News

Tour Rundown: What’s Sepp? What Jeeno about that?

Published

1 year ago

May 12, 2025

I was tempted to sneak the word catachresis into this week’s episode title. Borrowed from Greek, it means “the use of a word in a way that is not correct.” I’ve been on a linguistic binge of late, adding to the idiolect, one word at a time. I then reconsidered. Don’t lead with polysyllables two consecutive weeks. Catachresis did make its way into the opening paragraph, with good reason.

In golf, we see players choose the wrong shot at the wrong time, and the results are often disastrous. At times, they hold themselves to a higher standard or the standard of another player. Sometimes, they don’t possess the proper shot, or don’t trust its accessibility with the given circumstances. At others, they believe that too much is at risk to execute the most desirable play.

After the strong performances of overnight leaders on the LPGA and PGA Tours, the rest of professional golf saw come-from-behind victories. In other words, there was some catachresis, golf-style, going on. Read about all that and more in this week’s Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour @ Truist Championship: Straka in a walka, sort of

Josef Straka earned his second win of 2025 in the City of Liberty. Known to his friends and the world as Sepp, Straka avoided the mistakes that others made on Sunday and cemented his place among the European elite in the men’s professional golf world. With that, he most surely will earn a spot on the European side for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage.

Straka played for the fat and the short coming down the stretch. He partnered with Shane Lowry, an Open champion, on Sunday, and he outplayed him. Straka wasn’t flawless on Sunday. He had eagles and bogeys, but that stretch from hole 12 to 18 saw him home in minus one. His challengers were not so fortunate. After recording birdie at 15, Lowry chased a back-left location on 16, and paid for it. His tee ball found the short-side bunker and dropped a shot. He lost one more at 18 and tied for second with Justin Thomas. His catachresis was the overcooked draw at 16, instead of the safe play to the middle of the green.

As for Thomas, he also had a bogey at the antepenultimate hole. Not even a birdie could bring him back to true contention, but a tie for second in what felt like a major championship (classic course, wonderful field) had to make the Kentuckian smile.

LPGA @ Mizuho Americas: It’s five for Jeeno at Liberty

Jeeno Thitikul underwent more than just a recognition change in 2024. She went with her nickname Jeeno for all to use, abandoning her given name of Atthaya for public purposes. She also found a closer’s cool, winning the Tour Championship and its ambitious check. This week, she showed up at Liberty National and took the tour to task. Thitikul sandwiched a less-than-73 with rounds of 64 and 65, then posted 69 on Sunday, to win by three.

Jeeno had a one-shot edge over Celine Boutier and two over Andrea Lee heading into the final round. Boutier had as many birdies as Thitikul on day four, but she also sprinkled three unfortunate bogeys into the recipe. Lee also had an up-and-down day, pairing two birdies with two bogeys. Thitikul, meanwhile, went bogey-free on the day and won by four over Boutier and five over Lee.

DP World Tour @ Turkish Airlines Open: Couvra wins as a professional

Martin Couvra made headlines in 2023, when he won on the European Challenge Tour as an amateur. His Challenge de España compelled him to turn professional, and at the age of 22, he won an inaugural DP World Tour title in Turkey.

On Sunday, Couvra made nine birdies against two bogeys to post 64 and reach 17-under par. Overnight leader Brandon Robinson Thompson began the day at 14-under par, needing a 69 to tie and a 68 to win. The Englishman ran dry at the dock, finding just one birdie on the day. His 73 dropped him to solo fourth.

Both Haotong Li and Jorge Campillo began the day a shot ahead of Couvra, and both posted 67 on day four. There was little more to do than shake their heads in the face of the winner’s 64. They finished two back of the lead, at 15-under par.

PGA Tour @ ONEflight Myrtle Beach: Fox is on the run

If there ever was a trio of golfers to root for in a PGA Tour event, you met them today at Dunes Club in Myrtle Beach. Ryan Fox, the Popeye of New Zealand, met up with Harry Higgs (a Seth Rogan lookalike) and Mackenzie Hughes (the lifter of Canada’s curse) in overtime. The trinity reached 15-under par over the waterlogged course, one clear of Kevin Yu. Away they went, to the 18th tee for resolution.

Over the course of the day, third-round leader Carson Young faded fast with 73, dropping 12 places to a tie for 13th place. He wasn’t alone in the struggles. Victor Perez and Davis Shore also dropped out of the top five, tumbling to the same place as Young with a pair of 70s.

In the playoff, Fox looked lost from the start. He hit the shortest tee ball and was the only golfer to miss the fairway. Fox’s approach missed the fringe on the right, again the only golfer to miss the green. With Hughes looking at 15 feet for a birdie, and another 25 left for Higgs, Fox calmly chipped his ball into the hole. Neither Hughes nor Higgs could match, and the kollosal Kiwi had his first PGA Tour win on his belt.

PGA Tour Americas @ Bupa Championship: JMB wins the BUP

The second-most famous John Marshall Butler stormed from behind to capture his first professional title. A year ago, JMB was a senior at Auburn University, competing in amateur and collegiate events. After graduation, he joined PGA Tour Americas. This week, Butler posted birdies on three of his final five holes, to edge past Vicente Marzillo by one.

Another John Marshall Butler was a lawyer and senator from Maryland, departing the Earth in 1978. Despite bearing the names of two important universities, this JMB eschewed both Marshall and Butler for the War Eagle community. Butler stood two behind Trip Kinney through 54 holes, then fired up the fans with an eagle three on Sunday’s second hole. Despite a bogey at four, Butler stood strong and mustered five more birdies on the way to the title.

The Kentucky kid comes out on top ?@JMButler2020 wins the 2025 Bupa Championship! pic.twitter.com/wHOodLxdTu

— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) May 11, 2025

News

5 Things we Learned: Thursday at the U.S.. Women’s Open

Published

4 hours ago

Jun 5, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Gone are the days when the U.S. Women’s Open was held at Scenic Hills or Churchill Valley. Fine courses that they are (or were, as Churchill Valley went bankrupt a decade ago) there is something to be said for the venue. Not all Women’s Open playings need to take place on Men’s Open venues, but some should. This week in Los Angeles, the Women’s Open visits Riviera Country Club for the first time. Down the road, we will visit Inverness, Oakmont, Interlachen, Oak Hill, Chicago Golf, and Merion. That is quite the murderer’s row (1927 Yankees reference) of golf clubs.

What can we expect from the 2026 tournament? Greatness and uncertainty. Unlike the PGA Tour, which visits Riviera each February, the LPGA does not, so the women will not have nearly the body of work over the George C. Thomas layout. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe they’ll play #10 smarter than the men do. Maybe they’ll figure some things out that their male counterparts can not. For today, we’ll try to find five things to learn, and share them with you.

First, this ain’t your momma’s U.S. Open course

How do we know? Well, so far, only one previous champion currently sits inside the top thirty. That would be Minjee Lee, the 2022 winner at Southern (NC) Pines. Lee made par on her first nine holes, the inward side at Riviera. She dropped birdie putts on the first and ninth holes (ten and eighteen for her day) and tallied another seven pars, for 69. She sits three shots off Jennifer Kupcho’s opening 66. Don’t worry about Kupcho; we’ll get to her. After Lee, defending champion Maja Stark ranks T30 at even par, joined by three other, former winners.

What Minjee did, is the sort of thing that wins U.S. Open titles. She guided her ship safely past swells, and made a move when the waters calmed. The fewer the bogeys, the more likely Minjee figures in the outcome on Sunday evening in Pacific Palisades. Off the tee, Lee was unmatched. She hit 14 of 14 fairways. Her iron play was a bit loose in comparison. She putted for birdie on 12 of 18 holes, which meant that her recovery short game was on point. Lee was ten yards longer on measured driving holes than the field average, and was below the field average (a good thing) in putting.

Second, the amateurs beat a loud drum

Three of the world’s top amateur golfer posted 70, placing them four off the lead, in a tie for 14th place. Canada’s Aphrodite Deng, Spain’s Paula Francisco Llaño, and Colombia’s Maria José Marin, showed the professional world that their game is strong. Both Deng and Francisco Llaño collected five birdies on the day. Should they match that output on day two, and minimize the foozles, they’ll be the topic of conversation on Saturday morning. Marin, the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion and an NCAA team semifinalist last week, played a game similar to Minjee Lee: few mistakes and few taken risks.

The last amateur to post the low medal score for 72 holes was Jenny Chuasiriporn in 1998. She lost a playoff to Se Ri Pak, who matched her plus-six effort at Blackwolf Run. The last amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open was Catherine Lacoste in 1967. The amateurs are stronger than they’ve ever been, but the professionals have not allowed them to close the gap. A victory by one of the college set would be a cannon shot heard round the world. Could it happen? Absolutely. Is it likely? Not at all.

Third, let’s talk Kupcho

Jennifer Kupcho won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She won three times on tour in 2022, including the Chevron, a major title. She won a fourth event in 2025, but has not established the winning credentials projected on her after 2022’s marvelous coming-out.

Kupcho hails from Colorado, and spent four years in the Carolina Piedmont, at Wake Forest Universtiy. Neither of those locales cries out I’ll be at home at Riviera, but here we are, after a seven-birdie performance. Kupcho posted birdie on each of her first three holes, and added four more (against two bogeys) to assume a one-shot advantage over Korea’s Sei Young Kim.

Kupcho drove the ball decently, approached moderately well, but putted lights out on Thursday. Her 26 putts were tied for best in show on day one. There might just be something about the putting surfaces at Riviera that aligns with Kupcho’s vibe. If that is the case, just get the ball on the green, anywhere, and let the flatstick do the lifting.

Fourth, how young is Sei Young?

Sei (pronounced “So”) Young Kim won a dozen times from 2015 to 2020. She took time off from winning until 2025, shen she captured a thirteenth LPGA title. Like Kupcho, Kim has hardware from one major event, the 2020 Women’s PGA Championship. How to explain the five years away from victory? No idea. When Sei Young was in contention during the prime of her career, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

What to expect over the next three days at Riviera? Anyone’s guess. It might be the 2015-2020 Sei Young, or it could be the 2021-2025 version. Kim began her day with birdies at 10 and 11, then settled into a stretch of pars before her solitary bogey at the 4th (her 13th) hole. Kim regained her composure and reeled in three birdies to close the front nine. Her four-under performance trails Kupcho alone, and there is a real chance that Sei Young will produce a second score in the 60s and take a bit of control of the tournament.

Fifth, we’re giddy for Gaby

Although I cannot place my finger on why, it seems that each year, Gaby Lopez pops up on the U.S. Open leaderboard. She hasn’t figure out how to remain in contention, but here we are, in 2026, and Lopez is once again in the mix. The three-time champion on the LPGA circuit had a stunning first nine holes, turning in minus-five. She reached six deep at her tenth hole, but then gave three shots back coming home. Which Gaby will show up on Friday, and for how long? If back-nine Gaby can somehow channel front-nine Gaby, all outcomes are within reach. If the loose play continues, Lopez’ wiki page will add one more T41 to her majors column.

Tour Photo Galleries

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

Published

2 days 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

4 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