TCU Golf 2024-2025

[gohornedfrogs]

There's a TCU angle at the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl, despite no Frogs in the field (as far as I can tell).

One of two Welsh players in the field is Royal Porthcawl member Darcey Harry. Her boyfriend and caddy this week is TCU alum Jacob Skov Olesen. Golfworld did a piece about the couple, who have been dating two months but have only played one round of golf together. Sky Sports also interviewed Harry, who talked about the last-minute decision to put Olesen on the bag.

While Harry admitted to having nerves about playing in front of the home crowd, she's doing quite well at -2 (T12) through 36 holes.

Tough draw in the Sunday couples event at the home club.

 

[JogginFrog]

Filippo Celli and Max Giboudot are both in the Top 10 entering the final round of the Scottish Challenge on the Euro Tour's second-tier circuit. Cell shot a third-round 65 to move into solo 8th at -12, two shots out of 2nd; Giboudot is a shot further back.

Stefano Mazzoli also made the cut and is T32. Gustav Frimodt missed the cut. Aymeric Laussot has also been playing on the HotelPlanner Tour but was DNP this week.

Celli is 7th in that tour's standings with 10 events left, so he is poised to move up to the DP World Tour. Mazzoli could get into the top 25 by season's end (currently 34th). Giboudot would need a string of high finishes (currently 73rd), so he has the most to gain this weekend.

Edit: Celli finishes T5, Giboudot T8 and Mazzoli T29 after all three shoot final-round 69s.

 

[JogginFrog]

It's very early in Round 1 of stroke play at the U.S. Women's Amateur at Bandon Dunes...but your co-leader is TCU's Kirstin Angosta, -3 through 7 holes.

Megan Winans and Yvette O'Brien both have afternoon tee times.

156 players will play two rounds, with the top 64 advancing to match play.

Scoring: https://championships.usga.org/uswomensamateur/2025/scoring.html

Edit: Angosta made a late push, with birdies at holes 35 & 36, but missed the match-play cutoff by 1 shot. Winans was another shot back. Angosta and O'Brien will head to Fort Worth in a about a week to prep for fall.

 

[JogginFrog]

Stefano Mazzoli is T2 at the halfway mark of the Irish Challenge. And Gustav Frimodt birdied the opener in Round 3 to move up to T4. A strong finish for Mazzoli will boost his campaign for promtion to the top Euro circuit.

Edit: Mazzoli and Frimodt both finish T5 and pocket a shade over 10,000 euros. Mazzoli moves up 14 spots to 20th in the Challenge Tour standings. If the season ended today, he'd earn the last of the DP World Tour cards for next season. Frimodt, who doesn't have full status on the Challenge Tour, earns a start in next week's Finnish Challenge.

 

[JogginFrog]

Men begin play today in the U.S. Amateur at Olympic Club. One current Frog (Toby Wilt) and one former Frog (Travis Woolf) are in the field. Woolf is -2 through 4, which puts him T1 in the early going. Everyone plays a round on the Lake and a round on the Ocean during the stroke-play portion.

Scoring: https://championships.usga.org/usamateur/2025/scoring.html

Olympic has undergone some changes recently, courtesy of Gil Hanse. The Fried Egg did a short doc on it. It's probably my least favorite major-caliber course--tilted fairways that leave 65% of drives in a 5-yard strip of rough make for the most boring viewing imaginable, and it seems like it would be an absolute slog to play. It looks like Hanse did what he could, especially in expanding green sizes and adding some fairway bunkers for interest. He also raised the bottoms of bunkers to make it less penal for members, arguing that bunker depth is meaningless to pros and top ams. His comment in the vid that the course isn't a strategic test in terms of line of play pretty much sums up the place, but I'm open to counter-arguments.

 

[Wexahu]

Men begin play today in the U.S. Amateur at Olympic Club. One current Frog (Toby Wilt) and one former Frog (Travis Woolf) are in the field. Woolf is -2 through 4, which puts him T1 in the early going. Everyone plays a round on the Lake and a round on the Ocean during the stroke-play portion.

Scoring: https://championships.usga.org/usamateur/2025/scoring.html

Olympic has undergone some changes recently, courtesy of Gil Hanse. The Fried Egg did a short doc on it. It's probably my least favorite major-caliber course--tilted fairways that leave 65% of drives in a 5-yard strip of rough make for the most boring viewing imaginable, and it seems like it would be an absolute slog to play. It looks like Hanse did what he could, especially in expanding green sizes and adding some fairway bunkers for interest. He also raised the bottoms of bunkers to make it less penal for members, arguing that bunker depth is meaningless to pros and top ams. His comment in the vid that the course isn't a strategic test in terms of line of play pretty much sums up the place, but I'm open to counter-arguments.

I played it last fall. Agree that it probably doesn't measure up to other major-caliber courses. It was really great, don't get me wrong, but honestly just wasn't all that memorable other than the views. Lots of fairly average holes. Although the entire course save for a few holes is basically on a huge hill, I didn't notice the tilting fairways resulting in a bunch of shots in a 5-foot strip of rough, but that was maybe because the fairways weren't tournament firm when we played it.

The scenery was spectacular, the architecture seemed kind of so-so.

 

[gohornedfrogs]

Men begin play today in the U.S. Amateur at Olympic Club. One current Frog (Toby Wilt) and one former Frog (Travis Woolf) are in the field. Woolf is -2 through 4, which puts him T1 in the early going. Everyone plays a round on the Lake and a round on the Ocean during the stroke-play portion.

Scoring: https://championships.usga.org/usamateur/2025/scoring.html

Olympic has undergone some changes recently, courtesy of Gil Hanse. The Fried Egg did a short doc on it. It's probably my least favorite major-caliber course--tilted fairways that leave 65% of drives in a 5-yard strip of rough make for the most boring viewing imaginable, and it seems like it would be an absolute slog to play. It looks like Hanse did what he could, especially in expanding green sizes and adding some fairway bunkers for interest. He also raised the bottoms of bunkers to make it less penal for members, arguing that bunker depth is meaningless to pros and top ams. His comment in the vid that the course isn't a strategic test in terms of line of play pretty much sums up the place, but I'm open to counter-arguments.

Burger Dogs. It’s a top ten place if only for that reason.

We played in the University of San Francisco collegiate there one time. I have great memories of the place. It’s a bit quirky with two almost dogleg par 3s (trees encroach to the point that you have to shape the shot depending on where the pin is). They corrected that on #8, I believe.

At the time (late 80s), it was a top 15 course, so it was the highest rated course and only course I’d played that was hosting US Opens. So it was the best course I’d ever played. I’m not sure it would be in my top 5 anymore, but don’t sleep on this course. It’s still pretty damn good. #17 is really the only fairway I remember that funnels terribly to one side. Oakmont has four holes that do that.

The USGA was to blame for the fiascos on #18 green. That’s not a design flaw — it’s a fantastic green. Don’t put pins in positions that are too severe for those green speeds.

 

[gohornedfrogs]

I’ll add to Wexahu’s post that the lack of fairway bunkers really takes away from aesthetics. There’s nothing to frame the tee shots. That’s been a unique aspect of Olympic forever, so I’m not surprised they didn’t change it. Like Colonial, Olympic seems to move down the rankings a little each year. The “experts” don’t seem to value what they have like they used to, and have found shiny new toys to play with.

The USGA has moved on from Olympic as a men’s US Open course, so the PGA has seized upon this (like at Baltusrol and Bethpage) to stage future championships there.

I’d say this, though…With SFGC, Lake Merced GC and Olympic all within a mile or so of each other, that’s a heck of golf trip…if you can get on!

 

[Wexahu]

I’ll add to Wexahu’s post that the lack of fairway bunkers really takes away from aesthetics. There’s nothing to frame the tee shots. That’s been a unique aspect of Olympic forever, so I’m not surprised they didn’t change it. Like Colonial, Olympic seems to move down the rankings a little each year. The “experts” don’t seem to value what they have like they used to, and have found shiny new toys to play with.

The USGA has moved on from Olympic as a men’s US Open course, so the PGA has seized upon this (like at Baltusrol and Bethpage) to stage future championships there.

I’d say this, though…With SFGC, Lake Merced GC and Olympic all within a mile or so of each other, that’s a heck of golf trip…if you can get on!

I played Cal Club, SF Golf Club and Olympic in two days.

Cal Club has the coolest vibe, very much a golfer's club. SFGC was immaculate and an awesome course, but very playable. And also very much a "enjoy your time here (maybe) but leave as soon as you can" feel. Olympic was great of course but another thing that stood out there is how many people were around. It is a HUGE membership. We played on a Wednesday afternoon and it was just packed with people everywhere, very much felt like a public course.

 

[JogginFrog]

Thanks for the feedback from playing experience, @Wexahu and @gohornedfrogs. The major-tournament rollouts may be due both to firmness and to the USGA squeezing fairways. It was really noticeable at the U.S. Women's Open there a few years back. Most of the women are not used to shaping shots to hold a slope. Unsurprising that Lexi, the queen of gouge, built a big lead before giving the tournament away.

Travis Woolf finished Round 1 at even, currently T19. He played the Ocean Course, where 6 of the 7 rounds of -2 or better were posted, so he'll get the stiffer test tomorrow with a chance to advance.

Now Cal Club looks like a lot of fun. I heard the Kyle Phillips renovation there did wonders.

 

[JogginFrog]

Travis Woolf finishes stroke play at +3, which gets him into match play on the number, or at least into a 20-for-17 playoff to advance and face a top-17 seed.

 

[JogginFrog]

Woolf survives the playoff and earns a match against 3rd-seeded 16-year-old wunderkind Miles Russell, who has already made two starts on the PGA Tour and became the youngest ever to make a cut on the Korn Ferry Tour. Should be a fun matchup for Woolf, who I think turned 39 last month.

Edit: Woolf was 3 down to Russell through 4 and never recovered, losing 4&2. Liked seeing his short-backswing motion on the Round of 64 highlights.

 

[gohornedfrogs]