News

Yes, Scheff! Scottie has 107th PGA in his pocket

Published

1 year ago

May 18, 2025

Turns out, Scottie does know.

No, Scheff, I didn’t imagine that the final round of the 2025 PGA Championship, the one where you had the four-shot advantage over a bunch of guys who had nowhere near your pedigree, would play out like this. I didn’t imagine that you would play the front nine in 2 over par, and drop into a tie for the lead with anyone. I didn’t imagine that your challengers, on the cusp of overtaking you, would fold like a proper napkin. I did imagine, in a parallel universe, that you would play the final nine in minus 2 to win your second major championship and third major title.

That’s the beauty of major championship golf, right? A sure thing is never a sure thing. A four-shot advantage in the hands of the world’s top player is not a guaranteed closure. To the credit of Harris English, he put a 65 on the board early in the day. He would ultimately tie for 2nd place, the best major finish of his professional career. It was a distant second but a second, nonetheless.

To the credit of Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, they rode the English wave, rising to 9 and 7 under, respectively, as Scheffler was dropping to 9 under. They compelled Scott Alexander Scheffler to look Ted Scott, his caddie, in the eye (it might have been the other way around) and say, “That’s enough!” The dramatic PGA that everyone wanted had finally, after a prelude of showers, two days of muddy balls, and a parade of lesser-known professionals, delivered the emergence of the game’s top talents.

Sunday at Quail Hollow saw the English move, courtesy of a scorecard shaded red with seven birdies, against a solitary bogey. Harris shot 34 places up the leaderboard, thanks to his never-say-never attitude. At the same time, Alex Noren had started down a one-birdie road that would drop him from final tee time to a tie for 17th place. Perhaps it was Noren’s struggles that kept Scheffler from bearing down. He began the day with a bogey, followed it with a birdie, but lost two more strokes at six and nine.

Somewhere along that bumpy road, he caught the sight of Jon Rahm, moving up in the rear-view mirror. Not far behind was big Bryson. Rahm was looking for a third major championship to add to his U.S. Open and Masters trophies, while Bryson was on the hunt for something other than a U.S. Open (he has two.) As if those two visages weren’t enough, Matt Fitzpatrick (also a U.S. Open champion) worked his way to within a pair of shots, with most of the back nine left to play.

Those final four holes at Quail Hollow, from one perspective, make the other 14 appear irrelevant. It’s like a Carolina Barbecue version of Amen Corner. Negotiate the final 1700 yards of the course in par figures, and you should come out smiling. Let’s have a glance at how those four golfers with major wins came down the stretch

Fitzpatrick Even + Even + minus-one + plus-3
DeChambeau Minus-one + minus-one + plus-two + even
Rahm Minus-one + even + minus-one + plus-five
Scheffler Even + minus-one + minus-three + even

In total, that differential is a Scheffler plus 4 over DeChambeau, his closest pursuer among the elite golfers. Fitzpatrick was the first to tumble. He closed with consecutive bogeys at 16, 17, and 18. Take him to 8 under instead of minus 4, and Scheffler might have noticed. Next went DeChambeau. Birdies at 14 and 15 elevated him to minus 7, but he needed another two or three to put the heat on the leader. To his credit, he kept the ball in play and tied English and Davis Riley for second place.

Rahm’s demise was the most painful to watch. The traditional golf world grimaced when the mighty Basque eschewed the PGA Tour for LIV. In the best light, it was a naive, optimistic Rahm who hoped to unite the golfing rims. In the worst, it was a money grab. We had just seen Rahm add a Masters to his U.S. Open, and we had hopes that he would win the career Grand Slam, represent Europe in team play, and guide the tours to further greatness. Instead, it has been a bit less.

On sixteen, Rahm’s reliable fade did not fade from the tee deck. He chunked out of the rough to a greenside bunker and made bogey. Sensing the enormity, the desperation, the immediacy of the moment, Rahm found el lago desesperado for the second consecutive day. He’s never 100% comfortable playing a draw, and for the second straight round, he overcooked it. Double bogey, and the tournament was adrift. On the final hole, the fade failed once more, and the water was the again the result. Bogey-Double-Double was the finish, and a drop from I can taste it to a tie for eighth was the result.

And the winner? He played fifteen to near-perfection. Drive in the fairway, three-metal to the edge of the green, two putts for birdie, and the lead once more. Over the final trilogy, Scheffler wasn’t perfect. He found sand off the tee on 16, rough from the tee on 18, and missed all three greens in regulation. What he did do was avoid trouble, avoid liquid, and avoid big numbers. Scheffler’s putter, a question mark from 2018 to 2023, was his saving grace around Quail Hollow.

Most ironic is that Scheffler won the PGA Championship by five shots, his largest major margin of victory. His first Masters came by three, and his second, by four. Raise a glass of your finest vintage to Scottie Scheffler, the second major champion of 2025, on the occasion of his second of four Grand Slam trophies.

Tour Photo Galleries

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

Published

7 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