News

5 things we learned Saturday at the PGA Championship

Published

6 years ago

Aug 9, 2020

We were sooooooo close to a Bryson-Brooks pairing on Sunday, but we can’t have it all. Through three days in San Francisco, we have a host of long putts, hole outs, terrific vistas, and William Watson-designed golf holes. It can’t get much better, but just wait. One round remains, and it promises to be memorable.

Current and former major title holders populate the top dozen, where only three strokes separate golfer one from golfer twelve. We learned a few new things on Saturday, and are delighted to share five things we learned with you.

1. This 360 degree, slo-mo driver thing earned its 15 minutes on Twitter

Raise a glass to @PGA for an attempt at something novel, something ingenious. The tweet of a first 360 degree I saw was Cameron Champ. That was also the last one I needed to see. The first time I saw wire-fu animation in The Matrix, I was blown to bits. Now, unless DJ and Rory do a Smith v. Anderson thing, a golf swing is a golf swing. No doubt having zero fans allowed producers to properly position cameras to make this happen. I’ll hang up and listen now.

2. It has been a while, Dustin Johnson

17 top-ten finishes in major championships, with one win. Yes, it is quite unbalanced. Simply put, Dustin Johnson should have more major titles than the 2016 US Open. After his win at Oakmont, DJ nearly won the Open championship the following month. Then came stairgate at Augusta, and the rise of Koepka, and Johnson became a bit of an afterthought. What will he need to do on Sunday to win? Drive the ball well. His game into, and on, the green is predicated on solid opportunities in the fairway. There’s no one who can drive it longer and straighter, so the ball and the tournament are in his pocket. If playing partner Scottie Scheffler has a rough go of it, in his first, final-pairing appearance in a major, Johnson will have an unwanted distraction.

3. Haotong’s demise may have been expected, but Fleetwood’s was not

Total transparency: I wrote that sub-heading before Fleetwood made birdie at the last, to squeak within three strokes of the leader. The English golfer has never finished inside the top 30 of a PGA Championship, so he has little positive experience there to draw on. However, his body of work in Ryder Cups and US Opens is quite good, so perhaps it will carry the day on Sunday at Harding Park. As for Haotong Li, he almost extended his run, until the final six holes did him in. Haotong was one under on the day, when he played holes 13 through 16 in plus four. His last birdie of the day came at ten, and Li finished the day at plus three. He heads into the final round at minus-five. He’s not out of it, but his odds got much longer on day three.

4. Scottie Scheffler makes a LOT of birdies

Eight birdies on day three, four on day two, and six on day one, add up to an average of 6 per day. Unfortunately for the former Texas Longhorn, he has made ten bogeys over that same span. He’s learning on the go, and if he can get to ten or eleven under, he might have a chance at the Wannamaker trophy. Statistically speaking, Scheffler is tied for second in shots gained, and is putting brilliantly. Who’s to say that he won’t pull out the miracle victory? He might be the Shaun Micheel of 2020.

5. Why each of these 12 guys might win

Johnson: the tall drink of palmetto water simply cannot have one major championship win in his career. Way too much talent.

Scheffler: exactly the type of guy who wins the PGA. The Jeff Sluman/Y.E.Yang/David Toms/Mark Brooks/Rich Beem of this era.

Champ: this era’s John Daly, minus the mullet and other backstories, but yes to the filthy-long driver who harnesses his talent for a week.

Morikawa: what better way to separate from Wolff, Hovland, Mitchell and the other young winners, than a major title?

Casey: few remember that he excommunicated himself from the European Ryder Cup team for a time. He’s past that rough patch and deserves a major.

Koepka: really? You need me to mansplain?

DeChambeau: no matter what, he’s super-smart and super-talented. He can’t be discounted and is a worthy candidate.

Finau: needs to validate being selected for the 2018 Ryder Cup team. Golf talent~yes; Grit? Jury still out.

Rose: US Open-check. Olympic Golf-check. Needs more after his ill-fated decision to take the equipment money and run.

Day: injury took a lot out of him. Two PGA titles reads better than one.

Berger: No one has made more birdies than this guy, this season. If he lights it up with 63, he wins.

Fleetwood: his stumble has to be out of the way, if he is to win. Needs a lot of birdies on Sunday but, man, is he good!

Tour Photo Galleries

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

Published

6 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

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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.

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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