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Morning 9: Scheffler retains WMPO title | Rahm’s consolation | Tiger’s back!

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3 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco and Matthew Vincenzi.

For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com
February 13, 2023

Good Monday morning, golf fans, as Scottie Scheffler reigned supreme in Phoenix.

1. Scheffler wins WM Phoenix Open

AP Report…”Scottie Scheffler successfully defended his WM Phoenix Open title Sunday at TPC Scottsdale to regain the No. 1 spot in the world.”

  • Scheffler closed with a 6-under 65 to beat Nick Taylor by 2 strokes in breezy conditions on the firm and fast Stadium Course. The 26-year-old Texan will jump from second to first in the rankings, taking the top spot from Rory McIlroy with his fifth PGA Tour victory.
Full piece.

2. …Rahm’s consolation

Ryan Herrington for Golf Digest…”Jon Rahm started the final round of the WM Phoenix Open two shots behind Scottie Scheffler. If he pulled out the victory, it would have been his third tour win in six weeks and would have lifted the 28-year-old Spaniard to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. And yet, it wasn’t meant to be, a closing three-under 68 at TPC Scottsdale leaving him in solo third, five shots back of Scheffler, the eventual winner.”

  • Despite some disappointment in his finish, however, Rahm still left the Arizona desert having accomplished something just 25 others in PGA Tour history have ever done: topping $40 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour.
Full piece.

3. DP World Tour: Strydom in Singapore

DP World Tour report…”It was a second DP World Tour win in six starts for Strydom after he managed nine birdies and no dropped shots on his way to the low round of the week and a 19-under-par total.”

  • “That was good enough for a one-shot victory over Sami Välimäki, who looked on course for the win midway through the final day, with Marcel Schneider, Jeunghun Wang and Alejandro del Rey on 15 under.”
  • “Strydom was four shots off the pace overnight with Wang and Del Rey out in front at Laguna National Golf Resort Club.”
Full piece.

4. Gibson’s Korn Ferry delight

Tony Webeck for PGA Australia…“New South Welshman Rhein Gibson has taken a massive step towards regaining playing privileges on the PGA TOUR with a four-shot victory at the Korn Ferry Tour Astara Golf Championship in Colombia.”

  • One stroke back of Kris Ventura at the start of the final round at the Country Club de Bogota, Gibson made his first birdie of the day at the par-4 fourth before making his move at the turn.
  • A birdie at nine was followed by a monster putt for eagle at the par-5 10th, handing Gibson a handy three-shot buffer moving into the back nine.
Full piece.

5. Ames wins…and gets giant knife

Golfweek’s Cameron Jourdan…”Stephen Ames’ game was sharp, but the trophy he’s bringing home is even sharper.”

  • “Ames ran away with the Trophy Hassan II at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat, Morocco, for his third PGA Tour Champions victory. He went wire-to-wire, carding an even-par final round to finish at 9 under for the tournament.”
  • “His final round consisted of 18 pars. His reward? A giant knife.”
  • “This is up there with all the good events, great events that we have on our tour right now,” Ames said. “The beauty about this event is the fact that it’s in another country, which I’m used to traveling and playing the world. For me, I enjoy coming here because of the cuisine, of the food. I enjoy it very much. This is very much up my alley when I came here.”
Full piece.

6. Avoiding the crowd at Scottsdale

Erez Ben-AkivaSpecial to Arizona Republic…”Far from the main entrance and the rowdy, sometimes drunken 16th hole, the 13th serves as a less-populated, hushed oasis for some spectators like John Jackson.”

  • “We come out this far to get away from all the people because it’s the furthest point away from the front gate,” said Jackson, 68, who splits time between Goodyear and Lincoln, Nebraska.
  • “Jackson, sitting in a green Masters-branded lawn chair with a pair of binoculars, said he always attends the Phoenix Open on Thursdays because that day has the smallest crowds.”
  • “At the “People’s Open,” some fans clearly and actively avoid people. And they can be found at the 13th hole.”
Full Piece.

7. Nordqvist ends Aramco deal

Golf Channel’s Max Schreiber…”Anna Nordqvist has ended her ambassadorship deal with Saudi oil company Aramco.”

  • “The three-time major champion told the Swedish news agency TT in an interview that she received harsh criticism for the partnership.”
  • “It didn’t really turn out the way I thought it would,” Nordqvist said. “I need to think about myself and I haven’t felt good about this.”
  • “Nordqvist added: “I wasn’t really prepared to get such an incredible amount of hatred and mean comments from people who don’t even know me.”
  • “Aramco is owned by the Saudi Arabian government, which has recently invested billions of dollars in sports. The Saudi regime is funding the controversial LIV Golf circuit…”
Full Piece.

8. ICYMI: Tiger is playing this week

9. Winning WITB

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (8 degrees

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

Irons: Srixon ZU85 (3-4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)

Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Hybrid Prototype 10 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50-12F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-06K)

Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Tourtype GSS tour prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Full WITB.
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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

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

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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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