News

Tour Rundown: Eckroat rode momentum to the W

Published

2 years ago

Mar 5, 2024

It was the week that the ghost of Anthony Kim returned to professional golf. It was the week that the former wunderkind, the ankle-breaker from L.A., turned his ten-years-older back on his former tour, and competed on a rival circuit. That’s a lot of hype that could have potentially diverted attention from the major professional tours. The DP World, LPGA, Korn Ferry, and PGA tours, however, produced stirring competition that returned focus to their events. The Florida stretch of the PGA Tour began in Palm Beach Gardens, while the LPGA celebrated the HSBC World Championship in Singapore. The DP World Tour competed in South Africa, while the Korn Ferry caravan found its way to Argentina. Four different continents produced four compelling storylines.

Enough with the hyperbole. Time to move on to the nitty-gritty details of the resolution of each event. It’s a day late (thank you, south Florida weather) but it’s fine like wine. Enjoy this week’s Tour Rundown with us.

PGA Tour @ Cognizant Classic: Eckroat rode momentum to the W

The Championship course at PGA National is a difficult foe. Water and/or sand inhabits the grounds with such frequency, that one might conclude that the course was not so much built, as found. It is pure Florida golf, and when the winds are up, it is as difficult a challenge as found on the PGA Tour. This week, the winds spared the golfers, and unheard-of scores in the low 60s were familiar, if not commonplace. Austin Eckroat, Shane Lowry, and David Skinns carried a three-shot advantage into the final round, but there were plenty of challengers with designs on the top prize.

As Lowry and Skinns slipped away with even-par 71s on day four/five (Monday finish, doncha know?) Erik Van Rooyen mounted a charge. The two-time Tour winner posted eight-under 63 to reach 14-under par and set a significant bar. This meant that the tri-leaders would have to shoot in the 60s to win. Also surging were Min Woo Lee (67 for T2 with Van Rooyen), Cameron Young and K.H. Lee (matching 66s for T4 with three others.)

Austin Eckroat was the overnight leader who steadied the rudder and stayed the course. He navigated the fairways and greens with but a single bogey over the final 18 holes. Five birdies brought him to 67 for the round, and a three-shot win over his pursuers. The victory was his first on the PGA Tour, and was portended by a T10 finish at the 2023 US Open. The tour now moves to Orlando and Puerto Rico, for a split week of bonus golf.

LPGA @ HSBC World: calm Green takes title on final green

Hannah Green and playing companion Andrea Lee were neck and neck in the final group, as they reached the 16th tee. Green proceeded to make birdie at each of the closing holes, while Lee play them in plus-one figures. A four-shot swing, you say? That should have made the walk along 18 a breeze for Green. It might have been, if not for the star of 2023, Celine Boutier. The Frenchwoman began the day one behind Green, in a tie with Lee. Boutier played marvelous golf, making five birdies through the 15th, reaching 12-under par.

It was a tale of two uneven parts. Boutier played brilliantly for 15 holes, then lost the magic and closed with three pars. In contrast, Green was two under par over the same stretch, and appeared relegated to a top-three finish, until she found her wind. The brilliance of the closing stretch was enough to elevante Green past Boutier by a single stroke.

A short and emphatic putt for birdie at 16, was followed by a longer and equally-courageous effort at 17. Reaching the 18th, Green had a 20-feet putt for the win. The putt never looked like it would bend back enough, until it made a final, right-turn at the end. The most unlikely of scenarios brought Hannah Green her fourth LPGA title and first since April of 2023.

DP World Tour @ SDC: Gumberg avoids defeat in playoff

The St. Francis links of South Africa played host to the SDC Championship for a second time in 2024. Despite its location of Eastern Cape, the links lie halfway along the coastal route from Cape Town to Durban, squarely in the central part of the southern perimeter. Defending champion Matthew Baldwin was unable to recapture the mojo that brought the 2023 trophy to his hands. He made the cut, but went backward over the final 36 holes, finishing in a tie for 47th position.

Near the top of the leaders’ board, third-round leaders Connor Syme and Daniel Brown headed away from victory station. They concluded with matching 75s, each dropping three positions to a fourth-place tie. Moving from sixth to third was France’s David Ravetto, on the strength of a closing 70. Two shots better were the home country’s Robin Williams and the USA’s Jordan Gumberg. Williams had the tournament in his sites, until a double-bogey at the par-three 17th dropped him down from 14-deep.

He and Gumberg headed to the 18th tee for extra holes. They would play the closing trace two times, and it was Gumberg who concluded the day with birdie for the win. His tee ball was perilously close to a water penalty, but he remained dry. His approach reached within twenty feet of the hole, and his putt was authoritative and true. The title was Gumberg’s first on the DP World Tour. The caravan moves north this week, near Johannesburg for the Workwear Open.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Argentina Open: Andersen’s triple birdie wins in overtime

Van Holmgren’s slim, third-round lead didn’t last long. The American with the seventies-Hollywood name stumbled early with bogey at two and three, and finished with +1 for a fifth-place tie. It was one of those “I’d have taken it at the beginning of the week” that ends with “man, I had a chance and that hurts.” With Van’s exodus, the battle was joined, and by none more feverishly than Mason Andersen. The former Arizona State golfer posted eight birdies over a nine-hole stretch, and concluded with another at the last. His seven-under 63 parasailed him ten shots up the board, to 17-under par.

His countrymen, Dalton Ward and Brian Campbell, did their level best to chase him down, but each could only reach 16-deep on the week. Norway’s Kris Ventura had a bit more steam in his engine, and parlayed three birdies into a final-round 68. Ventura had a chance to win in regulation, but could not make birdie at the par-five closer. Andersen and Ventura returned twice to the 18th tee. Andersen birdied the hole twice more, while Venture could only make four the first time around.

The title brought Andersen an exemption into the 2024 Open Championship, which is a pretty nice bonus on top of the win. Why not hear the final putt in the language of Argentina?

Tour Photo Galleries

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

Published

3 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