Tour News
PGA Championship: Round 1 Recap
In spite of the rain that delayed play for an hour this afternoon, the opening round of the 95th PGA Championship was everything that the PGA of America and Oak Hill Country Club could have hoped for.
At the top of the leaderboard are a seasoned veteran, a former upstart finding form in major events and a slew of pretenders who, at one time or another, were forecast to be the next, great thing. Add in a few upstarts and Round 1 was a smashing success.
Jim Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, got out early this morning and set the standard with a 5-under 65. His scorecard was highlighted by six birdies against one bogey, on the difficult, par-4 No. 9. Furyk began his round on the back nine with a three on the par-4 No. 10, then added two more birdies, on Nos. 16 and 18. He made a second consecutive birdie on No. 1, added two more to get to minus-6 on the day, before closing with his lone bogey to fall back to 5-under.
Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, went on an afternoon tear on his opening nine. He birdied holes Nos. 4 through 8 to reach 5-under before the turn.
“Probably the best run I’ve ever had and I just hit really nice shots and didn’t leave myself too much work,” Scott said. “You have to take advantage of that if you are feeling that and I was through the turn there. It was a dream start after kind of a nervous first couple of holes.”
A sixth birdie on the brief but exciting, uphill No. 14 gave him sole possession of the lead. As with Furyk, a lone bogey (on No. 16) brought the Aussie back to the field. Scott finished in a tie with Furyk at five shots below par.
The most interesting round of the day belonged without doubt to the most interesting man in golf, Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain. He made five consecutive birdies on holes Nos. 2 through 6, then added one more on No. 8, his penultimate hole. Unfortunately for the Iberian, he added two double bogies and one bogey to seven birdies, finishing at 2-under on the day.
If a round could be called a disappointment, it would be the one belonging to Tiger Woods. In a grouping with former PGA champions Keegan Bradley and Davis Love III, Woods started conservatively with two birdies on his first (the back) nine. His group was put on the clock for slow play on his 10th hole of the day, which might have created more than a bit of tension. An uncharacteristic bogey on the par-5 No. 4, a stretch birdied by many today, brought him back to 1-under. Woods closed with a double bogey on No. 9, his final hole, to finish what might have been a 3- or 4-under round at 1-over.
“[On No.] 9 I was completely blocked out and tried to shape one over there and I drew no lie at all from my third shot,” Woods said. “And I was just trying to play 20 feet long and putt back and try and just get bogey. I didn’t even get over the bunker. Came out nowhere. Didn’t really have much from there, hit a beautiful putt, just lipped out.”
Despite the lackluster finish, Woods sees himself as a prime contender with three rounds left.
“I’m still right there,” he said. “I mean, as of right now I’m only six back and we have got a long way to go … I played really well today. As I said, just a couple … you know, one loose iron in there and ended up not having much of a shot. On the second shot after a decent tee shot on [No.] 9, I made a few par putts out there, as well. The round realistically could have been under par easily.”
An interesting pattern has developed of late in major championships. Rory McIlroy succumbed to the pressure of the 2011 Masters championship, then rebounded with a win two months later at the U.S. Open. Adam Scott collapsed late at the 2012 British Open, then bounced back to win this year’s Masters. If that template is to continue, then one of the men at 4-under is the leading candidate to do just that. Lee Westwood, leader of last month’s British Open (won by Phil Mickelson) for oh-so-long, signed for a pure round of four birdies and zero bogeys. If the Englishman can hang around into the weekend, he might shed the coat he wears, that of best player to have not won a major title.
Or is it Paul Casey (at 3-under) or Jason Day (at 2-under) or even Steve Stricker (also at 2-under) who wears that coat of many colors?
Matt Kuchar stands with Westwood, two strokes behind the leaders, while Jason Dufner (second in the PGA in 2011) and Bill Haas are at 2-under. The morning forecast is for isolated thunder showers, so more delays are likely, if not certain. The most important club in the bag on Friday will be patience, as rounds could once again go into the dusk of evening. In that case, one would expect the veterans to carry the burden best, but in “Glory’s Last Shot,” the upstarts and first-timers have a way of making things happen.
Will Roberto Castro, David Hearn, Robert Garrigus, Scott Piercy or everyone’s favorite moniker, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, make a name for himself at Oak Hill? For every Jack Nicklaus and Curtis Strange, there’s a Shaun Micheel.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Steve Stricker WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Drew Brees WITB (Legendary New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Thriston Lawrence WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Patrick Cantlay spotted testing a Scotty Cameron blade putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Ronald Montesano
Aug 9, 2013 at 11:17 pm
Bad luck for Westwood today, getting the wet half of the draw. He needs a mid60s bounce-back round on Saturday.
Bossman
Aug 9, 2013 at 10:14 am
Go Westy!!! I like to see nice things happen to nice people.
Jack
Aug 8, 2013 at 10:53 pm
Wow Westwood playing some of his best chickenwing golf! In the mix again.
Harsh
Aug 9, 2013 at 9:26 am
I suppose you hit it better than Westwood then………..