Connect with us

News

Tour Rundown: Excitement in Mexico, California, Texas, South Korea, and Alabama

Published

2 years ago

on

So many tours were in play this week, we once again found ourselves limited to a top-five list. Mexico, California, Texas, South Korea, and Alabama hosted top-tier events across the golfing globe. Last week saw the year’s second major championship, and May will bring two more elite events to our eyes. In the interim, the golf that was played this week was easily as enticing, and the courses offered a diverse lesson in how to lay out a golfing ground. Excitement? You bet. Imagine making this putt, just to get into a playoff! Time for Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour @ Mexico Open: Finau finds sixth tour title

After Jon Rahm posted 61 on Saturday, I calculated that another one of those gems would have moved him to 27-under par. Unlikely, sure, but it would have given him a three-shot advantage over the number that Milton Pouha “Tony” Finau ultimately posted on Sunday. Still, if Rahm had gone off for a second-consecutive day, would Finau have matched him? Probably.

Even though young Akshay Bhatia was tied with Rahm through 54 holes, two back of Finau, he seemed like the odd man out. Bhatia, who eschewed college study and golf for the professional life, has Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour, which is legalese for a lot more legalese. Suffice it to say, another week like this one and 2023-2024 is secured. However, Bhatia found little good on Sunday, and fell away to a solo fourth finish.

Finau was flawless on Sunday. He made zero bogies and snatched five birdies from the Vidanta Vallarta course. This meant, of course, that Rahm needed 64 for a playoff, and 63 for an outright win. Rahm stood minus-four through 15 holes, and needed to make things happen. His par-bogey-birdie finish meant that runner-up would be his fate. Still, the 2023 Masters champion and world number one reminded all of us of the special echelon to which his game has ascended of late.

LPGA @ LA Championship: Overtime triumvirate reveals BBB as winner

The 18th hole at Wilshire Country Club is normally the club’s 10th. This week, the LPGA has decided to move golfers from the 9th green to the 11th tee, shifting the traditional closing par-four to penultimate status. This set the stage for a downhill pitch to a funky-cold green. Well, it worked. Hannah Green, Xiyu Lin, and Aditi Ashok all came to the wee tee at eight-under par, and each one dropped a putt for a deuce, necessitating a three-way playoff. Guess where the playoff began? You’ve got it! The wee three.

During the first extra playing, Lin and Green each made two but Ashok was eliminated with par. The four-time winner on the Ladies European Tour takes her search for LPGA title number one to San Francisco’s Harding Park next week. The second trip down 10, errr, 18, saw quite a different tone.

Xiyu Lin ran into trouble off the tee, and could only manage a bogey four. With that much opportunity, the 2019 Women’s PGA champion approached to six inches, and calmly tapped in for a winning par. LA was her third LPGA title, and first since her breakout season in 2019.

DP World Tour @ Korea Championship: Larrazábal claims 8th tour title

No one will ever question the validity of the name DP World Tour. The rebranded European Tour has its sites set on conquering the world. After opening the year in the Middle East, the DPWT has traversed the globe, from Singapore to Korea, including a first-time stop in Japan. This week, the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea, hosted the globetrotters, and it was Spain’s Pablo Larrazábal who came away with the win.

Scotland’s Robert Macintyre had a one-shot advantage through three days of play, but a pair of opening bogeys dropped him behind the field. He countered with two birdies before the eighth hole, but it was pars the rest of the way, and a frustrating, seventh-place finish. In truth, no one dominated the course over the course of the week, so the winner most certainly would be the last man standing.

For a time, home-country hero Sanghyun Park was in the mix, as were Scott Jamieson and Marcus Helligkilde. All faded away, with Helligkilde finishing in solo second, at minus ten. Spain’s Jorge Campillo and Joost Luiten of The Netherlands each closed with 65 to tie for third with two others, but Larrazábal’s march to the title was never seriously threatened.

 

Korn Ferry Tour @ HomeTown Lenders: Ben Folds Four

Ben Kohles is the guy you want in a playoff, it seems. For the third time in a KFT event, Kohles was pushed to extra holes, this time by another Ben (Silverman.) On the second extra hole … well, let’s set the stage. Kohles followed a round-two 62 in the rain-delayed event with 67, to reach 13-under par. This pushed him past second-round leader Carter Jenkins, whose closing 72 dropped him out of the top five. Nearly catching Kohles were David Skinns (65) and Frankie Capan (66), who finished at twelve deep.

Getting work done was the aforementioned Other Ben, who parlayed a 67 of his own into a playoff duel with Kohles. Silverman had a two-shot edge over Kohles with one hole to play, but found trouble on the 18th and made a double-bogey six. Still, he was alive as they returned to the final tee for overtime. Each golfer made par, so the stage was reset. On the second go-round, Kohles nearly holed his approach shot, leaving a five-feet attempt from above the hole. With complete confidence, the American brought the week to a close with birdie and a second extra-time win in 2023.

PGA Tour Champions @ Insperity: Alker finally gets 2023 win

Steven Alker had to imagine that his time was near. The most delightful surprise of the senior circuit’s post-COVID phase had yet to break through for a sixth title, until this week. Alker’s last victory came in October of 2022, and it was his fourth of that calendar year. What better way to break through than to defend a 2022 title! That’s precisely what Steven Alker did this week, north of Houston.

It has been quite a fortnight for The Woodlands area. Last week, Lilia Vu won her first LPGA major at the Chevron. This week, Alker held off a furious charge from Mr. Wisconsin, Steve Stricker. The lanky one got to minus-seven on the day quite early, to give Alker a bit to consider. Unfazed, Alker closed with two birdies in his final four holes to reach minus-fifteen on the week. His day-three 66 was only one off Stricker’s day-low 65, and Alker had a successful title defense and a four-shot win.

The week was a bittersweet one for the champion. His former caddie, Sam Workman, had passed due to cancer. A massive Houston sports fan, Workman was remembered by a large gallery presence, wearing jerseys with his name on the back. Despite the emotional baggage, Alker was able to get the job done and honor his former looper.

Related Topics:

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.

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