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Tour Rundown: Time it was, and what a season it was
While the LPGA anticipates its CME World Championship, and the PGA Tour has one week remaining in its 2025 schedule, both schedules will conclude next Sunday. The DP World Tour and the PGA Tour Champions tied a bow with their respective campaigns, which means that looking back is nearly all that remains. It was a time, as Simon and Garfunkel sang, and what a season it was.
DP World Tour @ DPWT Championship: The trophy fits Fitz
The final day at Jumeirah was a lesson in how championship golf works. Rory McIlroy, the current co-god of golf with Scottie Scheffler, stood tied with Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen as day four dawned. RNP is a good stick, but he hasn’t shown an ability to tag along with golfers of McIlroy’s ilk. Others of the same tier, like Angel Ayora, and the next tier up (Laurie Canter and Haotong Li) were also close enough to make the golf gods scratch their heads as they played cards. To sweeten the pot, Ryder Cuppers Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick signed up for some weekend golf.
For most of the afternoon, it was McIlroy’s tournament. Five birdies brought him to 18-deep before bogeys at 12 and 16 opened the door for Fitzpatrick. The Englishman played a quiet round of minus-six, joining a sextet of birdies with a dozen pars. He was up by two when McIlroy arrived at the 18th hole and its serpentine creek. Driver here is always a hoot; it might hit fairway right or left, or it might be perfectly down the middle and find a bend of the creek. McIlroy stayed dry, then whacked an iron onto the putting surface. In true Rory fashion, he drained the eagle putt and forced a playoff.
Fitzpatrick and McIlroy returned to the 18th tee, and this time, McIlroy’s drive was again down the middle, but this time, into the creek. He and Fitzpatrick stumbled their way to the putting surface, where McIlroy missed for par from 40 feet, while Fitzpatrick drained his for five and the trophy. McIlroy won the season-long points race for a seventh time, while Fitzpatrick acquired a chalice that European customs will certainly want on account.
PGA Tour Champions @ Charles Schwab: Cink, sank, sunk
Stewart Cink and Steven Alker acknowledged the presence of other golfers this week at Phoenix Country Club. Every few holes, a Freddie Jacobsen or a Tommy Gainey would make a birdie and enter a conversation somewhere. Make no mistake: this was a duel between two iron-slingers. Alker held a one-shot advantage heading into round four. Given his record for closing tournaments, the Kiwi looked like a solid bet.
On Sunday, Alker had a pair of birdies on the outward nine to preserve his lead. Then came an un-Alker stretch of holes. From eight through twelve, he made three bogeys and zero birdies. In the snap of two digits, three shots had been handed back to Cink, and the Georgia Tech alumnus did not waste the opportunity. Cink played the calm, error-free golf that has underlined his wins. Four birdies and 14 pars forced Alker’s hand. Needing eagle at the last to force a playoff, Alker made bogey instead, fixing the final two-shot margin of victory for Cink. With the win, Cink surged past Alker to also claim the Charles Schwab season-long points race.
Three-shot lead for Cink ?
With six holes to play, @StewartCink is closing in on a @SchwabCupFinale victory.
? Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/6KANHTTsWf
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) November 16, 2025
LPGA @ ANNIKA: Take nothing for Granted
Linn Grant had to feel a bit honored after winning The ANNIKA this week in Florida. The namesake founder of the event, Annika Sorenstam, is THE Swedish golf royalty, and she was in attendance to hand the winner’s trophy to Grant. The week belonged to the young Swede, who earned a second LPGA title in three years. It wasn’t easy, but Grand made it look that way, as she does from time to time.
Twice on the European Tour, Grant won the Scandinavian mixed, an event that paired DP World Tour and Ladies European Tour golfers. Albeit from unique tee decks, the golfers still had to stare one another down in order to claim victory. The first time was a nine-shot runaway, while the second was a one-shot squeaker. This week at Belleair, it was a bit of both.
There was always someone chasing Linn Grant, but her name changed by the day. Haeran Ryu held the day-one lead and hung around for a top-10 finish. She passed the baton to Jennifer Kupcho, who closed a few times within three shots, but never enough to put a scare in the leader. Auston Kim and Charley Hull had final-day 63s, but Grant had one of those as well, on day two. A weekend of 65s brought Grant to minus-nineteen, three shots clear of Kupcho.
PGA Tour @ Butterfield Bermuda: Schenk shows his mettle
It’s rare that the PGA Tour entry in Tour Rundown comes fourth, but with two tour championships and a big LPGA deal, it’s appropriate. That’s not to take a single shred of importance away from the work that Adam Schenk did this week. With Wicked touring on stage (it’s in Buffalo this week!) and the second installment of the movie on debut in theaters, there’s an ill wind in the air, the same one that brought Dorothy to Oz. This week, it came to Bermuda as well, causing fits across the island and its Port Royal golf course.
Chandler Phillips held the 36-hole lead, as the course played tough but fair over the first two days. The winds freshened on Saturday, and Chandler signed for 70, as Adam Schenk made his first move, with 67. With 18 holes left to play, Schenk moved one shot ahead of Phillips, as each sought a career-defining victory. Sunday’s winds were the worst, and not even brooms would keep golf balls on track in the air. 130-yard approach shots were played with five irons at times, and low flight was the order of the day.
In the end, Schenk faced a five-foot putt for par and glory. He settled in and truly stroked the ball into the bottom of the hole. Late fall events on the PGA Tour are all about glory for the unpolished, and Schenk became the latest to add some luster to his name.
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
- Jason Day – WITB – 2026 The Memorial
- Chris Gotterup – WITB – 2026 The Memorial
- SungJae Im – WITB – 2026 The Memorial
Pullout Albums
- Jason Day’s 1off Payntr golf shoes – 2026 The Memorial
- JT Poston’s TaylorMade Spider – 2026 The Memorial
- Cameron putter – 2026 The Memorial
- Tommy Fleetwood’s TM Spider putters – 2026 The Memorial
- New Mitsubishi Chemical 1K Pro Orange shaft – 2026 The Memorial
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
- 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
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
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
Russell Henley’s winning WITB: 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge
Photos from the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
CJ Cup Byron Nelson Tour Report: Koepka and Kim’s newest putters finally get hot
Charles Schwab Challenge Tour Report: MacIntyre, Åberg and Spaun all switch putters, TaylorMade launches new Spider
Details on J.J. Spaun’s surprise putter switch
GolfWRX Launch Report: 2026 Titleist GTS drivers
Photos from the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge
PGA Championship Tour Report: Fitzpatrick, Koepka among big-name putter switches for Aronimink
Photos from the ShopRite LPGA
Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4 5-wood: Ping G440...
Eric Cole WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: PXG Lightning Tour Max (9 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees) Shaft:...
Si Woo Kim WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X Mini driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Mini...
Wyndham Clark’s winning WITB: 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
