Tour News
Gay comes from 6 back to win Humana Challenge
“It’s hard to win out here.”
Brian Gay’s simple and telling comment after winning the Humana Classic might have been spoken by any number of runners-up on Sunday. Two additional golfers joined him in a playoff and two more finished one stroke out at 24-under par.
Gay’s highly-touted putter missed a fairly short birdie effort on the 72nd hole to win in regulation, but it was up to the task in overtime. Gay and Charles Howell III birdied the first playoff hole, while Web.Com Tour graduate David Lingmerth found Lake Hope on the left and made bogey. Lingmerth had closed with a 10-under 62 to make up seven strokes and join the playoff, but was unable to duplicate his final-hole birdie on the 73rd, tugging a 4-iron approach from a slight sidehill lie into the wet stuff.
“It was quite a bit above my feet, so I knew it was probably going to want to go left,” Lingmerth said. “And I naturally like to hit a little fade, so off of that lie, it just felt awkward for me. And I didn’t get comfortable and obviously put a bad swing on it.”
Howell was the only player in the top five to make a bogey during regulation. The Oklahoma State alum made two of them, yet persevered to post 10 birdies over the other 16 holes and reserve a spot in the post-round cotillion. Much like Gay, Howell was unable to birdie the 18th in regulation for the win. Unfortunately for Howell, his approach to the second playoff hole (the 10th) found a greenside bunker. After a mediocre bunker shot, he missed his 10 footer for putt that gave Brian Gay two putts for the win.
For Howell, close may not bring the symbolic cigar, but it does substantiate his rededication to the game.
“I like the work that I’m doing,” Howell said after the round. “I’ve made more of a commitment to work on my short game. It’s up to me to stick to the plan that I’ve laid out throughout the whole year, as opposed to having a couple good weeks and then focusing a little bit more on something else.”
Kevin Chappell gave an early hint that the Humana tradition of low final rounds would continue. The former UCLA player got to eleven-under par through the 8th hole, after beginning his day on the back nine. Knowing that a final-hole birdie would take him to 60 on the day and minus-24 for the week, Chappell nearly made his long effort. A mental lapse led to a three-putt, but still earned him a top-10 finish.
“I hit a good putt,” Chappell said. “Unfortunately missed the comeback putt, but all in all, it was a good day. I said to my caddie walking up 18, this is a lot better than where I was end of last year, fighting to keep my card. It’s good to get those nerves going again and a nice way to break off the rust.”
Scott Stallings, the tournament leader at dawn on day four, gave the impression that he would follow up his Saturday 63 with another low round on Sunday. Birdies on holes Nos. 2 through 4 increased his overnight lead to six strokes. A bogey hiccup on No. 7 reduced the lead, as the hard-charging field gave notice that it would not concede victory.
Stallings opened the back nine with a pair of birdies to establish a lead once again, but was unable to make another birdie over the final six holes. Bogeys on Nos. 16 and 18 snatched defeat from the jaws of victory for the 2012 True South Classic champion. Despite the near-miss, Stallings remained optimistic about the experience.
“You’re going to have your good days and your bad days, but if you live and die with every shot out there, you’re going to have a ?? your career is not going to last very long out there,” Stalling said. “You got to learn from your mistakes and know what you got to do to get better. And I’ve got a great team around me and I got to get better in certain situations and got to handle myself better and understanding where I’m going to miss it in the circumstances when they dictate themselves, like 18.”
Among the also-rans, Phil Mickelson’s final-hole bogey cost him a top-30 finish, but his third consecutive round in the 60s (67 on Friday and twin 66s on the weekend) revealed that Lefty is in top early-season form as he heads to San Diego and Torrey Pines next week. Only a Thursday 72 kept Mickelson from contending.
James Hahn, a tour rookie, had six birdies and two eagles (including one on No. 18) in a final-round 62. He finished in a 4th-place tie with Stallings, one stroke out of the playoff. Hahn had played on the Gateway, Canadian and Nationwide tours before earning a promotion to the PGA Tour in 2013. Hahn led this week after opening with 63-67. A third-round 72 derailed the train a bit, but he showed more than pluck in closing with the low round of the week.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship
GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.
While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.
Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Michael Block – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Patrick Reed – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cam Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Josh Speight – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Takumi Kanaya – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kyle Mendoza – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Adrian Meronk – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jordan Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jeremy Wells – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jared Jones – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Somers – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Larkin Gross – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tracy Phillips – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jon Rahm – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Keita Nakajima – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kazuma Kobori – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- David Puig – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Ryan Van Velzen – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brad Marek – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Chris Gotterup – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rich Beem WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Phil Mickelson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Matt Dobyns – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Lucas Herbert – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jason Dufner – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Daly – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Taylor Gooch – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dean Burmester – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dustin Johnson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
Pullout Albums
- Ping putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Bettinardi covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cameron putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Max Homa – Titleist 2 wood – 2024 PGA Championship
- Scotty Cameron experimental putter shaft by UST – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – new Ping putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka’s new Cameron putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s Cobra bag and Aerojet driver – 2024 PGA Championship
- Super Stroke grip – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tiger Woods – 2024 PGA Championship
- Michael Block’s new TaylorMade “Proto” 7-iron, from address – 2024 PGA Championship
- Odyssey putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
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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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Ronald Montesano
Jan 21, 2013 at 3:07 pm
As we know, it depends on the course. Certain courses are more receptive to low scores (a la Palmer Private) while others defend par vigorously. I suspect that greenkeepers could cut flags on PP in very challenging places and speed up greens into the teens and voila, US Open conditions. They don’t want that at the Humana, so we get 62s.
Troy Vayanos
Jan 21, 2013 at 2:18 pm
It’s hard to know what is a comfortable lead any longer on tour.
Scott Stallings had a 5 shot lead with one round to go and shot 2 under 70 and still came up short. The players today on some of these golf courses are able to go so low no lead is comfortable.
Three players shot 62 on the final day and tore apart the PGA West (Palmer Course).