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5 Things We Learned: Saturday at the Women’s PGA

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2 years ago

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The last 2024 round of the regular-tours, USA-based, major championships is upon us. Sure, we have both British Opens and the Evian Championship still to come, but the US Opens, the Invitationals (Chevron and Masters) and PGAs will be in the rearview mirror after Sunday evening. We should savor this final day at Sahalee for that reason and many others.

The dominant theme at this year’s, grand slam events has been consistency. No competitor will have the final-round charge as an option. No one is returning from five shots off with a 63 for the win. That’s the case at Sahalee as well, so the number of contenders has whittled to a handful.

The land of timber gave us another lesson in strategy on Saturday. Lapses in attention or execution were punhished with small cuts. One shot here, another shot there, and away went opportunity. Sunday should present more of the same, although hidden hole locations might force some into the mistake of chasing after them, and result in larger shot losses. Today’s installment of Five Things We Learned bids farewell to a few challengers and welcomes a smaller number of new faces to consideration.

1. Amy with a Y in the A Position

Amy Yang doubled her one-shot advantage with a timely birdie at the 53rd hole on Saturday. She made two bogeys on day three, and followed each with a par-three birdie on the subsequent hole. Who knows what that means, beyond an ability to recover quickly and forget transgression with immediacy. Yang has totaled 10 birdies (3-4-3) over the first three days of competition. She isn’t harvesting the stroke-savers in bushels, but she is also avoiding large numbers of bogeys and others.

This is the prize recipe, the winning formula, for major championships. The prescription for Sunday is written, and one more opportunity for Amy to collect the elixir has arrived. She has played the outward nine in par figures or better each day. If she is able to secure one more, she should head to the stretch with the lead.

2. Here comes Lilia

With the torrid six months of 2024 Korda, the achievements of Lilia Vu fell away from the public eye. It didn’t help that she was away from competition, recuperating from injury. Lilia Vu was a top-ranked amateur before training on the Epson and LPGA circuits. She is one of the world’s best now, with two major titles in her dossier. On Saturday, she was the best player on the course, and another performance like that one will be hard to restrain by her competition.

Vu began with a stumble on Thursday, posting three-over par. She began to make up ground on Friday with 70, and climbed back into contention on Saturday, with a six-birdie 68. The difference between her round and Yang’s was a pair of birdies. She’ll need more than that pair of birdies to summit Sahalee on Sunday, but another six stroke-savers on day four will provide the chance.

3. Sarah and Lexi have work to do

Sarah Schmelzel and Lexi Thompson entered round three with hopes of making a statement. The microphone turned off for both. Schmelzel doubled her two birdies with four bogeys, while Thompson made four bogeys that she could not afford, against three birdies. Both golfers will need the round of their lives on Sunday to hold off Vu and chase down Yang.

Fairways and greens is wished subconsciously as we pass fellow competitors on our way to different points on the course. It’s such a simple form of encouragement, but it will define the final day at the 2024 PGA Championship. If either Schmelzel or Thompson is able to reach 15 or more greens in regulation figures, she will find herself in contention. The putts will fall, and the finish line will reveal itself.

4. Could it be Lauren or Miyu?

Logic and wisdom say No, but logic and wisdom are not match for hope and opportunity. If Lauren Hartlage or Miyu Yamashita lifts the championship trophy (which should be called the Didrikson, or the Wright, or the Gunderson) on Sunday, it will put punctuation on the ultimate, outsider story. Neither one has a tour title to her name, and neither one has a top-ten finish in a major professional event. That’s the point where hope and opportunity need to knock.

Hartlage has posted consecutive 69s, after opening with 73. Yamashita has been under par each day, with 71-70-70. That’s some terrific golf for players with games suited to Sahalee. For the record, Sunday at a major is like none of the first three rounds. What Lauren and Miyu encounter on day four, paired with Amy Yang in the final game, will demand something they haven’t faced. It’s called, simply, the next step.

5. Prediction Time!

The penultimate game features Lilia Vu and Sarah Schmelzel, and welcomes Caroline Inglis to the conversation. Inglis had her hiccough on Friday, when she dug but one birdie out of the round. Saturday brought a pair of birdies and a par-five eagle, and moved her to within four shots of the leader.

On Sunday, I predict that Inglis will duplicate Pajaree Anannarukarn’s hole-in-one, and that she’ll hole her tee ball on the par-three fifth hole. With that sort of start, Inglis will reach 66 on the day, an entirely-unexpected score, and will sneak past the field to claim her first LPGA and major titles.

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

3 weeks ago

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Jun 1, 2026

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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

 

 

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Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

4 weeks ago

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Jun 1, 2026

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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

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

  • Driver: Ping 440 LST
  • Metal: Ping G440 Max at 15 degrees
  • Metal: Ping G425 Max at 21 degrees
  • Hybrid: Ping G430 at 25 degrees
  • Irons: Ping Blueprint S 5 through PW
  • Wedges: Ping S159 at 52, 56, and 60 degrees
  • Putter: Ping PLD Anser

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Russell Henley’s winning WITB: 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge

Published

4 weeks ago

on

May 31, 2026

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Driver: Titleist TSi3 (10 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70 6.5 TX

3-wood: Titleist TS3 (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX

7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Project X Denali Black 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T250 (4), Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (7-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F @47, 50-08F @51, 54-10S @55, 60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48), S400 (47)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X5 Tour Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

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