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Five Things We Learned: Friday at the PGA Championship

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2 years ago

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The drive from Buffalo to the media shuttle lot took one hour and two minutes. It included five vehicles that didn’t know left lane from right lane, at least two healthy rain showers, and a few cashews. Fran the Bus Man made sure to keep me entertained on the shuttle ride in, and my entry to the tournament grounds was seamless. When the PGA Championship was held here in Augusts of 2003 and 2013, I was able to spend four to five days on course. Now that it is celebrated during the school year, my access is truncated.

The weather systems tossed an unexpected series of squalls at Friday’s play. Despite the arrival of the wet stuff, the band played on. No delays, just a spritz or two on the golf course. Saturday might look worse, but getting 36 complete and a cut established is pretty great stuff for western New York in May. On that squishy note, let’s take a look at five things that we learned on Friday at the 2023 PGA Championship.

1. Making putts on 18 to make the cut is sweet

Within the space of two groups, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth made 10-15 feet putts for bogey and par, respectively. Each stood near the cut line, and needed to make those critters to have a seat at the table over the weekend. Each one buried the palpitation-inducers in the heart of the cup, as champions do. One group later, Matt Fitzpatrick came to the same hole, also on the line. His drive found a right-side fairway bunker, and his approach slipped over the lip, landing fifty feet below the hole. His approach putt stormed past the hole, into Spieth territory. His read was not as accurate as Spieth’s, and the weekend slipped away for the 2022 US Open champion.

Sometimes they drop, and sometimes they don’t.

2. We met the new neighbors

There’s this young guy named Justin Suh, who made his debut on the PGA block this week. How did he get a spot in the neighborhood?

I would say I started driving it a lot better. We made a few adjustments before the tournament started, and I think it clicked right when the tournament
started. I would say hitting fairways are pretty crucial out here, but I play pretty conservative with my iron shots just because greens are pretty important on this golf course, and I rely
on my speed with my putter.

Adrian Meronk from Poland is a new exchange student, and Callum Tarren is also spending some time in the states, having grown up in England. Suh dropped a stroke from his opening 69, and found a spot in the penultimate pairing with his day-two 68. Callum Tarren is right there with Suh, going from 71 to 67 overnight, to move inside the top ten. Adrian Meronk didn’t fair nearly as well as the aforementioned lads, but he did move inside the cut line with a Friday 69. We all love over-the-fence talk about the new kids on the block, and there’s no reason to think that this trio won’t make some noise on the weekend.

3. The guy that all of western New York supports is … Keith Mitchell?

You bet. Howza come? Well, Mitchell has partnered with the Buffalo Bills #QB1, Josh Allen, at the AT & T pro-am in California, for a few years. Each one extols the other’s virtues, and rumor has it that Mitchell is now a table-breaking member of the #BillsMafia.

Don’t expect Mitchell to don the red, white, and blue zubaz sweats for the weekend, but understand that he sits in a pretty positive space after 36 holes. If he can figure out the par-five holes (he’s two-over par on them through two rounds) and avoid the bogeys that lurk along Allen’s Creek, Mitchell might move within a handful of shots by Saturday night. As we all know, Sundays are shootouts and Mitchell is a gunslinger.

4. Say Goodbye to Hollywood and …

In addition to Matt Fitzpatrick, Tom Kim, Jason Day, and Cameron Young missed the cut. Young and his caddie somehow failed to replace a ball marker that had been moved for another player’s putt. The ensuing, two-stroke penalty dropped Young from +6 to +8 and crushed all momentum. Joining that trio on the train out of town are Sungjae Im, Sam Burns, and 19 out of 20 PGA professionals. Only Michael Block, from Mission Viejo, California, survived the 36-hole cut among the club professionals. He did it in style, matching a Friday 70 to his Thursday one, finding himself tied for 11th at the halfway post.

5. Wear out the center of the green

Those are the words of one of our tri-leaders. Viktor Hovland.

… I’ve just been a little bit young and stupid, just going after some pins that I’m not
supposed to go for even though I’m feeling good about my ball-striking and it’s easy to just feel like, yeah, I’m going to take it right at it and make a birdie here. Then you hit a decent shot, and then you’re short-sided and make bogey or double, and you just can’t do that in major championship golf.
You just have to wear out center of the green. If that putter gets hot, you can make some birdies.

Hovland did precisely that, and made a nifty birdie at the last, while Scottie Scheffler had a sloppy bogey. The pair ended up at the same address: five-under par for 36 holes. Joining them is Corey Conners, who made a somewhat-benign par at the closing, 502-yard par four. Scheffler and Conners will be paired in the final twosome, while Hovland will match wits with Justin Suh.

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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.

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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

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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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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