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

Published

12 months ago

Jun 21, 2025

About the only standardized element of professional golf majors is the distance. In time, that is. Four rounds of 18 holes total 72 holes, usually over four days of competition. After covering events for a passel of years, the routine develops. Round one recaps involve surprises and expectations. Which top players performed as anticipated, combined with which ones did not, and which lesser-known golfers played above their level of expectation. Those from whom nothing was expected, and not much resulted, fall away.

Rounds two and three are about positioning, with the weight gathering after each day. If a golfer remains in contention through 36 holes, she becomes a story line. Through 54 holes, and she becomes a focal point. Day three is equal parts exciting and depressing. The excitement stems from the play that positions golfers for the final march. The depression results from the awareness that just one day remains.

On Sunday, it’s about turmoil, nerves, stumbles, achievements, and glory. You hope, desperately, that someone will make a morning charge that matters. Turning in minus-five to close within eight shots, is delightful, but seldom bears fruit. If no one makes a move, the field of likely contenders is reduced. The multi-board chess match begins, and one golfer remains with untoppled pieces in the end. Today, we find ourselves with two rounds behind us, and two to go. Let’s have a thorough read of the five things we learned on day two of the Women’s PGA Championship.

1} We know Jeeno

Jeeno Thitikul had a one-shot advantage over Minjee Lee at the conclusion of round one. Thitikul extended that margin to three shots by the end of the 36th hole. Now, she faces the necessity of performing among the final groups, under the watching eye of onsite and television audiences, if she wishes to add a major title to her professional vitae.

Thitikul has accrued seven, top-ten finishes in major events, since she began playing them in 2017. In 2022, she earned three of them, while finishing top-25 in the other two. That year also saw her best Women’s PGA finish, a solo fourth at Congressional.

On Friday, at Fields Ranch East, Thitikul gave us more of the same play we witnessed on Thursday. Pars were her friend, bogeys were scarce, and birdies outweighed bogeys. On the windswept fairways of northeast Texas, the Thailand Thitan kept her composure and served notice that the pursuers will need to give greater chase, if they wish to reel her in.

Thitikul has been especially strong around the turn. She has played holes 7 through 12 in seven-under par over the first two days. If she manages to reach those safe spaces under par on day three, watch out.

2} Minjee Lee and Rio Takeda

The back nine continues to give trouble to Minjee Lee. She played it in par figures, barely, on Thursday, and went two-over through that section on Friday. To her credit, she bounced immediately back with a two-under front nine. to return to minus-three and keep Jeeno the leader within reach. Lee will join Thitikul in the final pairing of round three, beginning play at 1:25 local time.

Joining the two-time major champion in second spot is Japan’s Rio Takeda. The co-runner up in this year’s US Open started even worse than Lee on Friday. Takeda also played the inward half first, turned in plus-two 37, then added another bogey at the par-five first. The final eight holes saw a reversal of fortune, as Takeda closed with four pars and four birdies, to post minus-one 71 and join Lee near the top.

Takeda will tee off in the penultimate pairing, at 1:16. She will join Lexi Thompson in the moving day mambo. With a pair of top-ten finishes in the national open of the USA, Takeda is growing in comfort under the klieg lights of major championship golf. Saturday represents another step, another opportunity, to advance.

First birdie of the round for @minjeegolf! #KPMGWomensPGA pic.twitter.com/Iv2W0AZwIZ

— KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (@KPMGWomensPGA) June 20, 2025

3} Ahh, Lexi

Lexi Thompson dialed back her play for 2025. She announced that she would fewer events this season, essentially setting the stage for a semi-retirement. The time away has done her well, as she enters day three at Fields Ranch East in a tie for second. She will tee off in the penultimate partnering, with Rio Takeda.

After opening in par figures on Thursday, Thompson played two-under par golf on Friday to move into fourth place. Thompson feels at home at the Women’s PGA, with three top tens over her near-two decades of major championship play. This showed as she produced a three-under front nine. He solitary bogey came at the par-five 18th. Oddly, the first and the 18th have given players their share of fits, despite playing as par-five holes on the card.

What will Lexi need over the weekend, to have a chance at victory? Honestly, no one knows. We’ve borne witness to so many close calls over the years, that we cannot make the slightest prediction. Victory is on tap for Lexi this weekend, but the blend of ingredients remains a mystery.

4} The 60s

They were a time of turbulence, of experimentation, of love. That decade, that era, feels as distant as the last score in the 60s at Fields Ranch East. In truth, it came on Friday, but there was just one score of three-under par. It was registered to the name of Charley Hull, who secured four birdies agains one bogey. In so doing, Hull moved 94 spots to the good, making the cut, moving inside the top 25.

There are plenty of marvelous shots to report, but they tend to come on the same hole. There were a pair of hole-outs at the 14th, but those other 17 holes seem to be about as challenging as any one might conceive. Rounds in the 60s will continue to be treasured, and if a playe like Hull adds another two, she might find herself hoisting the Womanamaker Trophy on Sunday evening.

5} Prediction Time

There are two ways that we can go with Saturday. The first is that Jeeno Thitikul extends her lead to five shots or more. No lead is ever safe in major championship golf, given the extreme nature of the set-up and conditions, and the enhanced value of the victory. A third round atop the leader’s board would provide equal parts validation and tension for Thitikul. A fourth round would loom, before the trophy would be hers.

The other way to go, is a surge in play from the chasers, or a drop-off in performance from Thitikul. Rather than a many-shot lead, Sunday would offer a packed house in the expensive seats, with an old west shootout on day four. I’m inclined to go with the former scenario, but not by much. As Fields Ranch East is an unknown commodity, and no player has been able to find a mid-60s score through two rounds, there’s little chance that someone will break out with a magical, majestic round. Anticipate something of a Saturday soccer match, as players jostle for the slightest edge.

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!

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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