News

Tour Rundown: A Canadian triumphs in California, a win for Min Woo, playoff VICtory

Published

6 years ago

Feb 10, 2020

The PGA Tour played storied Pebble Beach, easily a month earlier than most of us would like to see. Windy and cold are not ideal conditions for northern California, but the California Swing has only so many open dates. The women of the LPGA and men of the European tours were together in Australia, for the concurrent Vic Opens. Such an advanced notion: to have women and men compete for identical prize money, on the same golf course, at the same time. Finally, the Korn Ferry Tour found itself immersed in its Latin America trajectory, high in the Andes in Bogota.

Pro golf is back, blending its young surprises with its old certainties, as it always does. Tour Rundown, for the 2nd time in February, gives us the inside scoop on all the happenings across the golfing globe.

Vic Open-Women: Playoff decides VICtor at 13th Beach

This one was gut-wrenching. No other way to describe the sight of a leader’s vertical tumble from the top spot to a tie for 16th in 10 holes. Rather than highlight that descent, let’s consider the remarkable 4-hole playoff that was ultimately claimed by Hee Young Park. Once a winning score of single-digits-under-par became a possibility, the scramble began. Leona Maguire and Linnea Strom missed the playoff by one; 3 more were 2 shots back at -6. Back to the Korean trio of Park, So Yeon Ryu, and Hye-Jin Choi. Only Ryu failed to birdie the 18th in regulation; 4 there would have won the event outright. She was the first to depart from extra time, with par at the second go-round in overtime. Park and Choi each birdied the closing hole 4 times on day four, compelling them to a fifth tip (4th in extra holes.) Showing the strain, Park was only able to summon a par at the closer; it was enough, as Choi made bogey and gave up the ghost.

Back to the unfortunate collapse of fellow Korean Ayean Cho. Her first 7 holes were bumpy, with 2 birds, 2 boges, and 3 pars. No more difficult than the remainder in the field, but what happened next was unfathomable. Over the final 11 holes, she made 0 birdies, 4 pars, 5 bogies and 2 doubles. Playing that stretch in 9 over par, she tumbled from 12-under par to 3-below. Links golf, combined with wind and strategic bunkering, makes disaster proximate. The hope is that the bruises will be quick to heal, yet impart the necessary lessons of how to take each shot for itself, and never allow one shot to take us too high or too low.

Vic Open-Men: It’s about MINWOO time at 13th Beach

For once, the commentators were on the money. They spoke during the telecast of the awareness and control that the wunderkind from Australia exhibited all week. Since he was 16, since he won the USGA Junior, everything and too much was predicted for Min Woo Lee. This week, he got it done. As when Greg Lemond finally conquered the shadow of Bernard Hinault, with no help from Hinault himself, Lee had to withstand a 4th-day surge from Popeye himself, Ryan Fox. Fox was flawless on the final day, pairing four birdies with two spectacular eagles. His 3 at the par-five last sounded a warning, and when Lee made bogey at 17, his first since the penultimate hole the day before, his lead had shrunk to one slim putt … or wedge … or anything! As champions do, he gathered himself and finished in style. Birdie at the last brought him his first important win as a professional. Let’s hope it serves as a springboard toward multiple wins, and not the soul-searching agony of Why am I so good and not winning? that Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Paula Creamer and many others have felt, in recent years. As for Fox, let’s hope that 2020 is a year to remember, for the right reasons, for the affable and powerful Kiwi.

AT&T Pro-Am: Maple leaf flies over Monterey peninsula

Nick Taylor won his first PGA Tour event at the age of 22, in 2014. 6 years later, he took a one-stroke lead into the final round of the AT&T at Pebble. On his heels was a fellow who knows a thing about winning in Monterey, and happened to be the defending champion. Holding off Phil Mickelson would be a bit different from winning the Sanderson Farms when the fall circuit didn’t have the same cache it does today. Through 9 holes, Taylor appeared to be the master, with Mickelson as his apprentice. Taylor rode 3 birdies and 1 eagle to an outward 32, to preserve his lead. As he turned back toward the clubhouse at 11, things began to unravel. Consecutive bogeys at 11 and 12, followed 2 holes later by a wretched double bogey at 14, should have been the end of his lead. Fortunately for Taylor, Mickelson never found his groove on Sunday. Lefty tossed a 3-under start in the trash bin, with double at 8 and bogey at 9. As Taylor was unraveling, Phil made bogeys at 12, 14, and 16. His last birdie came at 10, and he was fortunate to tie for 2nd with Kevin Streelman. Taylor made birdies at 15 and 17, and clinched his 2nd tour title by 4 shots. Streelman could bask in the glow of winning the Pro-Am title for the 2nd time in 3 years, both times with the NFL’s Larry Fitzgerald.

Country Club de Bogota Championship: Myth becomes reality as Mito conquers Bogota

Mito Pereira is not a household name, not in Santiago (his home city in Chile) nor at Texas Tech University, his alma mater. He is a Korn Ferry Tour winner, however, after his dramatic, 72nd-hole eagle concluded a Sunday 64 and broke him out of a tie at -18 with Ben Kohles of the USA. John Vanderlaen of Connecticut escorted a 1-shot lead into day four, but his closing 73 was so far off the quality of golf being played in the Andean capital, that he was fortunate to tumble just 5 places, into a tie for 6th. Local hero Camilo Villegas was in the hunt through 36, but closing rounds of 69-69 were average, and he tied for 4th. As for Pereira, he wasn’t alone in the rave that was Sunday at CCBogota. Patrick Fishburn jumped from 18th to 4th with a 64, while Kohles moved from 6th to almost-1st with a 65. The conclusion looked like extra holes for so long—until Pereira added his 2nd eagle of the day, accompanied by 4 birdies, to sneak past the runner-up, into first position.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

1 day ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ben A

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

Pullout Albums

News

Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

2 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Around the world, the golf wheel spun this final week in May of 2026. From New Jersey to Austria, with stops in Korea, Texas, and North Carolina (don’t let me route your next trip) the world’s finest put their golf games on display. There were three playoffs, some known commodities and some new talent. It was the sort of week that we hope to have at this point in the seasons. June and July afford double-digit major events, and perhaps, one of this week’s champions will use this success as a springboard to new heights. Time to run it all down, tech style, in this week’s Tour Tech Rundown.

Thanks to WITBHub, Today’s Golfer, GolfWRX, and Inside Tour Golf for initial research into equipment.

PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge: Heroic Henley denies Cole

Eric Cole did nearly everything that a fellow can do, to secure a first PGA Tour title. He stayed one shot clear of Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin. He kept US Open champion Gary Woodland and wunderkind Michael Brennan two shots distant. He posted 70 on day four to reach twelve under par. And then, Russell Henley revealed his Dr. Strange cloak. Henley made 47 feet of birdie putts on holes 16, 17, and 18, to jump from minus-nine to twelve-deep, and secured a spot in a playoff with Cole. The duo returned to the final tee, and put on a stripe show.

Both golfers found the fairway off the tee, and Henley improved on his regulation play with an approach to four feet. Cole did himself proud, tucking an iron to a dozen feet, but he was unable to convert the putt for three. Henley is one of the best putters on tour, and he proved it once more by draining a putt for a fourth consecutive birdie, and a sixth PGA Tour title. For Eric Cole, that first victory should come, and soon. He has done everything necessary to earn the chalice lift.

Henley’s Suitcase

Driver: Titleist TSi3 at 10 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
Metal: Titleist TS3 at 16.5 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
Iron: Titleist T250 4-iron. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 5-6 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 48 and 50 degrees. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 54 and 60 degrees. Shaft: rue Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron T5 Tour Prototype

LPGA @ Shoprite LPGA: Welcome back, Celine!

Soo Bin Joo had her eyes on a maiden LPGA title. She held the lead after two rounds, then hit a red light at the intersection of can-I and how-To. Joo posted plus-two on day three in New Jersey, and dropped to a T4 finish, which was still a career-best for the young Korean golfer. Instead of a new face, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium.

Celine Boutier was the It Girl in 2023. She collected four victories, including a major title at Evian. Boutier reached world number one status, then simply faded into the background. No wins came her way over the next 30 months. On Sunday, she collected LPGA victory number seven, at the same trace as LPGA victory number two.

Day three saw Boutier manage the windswept Seaview Bay course with six birdies and a bogey. She was challenged in the end by Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who signed for a 66 of her own. Yubol came up one shot shy of the top ladder rung. Finishing in third place at -7, two back of the winner, was Ireland’s Lauren Walsh.

Celine’s Suitcase

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 at 9 degrees. Shaft: Graphite Design AD IZ-5
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops at 19 and 22 degrees. Shaft: KBS Hybrid Prototype
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Gen5.
Iron: PXG 0311 P Gen 4 5-9 irons
Wedge: PXG 0311 T Gen 4 PW
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II at 50, 54, 58 degrees
Putter: Bettinardi Studio Stock 3 DASS

DP World Tour @ Austrian Alpine: KK? KK!

Kota Kaneko has a rhythmic name. It has strong vowels and a run of voiceless stops in its crunchy K sounds. On Sunday in Austria, Kaneko put a stop to a challenge from Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and everyone else, and claimed a first-ever title on the DP World Tour. Gouveia did well to reach 16-under par over four days, but Kaneko held firm, two shots in the clear.

Davis Bryant of the USA also forged a strong challenge for the win. He ended in a tie with Gouveia for second place. Kaneko began and finished his final round in a bit of a malaise, but he caught fire midway through. Birdies at 10, 12, and 13 provided the necessary cushion to cruise to the finish line without breaking a serious sweat.

Kaneko’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping Max G440
Metals: TaylorMade Qi4D at 15, 16.5, 21, and 24 degrees
Irons: TaylorMade P760 5 and 6 irons
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW 7-9 irons
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design at 46, 52, 56, and 60 degrees
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Cruiser Arm Lock #7

Korn Ferry Tour @ UNC Health Championship: Improbably Alvaro

Alvaro Ortiz may have had a bit of scare on the outward nine on Sunday, but he came through in clutch fashion in the end. Ortiz began the day bogey-double, and added another double bogey at the 11th hole. He was mired in a downward trend, spiraling away from the top of the leader’s board. Ortiz found hope at the 14th, where his first birdie of the day tumbled home. Inspired, he closed with birdies and 17 and 18 to catch Ross Steelman at 10-under par, and the duo returned to the 18th deck for overtime.

The extra session concluded in brief time. Ortiz, buoyed by his newly-retrieved confidence, hit the fairway with driver, then approached to six feet and drained the putt. Gobsmacked, Steelman could do little more than smile and applaud, as his run at the top came to a close. The victory was the first for Ortiz on the KFT, and will implant him squarely in the chase for a PGA Tour promotion.

Alvaro’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping G430 MAX driver at 9 degrees loft
Metal: Ping G430 MAX 3W
Iron: Ping iDi Driving Iron
Irons: Ping Blueprint S irons
Wedges
Putter: Scottsdale TR Piper C

A party on the green!

Alvaro’s time comes in Raleigh with his first win @UNCHealthChamp ? pic.twitter.com/2dmtZdbSzk

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2026

LIV @ Korea: Me llamo Joaquin

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had been away from the LIV winner’s circle throughout all of 2026. This week in Korea, he reminded us that he is still a force to consider. Niemann chased down Taylor Gooch over the closing holes at Asiad Country Club, then claimed victory with a hole-one birdie in extra time. Bryson DeChambeau claimed solo third, one shot in arrears at minus-eleven. Dustin Johnson finished on fourth, one putt farther back.

Niemann’s Suitcase