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Five Things We Learned: Friday at The Open Championship

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2 years ago

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The ghosts of Royal Liverpool set the halfway cut at 3 over par on Friday, sending a fair portion of the original field away for the weekend’s conclusion. Gone are three of the most recent Open Championship winners: Morikawa, Lowry, and Molinari. Still around are two of the older, recent champions (Johnson and Stenson), which suggests that links golf is less about power and more about patience and guile. The day’s most exciting round of golf concluded with a spectacular eagle at the last hole, while the newest hole at Hoylake was christened with its first Open ace. We’ll begin our Friday installation of Five Things We Learned with that shot from Travis Smyth, who bid farewell to this year’s championship with one, lasting swing.

1. Brian Harman and the round of the day

The history of the Open Championship is rife with players who evolved from no concept of links golf to masters of its nuances. None was more celebrated for this evolution than the 1930 champion, Bobby Jones, who won at Hoylake, on his way to the single-season Grand Slam of golf. Brian Harman finished 26th at Royal Liverpool in his first Open appearance in 2014. We’ll call that Beginner’s Luck, as the portsider proceeded to miss the cut in his next four appearances in the game’s oldest championship. In 2021, a switch flipped, and this Georgia native reached an understanding of the requisite shots and temperament for seaside golf. He finished 19th at Royal St. George’s, and 6th at St. Andrews last year.

Harman turned in the second day’s finest round at Liverpool. After opening with 67, the two-time winner on the PGA Tour signed for birdie on holes two through five to reach eight under par. He then went on a Faldo-esque run of pars, making a dozen consecutive to arrive at the 18th tee in fine fashion. After a marvelous drive that flirted with the OOB corner, Harman launched an iron skyward, and watched it ultimately cease revolving some 15 feet above the hole. With great care, he rolled the ball into the cup to take a five-shot advantage into the weekend.

2. Another eagle at the last

Defending champion Cameron Smith was on the outside, looking in, with one hole to play. With one, stylish swing of his hybrid, the 2022 winner at St. Andrews moved from over the cut line, to 2 over par. Smith looked for all the world to be done early this week, after a fourth bogey on the day at the lengthy 16th. He carved an iron in close on the 17th, but the world’s best putter inexplicably missed the eight-foot putt. His drive at the last found the fairway, and then came the sort of swing we watched all last year at the home of golf. Smith will have to make up a dozen shots on the current leader over two days, but we won’t count any former winner out.

3. Tommy, Tommy, Tommy …

As intimated yesterday, two of the three first-round leaders went away. Christo Lamprecht did what most amateurs do, which totaled 8 over par on day two. He did make the cut, and is guaranteed the low amateur medal on the week. Emiliano Grillo didn’t drift as far as Lamprecht, but he did struggle to a 74 on day two. He stands at minus-two on the week, in 7th position. The leader who attracted all of our attention overnight is Fairway Jesus, the local lad from an hour up the coastline in Southport, across the river Mersey. Tommy Fleetwood is the Ryder Cup hero, the affable competitor who we all feel is due an Open Championship in this lifetime.

Fleetwood did nothing spectacular on his outward Friday nine. He managed eight pars and a bogey, and looked at any moment to be cast adrift from the competitors. As great champions do, Fleetwood managed his way around Harry Colt’s course with calm and consistency. He posted birdie at 10, bogey at 13, a pair of birdies at 14 and 15, and a third bogey at 16. It was that sort of day for Fleetwood, but it might be the key to his performance this week. When the championship might have slipped away, Fleetwood held firm. He’ll tee off with Harman in Saturday’s final game, and he’ll look to remain near the top, in advance of Sunday’s conclusion.

4. S’up, Sepp?

The fellow who gave us Thursday’s most linksy shot, gave us Friday’s most electrifying run of golf. Sepp Straka, winner two weeks ago at the John Deere Classic, made eight birdies on day two at Royal Liverpool. He opened with a three at the first, and closed with a four at the last. Straka had a double bogey on the third, another birdie at the fifth, and a bogey at the eighth. Beginning with the twelfth hole, the Austrian-turned-Southerner departed the planet Par. He posted four consecutive birdies to the 16th tee, where he got a bid sideways with the driver. His recovery avoided the front-left bunker, and his pitch settled inside eight feet. His par putt went adrift, and he made his second bogey of the round. Undeterred, the genial one found safe passage aboard the 17th green, and drained a 24-foot putt for deuce. Playing the last as a three-shot hole, Straka dropped another, mid-length putt from 18 feet for his final birdie of the day.

Straka owns a pair of titles on the PGA Tour. There’s no reason he should challenge for this one, but we’ve seen less likely candidates rise to the top of the podium, as Champion Golfer of the Year. One thing is for sure: if Straka keeps making buckets of birdies, he’ll be fun to watch.

5. How will it end?

If Brian Harman continues to play mid-60s golf, the 2023 Open Championship will be remembered as a one-man show. We’ve seen events like that before, but not at a major since 2000 at Pebble Beach. More likely is a par round from Harman along the way, and a few surges from the weekend chasers. In the past, we’ve predicted only winners, but we’re going to elaborate a bit more, for your and our entertainment. On Saturday, Harman will not have his best game, but he will navigate the links of Hoylake in 72 shots. His one-over round of golf will fix him at nine-deep, heading into Sunday. He’ll still be among the top five, and will most likely again play in the day’s final game. Fleetwood will play one-under golf, and be at six-under on Saturday night.

Closing in to join Harman in Sunday’s last pairing will be Min Woo Lee. The Australian has designs on joining his sister as a major champion, and he has been in the mix in enough grand slam events to know how to play a round of golf in the heat of the moment. We’ll see a 66 from Rory, and that will bring him into the penultimate pairing with Fleetwood. All in all, Saturday will set the stage for an unforgettable Sunday.

 

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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.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Eee

    Jul 22, 2023 at 1:45 pm

    You really need to quit writing and disappear from the public eye

    Reply Report comment

  2. Paulo

    Jul 21, 2023 at 11:29 pm

    His majesty the king has done you all a favour allowing you into his golf tournament

    Reply Report comment

  3. D Gillis

    Jul 21, 2023 at 8:27 pm

    Moron!

    Reply Report comment

  4. Mike

    Jul 21, 2023 at 6:53 pm

    Man I miss The Masters. Boring links golf on ugly courses. Just like the British and their bad teeth, it makes me cringe.

    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

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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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