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Tour Rundown: Eckroat corrals second Tour title, down Mexico way

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2 years ago

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There has been a spate of news about Rory McIlroy locking himself in an attic somewhere, in search of a reimagined and redefined swing path. For the faithful, his work over Abu Dhabi’s Yas Links this week was monumental. For the rest of us, it was more of the same. His scores were terrific, and his shots were beyond the reach of mortal man. In the end, however, it was a top-FITB (fill in the blank) finish, a dalliance with the podium, but not a win. At this stage in Rory’s career arc, all that will make a difference for the historians are victories. Rory Daniel McIlroy will turn 36 in May of 2025. He is ten years distant from his fourth and last, major title. He has 40 career wins, but he’s a dad and a husband, and a player in the chess game of international golf. His legacy is affirmed if not completely defined, and that will have to do, for now.

Early November brought a journey for me to my alma mater. The weather was unseasonably warm in the Piedmont, and the camaraderie with brothers far outweighed the football loss under the lights of Friday night. The LPGA traveled to the island of Oahu, in the USA’s 50th state, for its Lotte Championship. The DP World Tour visited the aforementioned, middle-east kingdom. The PGA Tour took up residence at the tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, while the PGA Tour Champions closed its season in Phoenix, at its tour championship.

The time for Tour Rundown to rest is a fortnight off. With the DP World Tour’s conclusion slated for next week, and the right brackets of the LPGA and PGA a week beyond, we’ll tip our caps and turn to salute a memorable year of golf. For now, let’s enjoy the antipenultimate installment of my favorite, Sunday-evening activity, and run us down a little tour action.

PGA Tour: Eckroat corrals second Tour title, down Mexico way

You must be a bit of a traveler when you’re outside the upper echelon of world golf’s competitors. The PGA Tour season concludes with a trek from Japan to Mexico, then Bermuda, before a final stop in coastal Georgia. It’s a flyer-miles bounty, but is certain to stretch the physical and mental energies of the contestants.

There is a tendency for fall events to produce opportunities for non-winners to secure a critical, first tour title. Max Greyserman, Justin Lower, and Carson Young each came on strong this week in Los Cabos, and each reached the stretch with a chance to haul in an inaugural victory. Unfortunately for them, they ran up against a fellow who was them just eight months ago. Austin Eckroat earned his first tour title in March, at the Cognizant Classic in Florida. That experience with success was essential to Eckroat’s performance on Sunday.

Despite a bogey at the fifth hole, Eckroat went out with six birdies for 31, then added another four over the first five holes on the inward nine. His electric charge forced the contenders to change their strategy and go for broke. Eckroat added one more birdie at the 17th, then made an odd bogey at the par-five closer. Despite never leaving the fairway, Eckroat stumbled to a six. By that point, victory was no longer in doubt.

Among the chasers, Lower closed with eagle to finish one behind Eckroat, at 23-under par. Young matched him with a birdie at the last, while Greyserman finished with a pair of birdies, for solo fourth spot.

LPGA: A-Lim is A-List with second LPGA win

Kim A-Lim was, until today, a footnote in golf’s chronology. She was a 2020 major champion, the year of Pandemic golf, at an odd site, in an unfamiliar month. She won the US Women’s Open at Champion’s Creek, in Houston, in December. With wind blowing and temperatures dropping, Kim held off Ko Jin-Young and Amy Olson by a single shot.

This week, almost four years on, A-Lim recorded a second, LPGA victory, in a much warmer climate. She closed with birdie at the par-five 18th to craft a two-shot win over young Russian golfer Nataliya Guseva. The runner-up posted four rounds in the 60s, and reached 16 shots under par for the week. She was a stroke better than third-place finisher Auston Kim, for the best finish in her nascent career.

Kim A-Lim began the week with an impressive eagle, and never looked back. She tallied 26 birdies over four rounds, and added a second eagle on day three, with an ace at the ninth hole. Simple math reveals that she gave back 12 shots over four rounds, but when you save as many strokes as she did, sometimes it just doesn’t matter. The LPGA circuit will travel to Belleair, Florida this week, before concluding the year down Florida’s gulf coast, in Naples.

DP World Tour: Good Waring to you!

The DPWT sealed the wax on its final, regular-season event this week in Abu Dhabi. The tour’s best will put a bow on 2024 next week in Dubai, at the Earth course. The Race to Dubai has concluded, with Rory McIlroy some 1500 points clear of second-place Thriston Lawrence. What’s left to settle are individual-event winners, so let’s get to that, beginning with this week at Abu Dhabi.

First came Tommy Fleetwood, with his opening 62. He drifted away, into a jam-up at . Next was Paul Waring, who signed for 61 on Friday, bounding past everyone to the leaderboard’s summit. Day three received a 62 from Thomas Detry, yet Waring preserved his lead, weakly, with a weather-impeded 73. Sunday’s finale promised both much and little, as Europe’s best measured themselves against time, space, and humanity.

Sunday welcomed charges from McIlroy (64), Matthew Wallace (63) and Tyrrell Hatton (64). Wallace and McIlroy were joined at 21-deep by Thorbjorn Olesen, in a tie for third spot. Hatton reached 22-under par as Paul Waring toured the 15th hole, throwing a scare into the double-overnight leader. After pars at 15 and 16, Waring closed in marvelous fashion. Birdies at 17 and 18 gave the Englishman his second career tour title. Six years after winning in Sweden, Waring added a bookend vase to his prize shelf.

PGA Tour Champions: Father Time has just enough for 47th senior triumph

It was appropriate that Bernhard Langer passed Hale Irwin for Tour Champions titles at the US Open. A great achievement deserved a major spotlight. With the weight of that accomplishment off his shoulders, Langer took a bit of a break from the lamp, but returned this weekend with a vengeance. The two-time Masters winner went out in 30 shots on Sunday, then survived a bumpy back nine to hold off Richard Green and Steven Alker by one.

After posting six birdies on the front nine, Langer was anything but efficient on the homeward half. He made bogey at 10 and 11, then stabilized the rudder a bit, with birdie at the 13th. His second shot whacked a tree at 17, leading to a third bogey. With the heart of a lion, Langer closed with birdie on 18, reaching 66 on the day and minus-18 for the week. Try as they might, Green and Alker could not chase Langer down. Alker made par at the last, when he needed birdie. Green closed with a pair of birdies, matching Alker for second, one shot behind the winner.

 

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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

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4 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

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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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