Tour News
Monday Tour Mash: Lydia Ko wins first major, Team USA loses Walker Cup
Walker Cup
The Great Britain & Ireland side snatched the Walker Cup back from Team USA at Royal Lytham & St. Annes by the margin of 16.5-9.5, reversing a near-identical 2013 dusting at the hands of the Yanks. The affair was over by the fourth singles match on Sunday afternoon, as a trio of American golfers (Jordan Niebrugge, Lee McCoy and Denny McCarthy) lost big and early. This year’s U.S. side was weaker than the last squad (the mid-ams were rookies and three top players had already turned pro) and the GBI crew was noticeably stronger. Given the home-course advantage, things shook out as anticipated. On to 2017 and Los Angeles Country Club’s North course!
The Evian Championship on Ladies European Tour
All involved with women’s professional golf breathed out when Lydia Ko and Lexi Thompson went at it hard on Sunday at The Evian Championship, the year’s final major. The appeal of that youthful pairing is apparent, and the duo left a Lee quartet (Il Hee, Mi Hyang, Minjee and Alison) to settle out the third-money. When Thompson bogeyed 14 and Ko followed with a birdie on 15, the tide had turned in the Kiwi’s favor. Ko’s flawless 63 secured her first career major title at Evian.
And, of course, there’s no more appropriate way to celebrate The Evian than getting bottles of Evian dumped all over her.
Yesterday was a historic day! Congratulations @LydiaKo! #EvianChamp > http://t.co/CrT5H3cwqjpic.twitter.com/zk1omhhsoQ
— Evian Championship (@EvianChamp) September 14, 2015
Related: See the clubs Lydia Ko used to win The Evian.
Hotel Fitness Championship on Web.Com Tour
Twenty-five golfers secured PGA Tour cards for the 2015-16 season last week in Oregon. This week, the Tour Playoffs began in Indiana, with another 25 cards and enhanced status on the line over the next four weeks. D.H. Lee had the third-round lead, but that edge vanished by the end of the front nine, as Sweden’s Henrik Norlander went out in 6-under par for a front-nine 30. He returned in a mere 32 for 10-under on the day. Lee could not get anything to fall and ended tied for second with Michael Thompson.
KLM Open on European Tour
Thomas Pieters has grown fond of that winning feeling. Two weeks after winning his first Euro Tour event, Pieters watched as last week’s winner, Lee Slattery, made bogey on the final hole. That stroke cinched a second tour victory for Pieters at the KLM Open in The Netherlands. Slattery had lurked all day, making zero mistakes until his 72nd-hole gaffe. The Englishman finished in a second-place tie with Eduardo de la Riva, whose 63 jumped him seven spots on Day 4.
Feherty
The archetypal mix of the bon vivant and cowboy, Feherty moves on to greener pastures and new interests. His work with CBS Sports is done while his role with The Golf Channel remains unchanged. Two suitors are NBC/TGC and Fox. No rocket science required, just a calculator to add up the dollar signs.
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News
Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.
From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.
General Albums
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Monday #1
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Akshay Bhatia – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matthieu Pavon – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Keegan Bradley – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Webb Simpson – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Emiliano Grillo – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Taylor Pendrith – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Kevin Tway – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
Pullout Albums
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rory McIlroy – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Eric Cole’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matt Kuchar’s custom Bettinardi – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Justin Thomas – driver change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler – putter change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s new custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Tommy Fleetwood testing a TaylorMade Spider Tour X (with custom neck) – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Cobra Darkspeed Volition driver – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.
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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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chris franklin
Sep 18, 2015 at 3:55 pm
Re; Walker Cup,it was an entertaining and enjoyable series of matches for the quality of golf played and the brilliant sportsmanship and courtesy shown by both sides,particularly impressive was Bryson DeBeauchamp who reminded me a little of a young Frank Stranahan,he played extremely well and showed an old-fashioned grace and style that is missing in the professional game.
The reasons for the one-sided result can be put down to home advantage,a large factor as one of the top amateur competitions is played at Lytham and errors in captaincy,the US team were under the cosh from the outset of the singles matches so why ‘Spider’ put his best player out last is a mystery,GB&I only need to halve the matches to win so an aggressive start from the US was imperative and sadly not realised.
Eric
Sep 15, 2015 at 11:47 am
What do you attribute to the U.S. getting shellacked in the Walker Cup? The American college golf system is supposed to be stronger than ever. These college kids go out and play in tour events and do well, how come they cant close the deal when it comes to match play? I’ve said for years U.S. golf at the amateur and junior level has had a problem of not playing enough match play, particularly foursomes. This in turn translates into the team events at the larger level (Walker Cup, Ryder Cup). How do we get our younger kids coming up to play more match play?
Ronald Montesano
Sep 15, 2015 at 8:12 pm
It really has nothing to do with match play. Some guys (Rodgers, Spieth, Schniederjans) turned pro early, while others didn’t develop. McCoy shouldn’t have been on the team and guys like McCarthy and McCoy underperformed. Niebrugge had one good tournament this year and it happened to be the British Open. This was an unfortunate USA side. If you had put the 2013 squad in at Lytham, they would have won by four points.
Eric
Sep 16, 2015 at 1:28 pm
Completely agree that Niebrugge had no business being there and that the older McCoy shouldn’t have been there either. I my opinion the other mid-am who should have been chosen was Todd Mitchell, Scott Harvey’s fourball partner, or even Nathan Smith.
Eoj
Sep 16, 2015 at 2:40 am
There’s also a lot of foreigners in the US colleges now, too, taking up the space that other American kids would have been able to take back in the day
Ronald Montesano
Sep 14, 2015 at 1:34 pm
Thanks for the input, fellows. Can you elaborate on your thoughts?
RM
gvogel
Sep 14, 2015 at 12:57 pm
Just because Mike Whan says that the Evian is a major, that does not make it a major. The court of public opinion will decide if the Evian is a major.
I cast my vote for no. The golf course is shorter than average length for a major. The conditioning was less than major status. And what’s up with 5 majors, anyway.
In my mind, Lydia is still looking for major number 1.
Lydia is #1
Sep 14, 2015 at 1:21 pm
Of course you think that, because you’re an eejit
gvogel
Sep 14, 2015 at 8:49 pm
Call me a moron. Fine.
Karen Stupples said on TV that the course was too short for a major. She has played on the LPGA Tour, so that gives some vindication to my judgement about the course.
The LPGA has 4 bona fide majors: the Kraft Nabisco, the US Open, the British Open, and the LPGA Championship. Why declare another tournament as a major? To keep a sponsor on the European continent. Well, if they want to declare that the Kraft Nabisco is now no longer a major, and make the course tougher over at Evian Les Bains, maybe they can make the case. But declaring that they have a fifth major is like declaring that the Players is a major. Public opinion has pretty much decided that the Players is not a major.
Further. A major rotates around a few really great golf courses – like the US Open or British Open. Or, it just so happens to be on a truly great course like ANGC – and everyone is ready for a major in April just as the golf season starts. I don’t see Evian les Bains as a great golf course in the same category as Augusta National. Of course, the place they play the Kraft nabisco is also not a great golf course. But, pick one or the other. Five majors is just pandering to sponsors.
Nomnom
Sep 15, 2015 at 3:10 am
Kraft Nabisco is no longer a sponsor! It’s called the ANA Inspiration. Get it right. You’re embarrassing.
So what if there are 5 ladies majors? The LPGA is trying to do its own thing, trying to make it more exciting and more accessible to ladies around the globe. Heck, its Tour already plays all over the world, not just in North America like the PGA Tour (why is Canada always a part of the US in sports leagues, anyways?). In fact, it’s cool that there’s a major in the UK, France, and the USA.
And so what if the Evian course is short-ish? Obviously it was tight enough that the long hitters were neutralized. That’s a well-designed set up, to do that to the long hitters; making accuracy, positioning, and putting a premium. Lydia showed how it’s supposed to be done.
Pandering to sponsors? In the modern game of any sport anywhere, without sponsors there won’t be any competitive sport. Have you looked at the advertising at an NBA game, for example? You know nothing, so be quiet.
Greg V
Sep 15, 2015 at 10:01 am
Embarrassing? Hey, I follow ladies golf much more closely than the average male golfer. I enjoy watching ladies golf. I have been a fan of Lydia Ko’s golf swing for quite a few years – but I must say that I enjoyed it more before she started practicing Leadbetter’s A Swing (which, by the way, I bought the book). But Lydia has fantastic rhythm and very good hand-eye coordination, and she could make a number of different swings work. I prefer to see an accomplished player stay with their own unique swing – the one that she brought onto the world stage when she won her first Canadian Open.
My point is that fans should have input on what are majors, and what are not majors. Some have advocated that the Players should be a men’s major, as it has arguably the strongest field of the year. But most fans are not ready to concede that the Players be a major.
When it comes to the Evian, I think that it is important to have a public debate over what is a ladies major, and what is not. And I enjoy putting my $.02 into the discussion on the negative side. When Inbee Park won the Ladies Open championship, many were willing to concede that she had won the grand slam; well, if so, she won the grand slam without winning the Evian. I don’t see how you can have it both ways.
My vote is that Lydia has not yet won a major; the Evian is not a major.
By the way, neutralizing long hitters by putting them on a short tight course does not a major make. Long, straight tee shots have always been one of the important components for the best players in the game, from Bobby Jones to Mickey Wright to Annika Sorenstam.
Embarrassing? Know nothing? I think that you are out of order.
ETW
Sep 15, 2015 at 1:18 pm
You are so completely lost, aren’t you, Greg V? It’s OK to admit you’re wrong and completely clueless
Ronald Montesano
Sep 15, 2015 at 8:14 pm
How about we keep it civil, man of three initials?
RM
Eoj
Sep 16, 2015 at 2:43 am
Ron, Greg clearly knows nothing about how money works.
Tell him what would happen if there were no sponsors: No tournament golf! Where does he think the now astronomical prize moneys come from – just the players’ buying into tournaments? Even 200 years ago sponsors put up money to run tournaments.
Greg V
Sep 17, 2015 at 12:52 pm
So, apparently what you are saying is that with enough money, a sponsor can buy a major.
Let’s put that to vote to the general readership.
Joe
Sep 15, 2015 at 2:29 pm
It is a Major because the LPGA needs the tournament to survive. They had to expand to European and Asian tournament sponsors to keep going. With additional income comes the requirement to pay the piper.
Dubya
Sep 14, 2015 at 11:50 am
God’s in his heaven and all’s right with the world