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5 Things we Learned: Day 1 at The Open Championship

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1 year ago

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This is the week when grown men across the USA wake up as if it were a holiday, and gifts were under a tree. They set alarms for 3 a.m. and put the coffee maker on autopilot. They are useless by noon, but they don’t care. It is Open Championship week, and even though they might not know which of the royals is on deck for this year, it is time for crazy bounces and incredible caroms.

The Open rotation (from there did the term Open Rota devolve) consists of seven royals (St. George’s, St. Andrews, Portrush, Birkdale, Liverpool, Lytham, and this year’s venue, Troon) an honourable (Muirfield) and plain old Carnoustie. That’s nine links in total. It’s fairly easy for aficionados to mistake one for another, until they’ve reached their forties and have seen three to four playings over each. Royal Troon is known for its penchant of identifying one-win-only, major titleists. Of its nine previous Open championships, six of them were claimed by one-off guys. Hats off to Arthur Havers, who got the ball rolling with a one-shot win over Walter Hagen in 1923.

What will you see this week at Royal Troon? Seaside golf for six holes, followed by a highland plunge for the next portion, followed by a return to the lowlands for the concluding measure. The usual amount of Ulex (aka thick stuff that gets sprayed with pesticide anywhere else) and a bunch of shots that should go in, but end in bunkers, paired with others that find the hole after beginning far adrift.

1. Manifest all you want

Rory McIlroy had more support across the globe than most. It didn’t help him solve the riddle of Royal Troon. Tiger Woods was issued a challenge by a multiple-times, major championship, runner-up. Any motivation in that tossed glove was lost in his 79. Bryson DeChambeau is a publicly humbler lad these days, with a second US Open trophy fresh on the mantel. He also wobbled and bobbled on day one.

Predictions are the fortune of the unwitting. Collisions of time, space, matter, and execution bring low scores on day one at a major championship. When it’s an Open championship, multiply that times five to ten. When we believe too fully, we lose our sense of this. When we predict publicly, we run the sizable risk of scrambled eggs on our faces. Cheer loudly for your favorites, but don’t predict success for a few extra likes or other SocMed bytes of approval. Look no further than Cameron Smith, 2022 champion golfer of the year. He lost to Tiger with 80 and is likely down the road.

Perhaps that was a bit rash. These fellows who fell victim to temperatures, err, scorecards in the high 70s, need a mid-60s round to reach the weekend. No doubt a +3 or +4 total will earn that extension. In order to gain a peek at the leaderboard, they need that same score, plus a lot of help from the winds and the rain. Buckle up, sip your morning java, and enjoy the uneven grounds of links golf.

2. Who, who, at minus-two?

There’s a fun group of Really at 70. The gifted putter for whom I always predict impending success (Russell Henley) found two strokes below par, along with a qualifier who happens to own a US Open (Justin Rose) title, a couple of northerners (Nicolai Hojgaard and Alex Noren) and two from the Commonwealth (Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes and England’s Joe Dean.) None of them gave us pause in the run-up to this tournament, and none is likely to be around come Sunday.

None of the quintet made more than five birdies on the day. Only Justin Rose played without a knock from Old Bogey. Making predictions about their odds for success is a fool’s errand, so I’ll say this: Rose has experience in these things. Hojgaard is extremely talented. Hughes ended the Canada curse at that nation’s Open championship in 2023. Noren plays one shot (hard cut) and plays it well. Dean has seven letters in his name. Good luck, lads! We’re pulling for each of you.

3. USA PGA Champions in the hunt

I purposely left Xander Schauffele (also at -2) out of point number two. Quintet worked better than sextet, and it also gave Justin Thomas a chum in this segment. Schauffele removed the unwanted and heavy mantle of great player without a major at Valhalla in May. Now he joins Justin Thomas in the company of I have a PGA and I want more. I don’t have statistics to back up this claim, but I wonder if any major beyond the US PGA begets only US PGA winners. So many one-off major champions claimed the US PGA over the decades.

Schauffele played measured golf on day one, with just one bogey against his efforts. Thomas was the antithesis. He posted seven birdies on the day, but gave four shots back. Schauffele truly fits in point number two, as we have no evidence that he will do much beyond consistent play. Thomas is the fellow we want to see. We want to see a go-for-broke approach to this tournament. Fire intelligently at opportunistic flags, and amass birdies as you go. It may not work out for the Kentucky lad, but it’s the only way he knows to win.

We know what Thomas will do when he hits a bad patch. He went double-single at 12 and 13 on Thursday, but came home in minus-two. That counts for something.

4. Shane Lowry needs a bookend

Speaking of manifesting, remember that 2021 Open Championship? It was the one that followed on the heels of Royal St. George’s, which was canceled, but not in that manner. RSG was canceled thanks to the pandemic. The links golf world was desperate for a return to normalcy in 2021, and it manifested all its love for area lad Rory McIlroy. Roars promptly drove OOB on his first tee ball and missed the cut. Stepping in for Northern Ireland was a man from the south, Shane Lowry. He played magnificent golf over the great links, and claimed his first major title. Seems at odds with what I wrote about one-off major winners, right? Short memory.

Lowry held the lead for just a brief while on Friday. He closed with a stellar birdie at the last, to cap a flawless 66. His five birdies were spread over a short, a long, and three middle-length holes. He is a man at home on Open courses, and he seems bent on restating his importance to the game. I recently referenced him as part of the Old Guard of Euro Ryder Cup, and received a healthy dose of vitriol in return. A win for Lowry at Troon will mark his return to import, and a first individual title since September of 2022.

5. Daniel Brown is upside down

Remember when Adam Hadwin got tackled by security at the 2023 Canadian Open? Dan Brown looks like that guy. He’s not the novelist who writes about conspiracy and intrigue in the Vatican, nor is he the quarterback who has led the NY football Giants to mediocrity. He’s a hoodie-wearing, millenial beard-sporting, bro of a guy. Two decades ago, he’d have been mistaken for a delivery person, or a new hire on the grounds crew. How times change!

Brown could not have played a much more, balanced, round on Thursday. Two birdies in his first five, followed by two more at the turn, concluded by two at the close. Like Lowry, zero bogeys. What we don’t know is how he will handle adversity. That’s the problem with clean cards. When the bogey man rises from its murky depths, some golfers chest up, while others fade away. Brown captured his only DP World Tour title last August, in Northern Ireland. He’s in a different test tube rack this week and will show us a great deal about fortitude.

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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

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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

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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