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Tour Rundown: 20 Ws for DJ, Yang’s third in Thailand, Trainer no longer

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While the arrival of a major championship or a World Golf Championship event heightens enthusiasm among viewers, it makes the job of Tour Rundown an arduous one. Other tours tend to take the week off (European, Web and Champions, for example, this week) and our intrepid investigators (me!) are forced to scour the planet for golf news. Fortunately, the Ladies European Tour and the PGA of Australia bailed us out this week, with wonderful events. With that said, here is this week’s GolfWRX Tour Rundown, highlighted by the WGC Mexico Championship.

Dustin Johnson double-decade in wins after WGC Mexico

We’ve come a long way since the USGA planted a tree, to stop Lon Hinkle from taking a US-Open shortcut. While purists bemoan the traversing of entire par fours in one mighty strike, it makes for great golf. Such was the tale at Chapultepec this week, as Rory and Rickie and DJ (and many others) took countless lines over treetops, arriving on or near the putting surface in one. Trouble still lurked, which made Dustin Johnson’s triumph an impressive tableau.

The lanky one drove the ball supremely all week, matched it with steely iron play and nervy recovery efforts. McIlroy tried mightily to put pressure on the 2015 US Open champion on Sunday, but Johnson responded each time with the shot required. In the end. DJ stood atop the pyramid with 21-under par, 5 shots clear of his pursuer from Northern Ireland. Paul Casey, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Ian Poulter came third at -11. His 20th tour win and 6th WGC title brought Johnson to 8th in FedEx Cup standings and 2nd in world golf rankings.

Yang claims 3rd LPGA Thailand title by 1

Make a note to bet Amy Yang in 2020, when the LPGA Tour returns to Thailand in February. The Korean-turned-Australian-turned Floridian made this year’s playing her 4th LPGA title, and 3rd in 5 years in the Land of Smiles. As for Minjee Lee, the young Korean-Aussie must wonder what more it takes to win. Despite four rounds in the 60s (one of two golfers to achieve this distinction all week), Lee came second to Yang’s 9-birdie Sunday effort.

Despite 2 bogeys in round four, Yang rode 5 consecutive front-nine birdies to 64 and victory. Lee had no blemishes on her Sunday card, but still came up one agonizing stroke from a playoff. Spain’s Carlota Ciganda also went stratospheric over the final 18. The Iberian had 2 eagles in her 63, and certainly imagined herself in the mix. Alas, her -20 was 2 off the pace and 1 behind Lee’s runner-up tally.

Trainer no longer, Martin wins on PGA Tour

After 2 Web.Com tour titles in 2018, Martin Trainer didn’t slow his roll one bit in Puerto Rico. The USC Trojan kept his 2018 Web.Com momentum at full speed at Rio Grande golf club this week. He overtook 54-hole leader Aaron Baddeley with a 7-birdie 67, and earned a convincing, 3-shot win over Baddeley and 3 cohorts.

The title was Trainer’s first in 11 events on tour. He had solo appearances in 2011 and 2014, all while working his way up from PGA Tour Latinoamerica to the Web, to the top shelf. Johnson Wagner was within a stroke of the winner late Sunday, but made bogey at 17 to fall 2 back. Trainer’s 72nd-hole birdie established the final victory margin. Wagner and Baddeley were joined by Roger Sloan and Daniel Berger in the runner-up stable.

Skarpnord earns 4th Ladies European Tour title in Australia

After 2 titles in 2K9, followed by another in 2K13, Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord waited 6 years to secure victory number four. She did so at the Australian Ladies Classic, by two shots over Spain’s Nuria Iturrios. Skarpnord and hometowner Hannah Green.

The only bumps along the road for the Norwegian appropriately came at the diabolical 13th. Skarpnor bogeyed the hole each day, accounting for 4 of her 11 bogeys on the week. The rest of the way, she was in control. 19 birdies, including the 71st and 72nd holes, gave her the 2-shot margin of victory over the runners-up. Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom owned a slim 3rd round over a host of players, but received no love from the Bonville course on Sunday. She ballooned to 75 and a t6 finish in the end.

Nisbet in control at Queensland PGA Championship

A wonderful competition ensued late Sunday, between Harrison Endycott and Deyen Lawson. In the end, the pair tied at -18. Officially, that tie represented second place, as Daniel Nisbet lapped the field by a 6-stroke margin. Nisbet’s greatest victory came in 2018, at the New Zealand Open. Since then, a spate of missed cuts and mediocre finishes have kept him mired near the 400th spot on the official world golf rankings. This week, however, was a different story. The Queenslander etched 24 birdies and 3 eagles onto his 4 scorecards this week, and closed with rounds of 63-63-64 after a ho-hum 66 in round one. The title is Nisbet’s 3rd in the past 2 seasons on his home tour.

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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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Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

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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

WITB Albums

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See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.

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Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

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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.

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See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.

 

 

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Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

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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.

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See what GolfWRXers are saying about our photos from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in the forums.

 

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