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Five Things We Learned: Saturday at the Women’s PGA Championship

Published

12 months ago

Jun 22, 2025

Time for a bit of scholarly citation. On Friday, this esteemed yet humble writer suggested in point five that day three at Fields Ranch East could go one of two ways. Either Jeeno Thitikul would extend her lead, or she would fall back a bit, allowing others into the chase.

Thitikul did fall back. Minjee Lee exploded. Now, their places are reversed. They’ll play together again on Sunday. In truth, the tournament should be distilled into this single pair. All other competitors are seven shots back, minimum. Nelly and Leona showed up, but they sit eight shots back of the leader.

The tournament is an odd one. It has been Jeeno and Minjee from the start. There were other contenders, each day, but they were unable to sustain momentum from one day to the next. Today’s prediction will unfold in three parts. Given the events of Saturday, one of three potentialities will take place on Sunday. Confused? You have every right. Let’s have a look at five things we learned on Saturday at the Women’s PGA Championship.

1. Minjee’s Maelstrom

Minjee Lee has an incredible level of fitness and as good a golf swing as you’ll find on any tour. She owns ten tour victories, two of which are major championships. That’s a great percentage: twenty percent of your wins are majors. That’s top-tier stuff. The problem is, she doesn’t win often enough to be in the hall of fame conversation, and she has not won since October of 2023. That all changes this week in Frisco.

On Saturday, Minjee Lee signed for a bogey-free round of 69. Shockingly, that number is the second-lowest posted this week. Should professional golfes shoot lower than 68, even at a major event? Absolutely, but that’s a question for another number. Lee was out in 35 and back in 34. She hit 80% of driving fairways, and 60% of greens. That’s not perfect stuff, but her scrambling was. She missed seven greens, then got up and down each time for par. On the other eleven greens, she had two or one putts.

If the short game accompanies her one more time around the Fields Ranch East course, Minjee Lee will secure her third unique major and her eleventh tour title. We have no problem standing in this scenario’s corner.

2. Jeeno Rejoins

Saturday was unlike either of the first two rounds that Jeeno Thitikul turned in at Fields Ranch East. Both Thursday and Friday, she minimized mistakes and bogeys, and managed to work her way to a sub-par round. Her day-one 68 remains tied for low round of the week. On Saturday, something was off, and shots seeped away, not in one swoop, but bit by bit.

On the third, Jeeno appeared to have recovered from an errant drive, but tugged a middle-of-fairway approach from 140 yards to the left. She ultimately missed from seven feet, and made bogey. On six, she once again missed left with her drive, and was forced to pitch out, leaving 45 yards to the green. She was unable to get up and down, and suffered a second bogey. It might have been worse, as her pitch left her nearly 60 feet for par. She did well to take but two putts.

Jeeno Thitikul was off on Saturday. She had barely more than 50% numbers on driving accuracy and greens in regulation. The number that save Minjee Lee, scrambling, left Jeeno tied for 43rd in the field. With all of that worry, she’s still in second place, four swings behind the leader. The best part is, she’ll spend all afternoon on Sunday with her only foe, and she’ll know what she needs to do, to mount a comeback.

No. 8 isn’t that hard. . . If you’re Jeeno Thitikul ?

Jeeno’s first birdie of the day extends her league to 2. #KPMGWomensPGA pic.twitter.com/AunYyow4il

— KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (@KPMGWomensPGA) June 21, 2025

3. Who wants in?

There’s something eerie about this week in Frisco. Not one player has posted below four-under par on a given day, and only two players (Jeeno and Grace Kim) have done that deed. It feels like the Women’s PGA Championship set-up committee might soften things just a bit, to give a bit of room for some fireworks.

The par-five holes have been brutal this week. None exceeds 520 yards, but they have given players all sorts of difficulty. Perhaps it’s the angle from the tee, or the crossing hazards, but no one is feasting on the fives at Fields Ranch East. The question is, who wants in?

A Lexi Thompson rebound would be a story for all time. The most snakebitten woman in major golf history has a chance to add to her major victory total of one. She won’t have great memories from Saturday’s 75, so that semi-retired Thompson will need to uncork an untested elixir, to find victory on Sunday.

As far as elite golfers like Nelly Korda, Leona Maguire, and Brooke Henderson are concerned. 65 is their number. They need to scare the leaders before the final threesome tees off. That’s right: threesomes. Weather is coming in to northeast Texas, and a split-tee start will have all golfers on the course before noon.

4. What’s holding them back?

I alluded to the daunting, three-shot holes at Fields Ranch East. Par five holes typically offer an opportunity to make up shots and, with three on the outward nine. one would think that someone would get off to a hot start and turn in 32 or 31 strokes.

The first hole bends hard right some 130 yards from the green. The lay-up to 100 yards isn’t easy, and the fact that we’re discussing it is evidence that no one is going for the first green in two shots. A diagonal bunker scheme causes all sorts of sensory distress for a risky fairway metal, so why take the chance? If you miss the fairway off the tee, you lay back to 140 yards or more.The green is narrow, and appears more so, as it is set at an angle to the approach.

The third hole is shorter than the first, turns left at the halfway point, and blocks a daring metal from distance, from having much chance of success. Two par fives in, and two three-shot holes down. Nine doesn’t get much better. Another hard turn at the halfway point, another crossing hazard that impedes a run at the green in two, and another angled green that screams You can’t hold me!

Haven’t had enough of washes, creeks, and bunkers? Meet the 14th. This straight (for a change) hole hasn’t learned from its predecessors, and the same impediments make an appearance throughout the 514 yards. Rather than offering hope for saved shots, the long holes at Fields Ranch East give even only anguish and tension.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see Gil Hanse and company on site soon, to rework some of the angles on these holes.

5. Who wins?

I’m not sure what I love more about this look at Yealimi Noh on the seventh hole. The tee shot is every bit as elegant, as the camera work is bemusing and befuddling The spotter lost the ball, the camera operator lost the ball, but it somehow found the green. Noh converted the eagle putt, then found the green in one at 14, converting another eagle putt. That was her day. Two eagles, six bogeys, 74. A pair of eagles should promote more than on otherwise-defensive round.

I want the person who wins, to do so in dramatic fashion. I don’t know if the course conditions will allow this to happen. I believe that it will be either Jeeno or Minjee in the end, and that it will be the survivor, not the triumphant queen, that hoists the Womanamaker Trophy.

Tour Photo Galleries

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

Published

5 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!

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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

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