomas. If Im and Muñoz can upset Scheffler and Burns, the USA pair that everyone expected to dominate, will wonder what do they need to play well. In match three, Christian Bezuidenhout must motivate PGA Championship runner-up Mito Pereira, and Young and Kisner need to play less-than-stellar match play. Team World doesn’t need to win all five matches, but it does need to secure a minimum of 3.5 points, to make the host team sweat.

 

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Stacey Abrams Foul Flatulence

    Sep 23, 2022 at 5:33 pm

    Stinky

    Reply Report comment

  2. 45th President

    Sep 23, 2022 at 4:40 pm

    Didn’t read the article, but number 6 should be Nobody Cares. Especially the so called International team. Joke event…

    Reply Report comment

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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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

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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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