News

Tour Rundown: Choi’s time arrives | Vegas comes up aces again | Coughlin breaks barriers

Published

2 years ago

Jul 29, 2024

It nearly feels like the old days, when another men’s major remained after the Open championship. There’s a reason, but it only comes to pass every four years. The Olympic golf event will take place at Le Golf Nationale, and just like that, August will matter again. Golfers will ascend the podium and listen to the playing of national anthems. It’s unique to the game and it counts as much as any other, major title. Don’t listen to those who say otherwise. They’ve long since fossilized in the ways before evolution.

The final full week of July brought five wonderful events to the attention and screens of the world’s golf fanatics. The PGA Tour traveled to the North Country, to Minnesota. The LPGA went farther north, to Alberta. The senior men played in their most recent major event, the Senior Open, while the Korn Ferry Tour found glory in Chicagoland. Finally, the PGA Tour Americas joined the LPGA above the 49th parallel, in Ottawa. Although it was a decidedly, western-hemisphere week, the golf was stellar.

It’s time for another Tour Rundown, so lace up those kicks and take your mark.

The Senior Open: Choi’s time arrives

Choi Kyung-Ju, known for the entirety of his career as K.J. Choi, is a tank. He looks to be capable of powering through, or knocking down, any wall that stands in his way. One wall that seemed to get the better of him for nearly 30 years, held the inscription of the game’s four major events. Choi achieved seven, top-ten finishes in regular-tour majors, including three at Augusta National. The final ascent eluded him, and when he came to the senior tour in 2021, the same pattern returned.

This week, the tank broke through the wall. At storied Carnoustie, itself a tank among golf links, Choi grabbed the lead from Stephen Ames on day two, then held it through day three. He wobbled a bit on Sunday, playing his first six holes in plus-three numbers. From holes nine to fourteen, however, the champion returned, four birdies, capped by an eagle at the long 14th, brought him to double-digits under par and the ladder’s top rung.

Choi’s closest pursuer, Richard Green of Australia, wasn’t quite finished. His birdie at the last, paired with Choi’s safe bogey, made the margin of victory appear smaller than it truly was. After three decades of competition, K. J. Choi is finally a major champion, and the history page at Carnoustie has another, deserving titleist.

Four shot lead for K.J. Choi with four holes to play…?#SeniorOpen | @ROLEX pic.twitter.com/rYxSUlmFU2

— Legends Tour (@euLegendsTour) July 28, 2024

PGA Tour @ 3M Open: Vegas comes up aces again

Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas came to Texas in the mid-2000s, graduated from the University there in Austin, and embarked on a professional’s playing career. He gathered three PGA Tour wins during the 2010s, including consecutive wins at the Canadian Open. The decade of his 30s hasn’t brought quite the same glory, so there’s no better way to say Hello to your 40s (in three weeks) than with a fourth tour title.

Vegas and the field found themselves chasing Canada’s Taylor Pendrith, after the Toronto-area native opened with 130 through two rounds. On Saturday, the birdie well dried up for Pendrith, and his 73 opened access to all of his pursuers. Vegas capitalized with 63, and seized the lead. On Sunday, three bogies threatened to offer opportunity to his pursuers, but Vegas’ resolve stiffened. He reached the final hole in a tie for the lead. With more water than dry land between him and glory, Vegas found the fairway and then, the green, of the par-five closer. Facing a ho-hum, 95-feet putt for eagle, Vegas nursed the massive stroke to within three feet, then found the hole with his fourth, for a one-shot margin of victory.

Two putts for the win.@JhonattanVegas gives it a run from 99 feet. pic.twitter.com/gv0C1j4TDf

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 28, 2024

LPGA @ Canadian Open: Coughlin breaks barriers

Lauren Coughlin is featured on the wikipedia page under grit and grinder. That’s not actually true, but it certainly cound be. The Virgina native and UVA alumna has toiled on the professional golf tours since 2016. Her lone win came in 2018, at the Symetra Tour’s PHC Classic. Earlier this year, Coughlin earned a career-best finish in a major, when she place third at the Chevron.

This week in Calgary had a different vibe. Scores in the 60s were hard to come by, at the Earl Grey golf club. Coughlin’s 68 took the day-one lead, and her 70 on Friday held it. Day three saw the leader collect an unheard-of, eight birdies. A brace of bogies brought her to 66 on the day, a number that should have sealed the win with 18 holes to play.

Out of nowhere, Japan’s Mao Saigo blistered the course with nine birdies and a scintillating, eagle two at the tenth hole. Her inconceivable 61 vaulted her from nine shots back, to just four in arrears. On Sunday, Saigo did her best to close the gap, but her 69 came up two shots shy of Coughlin’s 71. With no more moves under way from the field, Coughlin at long last had her maiden LPGA victory. It was time for tea.

For the lead!@LCisHOOSgolfin with a birdie on No. 17 snags the lead at @cpkcwomensopen ? pic.twitter.com/eK9aFzjt8T

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 29, 2024

Korn Ferry Tour @ N5 Invitational: A Rosenmueller by any other name, is a champion

One week can change a golfer’s life. That platitude happens more often than one might anticipate. In the case of North Texas alumnus Thomas Rosenmueller, this week was that week. When he teed off on Thursday at The Glen Club, the Munich-born traveler stood 54th on the KFT money list. The notion of making it to the tour championship was within site. 72 holes later, Rosenmueller has his eyes focused on a more prestigious prize, that fits in a wallet.

Fifteen golfers reached 20-under par or better in Illinois. If you weren’t collecting birdies by the bushel, you weren’t in contention. Rosenmueller gathered 27 from the fields, capped by a scorching eagle two at the antipenultimate hole. Even a bogey at the last wasn’t enough to undo 71 stellar holes, and the German had his first KFT title, by two shots over Australia’s Karl Vilips. And that aforementioned prize? Perhaps a PGA Tour card, the kind that fits in a wallet, is in the offing. Rosenmueller shot up to the 15th ranked spot on the yearlong money list.

What a way to take a three-stroke lead??@thomasrosenmue1 holes out from 33 yards on the 15th @NV5Invite. pic.twitter.com/WCK8tojBnq

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) July 28, 2024

PGA Tour Americas @ Ottawa Open: Double-B Barend Botha wins big

It’s an interesting journey, from South Africa to Toledo, Ohio. That’s the one that Barend Botha made, for his classroom and golf course educations. Botha graduated from the Buckeye state institution in May, and made his way onto the PGA Tour Americas soon after. He traveled north again, this time to Ottawa, to achieve unexpected success: 26 shots under par and a one-shot victory.

Botha opened 63-65, suggesting that he might have some sort of arcane knowledge of the Eagle Creek layout. He cooled to 67 in round three, but preserved his advantage. On Sunday, Botha found six birdies against a solitary bogey, and closed with another 67. There were chasers, but would they have enough? George Markham and Connor Creasy came the closest, reaching 25-under par each.

After opening seven-under through his first 13 holes, the tank was empty for Markham. Pars all the way in left him one excruciating shot shy of the leader. As for Creasy, his finish was elite, but one last birdie at the long closer eluded him, and he joined Markham at station T2.

Barend Botha sticks one close on 9 and ties the lead at 24-under ?@OttawaOpenGolf pic.twitter.com/JNwOmjGrec

— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) July 28, 2024

Tour Photo Galleries

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

Published

12 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

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

3 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