News

5 things we learned: Saturday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic

Published

6 years ago

Jul 5, 2020

It’s a day of independence across the United States of America. In a time of pandemic, quarantine, isolation, this means a great deal to all citizens. Some view independence as an opportunity to live their best lives, be their best selves, and place others first. Others view it as an opportunity to live their best lives, be their best selves, and place their own wants and needs first. One of these will lead us down the road to perdition. The PGA Tour stop in Detroit is one of the most significant events of this young restart to the season. The Detroit Golf Club is located in a decidedly-urban setting. The neighborhoods that surround it are diverse, with a largely-black population. The health bubble that the PGA Tour hopes to create this summer, should not add a societal bubble to the agenda. Golf, along with humanity, needs to embrace diversity, respect the other, and welcome the uninvited. Raise your glass to a celebration of the entire populace, that fights for freedom and independence.

On that note, here are five things that I learned on day three, Saturday, July 4th, of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

5. Wolff has owned the closing stretch for two days

The run of holes that have caused fits for the competition this week have been Matthew Wolff’s playground. Glance at the majority of scorecards, and the under-par work through the 14th green becomes apparent. It’s the final four holes that put the brakes to record-low rounds over the past three days. Wolff played the closing five holes in birdies on Friday, to shoot into the mix. On Saturday, he played them in minus-four, thanks to a jump-start eagle on 14. If the former Oklahoma State Cowboy reaches the turn in minus-three on Sunday, he might run away with the trophy. Wolff currently resides in the high-rent district at minus-19, three shots clear of Ryan Armour and Bryson DeChambeau.

4. Simpson and Kirk kinda-sorta fell away

The final pairing didn’t blow up, but they didn’t play the type of golf needed to keep or extend the lead. Webb Simpson’s other-worldly long game fell back to earth, and he was unable to compensate with stellar putting. He went ’round in minus-one, and sits on 13-under par, six back, in a tie for 8th. Chris Kirk continued his average week of ball striking, but his interstellar putting joined Simpson’s long game on the sidelines. Kirk was one better than his playing partner, and occupies 4th place at -14, five behind the leader.

3. Big moves

Detroit Golf Club is not the type of course where big moves are likely, this late in the game. Four golfers inside the top ten made an upward move of more than five spots. Troy Merritt is tied for fourth at -14. His 67 featured a clean card of five birdies and zero bogies. Merritt’s day was an all-around success, from driving the ball in the fairway, to hitting 17 of 18 greens, to decent putting. Based on the long-game numbers alone, he should have gone lower. Former trick-shot phenom Wesley Bryan had eight birdies against one bogey for 65, and 34-spot elevation. Bryan’s round was similar to Merritt’s, with the exception of better putting. Both will need 64 or better on Sunday to have a chance.

Two golfers jumped up 12 spots, from 20th to 8th. Luke List and Viktor Hovland began the day at minus-eight, and each posted 67. List had six birdies plus one bogey, while Hovland counted five birdies against zero bad’uns. Both are long hitters, so accurate iron play on Sunday will give them a chance to go low and make a run.

2. The Big Bang Theory

El fuerte, Bryson DeChambeau, is hanging around. He’ll tee off in the 2nd-last group with Merritt. He may drive into the anti-penultimate group of Mark Hubbard and Seamus Power, so amped will the big fellow be. One of these rounds, his putting will finally emerge as a weapon. As long as it’s not used for saving par, DeChambeau should take the battle directly to Wolff, and he should do so early. DeChambeau has played the first four holes of the front nine in minus-two each day. His front-nine struggles have happened on holes five through nine. Two or three under early, followed by stable play toward the round’s middle, will give him an opportunity to compete. Anything less will leave him with another top-ten finish and loads of questions.

1. The predictions are in

Most likely pairing to offer a 60: The 1:25 tee time of Luke List and Viktor Hovland. Both made decent Saturday moves, and they might carry each other to an historic Sunday.

Guy I’d like to see win: Ryan Armour. His career was derailed when the heavy favorite lost the 1993 USGA Junior Amateur final to Tiger Woods (maybe Woods was the favorite, we don’t remember.) He’s a grinder, an early-forties sojourner, and he deserves a second tour victory.

Holes that will determine the finish: 8 through 11. This four-hole stretch is quite demanding, featuring two long par-three holes, a long four, and a tricky, short four.

Low round of the day: Rickie Fowler. The host is mired in a tie for 40th, and has done absolutely nothing, beyond making the cut. On Sunday, he brings it all together for 62, reaches 19-deep, and earns a top-five finish. 62 for nearly anyone else on Sunday will mean victory, but not for Rick.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

8 hours 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

2026 The Memorial – Monday #1

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

News

Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

19 hours 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