The post Welcome to the strangest week of the pro golf schedule appeared first on Golf.

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The PGA Tour’s 2025 season just ended. So did the DP World Tour’s 2025 season. So how is there a PGA Tour event this week — and two DP World Tour events? Why are Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland each headlining different events? And what does it mean, like, big picture?

Welcome to the strangest week of the professional golf schedule.

(I think. There’s plenty of competition.)

I’m writing to you from the Bahamas, where I’ve bravely ventured to spend a few days covering the Hero World Challenge and scouting local tiki bars. But you could argue I should have flown the other direction instead. Let’s take a quick peek at this week’s three events — and what makes each one intriguing.

1. Tiger’s Tournament (ft. Scottie Scheffler)

The Hero World Challenge is Tiger Woods’ tournament; he has served as enthusiastic host for a quarter-century and every year top pros have flocked to join him and try (in vain, for a bunch of those years) to beat him, too. Woods isn’t playing but this year’s event boasts another strong field, headlined by World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and backed up by Ryder Cuppers like J.J. Spaun, Bob MacIntyre, Cameron Young, Sam Burns, Justin Rose — you get the idea.

There’s plenty of reason to pay attention to the Hero, particularly if your NFL team has already careened from playoff contention. The action really began Tuesday morning, when Woods held a press conference and took questions from on-site media, addressing (and softly sidestepping) hot-button topics like his potential participation on the PGA Tour Champions, his work on the Tour’s Future Competitions Committee, his looming 50th birthday and more.

On the course it’ll be fun to see if Scottie Scheffler can three-peat at Albany, if Keegan Bradley can continue his silly-season superiority, if Spaun can put a cap on a dream season, how Jordan Spieth looks in his first start in almost four months.

Still, with Scheffler the only top-five talent in attendance it’s fair to describe this as a slightly lower-wattage playing of the Hero than we’re used to. That’s partly a result of natural turnover at the top of the game — but it’s something else, too.

So who’s missing?

The big names who aren’t playing despite teeing it up here in years past include LIV pros (think Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton), PGA Tour pros taking a break (think Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Ludvig Aberg), others whose rankings have slipped outside qualification (Max Homa, Will Zalatoris, Adam Scott) and even Woods’ pal Justin Thomas, who’s recovering from back surgery. But there are also notable pros playing elsewhere, like Rory McIlroy, Joaquin Niemann and Scott in Australia as well as Viktor Hovland and Zalatoris in South Africa.

Speaking of which…

2. Africa’s Major (ft. Viktor Hovland)

In recent years we’ve seen pros like Max Homa and Justin Thomas venture to South Africa; you can guess at the appearance fee structure of the Nedbank Golf Challenge but they seem to snag a couple top-tier pros every year.

This week that includes Viktor Hovland, who enters as the tournament favorite and whose quest for global domination rolls on after a stop in India in October.

South Africa has been a golf hub for generations, the birthplace of major champions from Gary Player and Bobby Locke through Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Louis Oosthuizen on down. There’s a reason LIV has been leaning into its South African contingent and will host its first event there next year — this feels like a place with untapped potential.

So although this week’s event includes some of the DP World Tour’s top talent (the likes of Marco Penge, Thorbjorn Olesen, Kristoffer Reitan) and some of South Africa’s current best (Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Garrick Higgo, Thriston Lawrence, Christo Lamprecht) and some strong Tour players (Hovland, Zalatoris, Nick Taylor) plus LIV pros (Tom McKibbin, Laurie Canter) it’s easy to wonder, if it stood alone on the calendar, what that might look like.

Instead it’s a co-sanctioned event between the Sunshine Tour and the DP World Tour, and it’s competing directly with…

3. Australian Open (ft. Rory McIlroy)

This is a big one because it’s at Royal Melbourne, one of the best golf courses in the entire world and a terrific watch. It’s a big one because it’s the return of the Aussie Open’s original format. It’s a big one because for the first time there’s a Masters invite on the line. And it’s a big one because Rory McIlroy’s in town, the reigning Masters champ making his return Down Under for the first time in a decade.

The Aussie contingent is out in full force, too, from PGA Tour players Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee and Cam Davis to LIV guys Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert. Other top LIV pros are here, too, chasing that Masters invite: Niemann, David Puig, Carlos Ortiz, Abraham Ancer and more. Other PGA Tour players have made the trek, too, from Si Woo Kim to Matt McCarty to Charley Hoffman.

But there’s no denying the multiplier effect of McIlroy coming to town. Front Office Sports detailed his world travels; this week will mark his 22nd start in nine different countries. And Aussie Open tournament director Antonia Beggs said interest from fans and sponsors alike is through the roof as they expect 100,000 fans for the week ahead.

“Everything that was last year has probably multiplied by about 5 or 10 times,” Beggs told FOS.

This is a DP World Tour event, too, co-sanctioned with the Australasian Tour; while the PGA Tour has gone away from a wraparound schedule, the DPWT has a handful of 2026 events before the 2026 even begins.

Golf’s global reminder

What does all of this mean? Mostly it’s a reminder that there are more competing interests than ever from across the globe for these guys’ time and talents. Sure, we’re in a PGA Tour offseason lull, but there’s more of everything else than ever. There are other ways to compete (and make money) beyond the boundaries of 72-hole stroke play, too: Xander Schauffele played last week’s Skins Game, Shane Lowry will play the Optum Golf Channel Games in a couple weeks, Jon Rahm is filming some sort of Krispy Kreme Challenge YouTube video. Would more pros be playing the Hero if TGL’s second season wasn’t right around the corner?

This all comes in the context of Harris English’s comments last week about the potential for a reduced-size 20-event PGA Tour schedule. New Tour CEO Brian Rolapp addressed those comments, confirming it’s something they’re considering as they steer clear of the NFL schedule. But it’s also a reminder that even outside the bounds of a busy PGA Tour schedule players will continue adding events.

A reduced schedule would have one potential benefit: it could allow golf’s non-PGA Tour schedule to make a little more sense. Australia’s biggest event shouldn’t run the same week as South Africa’s biggest event, especially when Tiger Woods’ exclusive event is that very same week, too.

But the safer short-term bet is that things will only continue to get more complex. From shifting schedules to additional golf-adjacent events to LIV golfers and DPWT fines, they’re continuing to build the plane as they fly it.

In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the golf. There should be something from every time zone.

Pretty good for the offseason.

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

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The post 5 unexpected winners entering pro golf’s ‘offseason’ | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

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Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where we’re thankful for golf. And for you. Without both, we very literally wouldn’t be here. To the golf news!

Other than Scottie Scheffler, every golf winner is unexpected, which helps us a bit in choosing five this week. But as we enter golf’s offseason (this is a running bit, we enter golf’s offseason basically every week, there is no offseason) it’s worth calling out a few.

5 unexpected winners this week

1. Jeeno Thitikul (and her new commissioner)

For most of the LPGA season, one storyline ruled: there were no repeat winners. Through 25 weeks, 26 different players had won an event (24 individual winners plus the two-player Dow Championship) which was a statistical oddity as well as a clear expression of the circuit’s depth and talent. But it was also something of a concern. Any and every sports league needs star power, needs recognizable faces in the mix, needs recurring characters. Sure, 2024 was the year of Nelly Korda. Would 2025 be the year of … everybody else?

Nah.

Jeeno Thitikul was hardly a surprise; she won the final event of 2024 (the CME Group Tour Championship) and the Mizuho Americas Open in April. She took over the crown of World No. 1, too. But because she stacked heartbreaking runner-up finishes instead of wins (four second-place finishes in 2025, including three in five starts from July-September) it felt like her year would be defined by near-misses. But then she flipped the script, winning the Buick LPGA Shanghai in October and then repeating at this weekend’s big-money CME, where she ran and hid from the field and wound up winning by four.

It was an appropriately dominant result for what was ultimately a dominant season.

The numbers and awards tell an important story: Lowest scoring average ever. Most money ever. Rolex Player of the Year. Vare Trophy winner. And so on. But that’s just part of what I hope becomes an even bigger story: a girl from small-town Thailand who learned golf on a local driving range is now World No. 1, a main face of the LPGA, a dominant player and a delightful, thoughtful interview.

“Lots of things happen in just one year, for sure,” she said after her win on Sunday. “You see me hold the trophy today, but you see me crying for sure for the four-putt I had earlier [this season]. Nothing you can predict with golf. Anything can happen. You can’t control anybody else. But what lasts long is your hard work, your discipline, and like, your passion about golf.”

Her win capped off a massively successful few weeks for her league’s new frontman, commissioner Craig Kessler. While his tour waded into controversial waters — plenty of ink was spilled about Kai Trump as well as the LPGA’s new Saudi partnership — he scored a far more substantive win in bolstering the LPGA’s coverage throughout the years to come. The season-ending CME felt big because of that news, because of Jeeno’s win, even because of little stuff like the early-week awards ceremony, speeches, red carpet. The LPGA’s season of anonymity finished with optimism and with star power. Nelly and Jeeno and whoever’s next. Let’s hope 2026 picks up where 2025 left off.

2. Sami Valimaki (and the nation of Finland)

He was already a two-time DP World Tour winner and a two-time PGA Tour runner-up. Now Sami Valimaki is a winner with a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour — and the first winner in Finland’s history.

If you were to make up a quick story for a Finnish golf pro’s background, you might get pretty close to Valimaki, who was a hockey forward with a nice shot and dreams of an NHL future.

“That was kind of my whole idea, but they didn’t pick me for the national team,” he recounted on Sunday, post-win. “So they picked me on the golf national team. I said, okay, let’s give it a go for this one, and this road has been working out well.”

You can say that again.

(More on who snagged PGA Tour cards — and who didn’t — here.)

3. Dan Brown (we think)

In this case we’re not talking about the Da Vinci Code author but instead the English golfer who finished at No. 11 in the DP World Tour’s list of pros to receive PGA Tour promotion. That would seem like an unfortunate spot for Dan Brown — unless one of the top 10 dropped out of contention before the end of 2025. That’s now a possibility, according to a report from Sports Business Journal that Laurie Canter is set to return to LIV Golf despite qualifying for the PGA Tour.

There are layers to this. Canter was set to be the first ex-LIV pro to earn his PGA Tour card; that’s obviously now up in the air. He’s currently some version of “Schrodinger’s Golfer,” existing in ultimate limbo between DP World Tour status, PGA Tour status and LIV Golf status. Until we hear more from him or his new team, we won’t know for sure. But Brown will hope he makes things official in the next month…

4. Anthony Kim (and a few former coworkers)

Certain Asian Tour events feel like expanded LIV events, none more so than this week’s PIF Saudi International, which was sponsored by LIV’s financial backers, held in LIV’s home country and included a top 10 comprised entirely of 2025 LIV Golfers.

The winner was notable, Jose Luis Ballester, a young Spaniard and 2024 U.S. Amateur champ who signed with LIV earlier this year. He leapt from outside the top 1000 in the Official World Golf Ranking to No. 264; he and runner-up Caleb Surratt (who climbed to No. 244) reminded us they each have the game to compete with the best on their circuit and beyond.

But the guy in T5 was just as intriguing: Anthony Kim. The mysterious former PGA Tour star just finished up his second year on LIV and faces an uncertain future after being relegated from the league. The problem wasn’t just getting bumped from LIV — the problem was not showing that he could be competitive. In 32 starts since his comeback, mostly in LIV’s 54-player fields (plus) some on the Asian Tour, Kim had 28 finishes outside the top 40 and a best result of T25.

On Sunday, though, he wrapped up by far his most complete week of golf, shooting 67-64-69-70 to finish T5 alongside the likes of Tyrrell Hatton, providing concrete evidence that what he’s been working on has been paying off. Whatever you think of Kim, of his comeback, of his LIV decision or his online wars of words, it’s hard not to marvel at his on-course comeback. This was his first top 20 anywhere since 2011. Since 2011! That’s remarkable.

5. Australian Golf (and golf at funny times)

Do you live in the U.S.? What time do you like your golf? Do you like it at 9 a.m. ET on Black Friday, Skins-Game style, before a heaping helping of Thanksgiving leftovers? You’re in luck. But that’s for everybody. The real diehards will have already been immersed in the BMW Australian PGA Championship, which will kick off on Thursday, Nov. 27 at Royal Queensland Golf Club.

No, this isn’t the following week’s Australian Open, which will take place at Royal Melbourne and feature globe-trotting headliner Rory McIlroy. But you’ll have Aussie stars like Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott and Cameron Smith, DP World Tour stars like Marco Penge and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, LIV stars like Joaquin Niemann and David Puig getting their DP World Tour starts in before their fines get murky — and comeback stories like that of Andrew “Beef” Johnston and Eddie Pepperell.

Aussie golf summer is here. Golf has no offseason.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

There’s no hope of pre-work golf; the sun doesn’t rise until 7:30 a.m., plus it’s cold.

There’s no hope of post-work golf; the sun sets at 4:20 p.m., plus it’s cold.

It’s time to lean into lunch golf. See you there.

And we’ll see you next week.

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

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The post Ex-LIV pros find new homes (plus 9 other stories!) | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

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Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where it’s always golf season no matter what the USGA says. To the golf news!

We’ve got a one-handed putter. A cross-handed chipper. A Lambo. A guy leaving LIV. A bunch of guys joining the PGA Tour. We’ve got two season finales behind us (shoutout Stewart Cink) and two more coming up this week. We’ve got content, controversy and content controversy. Here are 10 golf stories in the swirl this week.

10 golf stories this week

1. Two-handed blade-putting is dead.

The story: Okay, that’s a dramatic headline. But Adam Schenk won his first PGA Tour event, the always-chaotic Butterfield Bermuda Championship, in particularly notable fashion.

The win was massive for Schenk’s career; he rose to the occasion in variable, brutally windy conditions and survived all the glorious quirky challenges of Port Royal en route to a one-stroke victory. Schenk felt pride in his victory but also relief — instead of planning Q-School he can plot out his next two years as an exempt member of the PGA Tour. That’s all awesome.

But from a big-picture golf-world perspective the craziest thing about Schenk’s victory is that he sort of just made up his putting strategy as he went along, finding something new in his hotel room each night. He putted one-handed when it wasn’t super windy. He finished off his winning five-footer with his left hand resting on the edge of the shaft below his grip. I found the whole thing oddly inspiring and self-aware; asked about his putt on the 72nd hole he gave credit to his hotel room (“it’s a little bit left to right as I putt towards the window”) and shared his process:

“I was just in my hotel room practicing with one hand. I’m like, ‘One hand’s not going to work because it’s got the wind emblem on the Weather Channel app. It’s already windy here and it’s going to be really windy.’

“So I kind of let my left hand rest on top. The only thing you can do is line up to it, take it back smooth and just release it and hit it off the center of the putter. If it goes in, it goes in, great. It was so windy on the last hole, I did the same process … if you’re going to miss it, miss it quick but don’t sit there and think about it forever.”

What it means: We’re not just in the mallet-putter era but the broomstick-putter era, the any-grip-that-works era, the one-handed putter era. The questions of “are you willing to look silly” and “are you going to make more putts” seem to have increasingly intertwined answers.

2. Rory did it all.

The story: Rory McIlroy lost in a playoff at the DP World Tour Championship this weekend but his runner-up finish was more than enough to earn him the big prize: a seventh Race to Dubai title and his fourth in a row. That puts him one ahead of Seve Ballesteros and one behind Colin Montgomerie.

What it means: McIlroy won everything he wanted to this year. Okay, that’s not quite literally true. He would have wanted an Open Championship win at Royal Portrush more than just about anything. But McIlroy has made it clear what matters at this point in his career and that’s winning majors, winning at iconic venues, winning meaningful tournaments and winning Ryder Cups — particularly on foreign soil. He’s also talked about wanting to chase down Montgomerie in his quest to become the greatest European golfer in modern history.

So this year’s haul — a Siggie at Pebble Beach, the Players Championship, the Grand Slam-completing Masters, a home-game Irish Open, an away-game Ryder Cup and this Race to Dubai — checked a hell of a lot of boxes.

“As you’re still playing, it’s probably detrimental to do it too much. But yeah, there’s times when I catch myself thinking about my place in the game and where I’m going to end up,” he said post-round. “Again, as a 36-year-old, hopefully with a lot of years left in the tank, I don’t think about it too much. But yeah, you can appreciate that up until this point, it’s been a pretty good run.”

3. Matt Fitzpatrick turned it all around.

The story: Matt Fitzpatrick wasn’t exactly slumming it in your weekly men’s group, but early this year he’d fallen well below his lofty standards. He split with his longtime caddie, he fell outside the top 100 in DataGolf’s rankings and he was a question mark to make the European Ryder Cup team. But when summer hit, Fitzpatrick did too: beginning the final week of June he’s reeled off eight finishes of eighth or better in 12 starts, capped off with Sunday’s playoff victory.

What it means: It means that hard work has continued to pay off for Fitzpatrick, who has left no stone unturned in his ongoing quest for low numbers. It was fitting that he got up-and-down for the win in a playoff with his characteristic cross-handed chipping the same week that Schenk broke through; golf is about a lot of things but mostly it’s about working until you find what really works.

“It was the lowest I’ve ever been out on the golf course, and obviously when that happens you feel like things have to change,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s easy to say now that the only way to go is up from there, but easier said than done.

“To end the year and win this tournament is very special, and I really want to make sure that I thoroughly enjoy it.”

4. Linn Grant got happy and won. It’s unclear which came first

The story: Linn Grant won the Annika, particularly cool given she and host Sorenstam are both Swedish. It was her second win on the LPGA Tour and first of what she called a “rollercoaster” year.

What it means: It means Grant found at least a one-week answer to the vexing riddle of life as a professional golfer. Asked how she bounced back from multiple strings of missed cuts this season, she cited a quest for herself and her own process that I found fascinating:

“I don’t know, to be fair,” she said. “Golf and this lifestyle is always a rollercoaster of trying to figure out how to get better. Sometimes it’s just about taking a step back and maybe look at yourself and be like, ‘Am I happy? Am I making the decisions that make me happy?’

“Sometimes that is what makes golf easier. You have to be kind of strong and confident in those decisions to be able to say, maybe I’m not playing this week because I’m not feeling it, because it doesn’t make me happy, or changing just your plans or how you do things more for yourself to be true to yourself.

“For me this year I think that has been really big. Like I’ve had to change a lot of things in my routines, things that I thought were just things that were good to do because other people were doing them instead of thinking like, ‘What do I actually believe in? What do I think makes me a better person and a better player?'”

5. This LPGA pro made an ace and won a Lambo — plus more.

The story: Brooke Matthews made her first career ace really count. Her 9-iron from 143 on No. 12 at Pelican Golf Club came with a two-year lease on a Lamborghini Urus and a $20,000 donation to charity. It also vaulted her inside the top 60 in the Race to the CME Globe, making this the first time she’ll qualify for the season-ending championship.

What it means: Sometimes golf is about inner satisfaction and sometimes golf is about shiny expensive cars and sometimes it’s about both.

“It was wild. All week I was like, ‘I want to win the Lamborghini,'” Matthews said. “I still can’t believe it. I blacked out. I can’t wait to watch it on film because I still can’t really remember it.”

Here you go, Brooke:

6. The PGA Tour just got 10 new faces — including an ex-LIVer

The story: The end of this DP World Tour season finalized the 10 pros who just earned PGA Tour cards for the 2026 season. It’s an intriguing list that includes No. 2 in the standings Laurie Canter, who won on the DP World Tour for the second consecutive season and has found some success post-LIV; he’ll now be the first ex-LIV golfer to earn full-time PGA Tour status. Sean Zak has more:

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What it means: It’s easier to return to the PGA Tour from LIV if you start with a blank slate; because Canter wasn’t a PGA Tour member to begin with he didn’t accrue the same level of pesky suspensions.

Also, a bunch of these other guys seem very good, too — including Rasmus Neergard-Petersen, who finished eagle-birdie-par-birdie-birdie to snag a T3 and the ninth spot.

7. Henrik Stenson is back

The story: Back on the DP World Tour, that is. The Swedish major champ was relegated from LIV Golf and the Majesticks team he co-captained. Per good reporting from bunkered, he has paid his outstanding fines (or LIV has on his behalf) and he’ll be exempt from a “Legends” category. And he’ll plan to play the tour for the first time since resigning membership in 2023.

What it means: In 2022 Stenson was slated to be European Ryder Cup captain. It’s jarring to think of the sliding-doors moment that happened when he rejected the captaincy for a spot on LIV; what happened next was that Luke Donald took his place, he led the team to victory in Rome and New York, he entered a new stratosphere of respect in the golfing world and no doubt made a bundle of money in the process.

I wouldn’t venture to guess how Stenson feels now about his decision to leave; I’m sure it was complex then and remains that way. But it’ll be interesting to listen to him reflect on the process if we see and hear more from him on his old circuit in the months to come.

8. One LPGA rookie announced her arrival as two others announced their departure.

The story: This is a time of year for endings and new beginnings. So even as 24-year-old Miyu Yamashita clinched the LPGA’s Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year award, Elizabeth Szokol and Caroline Inglis bid emotional farewell to the tour as they each announced their retirements at 30 and 31 years old, respectively.

What it means: Retirement seems to be coming more quickly for some LPGA Tour pros. Beth Ann Nichols, who covers the LPGA in greater depth than anybody on the planet, has written about this trend; it’ll be interesting to see if the offseason includes any other surprising announcements.

9. The Internet Invitational had a heartbreaking winner.

The story: I wrote more about this here but the Internet Invitational was a fascinating piece of golf tournament storytelling, it was intriguing and emotional on several different levels, it seemed genuinely damaging, heartbreaking and inspiring in various chapters and I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

10. The NFL is mostly just about golf.

The story: Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield’s pre-Sunday smack-talk was all about golf.

“Baker wears two gloves golfing, so he’s that type of guy,” Allen said in the lead-up.

“Listen I respect Akshay Bhatia but I’m not wearing two gloves,” Mayfield clarified in another interview. “I might have to tackle [Allen] pregame.”

What it means: The NFL may be king — but the NFLers are obsessed with golf. We’re in a nice spot in this corner of the world.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

It’s official: As a Washington resident my official handicap scores have shut down for the season. While I don’t really have an offseason training plan to reverse years of steady decline, I’m feeling the itch to develop one. Stay tuned.

We’ll see you next week!

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

The post Ex-LIV pros find new homes (plus 9 other stories!) | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post 10 surprising golf stories flying under the radar | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post 10 surprising golf stories flying under the radar | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where the gales of November always come early. To the golf news!

10 surprising bits of golf news

It’s kinda-sorta golf’s offseason which means the Monday Finish, like the rest of the golf world, gets to experiment with different formats. This week that means sifting through little golf stories that could have big-time ramifications. Here are 10 recent golf stories — and what they might mean:

1. The Internet Invitational is stealing the show.

The story: Barstool Sports, Bob Does Sports and a bunch of the golf world’s biggest [I have to admit I still groan whenever I type this word] creators have now released five of their six-episode Internet Invitational; the first four have each racked up between 2.5 and 6 million views and that number is rising rapidly.

What it means: Plenty of videos on Golf YouTube rack up mind-blowing numbers of views but this one feels like it has broken through the golf corner of the internet and into the mainstream sports world — particularly intriguing given it’s football season.

News

What’s working? High stakes, entertaining characters, personality clashes, legitimate drama, high production value, endless behind-the-scenes interactions, entertaining narrators (Dave Portnoy plus a rotating cast of eliminated golfers), full buy-in from everyone involved (other than Luke Kwon) and the fact that these creators were ceding editorial control. Lessons here for YouTube golf but for pro golf, too. Also, this time of year golf may be better broadcast in the background on a weekday than going up against football on the weekends. You could start watching the Invitational while you’re at work thinking it would be pleasant background noise and end up getting sucked in while getting absolutely zero work done. Hypothetically.

2. Blade putters are out.

The story: Ben Griffin brought this to my attention over the weekend after he finished off his third Tour victory of the season — and did so with a mallet putter in hand. Apparently the classic blade is just…done. From Griffin: “I was 19 in Strokes Gained: Putting, and I believe I was the best blade putter on Tour at 19, and all these guys ahead of me switched from blades to mallets.”

What it means: Remember when Scottie Scheffler famously pivoted from blade to mallet? Apparently he wasn’t the only one.

3. The LPGA is teaming up with the Saudis.

The story: The LPGA’s new commissioner, Craig Kessler, has brokered a deal with Golf Saudi to host the new Aramco Championship, co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour, in a $4 million, 120-player tournament in Las Vegas. The event is part of the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s five-event Global Series and puts the LPGA in direct business, for the first time, with the Saudis. “We often talk about routing, courses and purses — and this event checks every box: a spectacular West Coast setting, an iconic course and a purse that continues our momentum in raising the bar for our athletes,” Kessler said in a release, citing the ability to “elevate opportunities” for his athletes.

What it means: It’s a controversial partnership given Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, but it’s hardly surprising. What the Saudis have done with LIV Golf — attempting to take over the top level of an entire sport — is obviously brazen and controversial, but they’ve worked their way more subtly into the fabric of sport in so many other areas, from soccer to Formula 1 to tennis to boxing to women’s golf. For the LPGA (which just made another hire, interestingly an executive from LIV) the event completes a three-tournament West Coast Swing. And to provide an interesting contrast, the tournament will run up against the Augusta National Women’s Am the week before the Masters.

4. Aaron Rai has a really cool family.

The story: Aaron Rai bounced back just fine from a Ryder Cup snub by getting married this fall. And then, in his return to golf — and his first tournament as a husband — he won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Two notes on his family, then: His father, the man behind the viral iron-covers story, was on site sporting this epic shirt of Rai and his wife.

As for his wife? Her name is Gaurika Bishnoi and she’s an excellent player in her own right, logging several seasons on the Ladies European Tour.

Compared to say, tennis, where men and women’s tournaments often run in tandem at the same venues, men’s and women’s golf events almost never overlap, so it’s rare for pros to marry. (Si Woo Kim married Ji Hyun Oh, who won seven times on the Korean LPGA, while Gerina and Martin Piller are another oft-cited example, but there aren’t many.) Rai, who seems like one of the most humble, earnest, appreciative pros in the entire sport, had this to say about his wife’s support:

“The understanding of just what goes into playing professional golf, not just being away at the tournament, but on weeks where there are not any tournaments; the amount of practice that you have to do; the way you have to live your life; the choices you have to make; the control that you have to have around just the way you live your life. And I think it’s hard for someone who isn’t in this line or who has the understanding of the game to really be able to know the things that you have to do. So she’s been incredibly understanding in that regard, and just sharing things together has been beautiful. Yeah, I couldn’t ask for anyone better.”

5. Min Woo Lee isn’t leaving the PGA Tour.

The story: Amidst rumors he was considering a move to LIV, the Australian star doubled down on his commitment to the PGA Tour.

“There’s been a lot of rumors. I’m not going [to LIV Golf] and am just going to play on the PGA Tour,” Lee said in an interview with the AAP. “So, I’m happy with where I’m at and, yeah, I’m looking forward to next year.”

What it means: It means we’ll still have to wait and see when it comes to LIV’s biggest offseason signing. And it means a cutout of Brian Rolapp’s face in Lee’s ‘the show goes on!’ Instagram video:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Min Woo Lee (@minwoo27lee)

6. The PGA Tour is about to get 10 new faces — including an ex-LIVer

The story: After this week’s DP World Tour finale, the DP World Tour Championship, they’ll finalize the 10 pros who will earn PGA Tour cards for the 2026 season. It’s an intriguing list that includes Alex Noren (the red-hot vice captain of this year’s European Ryder Cup Team) and Haotong Li (one of pro golf’s more captivating figures) but also Laurie Canter, who will have the distinction of being the first LIV player to earn full-time PGA Tour status.

It's the final week of the DP World Tour season.

Here's how the race for the 10 @PGATour cards sits with one event to go.

1. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Marco Penge
2. 🇳🇴 Kristoffer Reitan
3. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 John Parry
4. 🇫🇷 Adrien Saddier
5. 🇸🇪 Alex Noren
6. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Laurie Canter
7. 🇨🇳 Haotong Li
8. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Dan Brown
9.… pic.twitter.com/bQxeIjFQ4t

— Jamie Kennedy (@jamierkennedy) November 10, 2025

Canter played the inaugural 2022 season for LIV’s Cleeks and served as an alternate and wild card in 2023 and 2024, respectively, before regaining DP World Tour status. He became the first ex-LIVer to tee it up in the Players Championship earlier this year; now he’s breaking new ground.

What it means: It means it’s easier to jump from LIV to the PGA Tour if you weren’t a PGA Tour member to begin with, as you don’t have the same level of pesky suspensions to deal with. It doesn’t mean much else — though it seems cool for Canter, who has been playing well.

7. Remember the guy with the gambling suspension? He’s chasing down Rory.

The story: Marco Penge enters the DP World Tour Championship No. 2 in the Order of Merit; he’s the man who could stand between Rory McIlroy and his fourth consecutive Race to Dubai. McIlroy leads with 4,640.06 points, while Penge is second with 3,873.04. (Tyrrell Hatton is third at 2,919.18.) But getting this far already represents a massive turnaround for Penge, whose competitive future seemed in doubt after a gambling suspension. (It was, as these things go, a remarkably innocent and harmless breach of the rules.)

What it means: You, like Penge, may have a history of placing $20 wagers on golf tournaments. But he may also outdrive you by 100 yards and own three DP World Tour titles this season, which is why he’ll play the biggest events in the world next season.

8. Scottie and Rory are headlining a pro golf event that really does feel different.

The story: Teams were announced for the skills challenge-style primetime event for Dec. 17 at Trump National in Jupiter, Fla. Team Rory will consist of Shane Lowry, Luke Donald and Haotong Li. Team Scottie will be Scheffler plus Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns and Luke Clanton. They’ll face off in timed competitions (driving, short game and alternate shot), a 14-club challenge (two players, one bag and eliminating used clubs) and a captains’ challenge between McIlroy and Scheffler (more details here).

What it means: Pro golf has a habit of trotting out something extremely similar to its existing product and branding it as some massive change. But this actually is a dramatically different look from 72-hole stroke-play golf. That doesn’t mean it’ll work, of course. It might, though. And it could serve as a jumping-off point for future skills-style competitions as golf continues to dial in its vision for the offseason.

9. Nelly Korda is going to pick up her first win this week.

The story: This is more a prediction than a story, I suppose. This week’s LPGA event, the ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican (let’s just go with “the Annika”) is the penultimate event of a season in which World No. 2 Nelly Korda has not won despite six top-five finishes. She’s won this event in 2021, 2022, and 2024 — I expect 2025 is coming, too.

What it means: Most early-week headlines around this event will involve Caitlin Clark’s pro-am appearance or Kai Trump’s sponsor invitation. But once the competition starts it’ll be fun to watch Korda lock in knowing the season’s finish line is in sight, knowing she’s been playing well and knowing she must be frustrated not to have and hardware after last year’s seven-win campaign.

10. The PGA Tour’s adding two new events — and not where you’d expect.

The story: The PGA Tour has now signed on two new fall events for next year: the Good Good Championship in Austin, Tx. and now the Biltmore Championship, which will be played at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove near Asheville, N.C. next September.

What it means: When new Tour CEO Brian Rolapp came in preaching “scarcity,” many people assumed that meant slashing Tour events, particularly those in golf’s “offseason.” Instead they seem to be doubling down on the fall, leaving us wondering just how different the Tour schedule in, say, 2027, will look.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

I haven’t been playing much golf of late but have a fun local round on the books for Wednesday, which has me fired up. Obsessively checking weather forecasts, thinking about rain gear, plotting a stop at the range tomorrow, ready to debut a new laser, all that good stuff. Golf is the best. I hope you have a fall round in your future to look forward to, too.

We’ll see you next week!

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

The post 10 surprising golf stories flying under the radar | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post LIV Golf faces 5 fascinating offseason questions | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post LIV Golf faces 5 fascinating offseason questions | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where we’re declining all high-stakes super-secret private poker invitations until further notice. To the golf news!

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Holing out.

By now you may have seen several replays of what is a strong contender for golf shot of the year — American Jordan Gumberg holing out for eagle on his 72nd hole at the Genesis Championship to keep his DP World Tour card by a single shot. But what strikes me about that shot is just how much of professional golf is just about refusing to give up.

Gumberg, who turned pro in 2017, didn’t give up when he missed his first 17 cuts across the Korn Ferry and PGA Tours in the first five years of his career. Instead he headed to Europe and tried to find an opening there.

He didn’t give up when his first year in Europe went sideways, missing eight of 10 cuts and failing to finish better than T51. Instead he put his head down, came back the next season, turned a Monday qualifier into a runner-up finish, turned that into a full card, turned that into a DP World Tour win and claim full status for 2024 and 2025.

He didn’t give up when things went sideways again midway through this season, not even when he missed 13 of 16 cuts and headed to his final event of the year knowing it was likely his final event with any real status. He was showing no form and he needed to contend just to keep his card. But then he rose to the occasion.

And it’s because Gumberg didn’t give up that he was in position to hit that wedge shot on No. 18 at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan, South Korea. It actually falling in the hole was a nice reward from the golf gods.

And because Gumberg hasn’t given up yet, I’m excited for what he does next.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Michael Brennan skipped a step. After winning three times on the PGA Tour Americas this summer he earned Korn Ferry Tour status for the 2026 season — but he won’t use it. Instead he took full advantage of a sponsor exemption into the Bank of Utah Championship, going on to win by four shots over a solid fall Tour field. His entire week was eye-popping, but this eye-popped the most:

Brennan averaged 351.1 yards off the tee and hit 89 percent of his fairways. That yielded the best driving performance of the entire PGA Tour season by strokes gained (+7.6 SG). Black Desert has wide fairways but it aggressively punishes big misses. Sean Martin called that a “driving clinic,” which seems right. It’s appropriate that Martin’s analysis came attached to a clip of Brennan actually missing one of his six fairways all week — because this missed fairway was right down the middle and went 418 yards, trickling into the rough by the green and leaving him with an up-and-down for birdie.

Team Australia won the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown, the LPGA team event that occurs every two years and features country-based teams in a week’s-worth of match-play competition. The event may have skipped your radar because a lot of it happened overnight (New Korea Country Club is very much not on ET) but the Aussies took it to the U.S. team in the final, with Minjee Lee and Hannah Green each winning their singles matches. (More here.)

Junghwan Lee won for the first time on the DP World Tour — and did so on home soil, by three shots. Lee immediately takes up DPWT status with the win, which is also the first on the tour by a Korean player since Ben An at this same tournament last year. (More here.)

Pongsapak “Fifa” Laopakdee punched his ticket to the Masters by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Emirates Golf Club, rallying from six shots back with birdies at 10, 13, 15, 17 and 18. Then he birdied all three playoff holes to win by a shot. One fun fact about the Arizona State junior from Evin Priest, who was on site this week: the Thai 20-year-old sings to himself when he’s nervous, an idea he borrowed from Jeeno Thitikul.

Steven Alker won on the PGA Tour Champions by a full touchdown (and extra point!) firing 20 under par at the Simmons Bank Championship to blow away two runners-up at 13 under. It’s his 10th win on the senior circuit and he moves to No. 1 as they head to their playoff finale. (More here.)

And Yani Tseng re-entered the winner’s circle on the Ladiest European Tour, the latest step in an improbable comeback that featured some remarkably low lows but now serves as some small triumph of the human spirit; Tseng has overcome the putting yips by switching to lefty on the greens. Golf is endlessly hard but endlessly fascinating, even if you reach No. 1 in the world.

SHORT HITTERS

5 unanswered questions LIV faces this offseason.

If you’re saying to yourself, hey Dylan, isn’t your job to answer these questions? I would say, y’know, that’s fair enough. Consider this an interesting list for you and a to-do list for me. Here are five questions surrounding LIV that affect the rest of the professional golf ecosystem, too:

1. Who will LIV sign?

Since LIV’s inception this has continually been the most intriguing question surrounding the league — who will they recruit from elsewhere in golf’s ecosystem? The first wave-and-a-half in 2022 was eye-popping, everybody from Phil Mickelson to Bryson DeChambeau to Brooks Koepka to Joaquin Niemann to Cam Smith and more. The 2023 signing of Jon Rahm was a shocker, too, particularly when accompanied by Tyrrell Hatton. So who will LIV claim this offseason? Which PGA Tour players will defect? Who will be the biggest name?

2. Who will LIV re-sign?

News came over the weekend via Flushing It that LIV had re-upped Dustin Johnson’s contract, which had been set to expire after the 2025 season. The 4 Aces captain will be back, which means LIV presumably made it worth his while to do so.

Some of LIV’s big names are now in an interesting position; on the one hand LIV needs them to stay on to keep any momentum going. On the other hand, their leverage in negotiating with LIV is hampered by the fact that they may have nowhere else to go.

The biggest negotiation by far won’t come this offseason and will involve Bryson DeChambeau, whose contract extends through 2026. He’s a full-time content creator and something of a media mogul in his own right, now — it’ll be interesting to see how his relationship with LIV and with his Crushers evolves as he thinks about re-upping while also balancing his side quests.

3. Will LIV get OWGR points?

Included in a terrific and all-encompassing Global Golf Post profile by John Hopkins (which you should read here) of now-retired OWGR chairman Peter Dawson were two interesting nuggets:

-He’s unclear on why LIV is pressing on.

“I really don’t understand why the PIF [Public Investment Fund] and Saudi Arabia are persisting with it,” Dawson continued. “They are doing wonderful things for the women’s game with the PIF Global Series and they have terrific plans inside Saudi for expanding golf for their own people and for tourism. These initiatives deserve our applause but LIV seems to be the odd man out.”

-and he’s disappointed they didn’t reach an OWGR resolution.

“I was very disappointed that we could not do so with LIV,” he said. “It is self-evident that players on the LIV tour are good enough to be ranked because they were before. But OWGR has a duty to ensure that all of the thousands of players in the system are ranked equitably. Some aspects of the LIV format made that impossible. In my opinion OWGR made the only decision it could at the time.“

That OWGR failure was in part due to LIV taking its toys and going home, withdrawing its application rather than working with the powers-that-be on acceptable standards for points-getting. Now, though, with new leadership in place on each side of the relationship and a new application on the way, it’ll be interesting to see how the OWGR board and LIV find common ground — and potential points.

4. What will happen to Henrik Stenson?

Henrik Stenson is the most high-profile LIV golfer to finish in its “Drop Zone,” outside the top 48, which per LIV’s regulations meant he is automatically relegated. (This is true with Anthony Kim, too, plus Mito Pereira, among others.) But we haven’t really seen LIV abandon any of its stars to this point, never mind a co-captain of a team (the Majesticks) like Stenson.

5. How will promotion and relegation look, exactly?

LIV has staged a Promotions event each of the last two offseasons. They’d be due for another this December, and presumably Stenson, Kim and Pereira could enter — but if it’s happening LIV has made no announcements on the subject as of yet. The answer to this question is intertwined with Nos. 3 and 4 (and, perhaps, 1 and 2, too) because questions of promotion and relegation are crucial to what makes this an open versus closed shop with new players earning their places. Perhaps they’re consulting with the OWGR on this very matter. Perhaps there’s another route they could build through the Asian Tour or its International Series. Again, we have mostly questions.

Time to work on the answers…

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

It’s an unseasonably sunny Monday after a turbulent weekend; Saturday night the lights flickered throughout the night thanks to pouring rain and 50 mph winds, and Sunday I got pictures of a hailstorm at Chambers Bay. But this is inspiring weather, the kind that’ll make you hit a medium bucket on the way home from work, that’ll have you taking the dog for an extra-long walk, that’ll have the evening hours feeling precious rather than dark and abridged. I hope it’s the same where you are.

We’ll see you next week!

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

The post LIV Golf faces 5 fascinating offseason questions | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post Tommy Fleetwood just won Act 3 of this pro golf season | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post Tommy Fleetwood just won Act 3 of this pro golf season | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where we’re taking driver out of the bag — but hitting tee shots into the jungle anyway. To the golf news!

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Tommy Fleetwood wins Act III.

When Tommy Fleetwood won the DP World India Championship on Sunday, he made his son Frankie’s dreams come true.

Recently Frankie mentioned he’s never been able to run onto the green to celebrate one of his father’s wins. Tommy literally wrote his son’s quote down — “You have never won and I’ve run onto the green” — and then, within the week, made that happen. Tommy Fleetwood is a terrific golfer. He’s also apparently an even better dad. What did you do for your kid this weekend?

But the win wasn’t just cool for Frankie. This was another special moment in what has become two months of special moments as Tommy has put together the best stretch of his golfing life.

This is a story of resilience. Think about the moment in late June, when Fleetwood limped in with bogey at the Travelers Championship and Keegan Bradley made birdie to win. At that point Fleetwood was famous for the fact that on the PGA Tour, he just couldn’t quite get it done. And if he’d allowed it to, that could have been a dark enough moment that it consumed him. Instead? He used it to kickstart a special stretch. Think of what happened in the weeks and months that followed:

-He finished top four in all three FedEx Cup playoff events…
-…including a win at the Tour Championship, his first on the PGA Tour
-He was the only player on either team to win four points at the Ryder Cup, where he led Europe to victory
-He won the DP World India Championship
-He’s now cracked the top five in the OWGR, while advanced analytics suggest he’s even better than that; DataGolf has him up to No. 2 in the world

Along the way he (and his family!) have completed impressive side quests. Frankie delivered the quote of the year at the Masters (his declaration that he was “trying my hardest” was inspiration for everyone, everywhere). Tommy has delivered enough philosophical gems of his own that he could start a cult, or at least a self-help podcast (he described this Sunday as “another opportunity to show a good attitude”). He even stunned in traditional Indian attire at a tournament party this weekend, where he looked like royalty (and further reinforced the idea that Tommy Fleetwood would do well wherever you put him).

Fleetwood’s latest accomplishment also completes a fascinating third act of this year in men’s professional golf. Rory McIlroy was the clear star of the first act; he won at Pebble Beach, won the Players and won the Masters to complete the career grand slam. Scottie Scheffler was the clear star of Act II, winning two majors and a half-dozen times in all as he put even more space between himself and the rest of the world. I posed this question during the FedEx Cup playoffs — behind McIlroy and Scheffler, who’s the PGA Tour’s third-biggest star? It wasn’t long before we got our answer. Fleetwood has established himself as the champion of Act III. Soon we’ll put the pressure back on him to win a major, but in the meantime he’s the clear winner of this post-majors season.

And perhaps the best father, too.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Tommy Fleetwood won the DP World India Championship; he also moved up to No. 25 on the DP World Tour’s Order of Merit. (Oddly enough he’d been lights out on the PGA Tour but struggled in his European starts this season.)

Sei Young Kim won the LPGA’s BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea; it was her 13th LPGA Tour victory but her first in five years — since she won the Women’s PGA Championship in 2020.

Justin Leonard won the PGA Tour Champions’ Dominion Energy Charity Classic with an eagle on the 18th hole at the Country Club of Virginia.

SHORT HITTERS

10 golf things on my mind.

1. Let’s start here: I’m worried about the start of next year’s PGA Tour season. We’d been trying to read the tea leaves about a replacement venue for The Sentry, but it now seems at serious risk of … not happening at all? Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated compiled some evidence including some telling commentary from Mark Rolfing on the Fried Egg podcast. More to come here — this feels like a story that’s partly about The Sentry and partly about the future of the PGA Tour at large.

2. Viktor Hovland addressed the Ryder Cup’s “Envelope Rule” and handled the situation well. I had no issue with the deployment of the rule this Ryder Cup (I was fascinated by the rule in advance of the competition!) but I do think both that rule and the rule that you can tie and “retain” the cup are outdated. Instead I think the Ryder Cup should steal a suggestion from our Jessica Marksbury: The only name in an envelope should be the player (maybe players?) who will go represent your team in a sudden-death shootout in the event of a tie.

3. Speaking of Hovland — plenty of these guys travel the world and see very little besides the airport, the golf course and the four walls of their hotel room. But not Hovland, who explored Delhi via tuk tuk and also leaned into the tournament’s Diwali celebration.

“The food is very different, just — everything is very different. It takes a little bit of time to get used to, but I’ve definitely embraced it this week because I just really love going to see new places, and India is definitely one of my favorite places I’ve been to,” he said after a T6 finish. “I love it.”

4. Keita Nakajima, the former longtime World No. 1 amateur, was the 54-hole leader in India and went on to finish second. It’s been a feast-or-famine season for Nakajima on the DP World Tour; he has three runner-up finishes, three more top-11 finishes and just two other finishes better than T40 in 22 starts. But he’s now just inside the bubble to earn one of the DP World Tour’s 10 PGA Tour cards for 2026. At World No. 101 he’s also the second highest ranked Japanese player in the world behind Hideki Matsuyama.

5. A whopping 42 percent of the field used no driver at the short, tight, jungle-lined Delhi Golf Club, including Fleetwood, Hovland and Rory McIlroy. It’s certainly not an all-out fix for golf’s distance problem — but as someone who often plays Seattle’s bowling alley-style golf courses, it was refreshing to see that there are some holes too scary for these guys to hit driver.

6. The LPGA’s Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown kicks off this week and could make for some late-night West-Coast viewing (Saturday’s semifinals air on Golf Channel at 7:30 p.m. ET, while Sunday’s final airs at midnight). I’m struck by the evenness of the four-player teams; womens’ golf is remarkably deep in the U.S. but also Japan, South Korea, Australia, Thailand and Sweden — and there’s a “World Team” that’s as talented as anybody. (The event will also certainly suffer from the absence of World No. 2 Nelly Korda, who remains the sport’s biggest draw.)

7. Neither played this week but it’s fascinating to see two Swedes at very different points in their career — Ludvig Aberg at 25 and Alex Noren at 43 — adjacent each other at Nos. 16 and 17 in the OWGR.

8. This week’s Bank of Utah Championship may be my favorite fall venue; it’s red-rock, high-desert golf at its most stunning and should make for some compelling evening viewing. It’s a distinctly “fall” field, with Maverick McNealy, Michael Thorbjornsen and Noren as tournament favorites, but there are plenty of names you’ll know teeing it up: Jason Day, Max Homa, Billy Horschel, Sahith Theegala, Joel Dahmen.

9. Good Good Golf announced they’re sponsoring a PGA Tour event in Austin next fall. This is fascinating for one obvious reason — wait, the YouTubers are now in the business of sponsoring the Tour?! — but also because it’s interesting to see the Tour continue to double down on its fall season and also return to Austin.

10. Our Nick Piastowski and producer Darren Riehl visited Cedar Creek Corrections Center in Washington for an inspiring story called Golf Behind Bars; it’s worth your time.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

The Mariners are in Game 7 of the ALCS. The Seahawks are playing in Monday Night Football. The weather is getting worse but oh boy are the sports getting better. (Even the Kraken are playing tonight!)

This feels like an exceedingly rare combination, especially because this is such a lovable Mariners team and the Seahawks are an unexpected delight. I’ve maintained my New England fandom so I feel sort of one step removed from complete emotional investment, but still — this is awesome. Go Ms.

We’ll see you next week!

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

The post Tommy Fleetwood just won Act 3 of this pro golf season | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post First came a 4-putt. Next? A miraculous comeback | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post First came a 4-putt. Next? A miraculous comeback | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where we’re calling out “leaf rule!” and dropping one at the edge of the fairway. To the golf news…

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Getting up off the mat.

On a scale of soul-crushing things you could do as a professional golfer, four-putting the final green to lose a tournament by one is tougher than most. Tough enough to leave some scar tissue. Tough enough that it would take a while to get over. Even if you’re No. 1 in the world.

Enter Jeeno Thitikul.

“Definitely cried a lot. Not going lie, cried quite a lot,” she said, describing the days that followed her 72nd-hole implosion at the Kroger Queen City Championship, where she’d gifted a victory to Charley Hull. But with time came perspective. She spent a week away from golf and, as she took a break, gave herself a break.

“Whatever happened, it’s in the past. And then I’m human, which means I’ll make a mistake for sure, everyone does,” Thitikul said. She added this:

“Is negative going to help? I don’t think so. I mean, definitely negative things are going to be in our head, for sure, but I think to be able to live our life and get one percent better each day, that definitely comes from positive.”

It’s hard to know what combination of mindset and generational golf talent spurred on her Sunday charge, but Thitikul rallied from four shots back with five holes to play with a birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle charge on 14-15-16-17 to tie the lead. Then, facing a par putt on No. 18, negativity and doubt crept in again.

“Having the last putt to be able to make par to force the playoff just reminded me like, about the last event and that is what’s happening,” Thitikul said.

This time, though, she drained it. She earned extra holes against Minami Katsu, despite Katsu’s sparkling bogey-free 65. And then on the fifth playoff hole Thitikul stuck her approach to three feet, setting up the winning birdie putt.

“Feels so unreal, for sure,” she said. “I mean, like so happy, so unreal.”

Her win had a fascinating subplot: In the 27th event of the year she became the LPGA’s first repeat winner. Only fitting that she had to go through the fire to get there. And only fitting that the best in the world is the first to repeat.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Xander Schauffele, undefeated father

This week’s Baycurrent was Xander Schauffele‘s first stroke-play golf tournament since the BMW Championship in August. It was his first time truly in contention all season. And it was his first tournament as a father since he and his wife Maya became parents to their son Victor last month.

“I’m a young dad I guess, he’s only just over six weeks old, but yeah it’s weird, I’d do anything for him,” Schauffele said post-tournament.

It was particularly remarkable, then, that he closed 63-67-64 for his first victory since the 2024 Open Championship. And it was clear from his post-round grin just how much he enjoyed doing so. So how’d he find his game? One admission I found particularly revealing was what he said about the pressure of playing in September’s Ryder Cup and how it forced him into good habits.

“It’s very high-stakes, high-pressure golf and I started to hit some shots that I wasn’t really hitting throughout the year,” he said. “I think the whole tournament, even though we lost, for me personally I was able to hit a few shots in high-stakes moments that gave me a little bit of confidence for sure.”

In other words, if you’re good enough, the Ryder Cup can snap you out of unhelpful swing thoughts and back to a version of your best self. Or something like that. Schauffele’s up to No. 3 in the world and he’s undefeated as a father. Thus far “Victor” seems like a pretty fitting name for both father and son.

Jeeno Thitikul — again

From the LPGA’s perspective, it has to be a relief that this damn streak is over; streaks are fun and interesting, and parity is impressive, but in sports what’s far more fun and interesting are stars and players chasing dominance. In golf, 26 different winners in 26 different events starts to feel random. Thitikul finishing second-second-first and opening up her lead at World No. 1? That’s much more compelling.

Masters Marco

He’ll be coming to a PGA Tour event near you — and to a major championship with which you’re likely familiar. Marco Penge won the Spanish Open for his third DP World Tour title this year and guaranteed himself a Tour card for 2026.

Penge has been to the edge of status a couple times in his career — which has included an odd suspension and a crucial five-foot putt — but seems well positioned for success on the PGA Tour, given his immense ball speed and strong iron play. A good golf swing tends to travel well.

Chandler Blanchet — and the man he saved

The Korn Ferry Tour’s finale came to a dramatic close on Sunday — even though nobody actually moved in or out of the all-important top 20. But they sure came close. Chandler Blanchet knew he was already assured of a PGA Tour card when he teed it up on Thursday, but shooting 68-66 on the weekend to add a victory didn’t hurt, either. And it changed the fortunes of bubble boy Pontus Nyholm, who began and ended the week at No. 20 but would have gotten bumped to No. 21 had No. 54 Barend Botha — who began the final round in the lead — gone on to win. Instead Botha finished second, Blanchet improved to No. 2 on the Order of Merit and Nyholm held onto No. 20.

“I am a huge Chandler Blanchet fan,” he told a tour writer post-round.

NOT-WINNERS

But still…

Max Greyserman was pretty darn close. Again. Greyserman held a share of the Baycurrent’s 54-hole lead and was outplayed by Schauffele on the final day but came to his approach shot on the par-4 18th needing to hole it from 190something yards. He very nearly did.

The second-place result was the fifth of his PGA Tour career and his second consecutive runner-up at this event. Here’s what Greyserman had to say post-round:

“Yeah, I could take this a few different ways. ‘Another second’ would be one thought, ‘disappointed’ would be another thought, but also on the flip side I could say I played really well. I shot 65 on Sunday when I was tied for the lead and in the last group, so a lot of good. It’s like, I don’t really know how to feel because I’m obviously very disappointed, but it’s the PGA Tour, you need to play exceptional on a Sunday to win a golf tournament. I played great, but I just didn’t play good enough.”

That’s better said than I could, Max. Feels like he’ll be back in the mix soon.

And when Rico Hoey also gets in the mix again soon, remember we told you he was coming. Hoey has been a top-tier ball-striker for a long time but a long putter only for a short time. So far, so good: a T9 at the Procore and a T4 at the Baycurrent in three starts with the big flat stick.

There was also Collin Morikawa, who finished off his competitive season with a final-round 63 but admitted mixed emotions as he heads to an extended offseason.

“Look, this is my last tournament for the season and got a lot of work to do. It’s not really the way I wanted the year to end. I can look at the positives, but for right now I know what I need to fix and kind of tune up if I want to be the player that I know I can be.

“I mean, two things, I think we talked about it in the presser at the beginning of the week. One’s the putting, to really just kind of stick with one putter and just feel confident. Today I felt great. I felt like if I put myself on the greens I felt like I could make any putt. I need to get that feeling a little more often during the season. And two’s just kind of getting the body right to where I know I can hit my cuts. I know I played well today, but I think we’re good enough to where we can in a way fake it around golf courses. But I don’t want to do that, I want to have full control. When I watch some of these top guys and how they’re playing right now, it’s motivating for me to put in the work. It’s going to be a fun couple months heading into next year.”

SHORT HITTERS

5 golf stories, in brief.

1. TGL released its complete schedule for 2025. One curiosity I have: what’s the deal with the match on Jan. 6? Are players from The Bay and Atlanta Drive going to start their season with a Tuesday late-night flight to the Sentry, wherever it’ll be? And what was the plan if they’d played it in Hawaii?

2. Full Swing is coming back for a fourth season. That’s good news for fans of Team Europe — and for at least one of its commentators.

3. Tiger Woods announced a seventh back surgery, a lumbar disc replacement. We tracked down a particularly optimistic sports injury analyst, though, who said this procedure doesn’t actually have a very long recovery and that if he wanted to play, say, the PNC with his son Charlie, that’s not out of the question.

4. The PGA Tour Champions has officially canceled its Q-School. I’d like to unload a bunch more thoughts on this later this week, but here’s a deep dive on the decision courtesy of Adam Schupak at Golfweek.

5. There will be 20 new PGA Tour players coming in by way of the Korn Ferry Tour, and it’s worth getting to know ’em — from No. 1 (Johnny Keefer) to the tallest Tour pro yet (Christo Lamprecht, 6-foot-8) to the more modestly-sized Davis Chatfield (5-foot-5) and everyone in between. Full breakdown of those 20 here.

ONE SWING THOUGHT

Three, actually. From three pros contemplating the ends (or not-yet-ends) of their PGA Tour Champions careers.

Scott Dunlap, eyeing retirement: “You know, it’s always fun to compete but it hasn’t been fun to not play well. That’s why I’ll leave with a big smile on my face because it hasn’t really been what I would call ‘fun’ for a while. You know, more like a job. It always is a job, it’s what we do, but it’s fun to compete when you think you have a chance. But you’re a little broken and not really competitive and you’re just taking up a spot, you know it’s time to move on.”

Mark Walker, unsure on retirement: “[I’ll] just miss the competition, miss the guys out here. Competition mainly. That’s what gets you up in the morning, waking up and knowing you have a place to compete and test your game.”

Kirk Triplett, resisting retirement: “I’ve talked to a few guys that I always try and learn from, the people that come before, and to a man they say do not stop playing until your eligibility is up because you will miss it.”

ONE BIG QUESTION

What’s next for Jon Rahm?

It’s tough to categorize Jon Rahm’s season, which included LIV’s individual title but, for the first time in his professional career, didn’t include an individual victory. Still, we can agree on a few things: he played well and ridiculously consistently, with 13 top-11 finishes in 13 LIV starts. He also had a strong year at the majors, with three top-15 finishes. But given his lofty standards, it was a bittersweet year, with no victories and no major finish better than T7. It did have a happy ending, with a winning record at a victorious Ryder Cup and a final-round 65 to post a top 10 in his home Spanish Open. But now his season’s over — and his non-LIV future’s uncertain.

“I’m lucky to be able to go home now, have a preseason, be a father, be with my family, and well, if I see that it’s too much, then maybe I won’t do it next year, but I’m looking forward to it,” he told Ten Golf of his planned three-month offseason. That means no India, no Abu Dhabi, no Dubai. He expects his next tournament start to come the first week of February 2026 at LIV Riyadh.

The question, then, surrounds his future as a member of the DP World Tour. He and Legion XXIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton were suspended and fined, but their appeals were held until after the Ryder Cup. In the meantime, LIV has said they’ll stop paying its players’ DP World Tour fines. That means his future on the Euro circuit is uncertain, which means his future on Team Europe is uncertain, all while LIV’s future with world ranking points is uncertain. What’s going to happen with Jon Rahm, with LIV, with the DP World Tour, with the Ryder Cup, with golf’s establishment?

ONE THING TO WATCH

Rory goes to India.

This week marks the first-ever DP World Tour India Championship. It marks Rory McIlroy’s first-ever trip to India. He’ll be joined by several other Ryder Cup stars, too — Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland, Luke Donald and even American Ben Griffin.

This is a big deal for golf in India; most of these guys have never played here. It’s the biggest golf tournament in the history of the most populous country in the world. Bryson DeChambeau visited earlier this year and that was a big deal, but this tournament promises to be even bigger. Raj Khosla, president of Delhi Golf Club, said that calling this a watershed moment for golf in India is “the understatement of the year.” Outside of cricket it’s one of the country’s biggest sporting events ever. That’s very cool

Within the golf world it’s also a fascinating signal about the way McIlroy’s priorities have shifted and how he’s scheduling his seasons going forward.

Just three years ago when LIV was new on the scene, McIlroy stepped into the unofficial role of PGA Tour spokesman. He was the guy talking about mandatory appearances, about building up Signature Events, about getting guys to stay, about reshaping the Tour’s future.

But when the Framework Agreement came to pass and the golf world went into limbo and McIlroy got hung out to dry, something changed. He left the Tour board and in the years since his priorities and loyalties have changed, too. He’s skipped plenty of Siggies. He skipped a playoff event this season to help balance a worldwide schedule. And his appearance in India will be just the latest in a more global mindset.

He teased the idea of an Indian championship as early as January 2024. He’s talked more and more intently about national opens. He’s lauded the idea of a unified world tour. But he also seems to recognize that there’s no one tour that’s going to wrangle the world’s best players and its most meaningful events in the immediate future — so McIlroy’s doing it himself. He’s playing where he wants, when he wants. It would be naive to say he’s doing any of this for free; he’s a businessman. But it would also be cynical to say that he’s only doing it for the money. He cited another global superstar last month, citing the example he’d set going to different events later in his career:

“I had a chat with Roger Federer, I don’t know, a few years ago, sort of at the end of his career, and he was saying he wanted to go and play a lot of the places he could never play in his career. So some of the smaller 250-[level] events just because not a lot of people had never seen him play tennis before.”

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

The good people of Seattle love their Seahawks. But as a transplant I have to say that I find their Mariners fandom much more endearing; the baseball side of this fanbase doesn’t know what it means to win it all. Now, after a 15-inning epic and a hot start to the ALCS, they’re getting closer…

We’ll see you next week!

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

The post First came a 4-putt. Next? A miraculous comeback | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post Amidst Ryder Cup fallout, stars make big moves | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post Amidst Ryder Cup fallout, stars make big moves | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where the majors are long gone, the Ryder Cup is in the rearview and we’ve truly arrived at golf’s offseason — but people everywhere were still playing make-or-break golf tournaments this weekend. To the news!

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Ryder Cup stars back on their horses.

After last week’s Ryder Cup celebration, Robert MacIntyre said he’s not sure how he’ll back it up after another win this week.

“We’ll try our best,” MacIntyre said after firing a third consecutive 66 to win the Dunhill Links, marking his second victory in as many years in his homeland of Scotland.

MacIntyre was determined to show he’s got more in the tank when it comes to post-win revelry. He just may need a moment to recharge afterwards. He was, after all, an integral piece of the European Ryder Cup team that built a stunning margin over the first two days at Bethpage Black last week; the U.S. mounted a furious final-day charge but it wasn’t enough. MacIntyre played in the day’s final match and earned a half-point against Sam Burns to round out the 15-13 final score and finish his week at 1-1-1. After that? He planned to be an integral part of the celebration, too.

“I’m meant to be on a plane home tomorrow but I think Shane Lowry and I are getting lost in New York,” he said as the party began on Sunday night.

As fallout continues around the, uh, boisterousness of the home crowd, the away team continued its celebrations with even more top-tier golf. While most of the team took the week off, MacIntyre leaned into his unconventional prep for the Dunhill. It paid off.

“I’ve done everything against the book this week,” MacIntyre said with a smile. “From preparation, I pitched up Wednesday afternoon. But I know the golf courses. Played 12 holes on Wednesday. The diet has not been good this week; I can confirm that. I’ve eaten plenty of takeaways, fish and chips, plenty of others. But yeah, it’s been, yeah, sometimes when you are least expecting it things happen.”

He wasn’t the only one to head from Long Island to Fife; Tyrrell Hatton emerged as his top chaser and finished solo second, four shots back. This is a top tournament for Hatton, who has three wins. He also seems to play particularly well post-Ryder Cup; in three efforts the week following the event, he has finished T3, T2 and now solo second.

“I think the slightly more relaxed nature of this week plays a part. Playing the Ryder Cup the week before under such an intense microscope, your game gets lifted normally in those environments and I feel like I played some really good golf at times last week,” Hatton said pre-tournament. That proved prescient.

One Euro with arguably the most on the line stayed on the same side of the pond. It was an odd week for Rasmus Hojgaard, who was part of the winning side but went winless in two matches. He arrived at the Sanderson Farms physically and emotionally drained — but also in need of a strong week as he seeks to improve his PGA Tour status for 2026.

“Yeah, I’m in a situation right now where I don’t have my card secured, so that’s obviously a big part of this year. Again, get myself back into top 50 in the world is a big thing for me as well,” Hojgaard said ahead of the tournament.

“I think for most of the guys that were there last week, it was a completely different environment, and especially for me. I’ve never experienced such a stressful and pressure situation as that,” he added. “I think there’s certainly things in my game that I can improve, and that’s one of the things that was so good from that week is learning, like, under the intense pressure, what part of the game needs improvement, and that’s what I’m going to take with me from that week.”

The Sanderson offered a less intense but also distinctly different type of pressure, and Hojgaard responded with a Sunday 65 that vaulted him to T3, sending him to No. 75 in the FedEx Cup and essentially guaranteeing he’ll stay inside the top 100 that earn full cards for next season.

Hojgaard was keyed in on MacIntyre’s win — suggesting Team Europe’s bond has carried past last weekend.

“I watched [the Dunhill] this morning at breakfast so I’m super happy for Bob,” he said. “Even Tyrrell, I think he finished second. Good showing from the boys there.”

The good showings continue.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Robert MacIntyre won the Dunhill Links Championship, the iconic DP World Tour event that spans three of golf’s most epic links courses: The Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. Weather reduced the event to three rounds but MacIntyre lapped the field anyway, winning by four thanks to a 66-66-66 week.

Steven Fisk emerged as the champion after a back-and-forth battle with Garrick Higgo on the final nine at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Fisk has been a talented player since his parents opened a par-3 course when he was 4 or 5 years old — but he needed a few things to line up to capture his first PGA Tour win. He’s been listening to “Putting Out of Your Mind,” by Dr. Bob Rotella, on audiobook. He’d circled this event knowing he’d be putting on bermudagrass, his preferred surface. And he said he felt a few putts pushed in by Grayson Murray, whose caddie Jay Green now works for Fisk, or by Fisk’s father, who passed away earlier this year.

“I had a couple of helpers out there. I miss him very much, and I know he’d be really proud of how I played all week and especially today to keep my composure and just kind of go about my business the best way I know how,” Fisk said. “I’d like to think that he knew this day would happen.”

Youmin Hwang won the LOTTE Championship in Hawaii. Hwang, a 22-year-old Korean LPGA member who was in the field on a sponsor invite, fired a final-round 5-under 67 to edge out Hyo Joo Kim by a single shot. Hwang’s win also marks the 26th LPGA event in 2025 without a single repeat winner; there have technically been 27 winners in 26 events because of the two-player Dow Championship, which shatters all records.

Adrien Dumont De Chassart won the Compliance Solutions Championship at a tour-record 33 under par, getting gradually “worse” as the week went on by shooting 61-61-64-65 to win by seven. The Belgian 25-year-old also leapt from No. 26 in the KFT’s Order of Merit to clinch his PGA Tour card for next season; just 20 make it. It’ll mark his return to the Tour.

“It’s going to be nice to be able to enjoy my offseason, get back in the gym, work hard and just get ready for 2026 on the PGA Tour,” he said. Now that I know most courses on the PGA Tour, it will be a little easier to prepare. Really looking forward to it.”

Anne Chen won the Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells, shooting 68-64-69-65 and then outlasting Sophia Schubert on their fifth playoff hole. Chen’s win was her first as a pro, boosting her to No. 11 on the Epson’s season-long race and safely inside the top 15 that make next year’s LPGA Tour. She also became, remarkably, the fourth Duke Blue Devil to win on the Epson this summer.

Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey won for the first time on the PGA Tour Champions at the Constellation Furyk and Friends, capping off a season in which he Monday qualified (Tuesday, in this case) four times and now has full status for 2026 — plus this week’s SAS Championship.

“I grinded for a long time, and finally I can say that grinding and hard work has paid off,” Gainey said post-win. “Man, a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”

And Jacob Hillman of the world-renowned Mt. Greylock Regional High School rallied from five shots down and made a clutch birdie at No. 18 to win the Berkshire Classic.

News

NOT-WINNERS

But still kinda winners.

On Sunday, the Korn Ferry Tour finalized its 75 players who will earn or retain full status for the 2026 season; next week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship will finalize the top 20 who graduate to the PGA Tour. There were some nail-biting moments on that cut line, none tighter than Blades Brown, the teenage sensation who has continually answered the bell and finished at No. 75 exactly.

James Nicholas finished T3, his best KFT result, to jump from No. 78 to No. 62. Dylan Wu started at No. 81 and finished T12 to jump to No. 71. Cole Hammer‘s T15 was enough to boost him from No. 79 to No. 72. Samuel Anderson was the final pro to play his way inside the 75 cutoff; he bogeyed 15 and 16 as part of a bogey-free back nine and finished at No. 70.

Eight players have officially locked up their PGA Tour cards for 2026:

1. Johnny Keefer
2. Austin Smotherman
3. Neal Shipley
4. Emilio Gonzalez
5. Hank Lebioda
6. Adrien Dumont de Chassart
7. Chandler Blanchet
8. S.H. Kim

Meanwhile the Epson Tour has finalized its 15 players graduating to the LPGA Tour for 2026 (see more on each pro here):

1. Melanie Green
2. Yana Wilson
3. Gina Kim
4. Sophia Schubert
5. Erika Hara
6. Briana Chacon
7. Riley Smyth
8. Laetitia Beck
9. Minji Kang
10. Hailee Cooper
11. Anne Chen
12. Isabella Fierro
13. Michelle Zhang
14. Carla Tejedo Mulet
15. Laney Frye

SHORT HITTERS

Five stories that grabbed my attention this week.

1. Geno Bonnalie, one of the PGA Tour’s most beloved loopers, is back on the bag — not for longtime employer Joel Dahmen but for Isaiah Salinda. So far, no good: 70-77 for an MC at the Sanderson. But it’s great to see Geno back.

2. The 2026 TGL schedule has been released. I cannot believe this is happening again — but at the same time, I’m glad it is? Here’s more on the when, where and Tiger Woods of it all.

3. Fallout continued from the Ryder Cup, with apologies left and right, including from the event emcee and the PGA CEO — plus some musing on green speeds.

4. LIV Golf’s financials for 2024 are fascinating to pore over, if not particularly rosey.

5. Rodeo Dunes, the latest epic project from Coore-Crenshaw and Bandon founder Mike Keiser, is coming together and our Josh Sens was there to check things out…

ONE SWING THOUGHT

From Max Homa, on putting speed:

This came after a Saturday 64 en route to Max Homa‘s T18 finish; he may not be “back,” but this marks his third top 20 in his last six PGA Tour starts.

“I thought my speed was a lot better. I putted for a while yesterday afternoon and kind of just made a little pact with myself that the only thing I would think about was the pace, even on the short ones.

“Stroke has felt so good, and I felt like yesterday missed a few early and started just thinking about my putting stroke too much. Speed got worse, and I don’t think there’s any technical flaw in there. I was really happy with the speed. That’s how you’re going to make long ones, typically. I thought for the most part today it was really consistent.”

ONE BIG QUESTION

Where will the PGA Tour start its 2026 season?

So far all we know for sure is that the Sentry will not take place at Kapalua, which has long served as the annual starting point for the PGA Tour season. This is a loss for Kapalua itself and for the island of Maui, which sees a boost in tourism during and around the event. It’s a loss for the players, who enjoy starting their year at arguably the schedule’s most scenic site. And it’s a loss for Tour fans who have grown to appreciate the primetime escapist viewing that comes from watching the season begin again in a faraway time zone — and climate.

Now the question turns to where the Sentry will relocate. From what we’re hearing at the Monday Finish, there’s been no formal decision made. But it sounds like possibilities include a relocation to southern California — think Torrey Pines, which filled in as Genesis host last season, or a golf course in golf-mad Palm Springs — or Florida, like returning tournament host Trump Doral. So where are they headed? We’ll do some more digging and keep you posted.

ONE THING TO WATCH

More Shane Lowry.

There is, the chant goes, only oneeeee Shane Lowry. Here he is in a past episode of ‘Warming Up’ that I’m inclined to plug in the wake of his Ryder Cup heroics.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

The weather has still been so good here that I’ve just booked a tee time for my annual fall trek to Chambers Bay, which is just a glorious hour south of the city and the site of the PGA Tour event I’ve proposed to new CEO Brian Rolapp. (TBD, to say the least, but he definitely acted curious, even if I’m not sure he’d ever heard of Chambers before I mentioned it.)

It’s also the time of year when the uncommitted golfer is largely weeded out. The fairweather crowd will either stick to the more predictable options of “heading south” or “not playing golf.” Time for the mudders to shine…

We’ll see you next week.

The post Amidst Ryder Cup fallout, stars make big moves | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post 10 Ryder Cup scenes, inspiring to ugly, told the story at Bethpage Black appeared first on Golf.

The post 10 Ryder Cup scenes, inspiring to ugly, told the story at Bethpage Black appeared first on Golf.

I spent the week at Bethpage Black covering this year’s Ryder Cup. It was, at different moments, inspiring, ugly, deafening, silent, raucous, joyous, tense and absolutely thrilling.

After a day to reflect (and a full night’s sleep!) I flipped back through my notebook. Here are 10 scenes I’ll take with me.

1. “There’s only oneeeee Shane Lowry”

The songs still stuck in my head tell the story.

Europe will own the soundtrack of the Ryder Cup for the foreseeable future; it’s hard to imagine that advantage flipping unless American golf fans start spending a lot more time in European soccer (or football, choose your own adventure) stadiums. It doesn’t matter that the Ryder Cup only comes along every two years; Team Europe’s fans can launch into song and get full buy-in from the surrounding crowd before they reach the second line. And don’t take my word for it. Just ask Justin Thomas:

“Yeah, the chants — I don’t know how the Europeans do it. It’s really impressive, to be honest. I don’t know if there’s like a group text of 10,000 people that they just come up with these things, but they’re pretty awesome and impressive,” he said early in the week. He added this detail:

“Our daughter’s name is Molly, and the amount of times I had that Tommy Fleetwood chant stuck in my head and both Jill and I have caught ourselves singing ‘Mol-ly,’ right along to the ‘Tom-my’ song…”

The Tom-my Fleet-wood chant

That’s a good place to start, with the anthem of the Cup’s highest points-getter, Tommy Fleetwood, whose catchy chant just goes:

Tom-my.
Tom-my, Tom-my.
Tom-my, Tom-my.
Tom-my, Tom-my FLEET-WOOD.

And then it goes again. And again. Fans deployed the same chant early and often for the similarly syllabic Ro-ry Mc-Il-roy, though you have to elide his surname a bit.

Rory McIlroy — he’s in your head

Speaking of McIlroy, this was the loudest song (and most layered in meaning — he was in everybody’s head). To the tune of the Cranberries’ “Zombie”:

He’s in your heeaaaad
In your heeeeead
Ro-o-ry, Ro-o-ry, Ro-o-ry, ry, ry

Shane Lowry’s song

And then there was the emotional heartbeat of the team — and the man who retained the Cup:

There’s only oneeeee Shane Lowry!
Oneeeee Shane Lowry!

Europe’s on fire…

Finally there was this now-classic, which echoed around Marco Simone in 2023, to the tune of Gala’s ‘Freed From Desire’:

Europe’s on fire
USA is terrified
Europe’s on fire
USA is terrified
Europe’s on fire
USA is terrified
Europe’s on fire
Hoo!
Na na na na na na na na na na na na…

The song absolutely rips. It has an interesting history; it’s from the 90s but has seen a resurgence in the last decade as an anthem across European football (or soccer) stadiums (and elsewhere) for years, so it’s hardly a Ryder Cup exclusive. But when I went back to read those original lyrics, they seem particularly fitting for this European team’s mindset…

…my love has got no money
he’s got his strong beliefs
Want more and more
people just want more and more
Freedom and love
what he’s looking for…

A few more European sing-song highlights, most (all?) of ’em borrowed from other stadiums:

As the first-tee crowd got quiet:
Is this a library

As Europe built a massive lead:
Caaan we play you
Can we play you
Can we play you every week

As Europe got five points up:
Shoes offfff
If you’re five points up

As the Americans started filing out:
Is there a fire drill

The home crowd, on the other hand, had a few notable misfires, including:
-A series of cringey first-tee chants
-An overreliance on “U-S-A,” which inevitably peters out if there’s nothing really happening
-Their emcee getting booted after chiming in on a round of “f–k you Rory”
-On Friday and Saturday mornings, AFTER the cringey first-tee chants, the first-tee music was cut off for long stretches beginning at 7 a.m. ET to avoid interrupting NBC’s ‘Breakfast at Bethpage’ show, hosted by Colin Jost, which was airing live off the right side of the tee. This was a bit of a vibe-killer.

Worth noting: The best first-tee vibes for the home team actually came on Sunday, despite the U.S. team down seven points. The sun was out, the stands were full, the music was blasting. The peak came when Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy came out to the Killers’ Mr. Brightside, which seemed to hit a real sweet spot for the crowd.

2. The enraged, caged fans

By now you’ve read and probably watched videos of the Saturday afternoon atmosphere on course, particularly around Rory McIlroy’s group, so you hardly need my confirmation. But here it is anyway: yeah, it was nasty. There are two lines you shouldn’t cross as a golf fan — don’t get personal when someone’s family is literally right there and don’t interfere with someone’s actual golf shot — and fans raced across both. I joined the McIlroy/Lowry vs. Thomas/Young group near the end of the front nine and when I arrived, everyone who’d been walking with them — families, vice captains, support staff, media members — looked a bit shell-shocked by just how toxic the atmosphere had gotten. Things got marginally better once security presence increased, but it was still a different tenor than anything I’ve heard in the better part of a decade in this job.

Why was it so bad? I think it’s fair to start with [gestures at the comment section of any post on any form of social media] the general temperature of our cultural discourse and the way we’ve gotten use to talking to each other. But it’s also worth unpacking the mechanics of why this match and this session, specifically. I was a hole ahead of this group at one point and started to understand things a bit more clearly.

The home team was getting drubbed, so fans didn’t have much to cheer for. There were tens of thousands of fans on course and only four matches, which meant people weren’t able to see much and they were on edge. A segment of those fans had been drinking all day. And McIlroy’s group came through first, which meant that every hole he and Lowry arrived at, they encountered fans frothing at the mouth; they’d been waiting for two hours for this moment and got ready to unleash the nastiest invectives they could think of. McIlroy is the most famous of the Euros and has lived his life in the public eye; he also likes to give it back to the fans as he is, in his words, “quite an impulsive character.” As a result he can end up as both lightning rod and blast shield.

Sunday was a far happier scene because none of the above was true. Fans didn’t start drinking early in the morning given the first tee time was at noon, both sides had something cheer for, there were 11 matches on the course instead of just four, Rory McIlroy was third out instead of first, etc. etc. There was still plenty of hostility. But I’m sure there are lessons to take from the mechanics of the matches that could limit the level of toxicity going forward.

3. The thrown beer

I was standing directly behind the 17th green on Saturday some 20 minutes after that McIlroy / Lowry match finished when Rory and his wife Erica came racing back down the hill to cheer on the Euros in the remaining matches — and to celebrate with the European fans. One particular group of supporters was in full celebration mode, embracing the fact that, with a day still to go, the Cup was essentially already theirs. (Or so it seemed at the time.) McIlroy dished out a few high-fives to a group of revelers who’d been dancing and singing and then, as he turned away, something happened: a drink came flying from the crowd, ricocheting off the front of Erica’s hat.

It was clearly a jarring moment for Erica and for Rory and for the entire Euro support staff, and with good reason — as bad as these personal insults were, “we’re throwing beers” marks an acceleration to an entirely different level of hostility. To their credit, nobody escalated the scene and they moved on, no doubt disturbed. But here’s the thing, and I’m cautious to even bring it up because I don’t want to be dismissive of the rest of scene: It’s actually still a little tough to tell how intentional this was. I was standing with my coworker James Colgan and we rewatched the video, zoomed, slowed down, over and over. The drink hadn’t technically been thrown; it had been slapped out of somebody’s hand from the middle of that Euro contingent. That leaves us with two possibilities:

a. The beer was hit intentionally in the McIlroys’ direction. This seemed pretty likely in real time and still seems pretty likely given the way it flew directly at them; it would be a strange coincidence for an accidental hit.

b. The beer was launched either by accident or just with excitement but wasn’t intended to fly towards either Erica or Rory.

Which was it? I genuinely have no idea. I don’t want to downplay the fact that somebody appeared to have tossed a beer at a player and/or his wife. I also think it’s possible it was an unfortunate accident. Does it matter? Yes and no. There was so much other nastiness happening around them that it’s not like this was a make-or-break incident. Still, it’s nice to stick to the truth, where we can. And the truth is that, in this case, I’m not quite sure — even standing right there.

4. Europe’s response

First there was Europe’s on-course response; their play showed that poking the bear isn’t always the right move. McIlroy and Lowry responded by ham-and-egging their way to a fist-pumping, fiery victory, and behind them Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose took it to the high-wattage American duo of Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau in a match that included a near dust-up between players and caddies and about a thousand feet of European made putts. They finished the session 3-1 to open up a seven-point lead on the way to singles.

Then there was the off-course response. McIlroy was measured (for once) in his comments post-round when asked if things had gone too far outside the ropes.

“It’s not for me to say. People can be their own judge of whether they took it too far or not,” he said. “I’m just proud of us for being able to win today with what we had to go through.”

Lowry said he’d embraced it all.

“Yeah, it was intense. It was like something I’ve never experienced. But this is what I live for,” he said. “This is it. This is, like, honestly, the reason I get up in the morning, for stuff like this. This is what I love doing. I love being a part of this team.”

Rose, too, wanted the focus on the match and the quality of the golf. “Yeah, I’m really disappointed that this has to be the talking point at the end of a really cool match. The level of golf was incredible,” he said.

“Very happy with how strong our team is, the firepower they have, the intensity. It kind of the anti-fragile mentality,” Donald added. “Things got tougher out there, and it fired them up even more. They were able to get better through those difficult moments out there. That is what makes me most proud as a captain, just their ability to take the punches and come back even stronger.”

It was the perfect response. They didn’t cry foul — even though they would have been justified in doing so. Instead they focused on themselves and the pride they had in each other.

In the words of the slightly less subtle Curt Schilling: “I’m not sure I can think of any scenario more enjoyable than making 55,000 people from New York shut up”.

5. Scottie’s pick-me-up

It was unfathomable to see World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who’s been winning at an historic clip, start the Ryder Cup 0-4. On Sunday, after he’d picked up a point against Rory McIlroy, he admitted just how tough it had been on him, too. But it was telling to hear how much he’d leaned on his teammates Saturday night to move past it.

“This week did not go how I anticipated it going for myself, and I’m a little bit bummed, but these guys on this team, they picked me up when I needed it last night, and we’ve got a great team,” he said, choking up after logging his first point on Sunday night.

Scheffler expanded on that answer in the team’s press conference.

“I can’t tell you how much I needed these guys this week, and it’s just a really special group,” he said. “It was probably one of the lowest moments of my career, but it turned out to be one of the most special just because I’ve got great friends in this room and I was really proud to be battling with these guys for three days.”

6. Xander’s pump-up speech

Enough American players referenced this in their post-round interviews that it must have left an impression. On Saturday night, down an historic margin, Keegan Bradley delivered a pump-up speech — and Xander Schauffele added a clear message: Play to the whistle.

From DeChambeau: “I just thought back to what Xander said: ‘It’s not over till the whistle blows.’ And I wasn’t willing to give up for this team. 

From Cameron Young, after his win: We said we’d play to the whistle, and it looks like the guys are doing that now.

From Justin Thomas:

7. Bryson’s run

As the U.S. began its impossible charge on Sunday afternoon, Young made an inspired birdie putt at 18 to win 1 up, and Thomas made another to also win 1 up, and DeChambeau made a clutch par putt to complete a 5-down comeback. And then, as the rest of the U.S. contingent hopped into golf carts to rejoin the action some holes back, DeChambeau waved off a cart driver and took a full-adrenaline sprint down the length of the par-4 18th. It felt like a release of sorts, a moment of relief after days of tension and disappointment. Now the comeback was on, there was hope in his heart and there was the satisfaction of knowing he’d done what he could to help.

The good news is his run was mostly downhill. But 400-plus yards is a long way to go at full speed, so when DeChambeau hit the uphill back by the 18th tee box, he finally accepted the help from a passing cart.

8. Viktor’s neck

I’ve seen various viral posts basically implying that Viktor Hovland was faking the injury that kept him out of Sunday singles, some of them joking but some presumably not. Whatever you may think of the Envelope Rule (which at this point probably is antiquated, and also seems particularly silly in this exact situation, when one side needs a massive comeback and every half-point is precious), there’s no way that Viktor Hovland would have voluntarily sat out of a singles match. After all, before he was a last-minute scratch on Saturday afternoon he’d played 13 of a possible 13 sessions in his Ryder Cup career.

Also, Hovland was out supporting Team Europe on Sunday afternoon and a couple times I saw people wish him well and he’d do the thing you do when you’ve messed up your neck where you stiffly turn your entire body just to rotate a few degrees left. Get well soon, Vik.

9. Erica’s defense

There were countless meaningful moments in the European winner’s press conference, but as always it felt like McIlroy was the main character; he fielded the most questions, his eyes tearing up more than once as he basked in the satisfaction of a sixth Ryder Cup win.

Since the 2023 Ryder Cup McIlroy has made it clear what means the most to him as he nears 20 years as a professional; that short list includes winning at meaningful venues, winning another major (preferably the Masters) winning an away Ryder Cup. This year he won at Pebble Beach and at TPC Sawgrass against big-time PGA Tour fields. He won at Augusta National, completing the career Grand Slam in the process. He added on an emotional win at his home Irish Open. And then he went 3-1-1 at Bethpage Black to win his sixth Ryder Cup.

But it was a particularly touching moment to hear him talk about his wife Erica, given she was the target of so much abuse at the hands of the fans. McIlroy plays golf at a superhuman level and he’s been a celebrity for more than half his life, but this was a particularly human moment as he spoke about Erica and his teammates chimed in behind him.

McIlroy: “It should be off-limits, but obviously it wasn’t this week. Erica is fine. She’s a very, very strong woman. You know, she handled everything this week with class and poise and dignity like she always has. I love her — and we’re going to have a good time celebrating tonight.

Justin Rose: “Can I just pick up on that, if you don’t mind, because I actually had no idea that Erica had a beer thrown at her yesterday, so fair play to Erica. She didn’t bring that to the team room. We didn’t make that a big deal. That’s news to me. That says a lot about the strength of Erica and everybody on this team.”

Shane Lowry: “I was out there for two days with Erica McIlroy, and the amount of abuse that she received was astonishing and the way she was out there supporting her husband and supporting her team was unbelievable, and kudos to her for that.”

10. Luke’s shampoo

I’ll start this final point by acknowledging that every point won in this and every Ryder Cup was won by superior golf shots and by fewer strokes taken. There’s no crowd chant that can teach you to stuff an iron shot to five feet under unfathomable pressure. Also, the U.S. absolutely dominated the singles session and nearly pulled off the most improbable comeback in the event’s history.

WITH THAT SAID, it’s hard to look at the decades of European success in this event, particularly the team portions, and wave it away as randomness or nonsense. They’re better at the little stuff. And they’re bought in on the idea that the little stuff is the big stuff. Y’know who believes that? Luke Donald, who Bradley (among others) called the greatest captain the European side has ever seen. Does this somehow mean they make more putts? It’s hard to say for sure but, as silly as it sounds, you certainly can’t dismiss the idea.

“My job is literally to give these guys a better chance to win. It can be as simple as some very small things,” Donald said. Those small things?

“I’ll give you an example. At the hotel rooms this week, the doors to our hotel rooms had a big crack that let in light. We brought things that covered the light. We put different shampoos that had a better smell. We changed the bedding because the beds weren’t very good, and they just had sheets, and we created much nicer beds so guys could sleep. They could have more energy. Those are just little things.”

One final bit of Donald philosophy:

“That’s a big part of my captaincy is to create an environment where these guys are having the best weeks of their lives, honestly. We’ll always remember this.”

Based on the bus rides, I think he’s right…

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

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The post 10 red-hot Ryder Cup storylines — and whether they’re real appeared first on Golf.

The post 10 red-hot Ryder Cup storylines — and whether they’re real appeared first on Golf.

It’s officially Ryder Cup Week. That means one massive, end-of-summer golf extravaganza before the top pros in the world (mostly) put their clubs away for the season and we (mostly) do too. It means golf fans’ biggest, best chance to lean into match play, team play and team match play. And it means overanalyzing everything, from golf-ball type to rough length to the composition of each side’s rain suit.

So what are this year’s biggest storylines — and are they real?! Or pure tabloid fodder? Let’s dive in and judge for ourselves.

1. Keegan didn’t pick himself.

The storyline: U.S. captain Keegan Bradley played well enough this season that he could have reasonably picked himself for the 12-man American roster. He ended qualifying at No. 11 in points and advanced metrics had him around there, too; appointing himself to his own squad would have been justified and it would have fulfilled his career dream to return to Ryder Cup competition. Instead Keegan passed on Keegan; he selected six other captain’s picks with relatively comparable resumes and turned his focus to captaining full time.

Is this real? Yeah, this is real. 10 out of 10 real. Bradley would have been the first player-captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963; it’s essentially not supposed to happen in the modern era, given the demands of the job. So if he’d played his way onto the team — or chosen himself — it would have been a big, big deal. Especially because nobody loves the Ryder Cup more than Bradley. Double especially because nobody loves Bethpage more than Bradley. He earned some serious respect from his team by making this sacrifice. But he also acknowledged on Monday that he can’t quite kick that alternate reality, even though he believes he made the only choice:

“I’ve thought about it every second,” Bradley said. “But I’ve also thought about how impossible it would be. I was picked to do this job as captain, and there’s been certain things that I’ve done during the week or lead-up that if I was playing, I don’t think I could have done at the level that I needed to do them at.

“I catch myself every now and then looking down the fairway, seeing the guys walk down the fairway and think how badly I’d like to do that, and how badly I’d want to be in the group with Scottie Scheffler and seeing him play and being his teammate. But I feel like I’ve been called for a bigger cause here, to help our guys get ready to play and play at the highest level.

“But in the back of my mind, I’m always thinking, ‘I could have been out there.’

“But ultimately, I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed being the captain and how I’ve enjoyed not having to worry about getting to sleep and getting my rest or how I haven’t had to think about what time I’m going to go practice or meet my coach and then meet the guys. It simplified things a lot for me.”

One particularly interesting piece of potential second-guessing: Will the Americans miss Bradley the player? Speaking of which…

2. Your team will lose because your captain does something questionable and/or stupid.

The storyline: This isn’t specific to this year’s Cup — it’s just a time-honored Ryder Cup classic. After all, there’s little that sports fans love more than blaming coaches, and in golf we very rarely get that opportunity. At the Ryder Cup, though? It’s unusual that the losing captain escapes unscathed — triply true if that losing captain is at home. Hal Sutton is still well known for his Tiger-Phil pairing debacle. Tom Watson is still well known for his press-conference dressing-down at the hands of Phil Mickelson

Is this real? Unlikely. Let’s call it 3 out of 10. Monday’s opening press conference was a reminder of what Bradley and European captain Luke Donald have in common: competence. Each is earnest, thoughtful and seems fully committed to the task at hand. Simply put, we’re unlikely to get the dose of complete buffoonery that we traditionally get from leadership on at least one side. With that said, this is more than 1 out of 10 because if the Americans lose, it’ll still be open season on their chaotic process. Speaking of which…

3. Your team will lose because your captain’s picks were all wrong.

The storyline: There are three main categories of Ryder Cup second-guessing: pairings, picks and general vibes. Picks make the easiest marks, especially with the power of hindsight: you picked that bum?! He didn’t score a point!

Is this real? Usually? Yes. This year? Unlikely. Let’s call it another 3 out of 10.

Europe’s captain’s picks were chalk in several different ways:

1. Donald recreated his exact team from 2023, swapping one twin for another and keeping all other things equal.

2. After the six automatic picks he chose Nos. 7-11 on the points list, plus Jon Rahm, who’s inarguably one of the best players in the world.

And

3. It would have been genuinely difficult to figure out who to boot from the list; in addition to Rahm, Nos. 9-11 on the points list (Aberg, Hovland, Fitzpatrick) are playing some of Europe’s best golf.

On the American side, Bradley avoided the most obvious bit of second-guessing by passing on himself. (Maverick McNealy made a reasonable case for his inclusion, but hardly enough to get out your pitchforks.) If the U.S. team comes out flat, perhaps they’ll wish they could tap Bradley in for Friday four-ball. But I don’t foresee much grousing here.

4. The Americans are greedy; they only care about money.

The storyline: The U.S. team is getting paid more this year than they ever have — and with more freedom to spend it as they wish. The PGA of America is giving each player $500,000, of which $300,000 is designated for charity and $200,000 is for their personal use. Eleven of the 12 guys on the team made at least $6.8 million this season (we can talk on the side about starting a GoFundMe for Xander Schauffele, who hauled in just $3.4 mil), so this stipend is unlikely to be make-or-break for their personal finances. But it’s exactly the sort of thing fans and tabloids will jump on because the Europeans get no comparable personal financial reward.

Is this real? Yes and no. Let’s call it 7 out of 10. Is it reasonable that the U.S. players are getting paid? Hell yeah. If I were a player asked about it I would tell a reporter to Google the PGA of America’s $10,000 VIP tickets, which have nearly sold out. I would gesture in the direction of the tournament’s over-the-top corporate hospitality setups. Clearly somebody’s making money on this — shouldn’t the players everybody’s coming to see cash in, too?

On the other hand, Europe can claim a level of purity, superiority and selflessness by staying out of the paid-to-play controversy. European reporters will eagerly write home about the greedy Americans and their fans can seize on this exact topic — even if the end result is just that American players are mostly going to just give a little more money to charity. In summary, whether or not this should be real, it will feel very real. And Luke Donald isn’t exactly leaning away from that storyline, either. Here’s what he had to say about asking his players on the subject:

“This came up and I wanted to get ahead of it. I talked to the 12 guys in Rome when it looked like the U.S. were going to do something different with payments and every one of them was like, ‘We don’t want to. This isn’t a week to get paid.’ We have such a strong purpose in this team in what we play for,” he said. “And to be honest we reinvest some of that money back into the experience of these guys. I feel like if you have those experiences that you remember for the rest of your life, that’s worth more than a couple hundred thousand dollars in the back of your pocket. So for me I was very proud of the guys. The ideals of how this Ryder Cup was set up back in the ’20s by Samuel Ryder, I think he would have been proud too.”

5. New York fans are going to make this a disaster.

The storyline: It’s Long Island, baby! This is just down the road from where Greg Norman challenged a heckler to a fight. This is the golf course where Sergio Garcia took plenty of fan abuse — for his waggles, for his complaints, for his challenge to Tiger Woods — and lashed back. And those were just at little old major championships; at the Ryder Cup, fans always turn things up to 11. This year things are expected to go much further.

Is this real? Yeah, probably. Let’s go 7 out of 10. The atmosphere should be insane, there’s no sport where so many people are quite as close to the players as in golf, and the difference between a typical PGA Tour event to the Ryder Cup will make it especially jarring for competitors. Counterpoint, though: the visiting Euros are an especially likable bunch. The Garcia-Poulter-Westwood squads of yesteryear were ripe targets for American fans. I don’t see things getting personal with Viktor Hovland in the same way.

6. Patrick Cantlay’s hat controversy returns.

The storyline: The fact that Cantlay didn’t wear a hat ended up at the center of the competitive story of the 2023 Ryder Cup — even if it arguably should have failed the “is-this-real” storyline test.

Is this real? I’m guessing this will dissipate early. Let’s guess 2 out of 10. I’d bet No-Hat Pat goes lid on this time just to avoid any sort of sideshow. But if the U.S. team needs a rally, maybe he’ll turn back the clock with a rally no-cap of sorts.

7. The Ryder Cup is broken.

The storyline: For the last several decades, home teams have dominated the Ryder Cup. That’s especially true these last five Cups; the home team has won comfortably each time. Sure, the Americans blew a big lead in Sunday singles in 2012, but since then the Europeans won by five points in 2014, the Americans won by six in 2016, the Europeans won by seven in 2018 and the Americans throttled Europe by 10 in 2021 before Europe backed things down to a more reasonable five-point win in 2023.

Is this real? No. It’s not! Zero out of 10. Sure, the dynamics seem to have shifted. The home team keeps winning. Sunday singles could use a closer contest. But it’s also interesting in a different way now that winning on the road is such a tough challenge. The pressure is on the Americans to hold serve given they’ve lost on home soil three times (2012, 2004, 1995) since their most recent road win (1993). Put another way: the U.S is 3-2 on home soil this century; that’s hardly a guarantee. The Ryder Cup lives on.

8. We’re getting Rory vs. Bryson on another massive stage.

The storyline: We had the 2024 U.S. Open, which ended in heroics for DeChambeau and heartbreak for McIlroy. We had the 2025 Masters, where McIlroy walked away with the Grand Slam and DeChambeau left miffed. (We also had that Crypto Showdown which has largely faded into the ether.) Now we’ve got some Bryson-Rory trash talk heading into what promises to be a mega-charged environment? Hell yeah.

Is this real? It could be! Let’s go an optimistic 8 out of 10. These are two of the best five or so golfers in the world and they’re likely the two most polarizing, too — we promise to get fireworks on both sides. On the other hand, the unknowns of the Ryder Cup mean we can’t guarantee that they’ll end up opposite each other in any sessions, never mind Sunday singles.

9. Foursomes is everything.

The storyline: That home-team advantage thing? It’s mostly due to one format. In foursomes, which you may know as “alternate shot,” the home team has a preposterous 36.5 to 11.5 advantage. In four-ball and singles, on the other hand? Just 63.5 to 56.5.

Is this real? It sure has been. Does that mean it will continue to be? I have no idea. The closest thing I have to an explanation is that alternate shot is the trickiest and most awkward of the formats, and the discomfort of playing in front of a hostile crowd would exacerbate that. But it also seems unlikely that the home team will keep winning at this rate. I have no idea how to score this under the real-o-meter I invented, but foursomes is by far the most fun format of the Cup so let’s call it a 6 out of 10.

10. This is inexperience vs. camaraderie.

The storyline: Keegan Bradley has done what appears to be an admirable job of rallying his troops. He got them to Napa and showed up as support staff and dinner host. He even got them to the Bethpage first tee on Monday for what was essentially a start-of-week team huddle, where they listened to the national anthem and saw through what has been his vision for a year-plus. This team seems to be coming together.

With that said, the U.S. team still faces an uphill battle to match the Europeans in team chemistry. In 2023 they attributed their success in large part to their closeness, and now they’re two years closer.

“It’s a very similar team, which is unusual, never happened in the history of our Ryder Cup teams in Europe, to have 11 come back. So we have a lot of cohesion,” Donald said.

The U.S., on the other hand, has the on-paper strokes-gained advantage but also has just six returning players from 2023 and four Ryder Cup rookies.

Is this real? It’s definitely real. 8 out of 10 real. We just don’t know what it means yet. The U.S. has the best player in the world in Scottie Scheffler. It has a better team, top to bottom, based on stroke-play success this season. It also has a newer, less experienced team with guys like J.J. Spaun and Ben Griffin about to step into big-time spots. And there’s no faking what Europe has put together. This is a real and very interesting dynamic.

But here’s the thing: camaraderie doesn’t always beat inexperience. The 2021 European team at Whistling Straits was tight-knit, too, and they got drubbed. Bradley chose this team on its merits; if they play to their potential and lean on a friendly home crowd this could be yet another dominant home victory.

Next Monday, we’ll have a much better sense.

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