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Tour Rundown: It’s a tie!

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2 years ago

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Before we dive in to this week’s tour events, allow a bit of latitude for an opinion piece. Those who do not coach believe that it is proper to place the results of a team tie in the hands of one or two golfers. In our high school leagues, we used to do just that, and it was a dramatic and rotten way to resolve things. After hours of toil, most participants were cast aside, unable to help resolve the overtime. For those who believe that a Solheim, Ryder, Curtis, or Walker Cup tie should be resolved by any fewer than the entirety of each side, imagine being one of the cast-asides. There is a better way.

The Solheim Cup could not have been more lopsided, yet evenly matched, this year. More on that in a bit. The Korn Ferry Tour held its penultimate event in the capital city of Ohio. Tour Champions headed west to the Monterey peninsula of northern California, and the DP World Tour held its French Open on the Ryder Cup course near Paris. With that roster of events in place, we may now advance to this week’s Tour Rundown. Anchors, away!

Solheim Cup @ Finca Cortesin: It’s a tie!

Not since the 1960 baseball World Series has a multi-day competition been so lopsided, yet so close. In that ancient match-up, the Yankees pummeled the Pirates by 35 runs in three of seven games, yet somehow found a way to lose the other four by a total of seven runs. In Spain’s southernmost province of Andalucia, something similar took place.

On day one, the visitors from the USA won all four matches in the Friday morning foursomes, the format least associated with American success. Alternate shot is not their forte, yet there lay Team Europe, in a 0-4 hole. Galvanized, the host squad nearly squared things in the afternoon four-ball matches. Two European sides won their matches outright, while the other two earned half points to close the four-point gap to two, after one day of competition.

Day two anticipated the same sequence of foursomes, followed by four ball. USA won two of the first three matches, with Europe claiming the third. With momentum squarely on the line, the final sides of Andrea Lee/Danielle Kang (USA) and Maja Stark/Linn Grant (Europe) played a match for the ages. After each side won one hole over the first seven holes, the next 10 holes saw nine lead changes. Europe won the 8th, then lost the 9th. This win-then-lose sequence happened three more times until Europe won the 17th hole the final decided hole. Both sides parred the 18th, Europe escaped, one-up, and the matches stood at 7-5, in favor of Team USA.

Saturday afternoon’s fourball matches saw Team USA again struggle in the better-ball format. Only Cheyenne Knight and Angel Yin were able to secure a point for the visitors, by a two-up margin. In each of the other three matches, Europe won without seeing the 18th hole. With three points in their favor, Europe had squared the matches at 8 points each. Only the Saturday morning matches were close; in each of the other three sessions, one side won by at least two points.

With 12 singles matches scheduled for Sunday, the winning side was anyone’s guess. The first four matches were won, but each side struck twice, meaning the final eight matches would decide the keeper of the Solheim Cup. The next two matches were halved, with the host side squandering two-up leads with four to play in each. Match seven went to the visitors, and then came the greatest comeback of the three days. Down three holes with six to play, Caroline Headwall made birdie or eagle at five of those holes, and overtook Team USA’s Ally Ewing. Still square, with four matches to play.

Despite a Team USA win in match nine, Team Europe clinched a tie for the cup, when Maja Stark and homebred Carlota Ciganda won by 2 & 1 totals. Lexi Thompson’s final-match victory meant nothing in the end, as the defending champion’s retained possession of the cup until 2025. For anyone who paid for admission this week, the money was beyond well spent.

DP World Tour @ French Open: Japan’s Hisatsune stands tall

It was a rough day for the final trio. Ewen Ferguson posted 76 to drop nine spots, from T1 to 10th. Co-leader Jordan Smith was in for 72, and fell one spot to 2nd position. Kazuki Higa signed for 74, and tumbled to a sixth-place tie. With those golfers out of the way, the stage was cleared for someone to jump and take control. That someone was 21-year old Ryo Hisastsune. The Japanese golfer pulled away from the chase pack with five birdies for an inward 30, ultimately winning by two over Smith.

Day four had to be especially frustrating for Smith. He opened with two birdies, and must have felt that this might be his day. He had exhausted his ration of birdies for the day, and could only muster 13 pars and three bogies the rest of the way. The victory moved the champion up 26 spots of the season-long money ranking, nearly into the top ten.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Nationwide: Xiong not wrong on Sunday in Ohio

Despite a stellar amateur record, the professional go has not been easy for Norman Xiong. The former Palmer and Walker Cup participant has won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour but has not been able to gain traction on the PGA Tour. He’ll have another go at it next year, thanks to his win in Columbus. Xiong stood even with Chandler Phillips through 54 holes over the Ohio State University’s Scarlet course. Phillips headed down the wrong roadway on Sunday, posting a 3-over 74 for a T7 finish.

Closing fast was Australia’s Curtis Luck, whose day-four 66 was the low, fourth-round total. Luck needed more than just his last name, and bogeys at 13 and 18 kept him from reaching 8 under and pressuring Xiong. With a clean card through 17 holes, Xiong needed merely to remain upright over the final 425 yards, to claim the prize. His last-hole bogey made his margin four shots, and his performance moved him to 12th position on the season-long points list.

PGA Tour Champions @ PURE Insurance: Jaidee over Leonard in playoff

Justin Leonard has had a diverse career in golf since turning professional out of the University of Texas. He earned multiple wins on the PGA Tour, including an Open Championshp at Royal Troon. Leonard took to broadcasting, and has reported extensively on the PGA Tour since then. Despite numerous starts on the PGA Tour Champions, Leonard has been unable to secure a first, senior victory. This week, he came oh-so-close, reaching a playoff against Thongchai Jaidee.

Leonard held the round-two lead on Saturday evening but still needed a 54th-hole birdie to reach overtime with the Thai champion. The pair played the 18th hole twice, then the 17th, without deciding a winner. On the fourth playoff hole, Leonard tugged his drive into the Pacific ocean, ultimately making double bogey. Jaidee was able to stay on dry land, made par, and won the second event of his Tour Champions career stretch.

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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

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

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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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