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GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Talking us through it.

On Sunday, Joel Dahmen kicked away a PGA Tour event, the Corales Puntacana Championship. He led after the first round. He led after the second round. He led after the third round. He even led after bogeying the 16th hole on Sunday. Then he missed a two-footer for par at No. 17 — and then bogeyed 18 to lose by one. If you’re like me, you were watching anxiously with gritted teeth and a sort of permanent wince; at the Monday Finish we appreciate that golf’s cruelty is part of its beauty but we have a tough time watching it in action.

Still, it was what Dahmen did after that left an even stronger impression: He spoke. It wasn’t a long interview, less than five minutes, but it left a strong impression, making the rounds on social media and serving as an example of why, as an athlete, the moments you most want to skip media may actually be the times you can benefit the most from talking.

I should say that I don’t think Joel was trying to “go viral” or do anything other than what he’s always done: Be honest and be himself. Still, it’s worth focusing for a moment on why people responded to this. Three quick things he accomplished:

1. People respect athletes facing the music. We’ve watched enough sports to know that, after finishing bogey-bogey-bogey, Dahmen probably wanted to crawl into a hole. The fact that he didn’t? And that he didn’t make excuses? We respect that.

“It’s not how you win a golf tournament, I’ll tell you that,” he said. “I don’t deserve to win it. Y’know, bogeying the last three is inexcusable.”

2. It also adds context to the moment. If you’re a golf fan, you want to hear what happened and there’s no better source than Dahmen himself. We already know he’s not superhuman, so pretending to be doesn’t do much good. Let’s get to the interesting stuff instead: Where, in the nerve-wracking psychological test that comes with trying to win the golf tournament, did things go sideways?

Take Dahmen’s explanation of his approach shot into No. 16 as one great example:

“We were fighting with, well, my golf swing, No. 1, for some of it, but we had a good number, we had a good plan,” he said. “We had 8-iron in there. If I could just flight it, it would come up probably just 20 feet short in the middle of the green … Tried to hit it a little harder and smashed it and pull-hooked in the wind. That’s just a nervy shot is what it is. Then you just can’t hit it left of that pin or you’re not going to get it up and down very often from over there.”

3. Most important, an honest explanation puts us in Joel’s shoes. In an alternate timeline where he says nothing and heads to the locker room? It’s an easy storyline: Joel Dahmen chokes. When he talks, though? He takes us into the tournament’s final moments alongside him.

“I don’t know what happened on the short one on 17,” he said. “I mean I’m obviously nervous, but unfortunately I’m prone to that at times. You can call it lapse in concentration. It’s not like a yippy thing, it’s not like one of those things, but — bad time to do it.”

Now instead of “how the hell did he miss that two-foot putt” I hear his explanation and flip to, “Oh, you missed a shortie under insane pressure? Yeah, man — I get it. I have missed that putt with far less on the line.” This is remarkably powerful.

So Dahmen lost the tournament and everything that comes with it. He got a consolation prize, T2, which moves him up 18 spots, to No. 59 in the FedEx Cup standings. And he gained something far less tangible: a whole bunch of people’s respect.

“This one could take a while to get over. It’s one of those things, you learn more in defeat unfortunately,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to learn yet. Like I said, I still think I’m in a little bit of shock. Felt like I was in a good head space. I was in a good head space but sometimes your body doesn’t cooperate.”

We learn more about someone in defeat, too, whether it’s Justin Rose at the Masters or Dahmen here. And in each case you can’t help but hope that something more satisfying than defeat is right around the corner.

Staring your heartbreak right in the face — that’s golf stuff I like.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Justin Thomas broke a winless drought of nearly three years — dating back to the 2022 PGA Championship — when he took out Andrew Novak in a playoff at the RBC Heritage.

“I was nervous, but it was way different kind of nerves today. I felt very calm. I didn’t feel like I was going to win. I didn’t feel like I was going to lose. I was just playing,” Thomas said post-win. It paid off with a lengthy putt in the center of the center and a proper winner’s celebration on 18:

Garrick Higgo won the Corales Puntacana Championship, picking up his second career victory by a single shot over five pros in second place — including Dahmen.

“It’s definitely a bit of a relief but I’ve truly enjoyed the journey of — obviously it was definitely hard to take finishing 135 on the FedEx last year, but like, this is unbelievable and this is why I play the game,” Higgo said.

Sweden’s Ingrid Lindblad picked up her first victory in just her third start as an LPGA Tour member, winning the JM Eagle LA Championship at El Caballero Country Club.

“Just shows that the rookies, I mean, we’re not here to mess around,” she said. “We came out here for a reason, and I think it shows that we’re ready to be out here.”

Neal Shipley won the LECOM Suncoast Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour, making birdie on the fifth playoff hole to finish off the victory. The fan favorite and Netflix star had made just two of seven KFT cuts but had made those count with two top-15s; he really made this one count. Now he’s No. 3 on the tour’s points list — and that much closer to a PGA Tour card for 2026.

Ashun Wu won the DP World Tour’s Volvo China Open for the second time, a particularly meaningful moment because Wu, who is Chinese, also won this event a decade ago — his first of what is now a collection of five DPWT titles.

NOT-WINNERS

But not losers, either.

Andrew Novak’s playoff loss to Thomas was his second consecutive top-three finish and his fourth podium in his last 15 starts. No wins, but plenty of good news: he’s No. 15 in the FedEx Cup and has made $4.3 million this year.

The group at T3 at RBC was interesting, too: Daniel Berger, who hasn’t finished worse than T30 in his last eight starts, Mav McNealy, who’s logged three podium finishes in his last seven starts and Brian Harman, who won two weeks ago and seems to have really found something. All of the above are hoping to be interesting entries in the Ryder Cup conversation. (Also T3: Mackenzie Hughes, with his second consecutive top-10 finish after zero top-20s in nine starts to begin 2025.)

Scottie Scheffler once again contended without his best stuff; keep an eye on his frustration levels (tough to get used to winning and then suddenly not win) but he’s quietly finished 11th or better in six of eight starts this year. He was T8 alongside potential Ryder Cup partner Russell Henley.

On the LPGA Tour, Japanese rookie Akie Iwai finished just one shot outside a playoff when she bogeyed No. 18. And Lauren Coughlin, who grabbed her first win last season and starred at the Solheim Cup, finished T3 as she continued her climb up the Rolex Rankings. (She’s up to No. 8.)

And watch out for Eugenio Chacarra, the ex-LIV pro who has been playing the DP World Tour, won the Hero Indian Open and just finished T4 in China.

SHORT HITTERS

5 intriguing updates from around the golf world.

1. Caddie controversy? Nah, says the PGA Tour’s latest, greatest winner. Even though Thomas won in Hilton Head with Joe Greiner in his second week as fill-in, J.T. reiterated on SiriusXM Monday that he’ll be back to work with Matt “Rev” Minister once he’s healthy. We don’t know what’s next for Greiner, who was most recently on Max Homa’s bag for several successful seasons. But we know he seems to be damn good at what he does.

2. Y’know how Pinehurst just opened No. 10? Well, now No. 11 is on the way — designed by the legendary duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

3. More people watched Rory McIlroy’s Masters win than any playing since Patrick Reed’s 2018 victory. The CBS final-round broadcast averaged 12.7 million viewers and peaked at nearly 20 million. (More here.)

4. Ben Crane hasn’t been playing much PGA Tour golf of late but his Corales Puntacana appearance ended in misery when he was DQ’d for playing the wrong ball.

5. Legendary longtime amateur Jay Sigel — who won five USGA championships, third behind only Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods — died at 81.

ONE DUMB GRAPHIC

ONE SWING THOUGHT

Pros helping pros.

Justin Thomas turned to an interesting — but undeniably authoritative and effective — source for help on his putting: Xander Schauffele.

“I called Xander at the end of last year because I think he’s one of the best putters in fundamentals and not just putting but everything and I was just like, ‘Can I just pick your brain for like two or three hours, just talk to you about putting?'” Thomas said post-win on Sunday.

“The more [we were] talking, I’m like, ‘I don’t do any of the things that I used to do in my best putting years.’ In 2017-18, I was very, very regimented in the things that I did, and how he said it is I had a home base and then I had no home base. I had things that I did, but it was a very vague bag of things and there was no consistency to it.

“I feel like I used to have a very good home base of fundamentals and things that I did.”

Thomas seems to have a home base again. He leads the Tour in putting average and he’s up to No. 24 in strokes gained putting, his best number in years and a massive improvement from 174th in the same category last year.

For his part, Schauffele downplayed his contributions.

“I don’t think I really have anything to do with him winning. He maybe gave me too much credit,” he said on a PGA conference call Monday.

“When I’m in town [in South Florida], J.T. is a very familiar face that I compete against. It’s one of the ways us folks here in Jupiter like to sharpen up before a tournament.”

RYDER CUP WATCH

We have another confirmed American.

Justin Thomas’ win — plus his celebration — seemed like the only reminder we really needed that he’ll be on this U.S. squad. The Americans’ current top six seem like near-locks (Henley probably the only question mark, though I expect he’ll be there) but after that it feels like a wide-open race.

On the European side, Viktor Hovland’s T13 was enough to jump him inside the top 12, where we expect he’ll stay. Justin Rose at No. 3 still jumps out as whoa, he’s doing this again, huh?

Here are the current top-12s on each side (complete rankings here):

TEAM USA

1. Scottie Scheffler – 14579 points

2. Xander Schauffele – 11133

3. Collin Morikawa – 8586

4. Bryson DeChambeau – 8190

5. Russell Henley – 7824

6. Justin Thomas – 7583

–

7. Mav McNealy – 5745

8. Brian Harman – 5714

9. J.J. Spaun – 4778

10. Patrick Cantlay – 4329

11. Andrew Novak – 4258

12. Harris English – 3714

TEAM EUROPE

1. Rory McIlroy – 2864 points

2. Tyrrell Hatton – 991

3. Justin Rose – 870

4. Rasmus Højgaard – 870

5. Shane Lowry – 844

6. Ludvig Åberg – 810

–

7. Tommy Fleetwood – 687

8. Thomas Detry – 620

9. Matt Wallace – 572

10. Niklas Norgaard – 554

11. Laurie Canter – 521

12. Viktor Hovland – 486

ONE THING TO WATCH

Ludvig Åberg on the differences between Swedish and American golf culture:

You can watch the full interview with Ludvig here.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

Mostly sunny but with intermittent showers means one thing: mudball season. But if that’s good enough for Augusta National, it’s plenty good enough for me at the munis. Plus sunrise has already boomeranged up to 6:06 a.m., which has me dreaming of a whole new world of early-morning tee times ahead…

We’ll see you next week!

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

The post Dahmen’s heartbreak, JT’s surprising advice, caddie intrigue | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post 10 bits of Masters drama you might have missed | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post 10 bits of Masters drama you might have missed | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

MASTERS DRAMA

Odds and ends from Augusta National.

If you stress-watched Rory McIlroy’s chase for the Grand Slam, you were probably too strung out to register anything else going on at the Masters. So let’s circle back with these 10 intriguing subplots, side quests, what-ifs, mini-dramas and random factoids from the weekend’s action:

1. Patrick Reed could have thrown us a real curveball.

Remember when they cut to Reed on the green at No. 13, staring down a three-footer for birdie? When he missed the birdie putt — and missed the comebacker, too, leading to a painful and unlikely bogey? That might have been a very, very big deal. Look, every player in the field threw away shots throughout the week. But these were two freebies, wasted with just six holes to go. Just a few minutes later McIlroy would play the hole behind Reed and deposit his third in the stream short of the 13th green en route to double bogey, bringing the entire field back into the mix in the process.

A little while later, Reed did the improbable at No. 17, holing his approach shot for an eagle 2 to get to 9 under par, which is where he finished — two shots outside the playoff. Can you imagine if that hole-out had gotten him to 11 under instead?!

What could have been…

Still, Reed earned the second podium of his Augusta National career, and it’s worth noting Reed’s string of high finishes at Augusta National. He won in 2018 and has five top-12s in the seven years since; his run of T36-T10-T8-T35-T4-T12-3 means he should be on our radar every spring for years to come.

2. Two surprise Low Lefties.

Entering the week you would have likely picked Bob MacIntyre or Akshay Bhatia to go lowest of the tournament-record eight left-handed golfers. Or perhaps Brian Harman, coming off a victory, or Phil Mickelson, showing some form in the lead-up to his favorite tournament.

How’d those guys do? Harman finished T36. Bhatia finished T42. MacIntyre and Mickelson missed the cut. And your low lefties were instead Bubba Watson, who has cracked the top 10 just once in his LIV career, and Matt McCarty, playing in his second career major. They finished T14. Good on ’em both.

3. Ludvig Åberg lost a boatload at the end.

When Ludvig Åberg walked to the 17th tee at 10 under par it felt like he could still win the golf tournament. At risk of spoiler: he didn’t. Instead he made bogey at 17 and then, after finding the fairway bunker at 18, tried to get aggressive and got ejected instead. What turned into a triple bogey sent him from solo third to solo seventh, costing himself just north of $700,000.

What’s the point? These guys play for a lot of money, for one thing. Late misses have consequences.

But it was also a pretty clear sign that Åberg wasn’t content with another near-miss. Forget the money — he made $4 million by winning the Genesis. He wanted that jacket and, for a moment, he could probably picture slipping it on. Even though the final leaderboard won’t make it look that close.

4. Shane Lowry rebounded for his buddy.

If you saw Shane Lowry early in his final round, 1 under through two holes and just four back of the lead, and then you saw him again greeting McIlroy with a wide grin and a massive hug, you would have fairly assumed that he’d had a proper golf day and finished near his mate atop the board. In reality his day turned to misery; he somehow piled up seven bogeys and two doubles en route to 81 and slipped to T42.

Anybody who has ever played a bad round of golf knows how tough it can be to shake off, but when one of your closest friends in the world is on the brink of a Grand Slam you have to rise to the occasion. Credit to Lowry for doing just that…

5. Xander Schauffele’s streak continues.

You likely remember that Xander Schauffele won two majors last year. What you may not know is that his Sunday 71 moved him up to T8, his fifth consecutive major finish of eighth or better and his 12th (!) consecutive major top-20. The last time he finished worse than T18 at a major was the 2022 Masters. That was also the last time he missed a cut.

6. Max Homa earned a return visit.

Hopefully this week was a sign of things to come for Max Homa, who had not made the weekend at a tournament with a cut since last year’s Open Championship and had slid outside the top 80. After rallying Friday to make the cut he kept climbing with a 69-71 weekend to finish T12 — just inside the top-12 threshold that guarantees an invite back for next year.

7. Justin Rose and Zach Johnson converged — for a moment.

Heading to the weekend Justin Rose was the solo leader while Zach Johnson was tied for last place of guys who’d made the cut. But then Johnson’s surprise 66 on Saturday shot him up the leaderboard. When Rose fired 75, the two 40-something major champs had played their way into the same final-round pairing. Johnson actually played quite well; his 71 left him T8, his best result at a major since the 2020 U.S. Open. But Rose’s 66 nearly won him the golf tournament.

8. Hideki proved you can do it all.

On Saturday Hideki Matsuyama shot the highest score in the field, a seven-over 79. Sunday? He tied Rose for the low round of the day, shooting six-under 66. Get you a man who can do both. He finished T21.

9. Rory McIlroy’s 15th-hole iron shot went much better this time.

You’ll recall that the beginning of McIlroy’s undoing at last year’s U.S. Open came when he flushed an iron over the back of the par-3 15th green. The consensus was that it was a well-struck shot — it was just the wrong shot, or at least wrong club for the moment. This time around? McIlroy hit one of the most spectacular shots in Masters history, sending a high, slinging 7-iron to six feet with his second shot at the par-5. (Even though he missed the eagle putt.) That’s year-over-year improvement.

10. …and he didn’t say much to DeChambeau.

DeChambeau was asked in his press conference — post-round, though pre-playoff — how he thought McIlroy was doing.

“No idea,” he said. “Didn’t talk to me once all day.”

How was the atmosphere?

“Electric. I loved it. But he was just like — just being focused, I guess. It’s not me, though.”

I don’t think there’s necessarily animosity between these two. McIlroy spoke glowingly about DeChambeau in the months following the U.S. Open last year, praising him as a worthy competitor as well as a needle-mover. DeChambeau said he felt for McIlroy mid-meltdown on No. 13, too.

“I wanted to cry for him,” he said.

But I do think there’s a fierce, healthy, game-recognize-game on-course rivalry now officially underway. DeChambeau won the U.S. Open, crushing McIlroy’s dreams. Now McIlroy’s won the Masters while playing alongside DeChambeau. Will the next chapter come at Quail Hollow? Oakmont? Augusta National?

RYDER CUP WATCH

Big-time Masters moves.

On the U.S. side, a couple familiar faces made big moves — Jordan Spieth‘s T14 jumped him from No. 43 to No. 32 and Homa’s T12 took him from No. 36 to No. 23 — but another familiar face outdid them. Reed, one-time partner to Spieth, zipped up 53 spots to No. 20.

DeChambeau moved up a spot to No. 4; I’d consider him an unofficial lock alongside Nos. 1-3: Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa.

Team Europe’s core got a shakeup in the form of a familiar face, too: Rose leapt from No. 28 to No. 4. The Englishman represented the old guard in Italy in 2023, which felt like it could be his swan song. But if he can bottle up some more of what he felt this week, they’ll be glad to have him back for Bethpage.

ONE THING TO WATCH

Sahith rooting for Rory.

Something extremely cool and relatable about Sahith Theegala rooting this hard for McIlroy — you can feel his pain after the first miss and you can feel his joy a minute later.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

I’m headed back to Seattle as I type this, but there were doses of Seattle in Augusta, too. I’m feeling appreciative for the first round we got from Fred Couples, though still a little heartbroken he missed the cut. Other Washingtonians in action at the Masters included Joe Highsmith, who missed the cut, and Greg Bodine, who caddies for DeChambeau. I also ran into three local golf course general managers by the 13th hole — no doubt ready to bring a little Augusta National influence to Seattle’s munis. The cool thing about golf is that you can love ANGC and West Seattle Golf Course. Let’s get out there, folks.

We’ll see you next week!

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

The post 10 bits of Masters drama you might have missed | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post The 10 most compelling golfers at the 2025 Masters | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post The 10 most compelling golfers at the 2025 Masters | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

A compelling Masters field.

Each of the 96 competitors [editor’s note: 95, following Vijay Singh‘s WD] at the 2025 Masters has a journey that’s compelling in its own right, from the oldest (Bernhard Langer, 67) to the youngest (Noah Kent, 20) to the most recent winner (Brian Harman) to the twins (Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard) to the comeback kids (Daniel Berger, to name one) — you get the idea. Everybody in the field has done something special to get here.

There’s Langer, playing in his final Masters on the 40th anniversary of his first Masters win. There’s Angel Cabrera, who missed several Masters after being in prison and just won on the PGA Tour Champions. There are trending PGA Tour pros who keep contending and are hunting a third major, like Justin Thomas and the probably-currently-underrated Collin Morikawa. There are past Masters champs coming in from LIV and showing some form, like Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed. There’s Joaquin Niemann, who has shown worldwide just how good he is but hasn’t necessarily done so in major championships. And there are a couple of European Ryder Cuppers I expect to contend in Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry. There’s everybody else, too.

Enough waffling. Let’s get to the top 10.

10. Jordan Spieth. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of Spieth’s 2015 Masters win; it feels like he’s won at Augusta three or four times but, so far, just the one. That Spieth was different from this Spieth but he’s shown just enough recent form — three top-12s in his last six starts — to get the Spiethians to believe. In his last four Masters he has two top-fours and two missed cuts. Which version will we get this week?

9. Ludvig Åberg. Yes, the guy from the YouTube video! The Swedish sensation finished runner-up in his Masters debut last year — the first major of his young career, by the way — and claimed one of this year’s top trophies at the Genesis Invitational. But he enters the week off two consecutive missed cuts. Which direction is Ludvig trending?

8. Phil Mickelson. What if I told you there was a three-time Masters champ who finished runner-up just two years ago, won a major two years before that and enters this week with two top-six finishes his last three events? Enter 54-year-old Phil Mickelson, who is one of the more [pick your own adjective here, literally, they almost all work] golfers in modern history. I don’t expect him to win. But I suspect we’ll see Lefty inside the top 20 come Sunday.

7. Brooks Koepka. Don’t forget about this guy. We always feel dumb when we do, especially at majors, which is particularly silly because he has more than anyone since Tiger and Phil. In 2023 Koepka nearly won the Masters and then did win the PGA; last year he made the cut at all four but didn’t do much on the weekend. He’s playing fairly well — he finished second at LIV’s Singapore event. But specific form has never meant as much for this guy as for most pros. Being Brooks Koepka is what matters.

6. Xander Schauffele. He’s the most recent first-time major champion in men’s golf. He’s also the most recent second-time major champ. But Schauffele battled injury and rust to start the 2025 season; it’s tough to know for sure whether we’ll get the major champ or the rusty golfer this week. Still, I’d bet on the former. Schauffele has played one excellent round in a row, a final-round 66 in Houston, which seems like a step in the right direction. More importantly there’s his absurd streak of 11 majors in row where he’s finished inside the top 20. Let’s make that a dozen.

5. Jon Rahm. Rahm stacks up top-10s on LIV. He won there twice last season. Week in, week out he’s the breakaway circuit’s best player. But Rahm’s major season in 2024 was odd and underwhelming; he finished T45 in his Masters title defense, missed the cut at the PGA and withdrew from the U.S. Open before finishing T7 at the Open Championship. Is this the week we get the major-championship Rahmbo who is in the conversation for best in the world?

4. Viktor Hovland. He’s one of the most compelling players at the Masters because he’s one of the most compelling figures in professional golf. Hovland is a thinker and a tinkerer and has been to the wilderness and back. Most recently he won the Valspar despite admitting he felt lost with his golf swing and almost didn’t play. How do you grade a guy who’s arriving at Augusta off an MC-MC-MC-WIN four-tournament stretch? We’re excited to see.

3. Scottie Scheffler. He hasn’t won this year, which is only noteworthy because he did that so regularly last year. But Scheffler also hasn’t finished outside the top 25 in six starts and just finished T2 at the Houston Open. If that’s what it looks like when he’s injured and rusty, well, that’s why he’s Scottie Scheffler. It would be surprising not to see the World No. 1 and defending champion anywhere besides the middle of contention.

2. Bryson DeChambeau. Last year DeChambeau threw down an incredible major season; he finished a career-best T6 at the Masters and was second at the PGA before winning the U.S. Open. It’s worth listing that because he seems more often referenced as pro golf’s pre-eminent YouTube presence — but it’s clear DeChambeau still has plenty of game. What’s odd is he didn’t finish first or second at any LIV events last year; he’s been saving his best for the biggest. Perhaps he’s been taking notes from his ex-nemesis Koepka.

1. Rory McIlroy. If you’re a golf fan you can probably recite this paragraph with your eyes closed: McIlroy hasn’t won a major in over a decade but has won everything else in the meantime. He possesses incredible longevity but also owns deep heartbreak. He remains just one Masters away from the career grand slam. This year seems to be set up perfectly for him, too: he’s entering with terrific form and plenty of winning mojo, with titles at Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass. Now all that’s left is the pesky task of actually playing the tournament in the fewest number of shots…

A compelling cast of characters at the year’s most compelling tournament? That’s golf stuff I like.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Brian Harman won the Valero Texas Open, fending off challengers on a brutal Sunday for his fourth career PGA Tour victory and his first since the 2023 Open Championship.

“Just knowing that there’s some good golf left in there,” Harman said, asked what was so satisfying about the win. “You know, I’m 38, I’m not 25 anymore. I know that I’m getting a little grayer, so you start looking at like, man, how many more chances do I have at Augusta, how many more chances do I have at a U.S. Open, and all the things that you want to do.”

Madelene Sagstrom won the LPGA Tour’s T-Mobile Match Play at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas in a 1-up final victory over Lauren Coughlin. Sagstrom won Nos. 13 and 16 to flip from 1 down to 1 up and tied the final two holes to close out the win, her first on tour since 2020.

“I mean, I’m exhausted and I bet Lauren is exhausted,” Sagstrom said after playing four 18-hole matches on the weekend. “I just kind of dug deep and was like, oh, well, hopefully it’s not too many holes left. It’s just amazing.”

Carla Bernat Escuder won the Augusta National Women’s Am, continuing a tradition of Spanish excellence with a final-round four-under 68 at Augusta National to hold off hard-charging 16-year-old Asterisk Talley and defending champion Lottie Woad, among others. Post-round she suggested that perhaps a celebratory tattoo was in order.

“I was thinking maybe the flower of Augusta, but I need to decide on that,” she said. “It’s a big decision.”

Marc Leishman won LIV Golf’s Miami event, holding off a star-studded leaderboard in tough conditions at Trump Doral. It was his first individual victory on LIV, propelled by a bogey-free Sunday 68 that left him just ahead of Masters champs Charl Schwartzel (five under, good for second) and Sergio Garcia (four under, which left him third). Green jacket winners Phil Mickelson (sixth), Patrick Reed (T7) and Jon Rahm (T9) also showed.

Jeremy Gandon won the Korn Ferry Tour’s Club Car Championship at the Landings, making birdie on the first playoff hole to claim his first win on the circuit and climb inside the top 250 in the world.

And Angel Cabrera won the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational, his first win on the PGA Tour Champions. The win comes in the wake of Cabrera’s multi-year stint in prison for domestic abuse; he expressed his remorse in a recent interview. Cabrera will tee it up at Augusta National this week.

ALSO-WINNERS

They didn’t win but hey, pretty close.

How many pros have finished inside the top six in each of their last three PGA Tour starts? I can only think of one: Bud Cauley, who finished T5 in San Antonio. Above him, Ryan Gerard finished solo second, the best result of his Tour career, thanks to a three-under Sunday. Mav McNealy jumped into the top 10 in the world for the first time in his career thanks to a T3. And Andrew Novak finished T3 alongside him after going shot-for-shot with Harman for much of the day before faltering late, missing in some key spots and leaving crucial putts short.

SHORT HITTERS

Five deep Masters sleepers. Also, Corey Conners is gonna finish top 10.

Let’s start here: I do not claim to be good at this. Also I don’t think any of these guys will win. But if you’re putting together a team of longshots who might crack the top 20, here you go:

Daniel Berger (110-1): Gained strokes with his irons in each of his last six starts. Six top-30s in those six starts. Seems to be back to an impressively high baseline.

Justin Rose (110-1): Feast or famine for Rosie at recent majors. Two top-six results and two missed cuts last year. He’s been all over the place this year, too, with two top-eights, three missed cuts and a T47 in six starts. If we get the locked-in version, he could do something special.

Phil Mickelson (120-1): When I first sketched this out Mickelson was available at 190-1, but some big-time Lefty action has now propelled to 120-1 after contending at LIV Miami.

Keegan Bradley (125-1): Why is this number so high? Bradley has a reasonable track record at Augusta, he’s in reasonable form and he has a tendency to win big events. I’m as big a Bradley homer as there is, so take this with a large grain of New England snowplow salt. But I’d rather have Keegs than most of the other guys at similar numbers.

Matt McCarty (500-1): This is a real shot in the dark, but McCarty finished top 20 in tough tests at the Players and Valspar. Plus he’s a lefty. Plus he’s got a chipper attitude. I dunno — but he’s 500-1!

ONE SWING THOUGHT

From Brian Harman:

How often is it that we hear winners talk about something they did differently that week that freed them up, gave them a different look or feel, removed pressure, etc.? Viktor Hovland said he almost skipped Valspar but decided to play last-minute and won. We’ve seen guys change caddies, change grips, change swing thoughts. And this week Brian Harman said he switched putters earlier this week when, as he described it, “a putter rep just handed it to me and said, ‘try this one.'” So he did.

Harman had noticed looking at 2024 statistics that he was way down in terms of putting from 10-20 feet. He was still solid from short range but wasn’t making many in the mid-range.

“Picked that one up on Tuesday this week, it felt really good and it rolls nice, just kind of freed me up a little bit,” Harman said. Just don’t ask him the specs. “It’s a TaylorMade of some sort. I’m not sure what all the letters and numbers on the bottom of it are, but it’s good.”

RYDER CUP WATCH

Harman and the Danes.

This week’s Masters may provide our first massive shakeup to the Ryder Cup rankings. But this week brought two intriguing possibilities to mind:

1. Could Brian Harman make his second consecutive U.S. team? (Plus the 2024 Presidents Cup team.) Harman wasn’t part of the conversation until this week, but he jumped to No. 7 in the team standings — and a victory has a way of making all your other top-20s look a little better, too. He went 2-2 in Rome in 2023.

2. How many Danes could we have at Bethpage?! We’ve covered the possibilities of the Højgaard twins making the squad, particularly with Rasmus sitting currently at No. 3. But there’s also Niklas Norgaard in eighth and, after a T5 on Sunday, Thorbjørn Olesen in 12th, not to mention Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen in 15th. There are plenty of guys who seem like “locks” for Team Europe — McIlroy, Hatton, Lowry, Fleetwood, Rahm, Åberg, Hovland — but it’ll be fascinating to see how many of the rest of ’em come from Denmark.

ONE BIG QUESTION

Are you ready for major championship season?

Somehow we has arrived at what will ultimately feel like a sprint of a major season. Do you have a good couch setup for the week? A proper TV? Meetings canceled? Masters pool arranged? Azalea ingredients prepped and ready? Do you like to watch the Masters alone, in a small group, at a party? Do you like to play golf the morning of, to get in the mood? Get some morning exercise in to properly earn your TV time? This is “one” big question, so I’ll leave you with this: Do you have a plan?

ONE THING TO WATCH

Rory at 19.

It’s worth revisiting this old clip from a Shane O’Donoghue interview with 19-year-old Rory McIlroy at Augusta National — including footage from the curly-haired Ulsterman cruising down Magnolia Lane. One answer stood out, because I’m sure it’s the attitude McIlroy would love to channel this year:

“It is a big of a balancing act, because you’re so excited to be here,” McIlroy said. “But I’m going to try to take that excitement and turn it into good golf. Just try and be excited, and if I hit a bad shot, not to worry because I’m at the Masters. It’s a great position to be in and hopefully if I can keep my emotions in check it should be a good week.”

If I hit a bad shot, not to worry, because I’m at the Masters. Good stuff.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

I’m on a redeye to Atlanta and will be on site all week at Augusta National — something so cool that I’m trying to never take it for granted. I’m working on a calorie consumption plan, given the outrageous media-center dining setup. But hopefully plenty of trekking ’round the course will help offset some 38 chicken sandwiches.

We’ll see you here all week, from Augusta! We have some fun stuff planned — stay tuned via GOLF.com, or find me on Instagram or X / Twitter.

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

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GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Trying hard.

On Monday, Michael Kim withdrew from this week’s Valero Texas Open.

It must be the best WD of his life.

That’s because on Sunday at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, Kim chased down a prize that had seemed for years to be far out of reach.

Kim began the final round in a fight for a very important place in the Official World Golf Ranking. Just a few years ago Kim was fighting his way back inside the top 1000. But now? He needed to climb from No. 52 to No. 50 to earn a spot in the Masters tournament field via Sunday’s cutoff. Slip to No. 51? He’d be out. No Masters. Opportunity missed.

So how much was he thinking about that trip to Augusta coming down the stretch?

“Oh, I’m sure I made some pretty nervy swings on the back nine there thinking about it,” he said. Things got even stranger when he cracked his driver. He bogeyed 15. He bogeyed 17. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be? But Kim buckled down for a clutch seven-foot par putt at No. 18 to post 69 and a T32 finish. That left him in limbo, and so he had just one question when he spoke to reporters afterwards.

“What’s Ben Griffin at?”

Griffin had started the week at World No. 53, one spot behind Kim. He made a Sunday charge, staying bogey-free and stiffing his final shot of the day — a tee shot at the par-3 9th — to set up a birdie for 65 and T18.

How often was he thinking about the Masters?

“Just about every shot,” he admitted. “It was a really solid round, I think it gives me a chance. We’re just going to have to see where the cards fall.”

Kim has been to the Masters once, in 2019. He was there by virtue of winning the John Deere Classic the previous season but he was also in the throes of what would turn out to be a years-long slump; he shot 76-78 at Augusta National and beat just four players.

Griffin has never played the Masters. He’s played just four major championships. And although he’s become a reliable presence on the PGA Tour, there’s something special about Augusta National. Even for the pros.

“It’s been a dream since I was a little kid to be there,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”

Both Kim and Griffin then headed to Twitter to check the most reliable real-time source on the matter: a mysterious OWGR guru who goes by “Nosferatu.”

Later that evening, when the results finalized, Nosferatu released their findings: Kim was in. Griffin had needed one more birdie putt to fall. He wound up No. 51, less than a hundredth of a world ranking point outside the Masters margin.

Kim posted a celebratory message to Twitter. Griffin responded.

“That was crazy. Congrats man!! You’ve been on a heck of a run.”

He’s right. Kim has been playing the best golf of his career since the start of February; in eight starts he has seven made cuts, five top-15s and three top-sixes. He’s a deserving member of the field. As for Griffin? He still has one more way in. The winner this week in San Antonio gets the final spot at Augusta National.”

“Go win Valero and I’ll see you there!” Kim wrote back.

Playing for something special — that’s golf stuff we like.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Min Woo Lee won for the first time in his PGA Tour career; while his five-shot lead dwindled to one by the end of the day, he hung on with a two-putt from behind the 18th green to seal the victory. He used the word “proud” repeatedly in his post-round presser; he credited “the six inches between [my] ears” with getting it done this time. He jumped from World No. 55 to No. 22 with the victory and he and his sister Minjee become just the third pair of siblings to ever win on the PGA and LPGA Tours.

Hyo Joo Kim shot eight-under 64 on Sunday to force a playoff and then beat Lilia Vu on the first extra hole with a birdie to win the Ford Championship. The win is the seventh of her LPGA Tour career.

Eugenio Chacarra, playing his first professional season since leaving LIV, won the Hero Indian Open on a sponsor exemption — essentially reopening his pathway to professional golf on the DP World or PGA Tour in the process. He’s up to No. 168 in the world.

And Steve Allan won the Galleri Classic for his first PGA Tour Champions title; it was his first professional victory since the 2002 Australian Open.

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ALSO-WINNERS

Still, these guys are good, too.

The two golfers who finished T2 in Houston each left the tournament feeling pretty damn good. One is the defending Masters champ, the World No. 1 and the best golfer in the world. The other is trending up, both on and off the course, and threw down his best showing since beginning his battle with a brain tumor over a year ago.

Scottie Scheffler found something encouraging in his final start before his title defense at the Masters. “Definitely better,” he said, asked how he felt about his game. “I liked the way my swing started to feel over the weekend. I felt like I holed a good amount of putts this week, especially under pressure on the back nine today. Felt like I hit my lines really well and did some good things out there. So definitely some positive momentum going into next week.”

And Gary Woodland was exhausted — but over the moon — after finishing off a final-round 62 with a kick-in birdie. Woodland said how thankful he was post-round to have his family there. He added that he was blown away by support from the fans.

“This week was unbelievable, to be honest with you. The fans were absolutely amazing,” he said. “I battled some fatigue and stuff out there and they pushed me, they really did. I fed off their energy. Their love and support really carried me especially over the weekend.”

Scheffler and Woodland share a coach, Randy Smith. This week they shared a T2. They share the course record at Memorial Park after each shot 62. And they got matching checks for $845,000. Not bad for a few day’s work.

SHORT HITTERS

Five pros dialing in for Augusta National.

Scheffler says he’s feeling ready — particularly after a hot finish on Sunday. “Good iron shot into 15, good iron shot into 16, good one into 17. I did some things that I really liked under the gun,” he said. “Good pitch shot on 18 as well to still give myself a chance.” Now comes some practice at home with Smith, “like I normally would,” he said, and then a trip to Augusta next Sunday.

Wyndham Clark said he left the week feeling “definitely better” about his chances at the Masters after a T5 finish. He was tinkering and testing, he admitted, switching between three different types of ball. He committed to one on the weekend and shot 64-64.

“I’m just happy, I feel like my game’s in a solid spot and now it’s just about executing and getting the ball in the hole,” he said.

Rory McIlroy made a bundle of birdies and, after a middling first-round 70, shot 66-65-64 to finish T5, too. The only worry came in a post-round interview with NBC Sports’ Kira Dixon: “My right elbow’s been bothering me a little bit, so maybe just get some treatment on that, make sure that’s okay going into Augusta,” he said. Uh oh!

Ludvig Åberg enters this week’s Valero Texas Open as the tournament favorite. He missed the cut at the Players Championship but is just two starts removed from winning the Genesis Invitational; last year’s Masters runner-up will look to find some form in San Antonio.

And 2023 green jacket winner Jon Rahm comes in as LIV Golf’s narrow Masters favorite, just ahead of defending U.S. Open champ Bryson DeChambeau. They’ll tee it up in LIV Golf’s first U.S. event of the 2025 season in Miami at Trump Doral.

ONE SWING THOUGHT

From Woodland: Setup, setup, setup.

What have Woodland and Smith been working on that helped propel him to his best finish in years? The simple stuff.

“We just tried to simplify things, trying to get back to being athletic at setup and kind of seeing the shot and just reacting to the shot,” he said post-round. “Instead of playing golf swing and thinking too much about my golf swing, trying to see the shot and then just react. Ninety-five percent of the stuff we work on is setup-related.”

RYDER CUP WATCH

The U.S. Open champ surges.

Houston brought mostly subtle changes to the Ryder Cup pecking order, so let’s note one on each side.

Wyndham Clark leapt to No. 13 in the U.S. team ranking thanks to his first top-five finish since last April. It can be a bit feast-or-famine with Clark — but when he’s good, few are better.

The Hojgaard twins were paired together for the first two rounds in Houston — a Warming Up-inspired group, we like to think — and Rasmus played his way into weekend contention while Nicolai missed the cut. Rasmus, who wound up T32, is No. 3 in the rankings at the moment, while Nicolai barely registers at No. 49. That’s a reminder: We still have a long way to go.

ONE BIG QUESTION

How will LIV Miami go?

This week, LIV will have everything going for it. While its early-season tournaments have been played in a variety of time zones and on a variety of Fox’s channels — mostly on FS1 or FS2 — this week they’ll down in the golfing hub of South Florida with a wave of hype, a new group of creators on their side, a familiar venue and even reportedly attendance from the sitting U.S. President. Sunday’s final round will air on Fox, the big one, against a solid, if unspectacular, PGA Tour field in San Antonio. The question, then: how many people will watch, in person or on screen?

ONE THING TO WATCH

Masters plans.

Get hyped with a super smash cut of some of this generation’s greatest major champions talking about how they approach Augusta National. From a selection of Warming Up interviews — think Brooks, Bryson, Xander, Freddie, Phil — check it out:

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

The weather has been excellent, the birds are chirping, the threat of tornadoes passed without incident and and the pride of Washington, Joel Dahmen, shot 67-66 on the weekend to crack the top 20. Life is good in the golfing PNW.

We’ll see you next week!

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

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The post Hovland’s ‘weird’ take, LIV’s signal, Ryder Cup tiers | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

First, a quick request: If you like the Monday Finish, subscribe HERE to get it in your email inbox! It’s free. And it would make me happy.

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Trying hard.

There is pretty clearly a gap between the way Viktor Hovland sees the world and the way the rest of the world sees the world. So what’s the difference? I thought one answer from Hovland’s Valspar winner’s press conference told the story.

For context: Hovland’s deep dives into his golf swing (plus the afterlife, among other things) have garnered him plenty of attention. There’s a general perception that he does a ton of research — maybe even too much for his own good. He’s admitted that there are rabbit holes he’s gone down that have been difficult to escape from. But he still believes in learning and experimentation above everything. In one post-win interview, he said the following: “When you’re struggling with something, it’s just problems. And problems are usually a lack of information.” You could build an entire philosophy around that first sentence, but the sentiment is clear: Hovland believes that knowledge will set you free.

Back to Sunday’s press conference, then. Hovland was asked if he thinks it’s accurate to describe him as a perfectionist, and he acknowledged that, sure. “You can use that word to describe it.”

But the subtext was clear: I’m a professional golfer. Of course I’m a perfectionist. What the hell else would I be?

“I find it kind of weird that we’re professional athletes and the people that are wanting to improve are somewhat looked at as, ‘Oh, he’s a perfectionist, he’s out on the perimeter searching too much,'” Hovland said. “It’s like, that’s what we do. We are here to get better and we are here to win tournaments. So if you’re not going to try to get better, what are you doing?”

Hovland is here to try to get better. That much is true — even after a victory. He does not like how his golf swing feels, but he likes where it just got him. And when he got into contention on Sunday, it wasn’t his confidence in his swing that won him the tournament. It was all the little intangibles that make Hovland special. It was the ability to play with what he had. It was jarring every mid-length par putt and then a few for birdie, too. It was, to oversimplify, knowing how to win. And that’s what he did. Viktor Hovland being himself, chasing better and winning along the way? That’s golf stuff I like.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Viktor Hovland won the Valspar Championship to claim his seventh PGA Tour victory. Four of those seven have come at golf resorts adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico — Hovland won at Mayakoba in 2020 and 2021, and Hovland also won the Puerto Rico Open (and he’s won the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas twice). It’s safe to say the Norwegian star isn’t afraid of a vacation destination. Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla. joins esteemed company.

Richard Mansell won the Porsche Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour, finally breaking through in his 104th start on the circuit thanks to a two-putt birdie from over 100 feet on No. 18 at Laguna National Golf Resort Club.

“One thing I’d say to people trying to do it as a career, that moment’s the most fulfilling thing in the world and it’s worth it,” he said. “So stick in and hopefully you’ll get rewarded one day like I have today.”

Carlos Ortiz won the Asian Tour’s International Series event in Macau, earning a berth to this summer’s Open Championship in the process. Ortiz led a contingent of LIV players vying for three spots at Portrush in July; runner-up Patrick Reed and third-place finisher Jason Kokrak will join him there.

Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Hoag Classic in Newport Beach, Calif. The win was the 61-year-old’s second of 2025 and the 15th PGA Tour Champions victory of his career.

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NOT-WINNERS

Still, these guys are good, too.

Justin Thomas looked like the best version of himself for most of Sunday, high-stepping and fist-pumping his way into the Valspar lead with just three holes to play. Then he fell victim to the “Snake Pit” and made bogey at No. 16; when Hovland birdied 16 and 17 from the group behind him, he flipped the script and that was that. Thomas still hasn’t won since the 2022 PGA Championship and was clearly torn up about coming so close yet again — he’s now finished runner-up in three of his past nine PGA Tour starts — but left sounding determined and encouraged by yet another trip to contention.

“I’ll take a lot of good. Way, way more good than bad. I mean, today was awesome. I felt so comfortable,” he said after a final-round 66. “It sucks not winning when you’re that close and have a great chance, but I just hopefully put myself in the same position in two weeks at Augusta and finish it off better.”

Other notables from the Valspar: Jacob Bridgeman finished solo third; he made every cut and claimed two podiums in the four-event Florida Swing. Bud Cauley finished T4 after a sixth-place result at the Players, showing signs of his best golf in years. Billy Horschel hit a preposterous left-handed shot that turned into the week’s unlikeliest birdie; he finished T4, too. And Davis Riley, who has been in golf’s wilderness since winning last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge, seems to have found something after finishing T6 at the Puerto Rico Open, T38 at the Players and solo seventh this week. Finally, Xander Schauffele‘s Sunday 66 matched the low score of the day and landed him T12.

The week’s real winner was the Valspar, which drew an unexpectedly strong field and got a back-nine battle and photo finish involving two of its biggest stars.

SHORT HITTERS

Four pros losing their minds.

Patton Kizzire punted his putter so high that when you watch the video there’s a moment where you wonder if it’s landed off-screen — for some reason he issued an apology rather than a tutorial. His putter broke, and he withdrew.

Adam Hadwin smashed a sprinkler head and then the sprinkler smashed back; Hadwin was en route to a missed cut when things suddenly got much, much worse. Have you ever seen one of those videos where an enraged football fan throws his remote at the TV, watches the screen break and instantly regrets his action? That was the energy here, but Hadwin had spectators.

Sahith Theegala showed some fire, too, giving a proper club-smash after an errant shot of his own. He finished T36.

And Jordan Spieth did a little bit of everything, as he tends to. But it wasn’t all absurd birdies from the trees; he was filmed uttering a particularly expressive word in a particularly expressive manner after a chip shot he would have liked to have over. He finished T28.

What’s the point? There’s not one overarching point but maybe several little ones: These guys care a lot, golf is ridiculously frustrating, people film stuff now more than ever and, if you’re going to smash your club, choose a patch of grass or sand rather than a live sprinkler head.

ONE SWING THOUGHT

Ryo Hisatsune drinking water.

Brendan Porath of The Fried Egg posted a video of Ryo Hisatsune (who wound up T4) getting handed his water bottle just before he hit a putt on Saturday. “New pre-putt routine dropped,” Porath tweeted. But it turns out this is very literally a pre-putt routine; per Porath’s subsequent reporting, Hisatsune does not swallow the water until after hitting the putt (or other short-game shot). I need to know more.

RYDER CUP WATCH

Hovland makes a move.

We’re almost exactly six months out from the Ryder Cup, which means it’s time to take stock of where things stand for the U.S. and European teams.

TIER I: THE LOCKS

TEAM USA: Barring further ravioli encounters, he U.S. side seems to have three absolute guarantees: Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa.

TEAM EUROPE: Rory McIlroy will be there. Shane Lowry will be there. Tommy Fleetwood will be there. Ludvig Aberg will be there. And, after his win, I’m ready to put Viktor Hovland here, too. There are a few LIV guys who seem like locks, too, but let’s save them for the LIV section to share the love.

TIER II: THE PROBABLYS

TEAM USA: Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and Russell Henley seem extremely likely to join the party at Bethpage.

TEAM EUROPE: Robert MacIntyre and Sepp Straka aren’t particularly high on the points list but have been playing plenty well enough to earn return invites.

TIER LIV: THE LIV GUYS

TEAM USA: Bryson DeChambeau seems an extremely likely addition, while Brooks Koepka could certainly play his way in with a strong major championship season.

TEAM EUROPE: Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will be on the team. The open question is who else might join them: Sergio Garcia has shown strong form and youngsters David Puig or Tom McKibbin could play their way into the mix.

TIER III: DON’T MAKE OTHER PLANS JUST YET

This is where we remember just how far we have to go. Max Homa, for instance, could play his way back into form. Matthew Jordan could emerge as a European world-beater. Several hot starters to 2025 could play their way out of form. Here’s who should be invited to the team-bonding BBQ as of this moment, though:

TEAM USA: Daniel Berger, Akshay Bhatia, Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns, Luke Clanton, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Max Homa, Michael Kim, Denny McCarthy, Mav McNealy, J.J. Spaun, Jordan Spieth, Sahith Theegala, Davis Thompson, Will Zalatoris

TEAM EUROPE: Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Matt Fitzpatrick, Harry Hall, Rasmus Højgaard, Nicolai Højgaard, Stephan Jaeger, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Alex Noren, Niklas Norgaard, Aaron Rai, Justin Rose, Matt Wallace

ONE BIG QUESTION

Still nothing on this LIV-PGA Tour deal, huh?

What does it tell you, my friends, that this LIV-PGA Tour deal does not seem to be making much progress? It tells you that the sides are not terribly close. It tells you that neither side is desperate to make a deal. And that adds up to a world where a deal may not get done anytime soon.

We received more details from Limboland this week via a Webb Simpson interview with Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated; in the interview, Simpson reiterated what we’ve discussed in this space before, which is that a major sticking point in the negotiation is the way in which LIV would downsize (or, in a PGA Tour dream world, disappear) in the event the sides came back together under the Tour umbrella. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Saudi PIF and chairman of LIV Golf, is not eager to abandon his vision for team golf. There remains a gulf there.

But Simpson added something telling: It’s currently the PIF that seems to be dragging its feel on communication.

“It seems like there is a little bit of a breakdown in communication (on the other side),” he says. “On our side, when questions are asked of us, we get answers right away. We’ve been diligent. I don’t now if the same is true on their side. That part has been kind of frustrating.”

The question, then: If the PIF is making alternative plans to a deal with the PGA Tour, what does it have up its sleeve?

ONE THING TO WATCH

Twins with game.

We’ve been incredibly lucky to get some of the game’s most accomplished players on “Warming Up,” my on-the-range interview series. From big-time major champs like Phil and Brooks to the Tour’s top stars in Hovland and Thomas. This one, though, felt different. First of all, we had two guests instead of one. Second, they’re identical twins. And third, it feels like we’re getting in on the ground floor when it comes to the brothers Hojgaard, Rasmus and Nicolai, who showed off their shot-shaping abilities amidst an endless stream of brotherly trash talk. Get to know these bros below:

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

Good news for fans of Fred Couples, who is arguably on the Mt. Rushmore of Seattle athletes (which, wow, seems like a topic I should tackle with the help of some locals). Couples played this week’s Hoag Classic and also gave an interview to Golfweek, where he addressed his future at Augusta National.

Couples, who missed the cut after rounds of 80-76 last year, said he’d spoken with Chief Tournament Officer Steve Ethun to make sure he wasn’t overstaying his welcome.

“I told Steve two things; First, that I don’t want to embarrass myself. And that I’m certainly not going to embarrass Augusta National,” Couples told Golfweek.

“Steve goes, ‘We already know that. We want you to keep playing.’

“I can’t tell you how much my blood pressure went down.”

Couples was overjoyed to get the news. We are, too — especially after he showed some form en route to grabbing the 36-hole lead in California. See you in Augusta, Freddie.

Before you go, a quick request: If you like the Monday Finish, subscribe for free HERE to get it in your email inbox!

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

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The post Winners and Losers, 2025 Players Championship | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post Winners and Losers, 2025 Players Championship | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

First, a quick request: If you like the Monday Finish, subscribe HERE to get it in your email inbox! It’s free. And it would make me happy.

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Hitting the number.

Distance control. That’s what ultimately won Rory McIlroy the 2025 Players Championship.

Sure, there was also just “distance.” Like the towering 336-yard driver that McIlroy pummeled down the fairway on Monday’s first playoff hole, TPC Sawgrass’ par-5 16th. His opponent, J.J. Spaun, followed with a tee shot that finished in the rough and 36 yards further from the hole. Shorter and crookeder rarely wins.

But I was even more impressed by McIlroy’s next shot: a pitching wedge launched from 180 yards (yes, pitching wedge), that was judged to perfection, riding the right gust to land pin-high in the fat part of the green and stay there. That helped put him 1 up vs. Spaun.

I was even more impressed with McIlroy’s knockdown 9-iron at the par-3 17th, what he called a “three-quarter three-quarter shot”, explaining that he shortened his swing and took something off it, and then he sent his off-speed pitch to the fat of the green, where it landed and stayed. Spaun followed with 8-iron. But his launched well over the green and landed in the water. That effectively put this thing away.

Both players noted that they’d warmed up on Monday morning by hitting shots in the wind and checking Trackman numbers. McIlroy said that he’d made an adjustment when he got to the tee, in real time, he felt like the 17th green was somewhat more sheltered. He told his ball to sit. It did. Spaun? He flushed his 8-iron and, as it flew, he loved it.

“From the angle I was on, it looked like it was going to land just right on that little spine and spin back to a foot, honestly,” he said. McIlroy’s ball did what he wanted. Spaun’s didn’t. That was the difference.

At their respective peaks, legendary ball-strikers Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler had one phrase in common: pin-high. In basketball they say that great shooters only miss long or short, but basketball has neither wind nor water, which is why in golf the inverse is true: left or right is negotiable, but the best miss neither long nor short. Distance control wins.

Landing pin-high when you need to: that’s golf stuff I like.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Who won the week?

WINNER: JASON DAY DOING THE RIGHT THING

That was the beginning of the story — Day doing the right thing. Danny Walker took it from there.

Ninety minutes before Day’s Thursday tee time he withdrew. Had he started his round and pulled out partway through, nobody else would have been able to replace him. But Day gave ample heads up and so Walker, on site as an alternate, was ready. Well, almost ready.

“I was in the locker room in the restroom [when I got the call],” Walker said after his round on Saturday. “Had to take that phone call.”

Walker is a 2024 Korn Ferry Tour grad who lives locally and said he’d dreamt of a start in this tournament. He retreated to his car to give himself a moment and allowed himself to shed a tear. He shot 73-70 to make the cut on the number. Then he rallied with a 66 on Saturday morning and fired a 70 on Sunday to post the lowest 36-hole weekend total, finish T6 and walk away with a check for $843,750.

“Not even a year and a half ago, I had little to no money in my bank account. It’s a big change,” he said.

That’s a win.

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LOSER: U.S. STARS

American flags dominated the top of the leaderboard; 10 of the top 13 finishers are eligible for this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup team. But they aren’t the guys you would have expected. Nobody from the 2024 U.S. Presidents Cup team seriously contended late on Sunday; Collin Morikawa was the highest finisher at T10, followed by Patrick Cantlay (T12). Scottie Scheffler, who was trying to win his third consecutive Players, was visibly frustrated en route to T20, tied with this year’s Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley. Russell Henley (T30) was the only other guy inside the top 50. That left Sahith Theegala (T52) and Xander Schauffele (72nd) plus five guys who didn’t make the weekend: Sam Burns missed the cut by two, Brian Harman and Max Homa by seven, Tony Finau by nine and Wyndham Clark, who withdrew partway through his second round.

Does this mean anything? Yes and no. TPC Sawgrass is an exacting and specific test. You can catch the wrong end of a draw or a down week and get swiftly ejected. But Schauffele and Clark are now battling injuries, while Homa and Harman have lost their form, and Scheffler is falling short of the impossibly high standard he set for himself last year. There’s plenty of talent on the U.S. side — but there’s also a good chance the group at Bethpage looks a lot different than the one from Royal Montreal.

WINNER: J.J. SPAUN, THURSDAY-SUNDAY

The funny thing about J.J. Spaun seemingly folding to Rory McIlroy in their mano-a-mano Monday showdown is that the two were in the penultimate pairing for Saturday’s third round and Spaun smoked him! McIlroy birdied 18 in that round just to lose by three shots on the day, posting 73 to Spaun’s 70.

Spaun was terrific all week: 11th in strokes gained off the tee, eighth on approach, fifth around the green, 36th putting. He hit it far and straight. He hit a bunch of greens in regulation. When he missed greens he got up and down. He survived the fire and handled the pressure and came about one full revolution from winning the tournament on 18 in regulation. His balanced play showed that this wasn’t a random one-off week from a flawed, lucky golfer. This was a guy doing everything well, a guy who’d already posted two podium finishes this season — T3 at the Sony Open and T2 at the Cognizant Classic — and would have been a deserving champion. Consolation prize: He’ll be in the Masters (with $2.7 million more in his bank account, by the way) and deservedly so: Spaun’s up to No. 25 in the world and arguably playing even better than that.

LOSER: J.J. SPAUN, MONDAY

With that said, Spaun’s Monday was a disaster. Ahead of the three-hole playoff, McIlroy referenced the need to make five good swings to win — two on the par-5 16th, one on the par-3 17th, two on the par-4 18th. By my count, Spaun went 0-for-5 on those. Blocked his opening tee shot at 16. Barely cleared the water with his approach and was fortunate to find the bunker. He made a good swing at 17 but hit the wrong shot, sending his ball into the water well long en route to triple bogey. On 18 he blew his tee shot right of the spectators and then, needing a miracle second, topped it instead. Spaun never even finished the hole; he had a 10-footer for bogey but let McIlroy settle up a four-footer instead to put him out of his misery. Happily for Spaun his 5-6-X will vanish into the ether — but it was not good.

WINNER: CARNAGE

Here’s an incomplete list of golfers that shot scores in the 80s at TPC Sawgrass: Xander Schauffele, Maverick McNealy, Rasmus Højgaard, Viktor Hovland, Rickie Fowler, Cameron Young, Nick Dunlap, Cam Davis. Ouch. But that made for proper viewing, as TPC Sawgrass is fun to watch when it’s hard. The course and the carnage were hand-in-hand winners.

LOSER: 5 HOLES WILL ZALATORIS PLAYED ON SATURDAY

As he stepped to the 14th tee on Saturday Will Zalatoris was three under par for the day and 11 under par for the tournament. Eleven under par! Zalatoris has quietly been playing solid golf — six top-25 finishes in nine starts entering the week — but as he climbed to the top of the leaderboard it was easy to imagine a world where this week would be his return to glory.

But then he made quadruple-bogey 8. He followed that with double-bogey 6. He hit one in the water at 17 and walked off with double there, too. And he finished his round with a missed four-footer for par at 18. Five holes. Nine over par. Ouch. Zalatoris rebounded with a solid Sunday 71, making birdie on his final three holes to leave on a good note. His three-under-par score for the week left him nine shots outside a playoff. What could have been…

WINNER: CUTS

The most thrilling single round thrown down by any player came from Justin Thomas on Friday. Partly it was thrilling because he logged a Players-record 11 birdies. But mostly it was thrilling because he’d shot 78 on Day 1, effectively taking himself out of the golf tournament and all but assuring he’d miss the cut. Instead he launched a stirring charge at the cut line, culminating with a curling birdie putt at 17 that found the center of the cup and sent the fans into a frenzy. (His water ball at 18 cost him the solo course record but only slightly dampened the moment.) The round would have been terrific without a cut, too. But the urgency of a Friday deadline made it far more special; here was a guy who appeared to have the weekend off rallying to the edge of contention.

WINNER: THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Not even a lengthy Sunday weather delay could wreck this week. The Players seems to get bigger and better every year; NBC prioritizes its coverage to help make it feel that way. We got demanding conditions, we got wind and weather, we got an interesting mix of stars and storylines on the leaderboard, we got a heart-pounding finish, we got a deserving champion. The Players did well for itself this week.

LOSER: GOLF’S DUMBEST DEBATE

I was relieved that there was almost zero discussion all week about the most tired, useless topic in golf: whether the Players should be a major championship. Eek. The Players is not a major. It’s something different. It’s the PGA Tour’s flagship tournament. I wrote a few years ago that the Players is the “Florida Masters” and I stand by that; like the Masters, the Players is a top-tier tournament held annually at a familiar venue defined by its iconic par-3s and risk-reward par-5s, it’s just that the creeks and azaleas are replaced by island greens and palm trees, the understated Augusta National clubhouse is replaced by a garish Floridian palace, the wholesome par-3 contest is replaced by a rollicking country concert — you get the idea. The Players is great. It’s not a major. Those sentences can coexist.

WINNER: RORY MCILROY

His week began in funny fashion; McIlroy went viral for an odd incident where he grabbed a heckler’s phone. Attend any tournament and you’ll clearly see that McIlroy’s approval rating is incredibly high, but the incident awoke no small group of online haters — the consensus from comment sections, gently put, is that he should have handled the incident differently.

There was another moment where McIlroy’s week could have gone awry: on No. 18 on Sunday, facing a five-footer that he ultimately needed to get into the playoff. After a lengthy read, he appeared to settled on a straight read. The putt wiggled just right, caught the edge of the hole and fell in. You can imagine the discourse if he’d missed; losing a three-stroke lead on the back nine on Sunday capped off with a short miss? Not good!

News

Instead, despite a cold putter late on Sunday, McIlroy walks away the deserving, satisfied champion. He’s No. 2 in the world and for the first time in a while there’s some question as to whether that’s high enough. The expectations for Augusta National will only keep climbing, but that’s a problem for next month; this was his biggest individual win in six years and deserves more than a moment of reflection.

“I remember watching Davis Love win here back on that sort of rainy Sunday when he wouldn’t take his rain jacket off because of the superstition. I remember watching that with my dad at home,” McIlroy reflected. “I remember Craig Perks chipping in from the back of the green. Tiger’s putt, obviously, in 2001. I was always excited to sit down and watch this tournament as a kid.

“Yeah, to think that I’ve won this now a couple of times and I’ve been coming here since 2009 — 10-year-old Rory would think this was really, really cool.”

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OTHER WINNERS

These guys are good, too.

Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf’s Singapore event by five strokes thanks to a Sunday 65; he finished 17 under for the week. Niemann is now a four-time LIV champ; only Brooks Koepka, who finished second this weekend, has won more. Now he turns his eyes to major championship season…

Joshua Berry, 19-year-old Brit, won his first professional tournament at the Kolkata Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour (read: Challenge Tour) on the second hole of a four-man playoff.

And Gina Kim won on the Epson Tour; the former Duke standout played on the LPGA Tour in 2023 and 2024 and is in good position to play her way back there after a victory at the IOA Golf Classic.

SHORT HITTERS

Five stories of varying import.

1. Somehow we go from the Players Championship conclusion Monday morning to the TGL semifinals Monday night. Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Young of New York Golf Club taking on the favorites at Los Angeles GC: Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood and Sahith Theegala. Tuesday night The Bay will play Atlanta Drive. The window for this league seems about right; it’d be surreal to sprinkle this any closer to major championship season.

2. Phil Mickelson brought his flamethrower to Twitter to claim that Joaquin Niemann isn’t just a top-five player in the world but is actually No. 1. Mickelson was clearly trying to stir up some fun, but just out of interest, how high could we get Niemann? He has won two of his last three LIV events and clearly has one of the highest ceilings in the world. On his circuit, is he better than Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton and Brooks Koepka? On the PGA Tour is he better than Scheffler, McIlroy and Schauffele? Anything is possible. DataGolf, which includes LIV pros in its rankings, has Niemann at No. 7 in its current ranking. We’ll get more complete answers at the majors.

3. Charley Hull, who has laid out her ambitions for a faster 5k this year, said in an Instagram story that she’s quitting smoking. “If I pick up a cigarette in the next two months I’ll give you 10 grand, and I’m shaking on that,” she told fellow English pro Ryan Evans. Hull is inside the top 10 in the world; this year it’s clear she’s hoping her clubs will make more noise than her smokes.

4. Tiger Woods underwent surgery for a ruptured achilles tendon as he began ramping up for Masters prep; it’s tough to know what this means for Woods long term, but it’s brutal news in terms of any hopes for a competitive 2025 season.

5. Bryson DeChambeau revealed in a video that he tries to make contact with a specific piece of dimple pattern on the golf ball when he’s hitting short putts.

ONE SWING THOUGHT

Rory McIlroy on backing off.

Did you notice McIlroy stepping off some big shots this week? That’s intentional.

“It’s just the wind is so gusty,” he said. “And you just get a gust, and I’m standing over it like, ‘do I back off, do I not back off?’ I don’t know, I seem to back off more than others, and I don’t know if I’m just more sensitive to the wind or the gusts than some others.

“But when it gets gusty like that, yeah, I do, I want to feel totally comfortable when I’m over the ball and pulling the trigger.”

ONE BIG QUESTION

Who’s third-favorite for Augusta?

Suddenly there are two big-time favorites and there’s everybody else; Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are the consensus top two at this moment in time, and Masters futures reflect that. But where do you go with No. 3 on the odds board? Is it World No. 3 Schauffele, who won two majors last year but was some combination of injured and rusty en route to Sunday 81? Is it Ludvig Aberg, who finished second last year and just won at Torrey Pines? Is it DeChambeau, the defending U.S. Open champ? Is it Rahm, the consensus big dog on LIV? Is it Morikawa, who has two runner-ups and hasn’t finished worse than T17 in five starts this year? That’s not even factoring in Mickelson’s pick, Niemann — or Koepka, who should never again get slept on.

Who ya got?

ONE THING TO WATCH

The 500,000-pound move.

Is it absurd that the folks at TPC Sawgrass dug up a 500,000-pound tree and moved it across property so that it could hang over the tee shot at No. 6, making things that much less comfortable for the pros? Of course it is! But it made for an intriguing story (and a terrifying visual).

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

I’m not sure how national these ads were but plenty of my Seattle-area YouTube TV subscribers were getting fed consistent ads for the floating island green at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course in Idaho. I was picturing the marketing meeting where the resort decided to go all in on Players Week, which is definitely the top week of the year when it comes to island green discourse. But unlike No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass, which is connected to land, No. 14 at Coeur d’Alene literally floats and requires a boat to access. And now I’m tempted to make the trek.

Maybe I’ll see you there. In the meantime, see you here next week!

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

The post Winners and Losers, 2025 Players Championship | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post Tiger’s voicemail, Keegan’s quandary, TGL impressions | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post Tiger’s voicemail, Keegan’s quandary, TGL impressions | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

First, a quick request: If you like the Monday Finish, subscribe HERE to get it in your email inbox! It’s free. And it would make me happy.

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

A call from Tiger.

There’s a scene from the first season of “Full Swing” where Rory McIlroy is sitting in the locker room at the Tour Championship and checks his phone to find a text from a familiar number.

“He’s always the first,” McIlroy tells the camera as he receives a celebratory glass of wine. “Always.”

Who’s he talking about?

“Tiger,” McIlroy clarifies. “Like, he’ll text you before the last putt drops. Always the first. He’s unreal.”

Apparently that treatment isn’t reserved for superstars, though. On Sunday, following his win at the Puerto Rico Open, 23-year-old rising Aussie star Karl Vilips scanned his phone for new messages.

“I was just scrolling, like, ‘who was texting me?’ I think I got one from a random number that called me as well,” Vilips said in his winner’s interview a short while later. “Then there was a voicemail saying, ‘it’s Tiger’ and I couldn’t like process it in the moment, I was just trying to — I’ll get back to that later. That’s pretty cool.”

The connection is more than random; Vilips is the first pro (not named Tiger Woods) sponsored by Woods’ clothing line, Sun Day Red. Still, it was clear that the message was a surreal cap to a surreal day for a pro playing in just his fourth PGA Tour event. When will it sink in?

“Probably tonight when I’m going through all my messages,” he said. “Been a little overwhelmed by the support that I’ve been getting. It’s just so special that I have so many friends that are reaching out. I think once I start responding to those, call a couple of friends, I think that’s when it will start kicking in.”

Do you call Tiger Woods back first? Before or after your close family members? Navigating the incredible aftermath of a life-changing win — that’s golf stuff I like.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Russell Henley surged past Collin Morikawa at the Arnold Palmer Invitational thanks to two late birdies and a chip-in eagle on No. 16 at Bay Hill, giving him a dramatic victory that sends him to a career-best No. 7 in the world.

“I’ve grown up watching this event and just seeing all the amazing finishes coming down the stretch, and you never really think you’re going to get that opportunity to come down the 18th and make a par to win,” Henley said. “It’s really just hard to take in right now.”

Karl Vilips won the Puerto Rico Open, which is what the Tour calls an “Additional Event” opposite the Signature Event; less than a year after he was playing golf at Stanford, he’s a PGA Tour winner and up to No. 106 in the world.

Rio Takeda of Japan shot a red-hot 8-under 64 to blitz the field at the Blue Bay LPGA in China and win her second title on the circuit. She finished six shots ahead of Minjee Lee, who was second.

Calum Hill won the Joburg Open on the DP World Tour in a three-man playoff, earning his second victory on the circuit and his first in over three years. The Scotsman moves to No. 160 in the world as the DPWT finishes its “International Swing;” Laurie Canter accrued the most points during the stretch and leads the Race to Dubai.

Sergio Garcia won LIV’s event in Hong Kong by three shots over Dean Burmester, reigniting the debate over his potential Ryder Cup candidacy. It’s a bit early to get serious about playing form, but it’s safe to say that Garcia returning to Bethpage Black as a member of the visiting Ryder Cup team would attract some attention from the local fans.

Logan McAllister won the Astara Chile Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour, a career-changing victory for a pro who had been playing this season on conditional status but now moves to full status and sits at No. 6 in the points list.

Laetitia Beck won the Atlantic Beach Classic on the Epson Tour; the Israeli athlete was one of just three players to finish under par for the week and shot eight under to win by three.

And Soren Kjeldsen, the 49-year-old Dane who lost his status on the DP World Tour last season after a quarter-century of membership, won the Nordic Golf League’s Spring Series Final in a playoff.

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NOT-WINNERS

But not for lack of trying.

As Keegan Bradley went deeper and deeper under par on Sunday at Bay Hill, it became clear that he could potentially steal the event despite starting 11 shots off the lead. But even when his magic ran out, he was left with a spectacular round of eight-under 64, good for T5 and a meaningful number of Ryder Cup points.

That’s almost entirely good news for Bradley. But I have to admit the reality that he could actually play on the Ryder Cup team while also captaining makes me nervous for him. The high of winning as a player-captain would be incredible. Career-changing. It would redeem any past Cup disappointments and immediately become the defining heroic moment of his golfing life. But if he played and the U.S. team lost at home? Oh man. It’s tough to quantify the depths of disappointment that would come with that sort of defeat. So I hope Bradley keeps going low. But the stakes will only keep climbing as he does.

Other notable non-winners: Minjee Lee moved up to No. 11 in the world thanks to her runner-up showing. Collin Morikawa is up to No. 4 in the world and is arguably playing the best golf of his career despite not winning; he finished runner-up for the third time in six starts. Corey Conners snuck to the bronze medal at Bay Hill, firing four rounds between 69 and 71 as he climbed back inside the top 30 in the world. And Michael Kim left us with a Korean saying after finishing in fourth:

“When the tide is right, that’s when you row [your] hardest. Let’s keep on rowing!”

SHORT HITTERS

5 thoughts from TGL.

Last Tuesday I made the pilgrimage to the vaunted SoFi Center for the first TGL match of my life. Five quick observations:

1. The warehouse venue? Pretty cool.

The setting was cooler than I expected. One moment, you’re navigating cones working your way through the parking lot of a state college. A minute later, you’re walking through the doors of what appears to be a large warehouse. And a minute after that, you’re gazing out at Tiger Woods laughing with Tom Kim and Max Homa as they fire drivers into a giant screen from a large swath of bottle-green turf. Y’know how cool people go to giant warehouse parties in like, Brooklyn? This is that but for golf nerds. Edgier than I expected. You’re stepping into a bizarre alternate reality when you walk through those doors.

2. It’s a VIP experience.

At its best, the TGL experience is an up-close, intimate look at golf’s top pros in a comfortable environment with food, drink and seats all at your fingertips. It’s also VIP-rich. There are less than 2,000 seats, I believe, but my Tuesday night crowd included Josh Allen, Sam Darnold and Celine Dion. Yes, Celine Dion. It makes you dream of a world where a half-dozen TGL stadiums exist around the country and the who’s-who of the local sports scene turn up to sit courtside (course-side? greenside?) when the show comes to town. But I’m not sure how realistic that is.

3. The rotating green is the wildest part.

I knew the green rotated, but I’d sort of forgotten that it happens every hole. And that requires a green that moves fast. Given the size of the thing, that’s an impressive operation — and requires a green designed to be approached from any angle. Of all the impressive tech, that’s what stood out to me.

4. I wanted to hear more.

The biggest miss from my end was not being able to hear what the pros were saying as they yukked it up greenside. I could tell they were having fun — especially given it was a meaningless match that ultimately turned into a blowout. Tom Kim started celebrating before his chip-in actually lipped out, sending Woods and Homa nearly to tears. But I couldn’t hear ’em. An earbud handed out with your ticket would go a long way. Maybe Season 2.

5. Tiger Woods showed his human side.

TGL has brought out several sides of Woods we don’t usually see. Laughing at his team’s shortcomings. Bantering back and forth with his son, Charlie, who’s never far away on the field or in the stands. Serving as a sport’s organizer and its talent. But during his post-round availability I was most struck by Woods’ comments on his playing future. It was clear just how much he’s still hurting from his mother Tida’s passing.

Asked how much he’d thought about making a PGA Tour start, a shadow passed over Woods’ face.

“Not really,” he said. “This is the third time I’ve touched a club since my mom passed, so I haven’t really gotten into it. My heart is not really into practicing right now. I’ve had so many other things to do with the Tour and trying to do other things.

“Once I start probably feeling a little bit better and start getting into it, I’ll start looking at the schedule.”

ONE SWING THOUGHT

Scottie Scheffler isn’t thinking about a three-peat.

He’s not acknowledging it, at least. And I’m guessing he won’t acknowledge it much in his pre-tournament presser, either. When it comes to his press conferences, Scheffler can sometimes be surprisingly forthcoming, but other times can channel his Tom Brady and talk politely without really saying much of anything. That doesn’t always make for good copy, but I can certainly understand why he does it. So what does he think as he arrives at TPC Sawgrass chasing a three-peat?

“Well, I’m not going to be thinking about that too much next week, just go in there with the right mindset,” he said after finishing off a T11 at Bay Hill. “We’ll head up there tonight and hopefully get some practice in tomorrow when the rain stops, and then get ready for the week.”

ONE BIG QUESTION

Does the PGA Tour need a LIV deal?

For a couple weeks — and through a couple meetings with the U.S. president — it seemed as though a deal between the PGA Tour and LIV may be imminent. But last week some Tour pros and reps seemed to walk back that impression slightly, leading plenty of exhausted onlookers to beg the question: Does the Tour need a deal, anyway?

“I wouldn’t say needs a deal,” McIlroy said in his pre-tournament press conference. “I think the narrative around golf would welcome a deal in terms of just having all the best players together again. But I don’t think the PGA Tour needs a deal.”

McIlroy cited some momentum on the Tour’s side in the form of an uptick in TV ratings during the West Coast Swing and the addition of TGL. He also acknowledged that, while he doesn’t think a deal has ever gotten particularly close, that’s especially true now. Still …

“I think it would still be the ideal scenario for golf as a whole. But from a pure PGA Tour perspective, I don’t think it necessarily needs it.”

I don’t expect we’ll hear a ton that’s new, exactly, from PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan when he addresses the media at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday. But that’ll be one question I’m interested to hear him tackle: Does he think the PGA Tour needs a deal?

ONE THING TO WATCH

LIV’s brand-new shootout.

New stuff happens all the time on LIV Golf, but this is new even by their standards: The league is holding what they’re calling a “reserve playoff” this week for the final spot on one of its teams, the Iron Heads, whose Jinichiro Kozuma is out indefinitely. Four players who LIV keeps as its “reserves” and serve as fill-ins — John Catlin, Wade Ormsby, Kalle Samooja and Ollie Schniederjans — will play off for the spot via the following 18-hole format:

LIV’s roster construction is an intriguing subplot of the pro golf world. It’s interesting, for example, that Chieh-Po Lee, who won LIV’s qualifying tournament, never joined a team’s roster but is playing as a Wild Card instead alongside Anthony Kim. (Thirteen teams of four plus two Wild Card pros make a full field of 54.) And it’ll be interesting to see where playing opportunities take these four pros over the course of the year as they press on in LIV Golf limbo.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

Sam Darnold is coming to town! Sam — I know a great par-28 with your name on it. Hot dogs on me.

We’ll see you next week!

Before you go, a quick request: If you like the Monday Finish, subscribe for free HERE to get it in your email inbox!

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

The post Tiger’s voicemail, Keegan’s quandary, TGL impressions | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post Why cuts rule, 2 costly triples, Tiger’s ex-caddie’s son | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post Why cuts rule, 2 costly triples, Tiger’s ex-caddie’s son | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

First, a quick request: If you like the Monday Finish, subscribe HERE to get it in your email inbox! It’s free. And it would make me happy.

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Cuts that mean something.

I thought that the title of “most meaningful made cut of the week” was locked up on Friday afternoon when Luke Clanton, Florida State junior and mega-talent, surged to the weekend with a second-round 66, earning his PGA Tour card in the process. I was at home watching on TV and thought it was especially meaningful that Tour veterans Joel Dahmen and Keith Mitchell were on the broadcast (via Smylie Kaufman‘s “Happy Hour” segment) as Clanton headed for the finish line; they’ve each had high enough highs and low enough lows to appreciate the best and worst of a career on Tour. They know what it means to have a Tour card. And they’re Clanton admirers, too.

“I’m a nine-year veteran out here and I want to play like Luke Clanton,” Dahmen said. He emphasized that he hoped Clanton would take a chance to enjoy the moment. Just a short while later Clanton punctuated his made cut with a birdie putt, a fist pump and some tears. Appreciation didn’t seem to be an issue.

“It’s so much work from so many people, from your family to your coaches to your friends; you’re carrying a village with you. And he’s feeling that right now,” Mitchell added.

“Yeah, I mean, dad and mom, what they’ve done for me, I can’t even put it into words, really, and it was amazing to see them on 18,” Clanton said post-round. “I know dad is right there and I’m trying not to look at him because he’s going to make me cry.”

That was a moment.

But on Friday there was another made cut that received less attention at the time: Joe Highsmith faced a pressure-packed putt for par.

“I kind of had a rollercoaster day on Friday with two doubles and two bogeys, and found myself with a five-footer on 18 just to play the weekend,” Highsmith said on Sunday. “I was like, man, am I really going to miss the cut?”

That five-footer, he said, was “the worst putt you’d ever want.” Baked-out greens. Bumpy by that point in the day. And a right-to-lefter for a left-hander? Nightmare. “I had already been kind of crumbling under the cut pressure. I think I had bogeyed two of the last five or something, made a couple pars, and of course I ended up with this five-footer just to make the cut,” Highsmith said.

He rolled in that putt. He made the weekend. And then he shot 64-64 to win the golf tournament.

It was the fifth time in the last 20 seasons, per Justin Ray, that a player had made the cut on the number and gone on to win a PGA Tour event. (It was also the first PGA Tour victory for Highsmith’s caddie, Joe LaCava Jr., who you’ll remember from his stints on Charlie Woods’ bag at the PNC Championship and whose dad you’ll know from his stints with Fred Couples or Dustin Johnson or Tiger Woods or Patrick Cantlay. More on that in a moment.) Now? Everything changes for Highsmith. He’s into the Signature Events. He’s inside the top 60 in the world. And he’s into, well…

“Did you say the Masters? Yeah, I don’t want to break any protocol. I’m not sure if I’ve officially received an invite. But that’s the one,” Highsmith said; he’s been there a couple times but never for the biggest tournament in golf. “I mean, it is just like the most incredible place on earth.”

Making cuts that mean more — that’s golf stuff I like.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

This was a sneaky-cool week for worldwide golf.

One note on Highsmith’s win: with the victory he’s up to No. 59 in the world, which means there are now five lefties inside the top 60 in the OWGR: Bob MacIntyre (No. 19), Akshay Bhatia (No. 30), Brian Harman (No. 37), Matt McCarty (No. 57) and Joe Highsmith (No. 59). Based on a cursory scan of OWGR reports from most of the last 20 years this hasn’t happened in…a while.

Lydia Ko threw down a dominant performance at the LPGA’s HSCB Women’s World Championship, “Asia’s Major,” en route to a four-stroke victory at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore. The win marks her first since a ridiculous run of three victories in four starts at the end of last summer; Ko now has four wins in her last 11 starts.

“You have such an incredible year, you kind of think, is it going to be another good year, the following one?” So far, so good.

Ryan Peake won the New Zealand Open, completing a comeback from [double-checks notes] prison to big-time professional golf. Peake was a talented Aussie amateur; he and Cameron Smith teamed up to win a big-time junior event as 17-year-olds back in 2010. But per Evin Priest’s report, Peake became a member of the Rebels motorcycle gang and in 2014 was handed a five-year prison sentence for his role in an assault.

“I’ve just changed my life,” Peake said after canning a pressure-packed par putt from eight feet for the win. “This is what I do. I want to be here and just play golf.”

Now he has a tee time at Royal Portrush for this summer’s Open Championship. He has Asian Tour status and is eying a full-time DP World Tour card. Things are looking up.

Dylan Naidoo won his first DP World Tour event under unconventional circumstances; the final round at the South African Open was rained out and so he and 54-hole co-leader Laurie Canter played off for the title. Naidoo, an analytical 27-year-old South African who said Saturday’s crowds had him feeling “like I was Tiger Woods,” made birdie on the first playoff hole. The win gets him into the Open and, nearly as important, leapfrogs him to No. 2 in the world in “golfers named Dylan”. (I am well down the list.) Canter’s consolation prize is a berth at the Players Championship via top-50 OWGR — a first for an ex-LIV pro.

Justin Suh won the Argentina Open on the Korn Ferry Tour, completing our list of national opens. He earned a berth at Portrush, too — but big-picture it got him a step closer to a return to the PGA Tour, where he has made 89 starts.

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NOT-WINNERS

Two costly triple-bogeys.

Sometimes Tour pros set up to hit a shot and you, from your couch, think wow that seems like a horrible idea and then they pull it off with ease because they are operating on an entirely different plane than you could ever conceive of. And other times you, from your couch, think wow that seems like a horrible idea and, in fact, it probably is. Enter Jake Knapp, who shot 59 on Thursday and held a share of the lead as he entered the slop just short of the 11th green on Sunday and walked away several slops later with a triple-bogey 7 and no chance left to win the tournament.

“Even now I don’t take it back. It’s just one of those shots you just have to end up hitting a little bit harder than I did,” Knapp said post-round. Ride on, sir.

While there was something sort of punk rock about Knapp’s implosion there was nothing to cheer for when it came to Taylor Montgomery‘s 16th-hole 7. That’s because Montgomery entered the week on a medical extension and in need of a top-13 finish to retain his PGA Tour status and on Sunday made six birdies (and four bogeys) in the first 11 holes to get well inside that number. Then came a bogey at 14 (no problem) and then a water ball on his approach into No. 16 (big problem) that led to triple bogey. Two shots lower and Montgomery would have finished T11; instead he slid to T25. Ouch.

SHORT HITTERS

5 intriguing players at the Seminole Pro-Member.

In fairness basically everybody in this field is intriguing, but for our purposes here let’s steer clear of big-money businessmen and stick to a few golfers (plus Tom Brady).

1. Tom Brady

Brady’s presence is a reminder of just how embedded the greatest football player in history is in the South Florida golf scene; he appears to be paired with Seminole’s head pro Matt Cahill in the first tee time of the day.

2. Tiger Woods

The last time Tiger Woods teed it up in a 72-hole stroke play event was in an MC at last year’s Open Championship; since then we’ve seen him at the PNC Championship and a series of TGL matches. We won’t see anything from this Woods round, but it’s odd that he will tee it up Monday (at Seminole) and Tuesday (at the TGL SoFi Center) the week of Bay Hill but won’t be in that tournament. Sign of the times.

3. The Korda sisters

World No. 1 Nelly Korda has only made two starts in 2025. Jessica Korda hasn’t made a start on the LPGA Tour since mid-2023; she had her first child in early 2024. They’ll both tee it up in the same group alongside John Waldron and Mike Troy, reprising past pairings from this event.

4. Rory McIlroy + Shane Lowry

McIlroy didn’t play this week but thanks to the almighty algorithm he leapfrogged Xander Schauffele to regain the title of World No. 2. He’ll play alongside his father Gerry, who’s a Seminole member, and in the same group as Lowry and Ed Herlihy, a lawyer and the former chairman of the PGA Tour’s policy board. McIlroy and Lowry will each be pulling double duty; they’re each playing in a TGL match later on Monday. That’s true of Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott, too, as well as:

5. Cameron Young

Who is playing with Rob Manfred, commissioner of Major League Baseball. If you’ve ever wondered why Young sports that MLB logo, here’s your connection: Young grew up the son of the head pro at Sleepy Hollow Country Club just outside of New York City. Manfred is a member at Sleepy Hollow, too, and their families have been friends for most of his life. Manfred offered Young an MLB sponsorship when Young turned pro and before he had any status on golf’s top Tour; the rest is history. Now they’ll be swinging for the fences at Seminole on Monday.

ONE SWING THOUGHT

Jordan Spieth after another top 10.

Spieth sounded miffed at his lack of Bay Hill tee time, lamenting not playing better “injured golf” last season. In other words, he feels like he’s playing well enough to deserve a berth, particularly after his Sunday 68 secured him a T9 finish, his second top 10 in his last three starts. Where is he in his journey back from wrist surgery?

“Right now I’m on the right track back. I’m progressing, and I know that I’m on the right track. I’m not searching for answers. That’s a big difference.

“That just means it’ll come. But the problem is I’ve been so far off for so many years that if that’s 10,000 reps, it might take 20,000 to be where I want to be. But I’m already 15,000 in. So hopefully it just continues to get better. No limitations on the wrist. Being able to hold the club in the right place going back is a big deal, too.

“I have way more knowledge about what I do well and why I did it well and how to get back to doing that than I did back then. I feel like I can do stuff like this every week, and back then it was like a crapshoot.”

ONE BIG QUESTION

When will Bryson DeChambeau play Bay Hill next?

It was just four years ago that the Big Golfer took an all-time aggressive line on the par-5 6th at Bay Hill. That was pre-LIV and, well, pre- a lot of things in the golf world. But it’s a clip that resurfaces every year this time and will again this week, particularly as DeChambeau’s stature continues to grow.

There has been plenty of speculation surrounding a LIV-PGA Tour truce and there has been speculation about DeChambeau’s LIV deal and at some point it feels as though these top pros will be playing in the same fields more often. The question, then: when will DeChambeau tee it up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational again?

ONE THING TO WATCH

TGL Tuesday.

This is sort of a category for me, by me, to say this: I’m attending TGL on Tuesday in person for the first time. So my “one thing to watch” is simply “TGL”. I hope you’ll watch with me and we can talk about it here next week.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

It’s not just that Joe Highsmith is from Lakewood, just down the road from Seattle. It’s that he got his caddie, Joe LaCava, Jr., thanks to a rec from Fred Couples, who won the Masters with Joe LaCava on his bag and has had junior fill in here and there on the PGA Tour Champions. LaCava Jr. hasn’t been doing this for long but already has carried for Couples, Charlie Woods and in victories on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. That’s a one-of-a-kind resume.

Couples had business of his own this week, too: he received a lifetime achievement award from the Seattle Sports Commission — and dodged a “speech” by bringing in college golf teammate Jim Nantz for a conversation instead. Big things happening for Washington golf, gang. I’m excited to get swept up in that momentum.

We’ll see you next week!

Before you go, a quick request: If you like the Monday Finish, subscribe for free HERE to get it in your email inbox!

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

The post Why cuts rule, 2 costly triples, Tiger’s ex-caddie’s son | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

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The post Short hitter’s dream day, emergency caddie magic, Netflix drama | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

First, a quick request: If you like the Monday Finish, subscribe HERE to get it in your email inbox! It’s free. And it would make me happy.

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

The winner you didn’t see coming.

Imagine, for a moment, you’re in the shoes of a particular player this past Sunday afternoon in the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld.

Good news: You’re in a playoff to win on the PGA Tour!

Some bad news: Your opponent is 20-year-old rising star Aldrich Potgieter. He’s unscarred and unafraid. You? You’re about to turn 32. You’ve earned your PGA Tour card and you’ve lost it and, after 150-plus starts in the minor leagues, you’ve earned it back. You know the preciousness of this opportunity and you know the consequences of a misstep. It’ll be tough to play free.

Some more bad news: Your opponent’s swing speed is 17 mph faster than yours. His ball speed is nearly 30 mph higher. He carries his tee shots, on average, 51 yards longer than you do. He hits 59 percent of his tee shots longer than 320 yards while you clear that threshold less than four percent of the time. He is arguably the longest driver on the PGA Tour. You are arguably the shortest.

Some more bad news: You’re playing a par 5.

Some more bad news: Even though you are one of the straightest drivers in professional golf — your “good drive” percentage is over 90, ranking second on Tour — now your tee shot is slicing so far right of the fairway that it’s almost certainly headed out of bounds. A tee shot out of bounds means you’ll re-tee hitting three which means, really, your goose is cooked.

Who are you? You’re Brian Campbell, southern California native and Illinois graduate. You’ve spent the better part of a decade bouncing between the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour and back to the Korn Ferry Tour. You’ve remained relatively anonymous because you’ve never quite played your way out of anonymity; you’ve never finished inside the top 10 in a PGA Tour event, never cracked the top 100 in the world and less than two years ago you’d fallen outside the top 1000. A strong 2024 season on the KFT got you back to the big show and now you’ve gotten yourself to the brink of a career-changing victory. Until this sliced drive, of course…

But then something wild happens: Your ball crashes into the woods and then it crashes out. You’re fine. You have a second chance. Pros often say that you need some luck to win, that you need a few bounces to go your way. They’re not usually this literal.

A few minutes later — one clutch wedge and one clutch putt later, to be specific — you’re a PGA Tour winner. You react like you’re in a daze. Your girlfriend reacts with the appropriate enthusiasm; perhaps she’s processing that this changes everything.

“All I wanted to do was see him smile with the trophy and that was my dream,” she says.

“I thought I was going to throw up at multiple times during the day,” you admit a few minutes later, speaking to media. You add this: “It means everything. And honestly, I have no idea what’s going on right now, I just need to soak this in.”

This doesn’t matter even a lick to you, but you’ve spoiled the weekend for an entire legion of betting sharps who’d tapped Potgieter as a perfect course fit. Not a lot of guys were picking the short-knocker to win the course built for big hitters, after all. But that’s why they play all 72 holes — or 74, in your case.

Editor’s note: Winning when nobody bet on you? That’s golf stuff I like.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Brian Campbell won his first PGA Tour event, the latest and biggest leap in what has been the best stretch of his professional career. There were signs when he finished runner-up at multiple Korn Ferry Tour events last season; now we’ve got proof. This guy can do some special stuff.

Angel Yin won the Honda LPGA Thailand; she started Sunday’s final round with a five-shot lead, fired seven-under 65 and still won by just one over hard-charging rookie Akie Iwai, who closed with 61. The win was her second and moved her up to No. 12 in the world.

And Jacques Kruyswijk won the Magical Kenya Open, the first DP World Tour title of the South African’s career.

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NOT-WINNERS

These guys are good, too.

Isaiah Salinda shot a Sunday 65 in Mexico, tying for low round of the day, to finish third — the best result of his young PGA Tour career.

“Top-10s are huge out here. That was kind of my primary role going into today is just to lock up a top-10 and get into next week [the Cognizant Classic] and hopefully Players and Bay Hill and all those events,” he said.

Joel Dahmen shot 65 on Sunday, too. He’s made just two cuts in five starts this season but has made the most of ’em with two top-10s including Sunday’s T6, taking full advantage of his last-minute charge.

Another guy to shoot 65 on Sunday: amateur Jose Luis Ballester. The Arizona State star made his first cut on the PGA Tour (in his fourth start) and wound up T17.

On the LPGA Tour, Akie Iwai proved just how low she can go, shooting 62 in the first round and 61 in the final round en route to a runner-up finish.

And a trio of Thai women — Jeeno Thitikul, Patty Tavatanakit and Moriya Jutanugarn — rounded out the top five at their home event.

ONE DUMB GRAPHIC

Drive for show…

SHORT HITTERS

Netflix moments.

Full Swing comes out on Netflix at midnight Tuesday. I’m in it! With limited spoilers (I’ll keep it very light but feel free to skip to the next section) here are five things to get fired up about.

1. An unexpected amateur

Ludvig Åberg is front and center in the first episode, and it’s terrific getting some real time with golf’s newest star. But amateur Neal Shipley is an unexpected delight. He’ll make you laugh and he’ll make you feel and he’ll take you inside a different corner of Augusta National; this is exactly the sort of access this show can provide that would be impossible elsewhere.

2. A partner in crime

Shane Lowry’s friendship with Rory McIlroy takes center stage in Episode 2 and while McIlroy is his typical insightful superstar self it’s actually Lowry who commands the episode; the high point is when he’s asked whether he’s protective of McIlroy and gives a thoughtful answer that speaks to something bigger than their Zurich Classic partnership.

3. An unexpected (non-)crime

Scottie Scheffler’s arrest was the wildest moment of the 2024 golf season — this is a chance to hear from Scheffler, to watch previously unseen footage of the arrest and to relive an impossibly unlikely sequence of events.

4. A photo finish

The best gameplay of the season came at the U.S. Open, where [I don’t think this counts as a spoiler] Bryson DeChambeau and McIlroy tangled all the way to the final green. Netflix definitely wants this show to have broad appeal, but for big-time golf fans this may be the peak of the season — getting new angles and perspectives on something you’ve already seen is more than enough excitement.

5. A courageous fight

The best episode of the season is No. 6, which showcases Gary Woodland‘s fight with a brain tumor. It feels weird to put this in a list like this as something to “look forward to” but as cameras accompany Woodland from his home to his tournaments all the way into his doctors’ offices you root for this longtime pro in a much more important battle than anything he’d face on course.

ONE SWING THOUGHT

Brian Campbell on punching back.

Why’d Campbell feel immediately proud of his win? The first word he turned to was grit. And then he explained why.

“I almost stopped golfing about two years ago. I was at second stage. I made a quad on a par 3 and thought I shot myself out of Q-School. Then somehow managed to fight back the next day and shoot a really nice number, got myself back in it enough to get to final stage. That led to last year and I had a really strong last year. It’s crazy how quickly things can change and I’m so blessed to be in this position.”

ONE BIG QUESTION

What does a caddie mean?

Angel Yin’s typical caddie Michelle Simpson went down with an illness shortly before her opening round. Who’d she turn to?

“My bag is quite heavy. My friend who is my manager, she tried and she almost fell over. She weighs as much as the golf bag, so there was no way that was going to happen. We were kind of desperate,” Yin said. Instead they stumbled on an emergency replacement who just happened to be an expert.

Sakchai “Tom” Sirimaya was the name of Yin’s fill-in, per Golf Channel. And what a fill-in!

“Tom was like, ‘Oh, I’m a professional caddie.’ He caddies on the Japanese Senior Tour and Asian Tour,” Yin said. “You really can’t pick someone that good just out of nowhere, and so he was on my bag.”

You already know what happened next; Tom got a front-row seat to Yin’s 30-birdie barrage. She got her second career victory.

My question, then, involves fill-in caddies. There are plenty of times that golfers get fill-ins and play unremarkable tournaments, of course. But there are also enough instances of pros playing top-tier rounds with fill-ins — think Bob MacIntyre’s dad caddying him to victory in Canada last season, Fred Couples‘ new caddie bearing witness to a winning 60, Tommy Fleetwood’s local caddie getting him on the podium at Augusta, Max Homa winning in South Africa with a buddy on the bag, Matt Kuchar winning with his fill-in caddie at Mayakoba, Sungjae Im winning in his friend’s first week on the bag, Martin Trainer winning with a first-timer, all the way back to Sergio Garcia winning with a local caddie at the 2012 Wyndham Championship. Is this statistically significant? I dunno. I dunno how I’d even figure that out; I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t.

One take from this would be something like “caddies don’t matter.” I think caddies actually matter a ton. But I think they matter in mysterious ways. It’s hardly a calculation of pure golf knowledge. And so getting a new caddie or a fill-in caddie or a complete change of pace could make you take accountability or snap out of bad habits in a way that you might not otherwise. Sometimes NBA teams miss their starting point guard for a couple games and everybody else elevates their game to fill that void; it doesn’t mean the team is better long-term without that player, just that professional athletes sometimes benefit or elevate from a little change of pace.

The question, then, is this: how do you know who’s gonna make a good fill-in caddie vs. a dud?

ONE THING TO WATCH

Timothée Chalament on being great.

I love when athletes talk about wanting to be great. It signals commitment and it signals confidence; it’s alpha-dog stuff. It was cool, then, to see Timothée Chalamet bring that energy to the acting world in his acceptance speech at the SAG Awards on Sunday. After winning his first major acting award for playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.

“I know we’re in a subjective business, but the truth is, I’m really in pursuit of greatness. I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats,” he said. “I’m inspired by the greats. I’m inspired by the greats here tonight. I’m as inspired by Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, and Viola Davis as I am by Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, and I want to be up there. So I’m deeply grateful. This doesn’t signify that, but it’s a little more fuel. It’s a little more ammo to keep going. Thank you so much.”

Not just Lewis but Jordan, too. Chalamet knows ball. He wants to be great. What an electric combo.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

I skipped town this weekend for a bachelor party and it was awesome. Not in a way that I’m bragging about some wild party but more in a way that it was absolutely energizing seeing a group of old buddies. I grew up in Massachusetts and am still in touch with plenty of friends from high school and college but there are stretches of the year where that distance feels really significant; getting the band together for a couple days of nonsense goes a long way to filling up the gas tank. (Hence the beauty of golf trips.) Even if the early-morning Sunday flight hit like a ton of bricks.

Call your friends, people. We’ll see you next week!

Before you go, a quick request: If you like the Monday Finish, subscribe for free HERE to get it in your email inbox!

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

The post Short hitter’s dream day, emergency caddie magic, Netflix drama | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post What Tiger said, what Ludvig did, slow play’s mysterious disappearance | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post What Tiger said, what Ludvig did, slow play’s mysterious disappearance | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

First, a quick request: If you like the Monday Finish, subscribe HERE to get it in your email inbox! It’s free. And it would make me happy.

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Learning from Augusta.

If, as they say, the Masters doesn’t start until the back nine on Sunday, Ludvig Åberg‘s 2024 Masters started poorly.

Sure, he was seven under for the tournament and in a share of the lead as he played No. 10 in last year’s final round. And sure, that was the first major championship of his young life. But when his approach shot at the 11th hit a wall of wind and fell short and left into the greenside pond, his tournament hopes all but drowned with it.

Still, there was something to be learned from what Åberg did next. The then-24-year-old parred the 12th, rallied with birdies at 13 and 14 and played blemish-free to the clubhouse. Behind him, leader Scottie Scheffler matched Åberg’s birdies at 13 and 14 and added another at 16 to build his lead back up to four, where it would ultimately finish. But Åberg had done something important: He’d showed his relentlessness, posting a final-round 69 to make the World No. 1 go out and beat him.

I thought of that back nine on Sunday at the Genesis as Åberg disappeared from coverage following a 5-5-5 stretch on 4-5-6 at Torrey Pines South. The tournament leaders were suddenly four shots ahead and there were a whole bunch of big-name pros between the Swede and the top of the board.

But Åberg dug in. He birdied No. 7. Then he birdied No. 9. And as the world was focused on Maverick McNealy’s breakaway run two groups ahead, Åberg went about his business and birdied 13, 14 and 15. He nearly birdied No. 17, too, and when he smashed driver-7-wood to the back of the par-5 18th green and then executed on a ticklish two-putt, he’d suddenly secured the biggest win of his career.

“It’s a nice feeling knowing that I didn’t get ahead of myself,” Åberg said. “I was sort of focused on the things that I could focus on and then, knowing that you’ll get a lot of chances as long as you’re executing the shots, I was really pleased with the way I finished today.”

Knowing you’ll get some chances — and then taking full advantage of ’em all? That’s golf stuff I like. The Age of Åberg has arrived.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Ludvig Aberg’s victory was the second of his PGA Tour career; with the win he gets $4 million and a jump up to No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking, behind only Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy.

“I was pretty bummed I didn’t get to win a tournament last year, but it’s really nice to be able to do it again,” he said. “It’s almost addicting to walk down those last couple holes and I just want to do it again.”

On LIV Golf, Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf’s Adelaide event in Australia; his three-stroke victory was his third on LIV and a reminder just how good the 2022 Genesis Invitational champ is three years later. The tournament remains LIV’s greatest sign of potential, at least on the ground — the league reported more than 100,000 attendees for the week.

And Wilco Nienaber, the South African pro best known for his prodigious length, dialed in that firepower en route to a seven-stroke victory at the NTT Data Pro-Am on the HotelPlanner Tour (formerly known as the Challenge Tour) to move inside the top 300 in the world.

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NOT-WINNERS

These guys are good, too.

Maverick McNealy played an epic final round, particularly his first 13 holes. In fact, if McNealy had handed off to Åberg for the final five holes they would have combined for a course-record 12-under 60. Instead, McNealy bogeyed 14 and parred his way home for an eight-under 64, good enough for second place and a jump to No. 14 in the world, the best position of his career.

“It’s really fun when the ball’s coming off exactly like you want, when you’re standing over a putt and you feel like it’s just going to go in,” McNealy said post-round. We’ll have to believe him.

Scottie Scheffler finished T3 alongside Patrick Rodgers; while Rodgers held the 54-hole lead, Scheffler threw down a final-round rollercoaster 66 that included two chip-ins for birdie but two back-nine par-3 bogeys, too.

“I think I feel pretty bad about where I’m at,” Scheffler said post-round, then caught himself. He’s coming off hand surgery, after all, and finished on the podium without his best stuff.

“I’m trying to do myself to stay patient with myself, which can be tough because I have high expectations and I think when I get out here and start competing, I definitely forget that I had lost some of the progress I made in the offseason.”

ONE DUMB GRAPHIC

Mav McNealy and the gang.

SHORT HITTERS

5 things Tiger Woods said.

Tournament host Tiger Woods joined CBS’s Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman broadcast on Sunday afternoon.

1. His mom kept his stats.

Woods lost his mother Tida last week; on Sunday competitors at the Genesis wore red pins in her honor. He smiled as he offered fond memories of her on the broadcast; Woods has long said her role in his golf upbringing is underrated.

“Mom was my rock, you know?” he said. “When my dad worked at McDonnell Douglas at that time and was working on the Delta rocket, Mom would take me to every junior event here in southern California whether it’s nine holes out in Riverside, San Bernadino, she would drive out there and keep score, walk every hole and how many putts I hit, how many fairways I hit, how many greens I hit. She tracked it all.”

2. He was intent on keeping the Genesis in Southern California.

“I wanted to keep the event at an iconic venue. Riviera’s iconic. It was iconic to me when I first played there, it was the first tournament on the PGA Tour I ever played. And I think this golf course is iconic.”

What Woods didn’t say is that Torrey Pines is iconic in part because he has made it that way; he has nearly a Hall of Fame-worthy career of moments at Torrey alone.

“To keep the event in SoCal and be able to raise over $8 million, Genesis is donating every single car this week. So we’re trying to help all the people that have been struggling and will continue to struggle because of the fires. This event I think will go a long way to that healing process, but still — a lot of the people here in Southern California need to heal.”

3. There’s one guy he remembers watching at Torrey Pines.

Woods remembers coming to Torrey Pines when it hosted the Andy Williams San Diego Open. Who does he remember seeing? Somebody you might not expect.

“There’s one guy that my dad said you’ve got to watch him hit a golf ball. It was a 1-iron, it was on the last hole, it was Andy Bean. This was the first time I ever came to a Tour event and then the second event I ever went to was at Riv.”

4. He’s hoping to play more competitive golf in 2025.

More than just the TGL, that is, where Woods will tee it up again on Tuesday evening. Woods had initially committed to this week’s Genesis but withdrew after his mother’s death; he teased on CBS that he’s planning to play more at some “big events” this season but stopped short of specifying.

5. He gave an optimistic LIV-PGA Tour update.

Echoing comments from commissioner Jay Monahan earlier in the week, Woods spoke positively about progress that the pro game’s stakeholders are making in bringing warring factions back together.

“I think that things are going to heal quickly,” he said. “We’re going to get this game going in the right direction. It’s been heading in the wrong direction for a number of years and the fans want all of us to play together, all the top players playing together and we’re going to make that happen.”

ONE SWING THOUGHT

Patrick Rodgers on trying to win without having won.

After another close call, the Stanford standout is still winless on the PGA Tour. How has he tweaked his mentality around winning over time?

“Instead of playing with a lot of expectation, I need to play to achieve,” Patrick Rodgers said after the third round. “That’s what I’ve always set out to do, and it kind of felt like early in my career with the amateur resume that I had, I felt like there was a lot expected of myself internally and it was something where when immediate success, immediate wins didn’t come straight away, it was kind of fighting who I saw myself to be, to be honest with you.

“So instead of playing with a monkey on your back that gets bigger and bigger over time when it doesn’t happen, I’m trying to play from a perspective that feels fresh and new and exciting and full of opportunity because that’s what this game is.”

ONE BIG QUESTION

Is slow play suddenly fixed?

As play wrapped up at Torrey Pines on Sunday night, there was just one problem: CBS still had time to kill. That wasn’t just because Åberg won from the second-to-last group — it was because they’d just played too fast.

Wait, what? Was is that simple? Did the PGA Tour magically fix slow play just by talking about it for a couple weeks? Final rounds for the final groups at Torrey Pines for the Farmers took around five and a half hours, after all. At the Genesis every group finished right around the four-hour mark. Did we shave 90 minutes off pace of play just through hand-wringing and peer pressure?

Probably not. The first big difference was threesomes off split tees (for the Farmers) vs. twosomes off the first (for the Genesis) thanks to a smaller weekend field. The second big difference was scoring conditions, which were brutal for the Farmers (74.75 final-round scoring average) vs. relatively benign for the Genesis (70.14). Even if you adjust for slightly better golfers at the Genesis, the effect is the same: fewer golf shots.

Conditions will come and go. So I guess the question is this: How do we get twosomes off the first tee every weekend?

ONE THING TO WATCH

Tommy Fleetwood at TGL.

First, there was Tommy Fleetwood’s off-the-fake-rocks ace in practice.

Then there was Fleetwood’s mid-length overtime ace (using “ace” liberally in both cases here) to keep the match going. I can’t find a video of that but this is called “one thing”, so watch the above and then check out the screenshots below and use your imagination…

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

Seasons come early in Seattle. Fall arrives before I’m ready, but luckily spring does, too. And so even though we just had probably the coldest few weeks of my nearly five years here (not cold-cold, but Seattle-cold, below freezing nearly every morning) it’s starting to feel suspiciously like the start of spring. Little green shoots peeking out of the soil. Robins flitting about in the trees. Temperatures in the 50s surfacing on the forecast. And my golf clubs making little squeaking noises at me from the corner of my office. It’s almost time, gang…

We’ll see you next week!

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

The post What Tiger said, what Ludvig did, slow play’s mysterious disappearance | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.