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Tour Mash: Rose continues to roll, Cantlay gets first win

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Justin Rose and his faux “I’m looking for a game” GolfNow commercial will have everyone booking with that service, hoping for a meet-up, given his stellar play over the last fortnight. Rose wasn’t the only one to serve up tremendous play this week, so let’s get after some of our weekly Tour Mash and read about the rest of them.

PGA Tour: Shriner’s Open

If painful lessons are the most valuable, J.J. Spaun’s double-double finish will be worth a lot. The third-round leader was 1 up with two to play, but dropped all the way to a tie for 10th. With the clubhouse door wide open, Alex Cejka, Whee Kim and Patrick Cantlay headed off to a playoff.

How the west was won by Patrick Cantlay

When the playoff hole is 456 yards, with trees right and desert scrub left, the premium is on the drive. Cantlay, Cejka and Kim sawed the first playing with bogeys, so the threesome headed back to the tee for a second overtime go. Cantlay’s drive ended behind a tree, but he took it and the greenside pond on and conquered them both. His putt for birdie from the rear fringe just missed, and his tap-in sealed an unforgettable Sunday, which included a final-round 67. Had he lost, Cantlay might have suffered nightmares from his bogey-bogey finish in regulation.

How Kim and Cejka lost their way in the playoff

Whee Kim’s double-cross drive did him in. Teeing off from the right side of the deck, he hooked his tee ball into the scrub and took an unplayable penalty. His putt for bogey missed, and he was relegated to a tie for 2nd spot. Cejka’s pitch from greenside rough did the unthinkable: it checked up! His 10-foot putt for par broke low, setting the stage for Cantlay’s 2-foot putt for victory. Both Kim and Cejka had to feel fortunate to be in the mix at all. Both played spectacular final rounds (66 and 63, respectively) and earned deserved applause for their work.

European Tour: Turkish Airlines Open

How Rose went back to back

You don’t have to birdie every hole on the final 9 these days; it simply feels that way. Justin Rose had a bogey on Sunday, but it was super-early (3rd hole) and didn’t seem to impact him that much. Unlike last week, when he was chasing 2nd, Rose was always in the mix in Turkey. His 7 final-round birdies (three in the last four holes) propelled him to a 64-65 weekend and the Turkish title. The Olympic champion jumped from 3rd to 2nd in the Race To Dubai sprint, and don’t you believe that leader Tommy Fleetwood doesn’t hear the footsteps.

How close the others came

If you want to improve your short game, watch the final-round highlights for inspiration. In addition to a Rose chip-in, co-runner up Dylan Fritelli chipped in for birdie on THREE CONSECUTIVE HOLES. Padraig Harrington chipped in for one of his own, then holed a wedge shot for par (after dunking his approach in a pond.) Fritelli had 64 on Sunday, while 36-hole leader Nicolas Colsaerts rebounded from a dud Saturday with 66 on Day 4. Both came up 1 shot shy of the champion. Harrington didn’t lose; he simply ran out of holes.

LPGA Tour: Toto Japan Classic

Shanshan Feng couldn’t make up her mind on the type of Sunday she preferred. Beginning bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie does that to a golfer. Once she opted for birdies, the runway was clear for landing, and Feng secured her second win of the year, and eighth overall.

How Feng found her way

Feng had finished 3rd-2nd in her last two starts, and she was the defending champion at Toto. In other words, the stars were aligned. She had to do a little more than simply show up, and when she played her final 11 holes at 4-under par on Sunday, the chasers had little input into the conversation.

How Ai almost thrilled the home crowd

Suzuki had to wonder what she needed to do, to win the Toto. Birdies on 16 and 17 brought her to 18-under, but there was Feng, also birdieing the penultimate hole to preserve her lead. Suzuki’s bogey at the last secured 2nd place, and marked her as a player to watch at next year’s event. Anna Nordqvist had an ace (watch it below) at the 3rd, and closed with 66 to vault into solo 3rd spot.

Asian Tour: Panasonic Open India to Kapur

Kapur and Kumar didn’t go to White Castle. Instead, they went to duel city, where Shiv Kapur’s 68 was enough to hold off Chirgah Kumar and six others by 3 strokes. The win was his third career Asian Tour and fifth professional win.

How Kapur capped off the win

He did nothing erratic. Kapur was a model of consistent excellence, with 5 birdies and 1 bogey on the day. By not making big numbers, he forced the field’s hand, demanding that someone shoot 61 to have a shot at victory.

How seven golfers gave it their best

Of the second-place septet, Chiragh Kumar gave the greatest chase. He birdied half of his day-four holes, but needed to be perfect to have a glimpse at the top spot. A 3rd-hole bogey toughened his task. Unbelievably, 9 of the top 10 golfers hail from Indonesia, with only the USA’s Paul Peterson crashing the party.

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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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

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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

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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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