News

Five Things We Learned Friday At The PGA Championship

Published

4 years ago

May 21, 2022

The hatchet man came a-calling on Friday evening in Tulsa. He set the cut at four over par, the equivalent of 144 strokes over two days at venerable Southern Hills. That meant that 70 golfers would remain for the weekend, each with a chance at hoisting the cherished (and heavy) Wannamaker trophy on Sunday evening. 77 golfers, including all 20 PGA professionals, would bid farewell to Perry Maxwell’s dust-bowl diamond, grateful for the time they spent in pursuit of the greatest reward the PGA of America has on offer. Santa Claus, aka the 1991 PGA Championship winner, will not be around for the weekend. Before we plunge into the hot-tub time machine of things we learned on Friday, let’s salute Long John Daly, one last time in Tulsa

John Daly kicks off his round with a birdie. ?#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/3hd0jSOUTz

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 20, 2022

5. Bye-Bye For Now

We’ll miss massive shockers Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson, and Scottie Scheffler. We’ll miss surprises Adam Scott, Sergio García, and Kevin Kisner. No offense to the others who missed the cut, but those are the names that we expected to make the weekend. Replacing them for the next two rounds are the likes of Rikuya Hoshino, Shaun Norris, Adam Schenk, Laurie Canter, Aaron Wise, and Seamus Power. Those later six are good, no doubt, but they don’t have the recognition of the first sextet. That’s how these things go, I guess. Hope that the stunned six return to form at Brookline, and that the stunning six parlay this made-major cut into a career bump. We’ll leave you with a bomb from Henrik Stenson, also a major champion and, regrettably, down the road this week.

Henrik Stenson drills the birdie putt from deep! ?@henrikstenson | #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/c3KT2Hv1rp

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 20, 2022

4. You’re still here? Let’s GOOOOOOOOO!

It starts with Tiger. It continues with Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Reed, Joaquín Niemann, and a few fistfuls of others. There are so many good players around for Saturday and Sunday, and so many great opportunities at Southern Hills, that this PGA Championship might be the best major of 2022. If one of those Friday movers can also be a Saturday mover, he might find himself in Sunday’s final grouping. Being a mover on three consecutive days is asking a lot, but let’s pretend we are Prime and expect next-day delivery on our expectations.

Hear the roar. ?#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/98JXorp7Nb

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 20, 2022

3. Them’s Some Moves!

Speaking of moves, how about Bubba with 63 for 4th position? Or Brooks with 67, to move from gone to maybe? Jason Kokrak went from 74 to 68. Billy Horschel and Lucas Glover went from 75 to 69, to make the cut on the number. Big score drops are out there, and if they hang around for Saturday, this column will feature tomorrow’s Moving-Day mover. We’ll go out on a limb and pick the third-round king. His name is Kevin Na, and he’s going to drop a 64 and move inside the top five.

Bubba was in vintage form during Round 2. Tying the tournament record 63. ?#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/RHx6Ej18JR

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2022

2. Guillermo Pereira becomes Mito to us all

From a Spanish teacher, here’s my probable source for the nickname Mito. Little Guillermo Pereira, way back in Chile, was known as Little Guillermo, or Guillermito. The first two syllables were dropped, the Mito stuck, and here we are. Snap me if I’m wrong. I like my odds. I like his odds.

Pereira has one-point-five bogeys per round through Friday night. His swing is powerful and tight. There’s nothing esoteric nor indefensible about his action. Pereira knows how to win, but does he know how to quiet la vocecita that speaks when the klieg lights snap on? Saturday will give us our first inkling.

Here’s the clincher. If Pereira can finish as low Chilean, outlasting Joaquín Niemann, he just might become the first man from the Thin Land to earn a major championship carve.

Mito Pereira is one off the lead after shooting an incredible 6-under, 64. Watch the highlights from his round.#PGAChamp | @ROLEX pic.twitter.com/bbNyRK97jA

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2022

1. Will he?

He finished 2nd at the Masters in 2021. He tied for 6th at the US Open in 2020, and the Masters in 2022. Will Zalatoris has the game for majors. Does he have the game to win a major? He’ll have a fourth chance this weekend. The Zed from Texas and Wake Forest dropped one stroke from his opening 66, on the strength of five birdies and thirteen pars. He’s walking around Southern Hills with that familiar stride and face. It’s the one that says I belong and I can win this tournament. From round one to round two, the only holes that Zalatoris birdied both days, were 12 and 13. He has made birdie on half of the holes at Southern Hills through 36 holes. If that doesn’t spell confidence in all-caps, not much else will. Zalatoris and Pereira will face off in the final pairing on Saturday. Odds are that someone else will have the lead by that hour, and they’ll have to chase it down. We like his chances.

Solo ? leader. Will Zalatoris is hunting for his first major.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/cCN8vzhovf

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2022

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open

Published

15 mins ago

Jun 3, 2026

Ben A

GolfWRX Tour Photographer made the trip from the Memorial Tournament across the country to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera. Check out links to all the photos below!

General Albums

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

2 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

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