News

5 things we learned: Thursday at the U.S. Women’s Open

Published

5 years ago

Jun 4, 2021

The Olympic Club’s Lake Course is the perfect venue for a competition edged with a bit of architectural controversy. Blend narrow fairways, overhanging trees, oddly-placed bunkers and tilted putting surfaces, and you’ve a recipe for debate and finger-wagging. Thursday at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open saw eight golfers break 70, seven more break par, and a few leave the grounds of the venerable San Francisco club scratching their heads, uncertain over what just happened.

The co-leaders stand at 4 under par after 18 holes. Some 25 other golfers finished within four shots of that number. With 54 holes left to be played, much remains unknown about this year’s event. Nevertheless, there were five things that we learned on Thursday at the national championship of the USA, so let’s unpack them and find out more about the 2021 US Women’s Open.

1. Angel Yin might finish it off this year

Two years ago, the long-hitting youngster tied for 2nd at the national open championship. Held at the country club of Charleston, the event featured a traditional golf club with a demanding golf course. Yin held up well and used the event as a springboard toward making her second U.S. Solheim Cup side. This year, Yin was the only player in the top 10 to truly solve the closing holes at Olympic. While everyone else gave shots back at the par 5-par 4 concluding stretch, Yin gained back three strokes with hear eagle-birdie finish. Sure, it might be an early-week, one-time fluke. If we see her repeat the feat, watch out for Yin come Sunday.

2. Being the best doesn’t work out every week

Nelly Korda is currently ranked fourth in the world, the highest rung for any golfer from the USA. Korda opened with 78 at Olympic, good for a tie for 119th spot, 11 shots behind the leaders. Other big numbers turned in by pre-event favorites were 76s from Sophia Popov and amateur Rose Zhang, and 75s from Patty Tavatanakit and Anna Nordqvist. Korda was undone by a triple-bogey seven at the 260-yard seventh hole. The young Floridian lost a hybrid right, slashed around the rough a bit, and took three putts from the top of the two-tiered green. Olympic will demand immeasurable amounts of patience from its winner this week. If it is to be Nelly Korda, she will need to complete an incredible comeback.

3. Just don’t lose the tournament on day one

It’s an old adage, and pairs with the notion that no one wins an event on day one. Golfers like Inbee Park, Lydia Ko, and Ariya Jutanugarn didn’t light the course up on Thursday, but they didn’t handcuff themselves, either. Each shot even-par 71 to preserve a chance at the title. At minus-one are Jeongeun Lee6 (the 2019 winner of this event) Jennifer Kupcho, and Marina Alex. A case can be made for any of these golfers to be in contention on Sunday afternoon. Unlike those who struggled, these golfers found a way to preserve a shot at the title. Most days at the Open, it’s not about the birdies you made, but the bogies that you avoided.

4. Defending champion A Lim Kim struggles

As dominant and poised as the young Korean golfer was at Champions last December, she was not today at Olympic. Kim scribbled two 7s and six 5s on her scorecard, on her way to an opening 79. Golf is fickle, and major-championship golf, doubly so. Kim never locked into the quirky California course. She stood three over par before she reached the third tee, and didn’t make a birdie until the 15th green. 2020 runners-up Amy Olson and Jin Young Ko are shaking their heads, wondering where this round was last December for Kim. Incidentally, Ko opened with 70, while Olson signed for 73, during this year’s opening day.

5. And the winner is …

It’s never to early to make an incorrect prediction on who will hoist the sizable trophy on Sunday! I like Lexi Thompson, the long-hitting Floridian. Lexi has never proven that she can win on narrow, nail-biter courses, but 2021 shows us a new and improved model, built for U.S. Open success. Thompson opened with 69, and finds herself two behind English pro Mel Reid and USA amateur Megha Ganne, the round-one leaders. Thompson won’t go low any of the next three days, but she will play consistent golf and win her second professional major title.

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.

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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