Michael La Sasso is 22, from Raleigh, and on Sunday he pitched to a foot to beat Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. He may also have just won the last LIV Golf tournament that ever gets played.
IN THIS ISSUE
La Sasso Beat Rahm on the Last Hole of LIV 1.0
Yamashita Won by Nine and Tied the Lowest Score in LPGA History
Wyndham Clark Won a Third Time and Still Nobody Files Him With the Favorites
Callaway's Full Toe SP: A Wedge for People Who Open the Face
Three Triangle Players Tee It Up at East Lake This Week
Michael La Sasso's Win Comes With a Very Real Problem
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LIV GOLF . INDIANAPOLIS
La Sasso Beat Rahm on the Last Hole of LIV 1.0
Michael La Sasso had no finish better than a tie for 12th in eleven LIV starts this year. Then he shot 60 on Friday at The Club at Chatham Hills, hit every green in regulation Sunday, and pitched to a foot on the par-5 18th to tap in a winning birdie at 18 under.
Rahm, who'd birdied 18 himself to take the lead before bogeying his final hole, called it his own mistake opening the door. DeChambeau and Sergio Garcia finished two back. At 22, La Sasso is the youngest winner in LIV's five seasons, by 50 days.
"You're looking at the birth of a real star."
First professional win. Possibly the last LIV event ever played. Some debut.
LPGA . CPKC WOMEN'S OPEN
Yamashita Won by Nine and Tied the Lowest Score in LPGA History
Miyu Yamashita led by six after 54 holes at Royal Mayfair, then shot 66 on Sunday because apparently six wasn't enough. She finished 23 under and won by nine over countrywoman Yuri Yoshida. Her 257 ties the lowest 72-hole total the LPGA has ever recorded, and it's the fastest any Japanese player has reached four Tour wins.
Nelly Korda finished 1 under. The world No. 1 was 22 shots back and it barely registered as a storyline, which tells you how the week went.
She's 4-foot-11. She lapped the field by nine.
PGA TOUR . BMW CHAMPIONSHIP
Wyndham Clark Won a Third Time and Still Nobody Files Him With the Favorites
Clark shot an even-par 70 on Sunday at Bellerive and beat Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay by three. A 5-iron on the back nine set up the go-ahead birdie, and he added two more coming in. That's three wins in 2026 for a player the broadcast still treats like a surprise.
The other story was Cantlay, who arrived 43rd in the FedEx Cup and closed with three straight birdies for a 68. Runner-up, top 30, East Lake. That's what the BMW is actually for.
"I've kind of been the underdog in all of my wins."
Three wins this season. Ask anyone to name them.
ALSO THIS WEEK
McIlroy: It's a Tough Road Back Rory had pointed things to say about LIV players expecting a clean return to the PGA Tour, and Scheffler thinks any path should come with penalties attached.
Jamieson Takes the Nexo Championship Scott Jamieson got it done on the DP World Tour while Yuta Sugiura won the AdventHealth Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour, per the weekend leaderboards.
LOOKING AHEAD
TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club
The season ends August 27-30 at East Lake in Atlanta with 30 players left standing. Names to watch: Scottie Scheffler, Alex Smalley Akshay Bhatia and Ryan Gerard, all of whom got here through the Triangle. It's the last card of the 2026 season, and everything about the year gets framed by whoever's holding the trophy Sunday.
Callaway's Full Toe SP: A Wedge for People Who Open the Face
The pitch is straightforward. Open a wedge and your strike migrates toward the toe, where the grooves usually run out. Callaway's Full Toe SP runs Spin Gen 2.0 grooves across the whole face for 44 percent more groove area, and pulls mass up into the highest CG they've ever built into a wedge. Ball comes off low with a lot of spin. Starts at $199 USD. Lofts run 54 through 62, with a wide JW grind on the 62 built for bunkers. Not for everyone. If you play square-faced and flat-footed around the greens, skip it.
Three Triangle Players Tee It Up at East Lake This Week
Akshay Bhatia (15th), Ryan Gerard (17th) and Alex Smalley (23rd) all made the 30-man Tour Championship field. Gerard is the Raleigh native and Ravenscroft grad who backed up a tied-for-sixth at The Open with a solid playoff run. Smalley is out of Wake Forest High. Three players from a 45-minute radius are playing for the FedEx Cup on Sunday. That is unusual.
Michael La Sasso's Win Comes With a Very Real Problem
La Sasso went to St. David's School, played at NC State before finishing at Ole Miss, and won the 2025 NCAA individual title. He celebrated Sunday's win with his parents on the 18th green. Here's the catch: he gave up a likely PGA Tour University spot when he left Ole Miss in January for the HyFlyers, so he has no PGA Tour status of any kind. He's already signed up for DP World Tour Q-School. If LIV doesn't come back, his path runs through Q-School, sponsor exemptions, or a Tour that decides a 22-year-old who never quit it deserves a door.
The Titleist Shop at Pinehurst Is Worth an Hour of Your Trip
Titleist's first US retail and fitting destination sits in the old Don Padgett Learning Center, steps from No. 2's 18th green. Indoor TrackMan bay for year-round club fittings, full ball fitting using the Pro V1 lineup, on-site regripping and loft and lie checks. The gimmick that's actually fun: an on-demand ball customizer that prints logos and text while you wait, including eleven Pinehurst designs. Book the fitting when you book the tee time, not after.
Lonnie Poole Is Open Again
NC State's course reopened to the public on August 21 after the summer grow-in. Tee times are by phone at 919-515-6527. Range is open 7am to 7pm Tuesday through Sunday, 7am to 6pm Mondays, with last balls sold 30 minutes before close. Go early in the week if you want the greens before they get traffic.
The Buckets Cup Finale Is on Pinehurst No. 4, Nov. 17
One 18-hole stroke play round, 100-player field, $36,000 purse, GHIN-verified. Entry is $2,195 and includes a room at The Carolina, an awards dinner, and resort access. Not cheap, but it's a real tournament on No. 4 in November instead of a folding table and a cart-path-only afternoon. Normally you need a $300 Buckets Club membership to enter; AmateurGolf.com members get that waived.
Salem Glen Reopened With New Greens, and the Public Window Is Closing
The Nicklaus Design track in Clemmons closed May 11 to swap bent grass for Mach 1 Ultradwarf Bermuda, and reclaimed years of lost putting surface in the process. 507 rounds went out over reopening weekend in August heat. Weekday rates were posted at $60 with cart, $75 Saturday morning. Play it soon if you want to: the club is running a membership ladder to full private status, with rates climbing as the roster grows and the doors closing to outside play at 450 members. It's about 90 minutes from Raleigh, and Tanglewood and Oak Valley are both ten minutes away if you want to make a day of it.
ALSO THIS WEEK
Doc Redman Is Coming Back to the PGA Tour The former Tour member earned promotion off the Korn Ferry Tour and will have status again next season.
Ben Griffin's Playoff Run Ends Short The Chapel Hill native and East Chapel Hill High grad made the BMW field but finished the season at No. 41, just outside East Lake.
The Holly Starts a Full Renovation in November Pinehurst's oldest hotel, dating to 1895, goes under construction this fall, with the refreshed Spa at Pinehurst reopening a few months later.
TWO WAYS TO KEEP THIS GOING
Show up to a new course already knowing the move.
The next time a buddy picks a Triangle course you have never played, you will know which tees to play, where the trouble is, and what the locals actually pay before you leave the parking lot. That is the Triangle Golf Guide: 23 courses deep, plus the curated sim spots and the membership math worth knowing. Less than a range bucket, at $5.99.
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That's your read this week.
Tour intel, gear picks, and local course intel every Tuesday.
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