News

The Fedex Cup: Episode IV

Published

19 years ago

Sep 11, 2007

What do Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Steve Stricker have in common, beyond the obvious male golfer link (face it some of you were going to pull that rabbit out of a hat)?

Two things actually, they are the only players with a realistic chance to win the inaugural Fedex Cup, and they’ve figured out how to hit the fairway with a driver. If you would have offered me a friendly wager that those three players would average more than 74% of fairways hit I would have considered betting my own paycheck. I would be in tears for the next month.

Consider the unlikelyness of that statistic: Tiger Woods, the guy who made everyone familiar with the term getting the club stuck resulting in golf ball searches to the right of Rush Limbaugh. Phil Mickelson whose waywardness off the tee led to the phrase "what a stupid I am". Steve Stricker, a few years ago was unable to hit the planet with a driver in his hands, losing his playing priviledges as a result. I would of believed Vijay Singh would change his swing and suddenly become enamoured of hitting his second shot after a short woodland nature walk easier than those three guys hitting every fairway in sight. So what does Mr. Singh do, only begin those nature walks! This playoff stuff has me completely confounded (not all to difficult a task but this stuff is weirder than trying to figure out who discovered the Stack n’ Tilt.)

So we head into Atlanta for the Tour Championship, the final leg of playoff, having witnessed some very compelling golf to this point. The commissioner, Tim Finchem, can breathe easier with Mr. Woods and Mr Mickelson in the mix despite skipping an event apiece. He can sacrifice a dozen Pro V’s and a couple of Taylormade drivers to the ghost of Old Tom Morris that the third leg of the stool, Mr. Stricker, is the feel good story of the year. Lastly he can very privately flog for all eternity the dolt who neglected to advise East Lake Country Club they should convert their greens to bermuda grass from bent grass because really hot weather causes bent grass to scream in a nightmarish, blood curdling manner as it dies(not unlike the sound made when one uproots a mandrake root). I wonder what the thought process was here? " Hey guys, lets move the Tour Championship to September put it at the end of our nifty new playoff so the guys are playing for $10 million bucks." "Wowser, what a great idea!" Apparently they neglected to consider that East Lake is located in Atlanta, Georgia where August is hot. I mean really really hot. Hello, Georgie McFly, is anybody home. Surely nobody figured they would have record temperatures, double digit numbers of days with temps over 100*, but really, did the arrival of fry eggs on the sidewalk temperatures surprise anyone else. I thought not.

So here we go, into the Grande Finale, to be played on putting surfaces as smooth as a baby’s bottom, provided said baby has a three day growth of stubble on his little dupa cheeks. I feel really badly for Ralph Kepple, East Lake’s superintendent, as the man has worked a miracle in getting these surfaces playable at all. But the fact remains, someone at the Tour office mucked up badly. Mr. Finchem deserves even more heat than I’ve heard or read for this brouhaha. The fans deserve better, as do the players. Up to this point the players have delivered an interesting product and for that I as a fan am pleased. Let’s hope Mr. Kepple can work big magics in the next couple of days so the final act doesn’t become a farce. After the drama of the first three events that would indeed be tragedy.

News

5 Things we Learned: Thursday at the U.S.. Women’s Open

Published

17 hours ago

Jun 5, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Gone are the days when the U.S. Women’s Open was held at Scenic Hills or Churchill Valley. Fine courses that they are (or were, as Churchill Valley went bankrupt a decade ago) there is something to be said for the venue. Not all Women’s Open playings need to take place on Men’s Open venues, but some should. This week in Los Angeles, the Women’s Open visits Riviera Country Club for the first time. Down the road, we will visit Inverness, Oakmont, Interlachen, Oak Hill, Chicago Golf, and Merion. That is quite the murderer’s row (1927 Yankees reference) of golf clubs.

What can we expect from the 2026 tournament? Greatness and uncertainty. Unlike the PGA Tour, which visits Riviera each February, the LPGA does not, so the women will not have nearly the body of work over the George C. Thomas layout. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe they’ll play #10 smarter than the men do. Maybe they’ll figure some things out that their male counterparts can not. For today, we’ll try to find five things to learn, and share them with you.

First, this ain’t your momma’s U.S. Open course

How do we know? Well, so far, only one previous champion currently sits inside the top thirty. That would be Minjee Lee, the 2022 winner at Southern (NC) Pines. Lee made par on her first nine holes, the inward side at Riviera. She dropped birdie putts on the first and ninth holes (ten and eighteen for her day) and tallied another seven pars, for 69. She sits three shots off Jennifer Kupcho’s opening 66. Don’t worry about Kupcho; we’ll get to her. After Lee, defending champion Maja Stark ranks T30 at even par, joined by three other, former winners.

What Minjee did, is the sort of thing that wins U.S. Open titles. She guided her ship safely past swells, and made a move when the waters calmed. The fewer the bogeys, the more likely Minjee figures in the outcome on Sunday evening in Pacific Palisades. Off the tee, Lee was unmatched. She hit 14 of 14 fairways. Her iron play was a bit loose in comparison. She putted for birdie on 12 of 18 holes, which meant that her recovery short game was on point. Lee was ten yards longer on measured driving holes than the field average, and was below the field average (a good thing) in putting.

Second, the amateurs beat a loud drum

Three of the world’s top amateur golfer posted 70, placing them four off the lead, in a tie for 14th place. Canada’s Aphrodite Deng, Spain’s Paula Francisco Llaño, and Colombia’s Maria José Marin, showed the professional world that their game is strong. Both Deng and Francisco Llaño collected five birdies on the day. Should they match that output on day two, and minimize the foozles, they’ll be the topic of conversation on Saturday morning. Marin, the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion and an NCAA team semifinalist last week, played a game similar to Minjee Lee: few mistakes and few taken risks.

The last amateur to post the low medal score for 72 holes was Jenny Chuasiriporn in 1998. She lost a playoff to Se Ri Pak, who matched her plus-six effort at Blackwolf Run. The last amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open was Catherine Lacoste in 1967. The amateurs are stronger than they’ve ever been, but the professionals have not allowed them to close the gap. A victory by one of the college set would be a cannon shot heard round the world. Could it happen? Absolutely. Is it likely? Not at all.

Third, let’s talk Kupcho

Jennifer Kupcho won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She won three times on tour in 2022, including the Chevron, a major title. She won a fourth event in 2025, but has not established the winning credentials projected on her after 2022’s marvelous coming-out.

Kupcho hails from Colorado, and spent four years in the Carolina Piedmont, at Wake Forest Universtiy. Neither of those locales cries out I’ll be at home at Riviera, but here we are, after a seven-birdie performance. Kupcho posted birdie on each of her first three holes, and added four more (against two bogeys) to assume a one-shot advantage over Korea’s Sei Young Kim.

Kupcho drove the ball decently, approached moderately well, but putted lights out on Thursday. Her 26 putts were tied for best in show on day one. There might just be something about the putting surfaces at Riviera that aligns with Kupcho’s vibe. If that is the case, just get the ball on the green, anywhere, and let the flatstick do the lifting.

Fourth, how young is Sei Young?

Sei (pronounced “So”) Young Kim won a dozen times from 2015 to 2020. She took time off from winning until 2025, shen she captured a thirteenth LPGA title. Like Kupcho, Kim has hardware from one major event, the 2020 Women’s PGA Championship. How to explain the five years away from victory? No idea. When Sei Young was in contention during the prime of her career, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

What to expect over the next three days at Riviera? Anyone’s guess. It might be the 2015-2020 Sei Young, or it could be the 2021-2025 version. Kim began her day with birdies at 10 and 11, then settled into a stretch of pars before her solitary bogey at the 4th (her 13th) hole. Kim regained her composure and reeled in three birdies to close the front nine. Her four-under performance trails Kupcho alone, and there is a real chance that Sei Young will produce a second score in the 60s and take a bit of control of the tournament.

Fifth, we’re giddy for Gaby

Although I cannot place my finger on why, it seems that each year, Gaby Lopez pops up on the U.S. Open leaderboard. She hasn’t figure out how to remain in contention, but here we are, in 2026, and Lopez is once again in the mix. The three-time champion on the LPGA circuit had a stunning first nine holes, turning in minus-five. She reached six deep at her tenth hole, but then gave three shots back coming home. Which Gaby will show up on Friday, and for how long? If back-nine Gaby can somehow channel front-nine Gaby, all outcomes are within reach. If the loose play continues, Lopez’ wiki page will add one more T41 to her majors column.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open

Published

2 days ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX Tour Photographer made the trip from the Memorial Tournament across the country to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera. Check out links to all the photos below!

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

4 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at the Memorial Tournament, with both Alistair Cameron and Tour Photographer Greg Moore on the ground in Dublin, Ohio, where a strong field is assembled to pay homage to the Golden Bear.

In addition to WITB galleries, we’ve already been treated to an in-hand look at Tommy Fleetwood’s new TaylorMade Spider putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums