Tour News
Golf eclipses weather as top story in Round 3 of The Open
The wind off the nearby North Atlantic subsided, the waves settled into an abiding flatness and the golfers reclaimed the attention of viewing aficionados and scribes alike. They did so with the same clamor that Mother Nature affected onto the course the previous two days, but they did so with a relentless rain of birdies as they scrambled for position ahead of Monday’s rescheduled final round of the 144th Open Championship.
Golfers went on runs of birdies not usually seen in major championships. The softish sands of the Old Course limited run-out on drives, but they allowed the players to fire at flags normally accessed with bumped approaches. Jordan Spieth began the day in 14th place, birdied holes 10 through 12 and finished off in fourth, one back of the leading triumvirate. Marc Leishman improved from 50th to seventh by making birdie on eight of the middle 12 holes.
“My mindset as a golfer is pretty aggressive and that helped me in that situation,” Leishman said. “I don’t like to get to where it’s 5 or 6-under after nine and try to hold on.”
And Padraig Harrington, twice a winner of this event and rejuvenated at age 43, got into the act with an immaculate card of seven birdies and zero bogies. Climbing all the way to fifth from 25th, Harrington became the fifth player to reach double figures under par on the week.
“You know, I hit a really nice pitch into the first, a bump-and-run up the green,” Harrington said. “I suppose it’s when you get a nice start, you can carry on from then, and that’s kind of the way it went for the rest of the day.”
The principal story of the day was Irish amateur Paul Dunne. Until recently a student at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (fear not, he graduated in April), Dunne arrived in town hoping to catch the eye of selectors for the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup side in anticipation of this fall’s match with the U.S. at Royal Lytham & St. Anne’s. Having done that, Dunne marked a spirited 66 on his scorecard, climbing from 10th spot into a tie for the lead. Should he finish off the unlikeliest of scenarios and claim the Claret Jug on Monday, Dunne would succeed the immortal Bobby Jones as the most recent amateur titleist at the world’s oldest golf championship.
The secondary tale of the day belonged to Jason Day. His courageous performance at last month’s U.S. Open won him an enormous following. Day has yet to win a major title, although he has been agonizingly close on a half-dozen occasions. On Sunday, the Aussie made five birdies against no bogeys to tie Dunne and 2010 Open champ (the last one at the Old Course) Louis Oosthuizen at 12-under.
The least-anticipated story on Sunday was the crash of Dustin Johnson. After his flame-out at Chambers Bay in June, where he handed the U.S. Open title to Jordan Spieth, many had hoped that the tall American would redeem himself at St. Andrews. Johnson may have been the weather’s greatest victim, as he was one of a few to go out on Saturday and play before high winds delayed for 10 hours the remainder of his second round. On Sunday, Johnson made absolutely nothing with his putter, his wedge or any other club in the bag. He hung on for 15 holes at even on the day, but closed with three garish bogies to fall a full five strokes off the pace.
For those who like numbers, consider that three golfers are tied at 12-under, with one more each at 11-under and 10-under. Then comes the logjam, with nine golfers at 9-under, three at 8-under and eight at 7-under. Twenty-five golfers in total are situated within five strokes of the lead. Of those 25, only nine are winners of previous major titles.
The likelihood of a first-time major winner is high. With luck, someone will find his form early and set a standard that forces all the late tee times to take notice of what can be achieved in a final round of an Open Championship at St. Andrews.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).
Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.
We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Pierceson Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kris Kim – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- David Nyfjall – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Jarred Jetter – North Texas PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Richy Werenski – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Wesley Bryan – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Parker Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Peter Kuest – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Blaine Hale, Jr. – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kelly Kraft – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Rico Hoey – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- Adam Scott’s 2 new custom L.A.B. Golf putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Scotty Cameron putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Ben Griffin playing Maxfli golf ball
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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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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MikeA
Jul 20, 2015 at 10:51 am
The Old Course is playing like a short “executive course” with drive, chip, and put at the most. Either the ball is restricted and dialed back, or these types of courses become courses for newbie golfers.
Jake Anderson
Jul 20, 2015 at 6:30 am
i really hope that padraig harrington, who is a true champion, will win and not that unlikabel spieth-person.
Ronald Montesano
Jul 20, 2015 at 8:50 am
Thanks for your input, Jake. Enjoy the final round.
jakeanderson
Jul 20, 2015 at 3:02 pm
thank you! unfortunately zach johnson won, but i did enjoy that spieth did not win.
Nathan crichard
Jul 20, 2015 at 2:11 am
Nearby North Atlantic???????…..The NORTH SEA. …
Ronald Montesano
Jul 20, 2015 at 8:50 am
Right, which is part of the North Atlantic.
Tom
Jul 19, 2015 at 11:20 pm
The greatest tourny at the home of golf.Can t get better than this…..who has the extra gear on the back 9 will decide it.
Ronald Montesano
Jul 20, 2015 at 8:51 am
Isn’t that the truth? After all those birdie holes, you hit 15-17, which can tear out your heart.