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Your 2024 U.S. Open champion is BDC

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1 year ago

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Opening Act: The Amateurs

There’s a balance to the universe, as Shipley gets a top USGA medal

Despite their given name, Neal Shipley and Luke Clanton played like the main attraction on Sunday. That’s not to say that their games were more elite; just similar. Case in point: Clanton played the final four holes bogey-bogey-par-bogey and lost the silver medal by two shots. Shipley closed in bogey-birdie-bogey-par and won a silver medal, to go with his runner-up silver medal from the 2023 US Amateur.

For fans of the amateur race, three were fortunate to qualify for the weekend’s 36 holes at Pinehurst. Gunnar Broin was in fine position at +3 through 36 holes, but a day-three 81 took him out of the running for the no-pay honors. He did close with 72, to finish at +16 and a tie for 70th place. Shipley and Clanton, as if scripted by Hollywood, were partnered in the 12:04 game, and would not have to look beyond their own fairway, to determine how they stood.

Shipley opened with a birdie, but gave the stroke back to Old Man Par at the very next hole. A double bogey at the tricky 8th brought him to the halfway house in 37 strokes. Clanton had bogeys at four, six, and eight, but a birdie at seven kept their low-am match even as they turned for home. Clanton found a pair of birdies at 10 and 13, but a bogey at 12 kept him even with Shipley, as they headed for the closing four. No stretch of holes could be any more disconcerting than this quadrilateral. Two par threes, sandwiched around a par five that plays as a par four, concluding with a par four that climbs uphill to a massive closing surface.

After both amateurs missed the 15th green and took three to get down, they both drove the fairway of 16, and faced 210-yard approach shots. Clanton put his shot some 50 feet from the hole, while Shipley rifled an iron to five feet. The former took three to get down for bogey, while the later drained his putt for three. In that instant, a two-shot advantage was forged. On 17, Clanton found the putting surface with his tee ball and made three, while Shipley returned a shot with another bogey four. On 18, Clanton hit a miraculous recovery iron to five feet, but his attempt to jam home the birdie for the tie was awry, and he missed the subsequent (and meaningless) putt for par. Shipley’s textbook fairway-green-two putts for par at the home hole conlcuded the mission.

The Main Event: The Professionals

It’s all  endurance, as DeChambeau claims 2nd US Open

They say that there are two types of folks that watch races: ones looking for excellence, and others that hope for crashes. We should have known that the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst #2 would end with a gut-wrenching crash. All of the elements were present: super-fast greens, surface edges that fell off into disaster, and wire grass-laden waste areas where consumate luck was the determiner for back-of-ball contact. For every Francesco Molinari moment (he of the 36th-hole ace to make the cut on the number) there were myriad stories of unfortunate bounces and pulls of gravity.

My prediction of a playoff missed by one shot. My prediction of a Matsuyama victory missed by four shots. All in all, I wasn’t far off. I made those predictions while hoping, privately, for a Rory McIlroy victory. When he took a two-shot advantage at the 12th, and preserved it at the short 13th, matching Bryson DeChambeau’s birdie three, those in the know, knew that it was far from over.

Let’s back up to the beginning of the fourth round. Let’s recall that DeChambeau held a three-shot advantage after 54 holes, which those in the know, know is nothing. One wayward swing brings double and triple bogey into the realm of the possible, and that trio of shots goes away in a gust. When DeChambeau made bogey at the fourth, his first of the day, a friend texted Bryson is imploding! True, there was much hyperbole around the place, but those in the know, knew that bogey at the long fourth was not nearly as large a speed bump as bogey at the par-five fifth, which Rory made.

Bryson DeChambeau’s front nine was a boring affair. Apart from that solitary bogey, he had nothing but par on the card. For those … all right, no more “in the know.” Eight pars is a sign of strength in the US Open. Even when McIlroy laced an iron fifteen feet above the hole, then drained the putt for two, DeChambeau didn’t flinch. Even when McIlroy added three birdies over the next four holes, DeChambeau didn’t flinch. Recall, please, that DeChambeau followed a 52nd-hole double bogey with a 53rd-hole birdie on Saturday. All who love Rory, know that controlling his emotions and preserving balance, is elusive. For DeChambeau, it was his greatest strength. They wrote and said that Ludvig Aberg had the cool of a gunslinger, but he finished 73-73 for a 12th place tie.

It was as if the denouement of the Amateur race turned into an eerie, Groundhog’s Day-effect. Over the closing four holes, McIlroy made three bogeys, while DeChambeau closed in plus-one. McIlroy’s two-shot advantage evaporated, thanks to missed putts of four and two-point-five feet on the 18th and 16th greens.

Worst of all was the iron that he played into 15. It was reminiscent of Tom Watson’s approach to the 72nd hole at Royal Troon in 2009. Needing only to put the ball on the front of the green to guarantee par and a major title at age 59, Watson momentarily forgot about adrenaline, and bounded over the green for bogey. This year, it was McIlroy’s turn. His tee shot landed in the middle of the rock-hard putting surface, and bounced, then rolled, over the target and up against a toupee of wire grass.

Thus spake Zarathustra, and thus did fate annoint Bryson DeChambeau the 2024 US Open champion. The big man from Texafornia did everything he could to give the tournament to McIlroy, but his grit and his guile would not allow that result. Few would ever have called the brawny Bryson the consumate US Open player but, in joining Brooks Koepka as the only golfer since Tiger Woods to win two of them, that might be his legacy.

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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.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Brooksy

    Jun 16, 2024 at 9:14 pm

    Brooks has also won 2 US Opens since Tiger

    Reply Report comment

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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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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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WITB

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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)

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Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)

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