News

Tour Rundown: Mayakoba tries on a Henley for size | Gemma of a performance

Published

4 years ago

Nov 7, 2022

It was often written, back in the days of colonial celebration, that the sun never set on the British Empire. It can be written today, that the sun never sets on professional golf. Some event takes place each week, given the vast array of professional circuits across the world. On this first weekend of November, 2022, we report in from Mexico, Japan, Georgia, Virginia, and Morocco. It’s a wonderful game, this golf, and we are fortunate to follow it. Let’s run down a quintet of events in this week’s installment of Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour: Mayakoba Tries On A Henley For Size In 2022’s World Wide Tech

Russell Henley was one of the few golfers who won a major professional event while still an amateur. Henley won a Korn Ferry event on his home (University) course in 2011, then turned professional the next year. After two more wins on the Triple A circuit, Henley graduated to the big tour, and won in 2013. Two more victories followed, in 2014 and 2017. Whenever Henley’s other-worldly putting stroke was fully on, he was a threat to win. This week in Mexico, Henley earned victory number four, by a quartet of shots over Brian Harman.

Henley played stellar golf through 36 holes to take the lead. A pair of 63s was followed by a Saturday 65, and the Georgia native had six strokes in hand over Patton Kizzire. Kizzire went astray on Sunday, posting 71 to seep to a tenth-place tie. Meanwhile, Henley kept the ball in play, posted 71, and claimed the super-cool, chameleon trophy to cap an unlikely, three-week run of Cut-T45-1st.

A bounce-back birdie for leader @RussHenleyGolf.

He extends his lead to 4 shots @WWTatMayakoba. pic.twitter.com/SKCYk0P8d7

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 6, 2022

LPGA: A Gemma Of A Performance Steals The Show In Shiga

It’s not how you start, but how you finish. Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh began this week’s event with 71. Far ahead of her were Japanese golfers Momoko Ueda (65) and Miyu Yamashita (67). Unfazed, Dryburgh chipped away at the differential, but Ueda and Yamashita kept their scores in the 60s through each of the first three rounds. On Sunday, the card deck flipped. It was Dryburgh who went low, posting a second-consecutive 65, while the Japanese pair finally cracked. Both Ueda (74) and Yamashita (72) left the 60s for the first time all week, opening the door for the 29-year old, Aberdeen native to hoist an initial LPGA title trophy.

After two birdies on the opening nine, Dryburgh went on a tear. She gained strokes on four of five holes, beginning with the 11th. One more birdie on the long closer brought her to 20-under par on the week. Runner-up Kana Nagai of the host country could do little more than shake her head at the four-shot gap that separated the pair. After all, when a player improves her career-best from 21st to 1st on the LPGA circuit, what more can you do? Toto, we’re not in Scotland any more.

A Sunday 65 to claim her first LPGA Tour win ?

Watch @gemmadryburgh's final round highlights! ? pic.twitter.com/dkUwOa7FRY

— LPGA (@LPGA) November 6, 2022

Korn Ferry Tour: One Round Remains In 2023 Final Qualifying

The Korn Ferry Tour’s final qualifying event is a four-round affair, in sunny Savannah, Georgia. Every golfer that reaches this stage is assured of some status in 2023. The top 40 golfers will be assured a “healthy” number of starts during the first portion of the season. At that juncture, a reseeding of players will take place, and things will really get interesting. Final Qualifying ends on Monday, a journalist’s nightmare.

As of Sunday evening, Chan Kim held a four-shot lead over four golfers, including first-round leader Alan Wagner. The 40th ranked golfer sat in a 13-way tie for 28th, with 16 golfers tied for 41st, one shot back at -2. Final Qualifying is two tournaments in one. The middle of the pack will battle for that all-important 40th placement, while the fellows at the top will trade shots at glory. Be sure to tune in on Monday afternoon to catch all the action and sweaty palms at The Landings.

R3 highlights at Final Stage.

The fight for guaranteed starts concludes tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/vo4IkHJQq0

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) November 7, 2022

PGA Tour Champions: Langer Claims Second Win Of 2022

Hale Irwin has been the all-time victory leader on the PGA Tour’s senior circuit since 2007. His total of 45 seemed to be unreachable, until Bernhard Langer joined PGA Tour Champions that same year. With his win today at the Chubb Classic, Langer moved to 44 career victories, one shy of the pride of Joplin, Missouri, with a runaway win over Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and the USA’s Paul Goydos. Langer’s day-two round of 63 was the class of the week, and it gave him the margin he needed to compel his fellow competitors to take chase. Langer posted 66 on Sunday, ensuring that a 60 would be needed to gain a playoff. Since Fred “Mr. 60” Couples was not in the field, Langer was safe. Jaidee and Goydos tied for second at 11-under 205.

65 & not slowing down ?@BernhardLanger6 birdies to extend his lead by 6. pic.twitter.com/TlheOhLw4Q

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) November 6, 2022

Asian Tour: Eagle-Birdie Finish Gives Jazz The International Series Morocco

The Royal Dar Es Salam club played host to the Asian Tour this week, and the tournament came down to the final putts. David Puig of Spain took a lead into round four, but could not hold on to the ladder’s top rung. His final-round 73 dropped him to 10-under par, and he finished in solo third place, two behind the winner. In second place was Richard T. Lee. The Canadian journeyman posted 70 on Sunday after a Saturday 74. It wasn’t enough to claw all the way back to the lead he held on Friday evening, but it drew him up past Puig, into second position.

The championship trophy sailed away in the hands of Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond. The 26-year old Bangkokian lurked for three days, then went low on day four with 67. His score was one of five below 70 on the event’s final day, and it could not have come at a better time. The win was his 7th on the Asian circuit, and his first since December of 2019.

A eagle-birdie finish to seal the deal ?

Well played, @jazzjanegolf! ???#InternationalSeriesMorocco #whereitsAT pic.twitter.com/E2zsedKUf3

— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) November 6, 2022

Tour Photo Galleries

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

Published

14 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

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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