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Tour Rundown: 6 tournament edition

Published

4 years ago

Aug 17, 2020

Six tournaments in one week? Inconceivable. A major amateur championship and a major senior event simultaneously? Inconceivable. A remake of “The Princess Bride?” Inconceivable. Yet, here we are. Comebacks galore marked the second week of August 2o2o, in the world of competitive golf. A grand champion completed her comeback, while a youngster demonstrated determination and fortitude in capturing the grand chalice of amateur golf. Tour with us the week’s results as we revisit six events in this week’s Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour: Wyndham Championship

At the same time that we feel great empathy for Billy Horschel, we feel a ridiculous incredulity for Jim Herman. Take a seat and let us explain. The Horschel family has gone through the trials and tribulations of addiction and recovery, and their road to survival is worth of a PGA Tour victory. It did not come this week, it was agonizingly close, but it will happen again soon.

The Jim Herman story is, in a word, uncanny. Herman is a former assistant professional at Trump National in New Jersey. He was encouraged by no less than the POTUS himself to chase the dream, and chase it, he did. Herman recently teed it up with Mr. Trump, as he did prior to his Barbasol Championship (2109) and Houston Open (2016) wins. You guessed it…Herman wins, HERMAN WINS!

Let’s talk 15 birdies plus 1 eagle (against a solitary, lonely bogey) over the 48 weekend hours. That’s golf, folks. On a Donald Ross, Jr., golf course, against the best that the PGA Tour has to offer. Congratulations and job well done.

LPGA & Ladies European Tours: Scottish Open

There is no such thing as a lead in tournament golf, especially when an event lasts four days. Azahara Muñoz and Stacy Lewis understood this. They entered the fourth round of the 2020 Scottish Open in first and second spot, but gave those positions up nearly as soon as the first nine of day four began. Names like EK Pederson, Cheyenne Knight, and NK Madson began to supplant them at the top of the leader board, but these are veterans, and they understood the intricacies and vagaries of a national championship’s final round.

How did it shake out at the Renaissance Club? The smoldering one, Danielle Kang, nearly pulled off a third consecutive victory, finishing at 4 deep, one out of the playoff. Madsen finished there, too. Knight and Pedersen, hailing from the USA and Denmark, respectively, reached five-under par, and waited on Muñoz and Lewis to finish the day. The duo joined in at minus-five, and off the foursome went to overtime. Things ended quickly, where Muñoz and Pedersen missed the green and chances at birdie. Knight was at 15 feet for three, with Lewis at 20. The Arkansas Assassin drained her 20-feet putt for tre and watched as Knight missed. Like that, the mom, former number one, and winless since 2017, was winless no more. Victory number 15 was sealed with grit and spectacle.

European Tour: Celtic Classic

Connor Syme held the third round lead at the CC, but Connor Syme has never won on the European Tour. He has lifted silverware on the Challenge Tour, but that’s another level. Syme had two bogeys and two birdies on day four in Wales, and fell from first to T3 on Sunday.

Andrew “Beef” Johnston posted 68 on day four, and finished in a tie for third, with Syme. Johnston has been on a wayward patch of late, so a top-three total is cause for celebration. We have the beef is not yet in the top podium spot, but he’s gaining! Thomas Pieters, lean and tall Belgian, former Ryder Cupper, also finished at 15-red and matched with Johnston and Syme on Golfer.

Who remained? How about Thomas Detry, fellow Belgian of Pieters, and fellow U of Illinois alum on Pieters? He and Pieters won the 2018 World Cup of Golf, but Detry has yet to claim a solo win on the Euro Tour. He’s getting closer (this part is ironic; more to come.) He finished at -16, solo second and two shy of … Sam Horsfield. Horsfield held the 36-hole lead, but gave it generously to Syme. On Sunday, the Englishman was bogey-free for 67 and a two-shot margin of victory. This was his second Euro Tour win for career and season, and both have come at the expense of runner-up … Thomas Detry. Yikes!

Men’s Amateur: U.S. Amateur

Lightning doesn’t strike twice, they say. Lightning hasn’t met Tyler Strafaci. On Saturday, the Georgia Tech senior stood two up with three to play in his semifinal match. He proceeded to lose 16 and 17 to Aman Gupta, the highest-ranked seed left in the field. Undaunted, Strafaci made birdie on 18 to make his way to Sunday’s final match. Fast forward to late Sunday afternoon, and Strafaci found himself in a similar, uncomfortable position.

Charles “Ollie” Osborne had made consecutive birdies at 16 and 17 to whittle Strafaci’s 2-up lead to nothing. The SMU golfer had the Yellowjacket exactly where he wanted him. Trouble was, Strafaci had been there before. Just like Saturday, Strafaci dug deep and made birdie. Just like Saturday, three consecutive holes were too much for his opponent. Osborne made par, and the US Amateur title returned to Atlanta, where former teammate Andy Ogletree had brought the hardware in 2019, after his win at Pinehurst.

Easily as important as Strafaci’s win this week, was the showcase of American links golf at the Bandon Dunes resort. For far too long, USA golfers have been enamored of soft fairways, thick rough, and balls spinning backward (even if they only dream of the third part.) The fast and firm conditions at Bandon Dunes are much easier to maintain, cost less money, and are better for the environment. Tyler Strafaci and golf both emerged as champions this week.

Korn Ferry Tour: Boise Open

#NoLie I wanted Cameron Young to win. Two reasons: coached against him at NYS CHSAA champions at James Baird State Park AND he went to my alma mater, @wakeforest. Today wasn’t his day, now wasn’t his time. Soldier on.

With luck, Young paid attention to the guys in his pairing. Stephan Jaeger, he of the 58 at the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic, played the requisite golf (68) to claim a fifth Korn Ferry title. Dan McCarthy, the best golfer that Syracuse has ever produced, continued his comeback from wrist injuries and came second. McCarthy is to the USA on the Korn Ferry Tour what Taylor Pendrith is to Canada. Both of these guys are going to break out soon, and large! With seven events left on the 2020 schedule, the limb that I select is this: those two will win two of the remaining septuplets.

What about Jaeger? Made an early eagle, said, “come get me,” and played solid golf. Heck, it took at 64 from McCarthy for anyone to be within … oh, wait, Brandon Wu. Wu also finished on -2o, two back of Jaeger. Well, guess it was trickier than it looked. If Wu doesn’t bogey 11 and 13 on the inward half, it gets interesting. OK, not a Twilight Series installment. Jaeger wins, out.

PGA Tour Champions: Senior Players Championship

Jerry Kelly is THAT guy. Which guy? Hard to explain, Kind of an uncle, sort of a buddy, mistaken for a character played by Jack Nicholson (it’s the goatee.) Former hockey goalie, won one of the three #NikeBuffaloOpen ever played #MyHometown, and just a gritty, grinding guy. Sunday in Akron was no awakening for him. Bit of a rain delay, bit of a challenge from the chasers, let’s tough it out sort of day.

Jerry Kelly aced the 12th. Like Si Woo Kim yesterday at Wyndham, except Kelly won. He made double bogey at the 18th, and won by two. Scott Parel, his pursuer, made bogey at the last, after notching birdie at the penultimate hole. In words, it was an odd conclusion. It was not stellar golf. It was strange golf. There was Parel, thinking that 2nd would be a fine place to finish, until Kelly chunked his way to the green, then three-whacked for the six. Parel found the rough on his own, came up shy of the green, then missed for par.

The win was Kelly’s seventh on the PGA Tour Champions circuit. By my estimation, he should eclipse ten before his victory days are done. He is a solid player with a balanced approach to the game. Same goes for Parel, who currently sits on three PTC wins. He is due for a burst, any week now.

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Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

Published

14 hours ago

May 7, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

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

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

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

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SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips

Published

2 days ago

May 6, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

SuperStroke announced today its purchase of 100-year-old grip maker Lamkin Grips, citing the company’s “heritage of innovation and quality.”

“It is with pride and great gratitude that we announce Lamkin, a golf club grip brand with a 100-year history of breakthrough design and trusted products, is now a part of the SuperStroke brand,” says SuperStroke CEO Dean Dingman. “We have always had the utmost respect for how the Lamkin family has put the needs and benefits of the golfer first in their grip designs. If there is a grip company that is most aligned with SuperStroke’s commitment to uncompromised research, design, and development to put the most useful performance tools in the hands of golfers, Lamkin has been that brand. It is an honor to bring Lamkin’s wealth of product innovation into the SuperStroke family.”

Elver B. Lamkin founded the company in 1925 and produced golf’s first leather grips. The company had been family-owned and operated since that point, producing a wide array of styles, such as the iconic Crossline.

According to a press release, “The acquisition of Lamkin grows and diversifies SuperStroke’s proven and popular array of grip offerings with technology grounded in providing golfers optimal feel and performance through cutting-edge design and use of materials, surface texture and shape.”

CEO Bob Lamkin will stay on as a board member and will continue to be involved with the company.

“SuperStroke has become one of the most proven, well-operated, and pioneering brands in golf grips and we could not be more confident that the Lamkin legacy, brand, and technology is in the best of hands to continue to innovate and lead under the guidance of Dean Dingman and his remarkably capable team,” Lamkin said.

Related: Check out our 2014 conversation with Bob Lamkin, here: Bob Lamkin on the wrap grip reborn, 90 years of history

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Tour Rundown: Pendrith, Otaegui, Longbella, and Dunlap soar

Published

2 days ago

May 6, 2024

Ronald Montesano

Take it from a fellow who coaches high school golf in metro Toronto: there’s plenty of great golf played in the land of the maple leaf. All the greats have designed courses over the USA border: Colt, Whitman, Ross, Coore, Mackenzie, Doak, as well as the greatest of the land, Stanley Thompson. I’m partial to him, because he wore my middle name with grandeur. Enough about the architecture, because this week’s Tour Rundown begins with a newly-minted, Canadian champion on the PGA Tour. Something else that the great white north is known for, is weather. It impacted play on three of the world’s tours, forcing final-round cancellations on two of them.

It was an odd week in the golf world. The LPGA and the Korn Ferry were on a break, and only 13/15 of the rounds slated, were played. In the end, we have four champions to recognize, so let’s not delay any longer with minutiae about the game that we love. Let’s run it all down with this week’s Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour: TP takes TS at Byron’s place

The 1980s was a decade when a Canadian emergence was anticipated on the PGA Tour. It failed to materialize, but a path was carved for the next generation. Mike Weir captured the Masters in 2003, but no other countrymen joined him in his quest for PGA Tour conquest. 2024 may herald the long-awaited arrival of a Canadian squad of tour winners. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Nick Taylor break the fifty-plus year dearth of homebred champions at the Canadian Open, and players like Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Adam Svennson, and Mackenzie Hughes have etched their names into the PGA Tour’s annals of winners.

This week, Taylor Pendrith joined his mates with a one-shot win at TPC Craig Ranch, the home of the Byron Nelson Classic. Pendrith took a lead into the final round and, while the USA’s Jake Knapp faltered, held on for the slimmest of victories. Sweden’s Alex Noren posted six-under 65 on Sunday to move into third position, at 21-under par. Ben Kohles, a Texan, looked to break through for his first win in his home state. He took the lead from Pendrith at the 71st hole, on the strength of a second-consecutive birdie.

With victory in site, Kohles found a way to make bogey at the last, without submerging in the fronting water. His second shot was greenside, but he could not move his third to the putting surface. His fourth was five feet from par and a playoff, but his fifth failed to drop. Meanwhile, Pendrith was on the froghair in two, and calmly took two putts from 40 feet, for birdie. When Kohles missed for par, Pendrith had, at last, a PGA Tour title.

360° and in!

A nervy par save by @TaylorPendrith to remain one back as he seeks his first PGA TOUR victory @CJByronNelson. pic.twitter.com/LVFXUSidSg

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 5, 2024

DP World Tour: China Open in Otaegui’s hands after canceled day four

It wasn’t the fourth round that was canceled in Shenzhen, but the third. Rains came on Saturday to Hidden Grace Golf Club, ensuring that momentum would cease. Sunday would instead be akin to a motorsports restart, with no sense of who might claim victory. Sebastian Soderberg, the hottest golfer on the Asian Swing, held the lead, but he would slip to a 72 on Sunday, and tie for third with Paul Waring and Joel Girrbach. Italy’s Guido Migliozzi completed play in 67 strokes on day three, moving one shot past the triumvirate, to 17-under par.

It was Spain’s Adrian Otaegui who persevered the best and played the purest. Otaegui was clean on the day, with seven birdies for 65. Even when Migliozzi ceased the lead at the 10th, Otaegui remained calm. With everything on the line, Migliozzi made bogey at the par-five 17th, as his principal competitor finished in birdie. To the Italian’s credit, he bounced back with birdie at the last, to claim solo second. The victory was Otaegui’s fifth on the DP World Tour, and first since October of 2022.

.@adrianotaegui birdies the 16th to tie the lead at -17 ?#VolvoChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/p4tfE5DRJa

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 5, 2024

PGA Tour Americas: Quito’s rains gift title to Longbella

Across the world, superintendents and their staffs will do anything to prepare a course for play. Even after fierce, nightime rains, the Quito TG Club greeted the first four groups on Sunday. The rains worsened after 7 am, however, and the tour was forced to abort the final round of play. With scores reverting to Saturday’s numbers, Thomas Longbella’s one-shot advantage over Gunn Yang turned into a Tour Americas victory.

64 held the opening-day lead, and Longbella was not far off, with 66. Yang jumped to the top on day two, following a67 with 66. He posted 68 on day three, and anticipated a fierce, final-round duel for the title. As for Longbella, he fought off a ninth-hole bogey on Saturday with six birdies and a 17th-hole eagle. That rare bird proved to be the winning stroke, allowing Longbella to edge past Yang, and secure ultimate victory.

.@TBalla21 eagles 17, shoots 65 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the KIA Open. pic.twitter.com/TTOL2LxSdh

— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) May 4, 2024

PGA Tour Champions: Dunlap survives Saturday stumble for win

Scott Dunlap did not finish Saturday as well as he might have liked. After beginning play near Houston with 65, Dunlap made two bogeys in his final found holes on day two, to finish at nine-under par. Hot on his heels was Joe Durant, owner of a March 2024 win on PGA Tour Champions. Just behind Durant was Stuart Appleby, perhaps vibing from his Sunday 59 at Greenbrier on this day in 2010. Neither would have a chance to track Dunlap down.

The rains that have forced emergency responders into action, to save hundreds of lives in the metro Houston area, ended hopes for a third day of play at The Woodlands. Dunlap had won once previously on Tour Champions, in 2014 in Washington state. Ten years later, Dunlap was the fortunate recipient of a canceled final round, and his two days of play were enough to earn him TC victory number two.

Off the green? No worries for @ScottDu12500063

8-under solo leader @InsperityInvtnl pic.twitter.com/hoj5OujL5C

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 4, 2024

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