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

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

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Holing out.

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

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

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

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

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

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

WINNERS

Who won the week?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SHORT HITTERS

5 unanswered questions LIV faces this offseason.

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

1. Who will LIV sign?

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

2. Who will LIV re-sign?

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

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

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

3. Will LIV get OWGR points?

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. What will happen to Henrik Stenson?

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

5. How will promotion and relegation look, exactly?

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

Time to work on the answers…

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

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

We’ll see you next week!

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

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

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

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

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Tommy Fleetwood wins Act III.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And perhaps the best father, too.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

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

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

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

SHORT HITTERS

10 golf things on my mind.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

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

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

We’ll see you next week!

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

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

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

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

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Getting up off the mat.

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

Enter Jeeno Thitikul.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Xander Schauffele, undefeated father

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

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

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

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

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

Jeeno Thitikul — again

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

Masters Marco

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

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

Chandler Blanchet — and the man he saved

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

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

NOT-WINNERS

But still…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SHORT HITTERS

5 golf stories, in brief.

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

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

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

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

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

ONE SWING THOUGHT

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

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

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

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

ONE BIG QUESTION

What’s next for Jon Rahm?

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

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

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

ONE THING TO WATCH

Rory goes to India.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

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

We’ll see you next week!

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

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

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

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

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Ryder Cup stars back on their horses.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The good showings continue.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

News

NOT-WINNERS

But still kinda winners.

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

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

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

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

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

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

SHORT HITTERS

Five stories that grabbed my attention this week.

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

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

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

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

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

ONE SWING THOUGHT

From Max Homa, on putting speed:

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

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

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

ONE BIG QUESTION

Where will the PGA Tour start its 2026 season?

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

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

ONE THING TO WATCH

More Shane Lowry.

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

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

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

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

We’ll see you next week.

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

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

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

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

1. “There’s only oneeeee Shane Lowry”

The songs still stuck in my head tell the story.

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

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

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

The Tom-my Fleet-wood chant

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

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

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

Rory McIlroy — he’s in your head

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

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

Shane Lowry’s song

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

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

Europe’s on fire…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. The enraged, caged fans

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

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

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

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

3. The thrown beer

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

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

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

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

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

4. Europe’s response

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

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

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

Lowry said he’d embraced it all.

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

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

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

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

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

5. Scottie’s pick-me-up

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

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

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

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

6. Xander’s pump-up speech

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

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

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

From Justin Thomas:

7. Bryson’s run

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

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

8. Viktor’s neck

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

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

9. Erica’s defense

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. Luke’s shampoo

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

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

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

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

One final bit of Donald philosophy:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Keegan didn’t pick himself.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

6. Patrick Cantlay’s hat controversy returns.

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

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

7. The Ryder Cup is broken.

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

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

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

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

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

9. Foursomes is everything.

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

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

10. This is inexperience vs. camaraderie.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The post 3-putt, 4-putt, shaky hands, Greg Norman’s LIV exit | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post 3-putt, 4-putt, shaky hands, Greg Norman’s LIV exit | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Getting honest about short putts.

We may be well into football season now, but the golf competitions this weekend were many, varied and filled with delight and anguish. There were pros fighting for their jobs and amateurs showing off. There were unofficial Ryder Cup training camps happening in parallel. And while there was a World No. 1 who snuck out a win, there was also a World No. 1 who kicked one away. The latter two were the standout moments of the week: a heartbreaking three-putt and an even more heartbreaking four-putt that decided the events on the PGA and LPGA Tours, respectively.

My favorite sound bite that emerged from that mess was Charley Hull, winner of the Kroger Queen City Championship, describing how she’d felt over a one-foot putt on the last. Initially she’d expected the putt to cement her one-shot loss. But after Jeeno Thitikul took a shocking four putts to get down for bogey, suddenly Hull’s shortie was far more consequential: it was to win her first tournament in more than three years. Hull began to address her putt, stepped off it, returned to it, stepped off again and then finally holed it — although from the angle on TV it didn’t exactly look like it went in the center.

“I feel like I was pretty calm coming into the green, I knew I had to hole the putt for eagle,” Hull said. She was down a shot to Thitikul, who’d hit the par-5 finisher in two shots; Hull assumed her opponent would two-putt from there. “Missed it and had a [one-]foot putt. When I realized I had it for the win I had this mad shock of adrenaline come through me and my hands were like, shaking.

“I was like, oh, no. Usually I can calm it down in like five minutes — but I had to play straightaway. I had to back off it twice. I don’t know how like Tiger Woods won that many tournaments, that much pressure. It was just a shock.

“If I knew it was to win coming up the hole I think I would’ve been fine. I think I was just so shocked. Yeah, I holed it and it was good. Even though it was a foot putt, they feel like 10-footers.”

If a one-footer felt like a 10-footer to Hull, it’s tough to know the conversion rate to Ben Griffin‘s five-foot second putt on the par-5 finisher at the Procore Championship. But he made no excuses when that putt wandered wide left, a final gift to a man who doesn’t need one, Scottie Scheffler, who’d suddenly won for the sixth time this season.

“I had a couple on the front nine that I missed, and then I had a couple down the stretch that I missed from mid-range,” Griffin said, referencing putts in that ticklish five- to eight-foot range. “I make a good amount. It’s just a bummer, seems like it’s a consistent thing.”

As he spoke a replay of his putt appeared on TV.

“I’ll look at it, I’ll watch all my — there’s my putt, yeah, just broke a little bit.” And then he seemed to move on in real time. “S— happens, I’ll bounce back.”

It struck me that both admissions were therapeutic. Hull admitting how nervous she’d been and Griffin admitting there’s something troubling him in that five-foot range. Thitikul didn’t address the media post-round and I wonder if she would have been better off had she taken it head-on. After all, if you admit you choked away a lead, what’s the worst thing anybody else can say about you?

Hull’s win was a victory for press conference fans everywhere, as she was a quote machine all week — you can add “pain is a weakness of the mind” to your lexicon — and was particularly insightful in victory. She’s been battling injuries for months, she said, tearing a ligament in her foot in a parking lot and then pulling a muscle in her back lifting up a box. But she turned a nine-week estimated recovery into three. And she turned injury into an advantage.

“I probably expect less and do less. My days are usually full out, going to the gym, golf, practice. When I’m kind of [feeling] poorly or injured I do a lot less and I put less pressure on myself. Then I kind of do better sometimes.”

It’s tough to do better than winning. Credit to her for knocking in that one-footer — and for bringing us into that moment.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Scottie Scheffler entered the Procore as by far the favorite, going off at unheard-of two-to-one odds, so it was hardly a shock that he emerged the winner. But there was something particularly striking about the way it all unfolded. Scheffler just kept climbing the leaderboard, kept stacking up birdies (including 10 in a third-round 64), kept watching guys alongside him waver and fall behind until only Griffin was left to challenge him. And when Griffin three-putted the final green? It felt like further proof how much better Scheffler is than everybody else. He didn’t have to do anything spectacular, by his lofty standards, to win the golf tournament — but somebody else would have had to do something spectacular to beat him. And so Scheffler added to his greatness.

One thing that jumped out to me about Alex Noren‘s win at the BMW PGA Championship: his mindset the night before.

“Yeah, it’s going to be so much fun,” he said. “I love this. I’m going to work a little bit with my coach now and pick out a few shots that I didn’t feel comfortable over and do some putting stuff, and just get prepared for tomorrow with a clear mind what to do. It’s so much fun, yeah.”

Charley Hull’s win at the Kroger Queen City Championship was her third consecutive top-two finish but, her first LPGA win since 2022 — and just the third in her career. It was also the 25th LPGA Tour event this year and there have still been zero repeat winners.

Zachary Bauchou may be best known as Viktor Hovland’s ex-roommate and his Oklahoma State teammate; after winning this week’s Simmons Bank Open on the Korn Ferry Tour he’ll be playing on the PGA Tour next season. (Their team his senior year? It included Hovland, Matthew Wolff, Austin Eckroat and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen. No shock they won the stroke-play portion at nationals that year…)

And Michael Brennan won for the third time in his last four starts on the PGA Tour Americas; not only will he have his Korn Ferry Tour card for next year but he’s climbed to No. 121 in the world, particularly impressive point accrual for someone on a lower-tier tour.

NOT-WINNERS

A few notes on players who came close:

That one quote from Ben Griffin’s near-miss seems to sum up his entire mentality this season:

“S— happens. I’ll bounce back.”

His latest runner-up finish means he’s been T14 or better in 11 of his last 13 starts. And if you ask literally anybody who has interacted with Griffin to describe him they will use the word “confident” (“he’s a guy that has
a lot of confidence, he’s got a lot of self-belief,” Scheffler said on Sunday) which means that although it’s possible this short miss will carry over to the Ryder Cup and beyond, you’re better off betting on Griffin these days than against him.

Lanto Griffin may have narrowly lost the battle for Low Griffin but won the Procore’s non-Ryder Cup category, finishing solo third if you include the Bethpage Boys. The result was significant for a guy who detailed his struggles with his swing, with recovery from injury and with the mental battle that comes from playing for your job. He moved from No. 280 in the world to No. 164 with the third-place result; he also moved to No. 100 in the FedEx Cup, a particularly significant number given the top 100 guys get full status at the end of the season.

Rico Hoey’s coach and caddie suggested that he try out a long putter; he’s one of the PGA Tour’s better ball-strikers but one of its worse putters. Keegan Bradley used to say that if he could just putt at field average he felt like he’d have a good chance to play his way into contention; that’d be a good North Star for Hoey. So far, so good: he was essentially neutral with the putter at the Procore (-.05 strokes gained) and finished T9.

“With the long putter I thought it would be kind of hard to adjust to, but it’s like you just set up to it and it’s kind of easy,” he said.

Jeeno Thitikul had about as disappointing a second-place finish as you could imagine but still tightened her gip on World No. 1; she’s at 11.48 average points, well ahead of No. 2 Nelly Korda (9.4) and in a different zip code than No. 3 Lydia Ko (6.45).

Lottie Woad finished third; she turned pro only recently but has already ascended to No. 11 in the Rolex Rankings. And Korda, still winless on the season, played well as part of a group that finished T5.

SHORT HITTERS

Five non-Ryder-Cuppers who made statements.

Alex Noren (winner) didn’t just prove he’s still got it at age 43, coming off injury — he won for the second time in his three most recent starts, beating arguably the strongest DP World Tour field of the year. As far as current form goes, the European vice captain is No. 21 in DataGolf’s ranking, just one spot behind Robert MacIntyre and aead of other Ryder Cuppers like Harris English (No. 22), Justin Thomas (No. 23), Collin Morikawa (No. 31), Tyrrell Hatton (No. 32), Sepp Straka (No. 36), Shane Lowry (No. 39), Rasmus Hojgaard (No. 50) and Justin Rose (No. 53).

Aaron Rai (T3) was one of odd men out from Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup list; by beating everybody on that list at Wentworth, he sent a very clear message.

Patrick Reed (T3) wasn’t a serious part of this year’s Ryder Cup picture, but given his Captain America past and his on-and-off play this was particularly fitting timing for a top result.

Jackson Koivun (T4) is still a student-athlete at Auburn but his last four PGA Tour starts — T11-T6-T5-T4 — are absurd for any amateur. He’s up to No. 42 in DataGolf’s pro ranking, the only amateur inside the top 200. He’s exempt into the next PGA Tour event, the Sanderson Farms. In a former, NIL-free world, he may rue the $900,000-plus in missed earnings. But in this era of college athletics it’s safe to say that Koivun is being well-compensated as he lives his dream golf life.

Maverick McNealy (T13) may have had the best resume of anybody not named to the U.S. team (besides that captain, of course) and while he didn’t make a loud statement, another solid finish served as a reminder that he could just as easily be part of the crew headed to Bethpage.

RYDER CUP WATCH

We’re almost there…

Here’s a full accounting of the 21 Ryder Cuppers (out of 24 possible) who teed it up this week, with the Euros in England and the Americans in California.

TEAM USA

1 – Scottie Scheffler
2 – Ben Griffin
6 – J.J. Spaun
T9 – Cameron Young
T13 – Sam Burns
T19 – Russell Henley
T30 – Patrick Cantlay
T43 – Harris English
T43 – Collin Morikawa
69 – Justin Thomas

TEAM EUROPE

T5 – Matt Fitzpatrick
T5 – Tyrrell Hatton
T5 – Viktor Hovland
T13 – Jon Rahm
T20 – Ludvig Aberg
T20 – Rory McIlroy
T46 – Tommy Fleetwood
T46 – Shane Lowry
T61 – Justin Rose
T74 – Robert MacIntyre
MC – Rasmus Hojgaard

ONE SWING THOUGHT

From Lanto Griffin.

“It’s crazy, when you work on some wrong stuff, it actually feels so wrong to do it right. So it
took me three, four weeks after Wyndham to start feeling comfortable, and it started clicking
the last week or two. It wasn’t great this week but the rest of my game was, but I know the
foundation’s set now.”

ONE BIG QUESTION

What will Greg Norman’s LIV legacy be?

We batted around this question in Tour Confidential on Sunday night following Norman’s Instagram reminder that his time with LIV Golf has officially come to a close. I know he’s been in LIV’s background for a while now but I still can’t quite wrap my brain around the idea that Norman and LIV are just — done. In my mind LIV is Greg Norman. The league took on his personality; its players took the chip from his shoulder and put it on theirs. Again, I know this was announced and telegraphed long ago, the finality of a Norman-less LIV is very, very strange. The question, then: what will his LIV legacy be?

I don’t think we have the full answer yet, because the league’s legacy will double as his and it’s a bit tough to say where we stand on LIV’s legacy, too. But as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues to make inroads in sports (latest entry: Tom Brady, flag football and what you can assume is a whole barrel of cash) there’s no question that Norman and LIV have been instrumental in paving the way.

ONE THING TO WATCH

Tiger Woods swinging a golf club.

For the first time in my golf-media career a leaked video of Tiger Woods swinging a golf club was greeted with something slightly less than frothy enthusiasm by the collective internet. Perhaps this represents something in the way of maturity on the part of the golf audience, who are finally coming to terms with the idea that Woods will not be playing competitive golf forever. Perhaps we understand at last that he does have limits, that it’s unrealistic to expect anything from him at this point. Still, it’s worth letting yourself dream a little bit, perhaps of another run through the cut line at Augusta. Hope keeps us going, after all.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

I recently became a homeowner for the first time, an experience thus far equally split between deep satisfaction, ordering rugs and trying to figure out the extent to which various contractors, electricians and HVAC techs have identified me as a sucker and a mark and are taking complete advantage.

Off to assemble some furniture. We’ll see you next week!

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

The post 3-putt, 4-putt, shaky hands, Greg Norman’s LIV exit | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post The golf gods owed Rory McIlroy. They’re finally paying up | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post The golf gods owed Rory McIlroy. They’re finally paying up | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Everything coming up Rory.

It seems easy, in hindsight. Predestined. Of course Rory McIlroy won the Amgen Irish Open. He was the best player at the tournament. He’s the island’s greatest-ever golfer. It’s only natural that he’d emerge the champ from his home open.

But actually doing so? That took a birdie putt circumnavigating the cup at No. 13, popping all the way out and then falling back in. It took a wayward tee shot at No. 15 hanging improbably on a particularly friendly strip of rough. It took a 28-foot eagle putt at the 72nd hole, a 1-in-10 or so putt for the pros that immediately joined McIlroy’s all-time highlight reel. It took a water ball on the third playoff hole from his opponent. And it still took a third consecutive birdie to win.

Last year at the same event, McIlroy missed a short putt for eagle at the 72nd hold and left a heartbreaking loser. That came in the wake of his U.S. Open defeat, which involved multiple make-you-sick misses plus an otherworldly up-and-down from his opponent. That came in the wake of a decade of close calls at major championships, chapter on chapter of anguish.

There’s an alternate timeline where that horror story would have continued this season. Where J.J. Spaun chases McIlroy down on the back nine at the Players Championship and beats him in a playoff instead of finding the water. Where Justin Rose’s approach shot on the first playoff hole at the Masters catches the slope and nestles in close instead of the other way around. And where, to cap it all off, McIlroy’s heroic eagle putt at the K Club on Sunday lips out instead of finding the bottom.

The difference between that version of events and this one is impossibly slim. A matter of inches spread across months. Instead? The golf gods borrowed from McIlroy for a decade-plus and they’re finally paying up. Everything’s coming up Rory. At this stage in his career, he says the most rewarding moments come in iconic tournaments at iconic venues. This year he’s won at Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass, Augusta National and now at his home open. He’s played three playoffs and won three playoffs. That’s the good stuff. Best of all? McIlroy’s lows seem to help him enjoy the highs.

“I thought it was going to be a nice homecoming, obviously coming home with a green jacket and all that, but this has been absolutely incredible,” he said post-round, gazing out at a crowd that hadn’t yet left. “This has exceeded all of my expectations. Just so, so happy I could play the way I did this week for all of them and get the win.”

He began his TV interview shouting out the fans. And he began his post-round presser by shouting out his caddie, Harry Diamond, who’d looped for a 16-year-old McIlroy at his first Irish Open two decades earlier.

“As an Irish golfer growing up, one of the ones we always wanted to win is the Irish Open,” McIlroy said. “I played my first Irish Open at Carton House down the road 20 years ago in 2005 with Harry on the bag, so it’s been a pretty cool journey since then. Yeah, just amazing.”

Look at them now.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Rory McIlroy won for the fourth time this year, claiming his second career Irish Open.

The U.S. Walker Cup team trounced Team Great Britain and Ireland, winning 8.5 of a possible 10 points in Sunday’s singles session to close out the match 17-9. The win was the fifth straight for the Americans.

Cypress Point was a big winner, not that it cared; Cypress Point will be fine whether or not we’re enjoying it on our televisions. But we got that opportunity.

NOT-WINNERS

A few notes on players who came close:

Joakim Lagergren, Sunday’s playoff loser, was encouraged by his play but dismayed by the ending after he came within inches of defeating McIlroy on home soil.

“This is a tough one to swallow. I really thought I had that out there today. Obviously posting minus 17 going into the clubhouse [to lead by two] could well have been enough,” he said, describing life before McIlroy’s eagle.

“Played really good in the playoff as well. Hit a solid 5-iron down on the last [playoff hole], but it got a horrendous bounce. It’s a meter from being dead to the hole. So it’s tough.”

And Team GB&I captain Dean Robertson insisted he’s optimistic that his side can be competitive at Lahinch next year. “It’s not going to be any easier; it’s going to be equally as difficult. But they certainly have got the talent, and with a little bit of belief and a little bit more growth in their careers, then Lahinch could well be a real exciting match,” he said.

SHORT HITTERS

Five fall-season storylines.

This week’s Procore Championship kicks off the PGA Tour’s fall season (the FedEx Fall, they call it), a seven-tournament mini-season in which they’ll trim card holders to the top 100 as the Tour gets increasingly cutthroat on its margins. Here’s what we’re watching:

1. Procore Training Camp

Because the Procore is the lone PGA Tour event between the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the Ryder Cup, Team USA has descended on Napa, Calif. to shake off any competitive rust in advance of their trip to Bethpage Black in a couple weeks. Ten of the 12 players will be competing, while LIV’s Bryson DeChambeau is reportedly in town for a team dinner, as is team captain Keegan Bradley. Team USA’s appearance means a nice bonus for Procore, which may not have expected the World No. 1 et al when it agreed to sponsor a fall event.

2. Rookies on the bubble

Rasmus Hojgaard is on the European Ryder Cup team but actually isn’t assured of full status on the PGA Tour next season at No. 85 in the FedEx Cup; it’ll be interesting to see what events he plays post-Bethpage in an effort to boost that final rank. He and Jesper Svensson (No. 110) are among the DP World Tour graduates fighting to keep their cards after making it to the top tour last year.

3. Top 60 carries some meaning

You’re forgiven if you haven’t yet memorized what the “Aon Next 10” is, and don’t worry if you don’t quite know the formula. But at the end of the season the top 50 from this year’s FedEx Cup (already locked in) plus Nos. 51-60 (still in flux) will tee it up in the first two Signature Events of 2026. That’s especially tantalizing because of the venues: Pebble Beach and Riviera Country Club will make for an iconic back-to-back.

4. Big names by the top 100

Players who finish just outside the top 100 will still get ample starts in 2026, but still — nothing is guaranteed. That means higher stakes for high-profile players like Matt Wallace (No. 92), Joel Dahmen (No. 93), Harry Higgs (No. 112), Thorbjorn Olesen (No. 120), Zach Johnson (No. 123) and Matt Kuchar (No. 127).

5. The return to Utah.

I’m a simple man, which means the striking visuals of Black Desert Resort, host of the Bank of Utah Championship, are more than enough to get me to eagerly tune in. Other contender: the wild, unpredictable winds of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

RYDER CUP WATCH

We’re almost there…

There will be plenty more to say as the Cup draws closer, but this week it’ll be worth monitoring the form of team members as they face off in full fields against players envious of their positions who were just on the outside looking in; think Maverick McNealy in Napa or Matt Wallace at Wentworth. This will also be our last look at the U.S. team in competition pre-Bethpage — will the tournament let Captain Keegan weigh in on Thursday-Friday tee times, for instance?

ONE SWING THOUGHT

From Padraig Harrington.

We could probably quote Paddy every week in this section; we certainly can’t miss the chance to tap into his wisdom during Irish Open week.

From Harrington: “Tiger said it, and he’s so right — Tiger said he could win with his B game. If you think you can win with your B game, your A game turns up. If you think you need your A game, your B game turns up. It’s a tough one.”

ONE BIG QUESTION

Will we see Bryson DeChambeau on site at Silverado?

There’s only one LIV golfer on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, but the fact that it’s Bryson DeChambeau — and the fact that the American team is going all in on team bonding at a PGA Tour event — has the Tour in a bit of a pickle. Tour-LIV relations, at least on the player level, have warmed somewhat in recent years. The Tour wants the U.S. side to play well. And DeChambeau is one of the game’s very biggest stars. But he also left for the rival league, he took legal action against the Tour and it’s tough to sweep all of that under the rug. The question, then: will DeChambeau push the envelope by going on the grounds at the Procore? Or will he lay low off site and get the grill started for the fellas at the team rental house? My guess is the latter; in the context of this team competition, I don’t think anybody involved wants extra distraction. And DeChambeau knows his way around a steak.

ONE THING TO WATCH

Bamberger on Cypress Point.

Three of golf’s great legendary figures colliding here: Michael Bamberger, Sam Reeves and Cypress Point.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

There’s a chill in the air. There are leaves on the ground. And there are high school golfers on the practice green. The days are precious. But aren’t they always? Life is good.

We’ll see you next week!

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

The post The golf gods owed Rory McIlroy. They’re finally paying up | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post What Frankie Fleetwood showed us about Tommy | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post What Frankie Fleetwood showed us about Tommy | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Tommy’s moment.

I’m excited and I’m relieved that Tommy Fleetwood got over the line at the Tour Championship. I’m excited that we can bury this particular storyline and can instead begin to reckon with just how good Fleetwood really is. At present, DataGolf ranks him No. 2 in the world, behind only Scottie Scheffler. (He’s definitely somewhere in the top five, at least.) And I’m excited because the world gets more of Fleetwood’s attitude — and his son Frankie’s, too.

It was Frankie, after all, who showed us the secret to his father’s success when he went viral for an interview he gave during the Masters Par-3 contest.

“I’ve been practicing as hard as I can. Just not reaching it this year. But I’m just trying my hardest,” Frankie told Sky Sports. The moment resonated at the time because Frankie was so earnest, so cute, and because he was standing on the green at the Masters’ Par-3 contest. But it resonated even more as the summer wore on, as Fleetwood came close and fell short, again and again, and kept at it. That’s kind of Fleetwood’s whole deal, right there. Trying hard. Really, truly, earnestly giving his best through it all.

“I think people have, I guess, found it very positive that I’ve constantly tried to just get back on the horse, just go again, just go again,” he said on Sunday. “I’ve had the opportunity to prove that, that if you just keep going, it can happen. I guess that’s my story.”

We were also reminded how you’d do pretty well to have Tommy for a father:

“If I could give my kids one piece of advice — there’s tons of advice, but I always tell them to be a good person first, and I’ve always tried to do that,” he said. “My dad always told me that …  he always said person first, golfer second.”

If you’ve watched his interviews and admired his resilience all summer long — and you’ve watched him play these last few weeks — you know that Fleetwood really does think that way. Luckily for him, though? He can do both. Person and golfer. And on Sunday he made it look easy, even when we’ve seen enough to know it wasn’t.

One thing we know for sure: Fleetwood’s going to keep trying his hardest. That’s what’ll ensure that his first PGA Tour win won’t be his last.

“It completes the story of the near misses and it has a crescendo to what has been building towards the back end of the season,” he concluded. “But when I go home, I’m just going to start practicing again. I’m going to start working again, and I’m going to look towards the next tournament.”

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Tommy Fleetwood on winning for the first time on the PGA Tour:

“I think it’s easy for anybody to say that they are resilient, that they bounce back, that they have fight. It’s different when you actually have to prove it. There’s different types of mental strength. I’ve clearly got things wrong in the dire moments of tournaments, and I might have made the odd dodgy decision, might have put a bad swing on it.

“But I’ve had to have mental strength in a different way. I’ve had to be resilient in terms of putting myself back up there, getting myself back in that position, no matter how many times it doesn’t go my way, no matter how many doubts might creep in. Think the right things, say the right things to yourself, say the right things outwardly, and I am really pleased that I can be proof that if you do all the right things and you just keep going that it can happen.

Brooke Henderson after breaking a winless drought of two-plus years at her home Canadian Open:

“I’ve been waiting for that 14th win feels like forever. To win it here makes just it so special.”

Alex Noren after winning for the first time since 2018 at the Betfred British Masters:

“Extremely happy. It was unbelievable week for me. I haven’t played like this for a long time.”

U.S. Senior Women’s Open champ Becky Morgan on the difference between winning and coming close:

“A lot. It’s just getting it over the line, I think. I think just getting it over the line is unbelievable because I haven’t done it very much. I probably should have but didn’t … I had a decent career. But obviously probably didn’t win as many as I should. This is icing on the cake.”

Jon Rahm on his LIV team Legion XIII’s playoff victory:

“If there was ever a question mark or an asterisk for having won the whole season without winning, in my mind, with this it goes away. It’s a lot of validation for all of us, in my mind, for the team, just how well we did all year, and to get it done, stressful, but we got it done, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

NOT-WINNERS

A few notes on players who came close:

Patrick Cantlay’s T2 was his best result of the season, Scottie Scheffler finished four shots back on a day he hit two balls out of play, and Corey Conners’ Sunday 62 got him into T4 and made him a lot of money in the process.

Nicolai Hojgaard finished second in England, Keita Nakajima (fourth) continued his solid season, Matt Fitzpatrick (T6) likely did enough to solidify his Ryder Cup form and Marco Penge (T6) kept his strong form going, too.

Minjee Lee’s runner-up finish was the latest in a strong season for the World No. 4.

And we even got a dose of Brooks-Bryson madness, turning back the clock…

SHORT HITTERS

Five season-ending thoughts.

Keegan Bradley: “Yeah, I would say for me, this is the proudest season I’ve ever had. My rookie season I won twice with a major. That’s up there. But this was my favorite of all of them.”

Scottie Scheffler: “I think it was pretty good. Yeah, I did some good stuff. It was nice to get some results. Yeah, it was a lot of fun.”

Cameron Young: “Obviously I really, really want to make that team. If that call goes the wrong way, in my opinion, it’s going to be a bit of a hard one to take. I feel like I’ve done everything you could ask of me to make that team over the last four weeks, and then if you look back further, really half a season.”

Ben Griffin: “I know I’ve been able to handle some big moments this season. I know I’ll be comfortable on that stage at Bethpage, and hopefully I can start practicing 48 hours from now and start getting ready for that Ryder Cup. That would be really cool, especially to represent the United States.”

Collin Morikawa: “Same as the year. There was some good, some bad, some surviving. That’s kind of how the year has been. Just have to make some changes. As much as I don’t want to change, I have to change.”

RYDER CUP WATCH

We’re almost there…

If you read last week’s Monday Finish you were well-prepared for this weekend’s intriguing Team Europe drama: Rasmus Hojgaard missed the FedEx Cup playoffs which may have actually helped his chances at making the Ryder Cup team. He returned to Europe, where there were points still available; he then nearly won his home Danish Championship. That set up this week: If Rasmus finished top 30 he’d be in automatically. If he finished outside the top 30? He may not have shown the recent form to make the team. In that situation he might even be replaced by his twin brother Nicolai. How insane is that?

Rasmus finished T13, earning his spot. Nicolai finished second — but probably won’t make this team. They shared a brief, meaningful embrace. I’m guessing Team Europe is all but set now: they’ve traded one twin for another and kept the other 11 players (plus the captain) in place. But is it possible they’d go off-script, swapping out Sepp Straka for Nicolai?!

As for the U.S. side? They had a funny week. It felt like there were seven or so guys vying for the final four spots and most of ’em played well and finished within a few shots of each other; Patrick Cantlay (15 under, T2) led the charge followed by Cam Young (14 under, T4), Sam Burns and Keegan Bradley (13 under, T7) and Ben Griffin and Chris Gotterup (12 under, T10). I think Cantlay, Young and Griffin are in — which leaves Burns vs. Bradley for the final spot. For the second Ryder Cup in a row.

You can see the final points lists below. Team USA announces its picks this Wednesday; the European side gets one more week before finalizing theirs.

TEAM USA RYDER CUP RANKINGS

1. Scheffler 2. Spaun 3. Schauffele 4. Henley 5. English 6. DeChambeau 7. Thomas 8. Morikawa 9. Griffin 10. McNealy 11. Bradley 12. Harman 13. Novak 14. Young 15. Cantlay

TEAM EUROPE RYDER CUP RANKINGS

1. McIlroy 2. MacIntyre 3. Fleetwood 4. Rose 5. R. Hojgaard 6. Hatton 7. Lowry 8. Straka 9. Aberg 10. Hovland 11. Wallace 12. Fitzpatrick 13. Detry 14. Penge 15. Rai

Complete standings here.

ONE SWING THOUGHT

One more from Tommy Fleetwood:

“It wasn’t easy today; it wasn’t plain sailing. I lost my swing in the middle of the round. I was really erratic, and I had to find my swing.”

“I don’t think trying to win a tournament is as much pressure as trying to keep your playing rights, things like that. It’s a different type of pressure. I’m not going to say it’s bigger or less, it’s just a different type of pressure. It’s a joy to be in contention and try and win golf tournaments.

“But at the same time, you have to deal with those little demons that are in the back of your mind, and doubt creeps in. You remember what you got wrong, don’t want to get it wrong again, and you have to force yourself to think of the positives.

“I think I really did a good job of really focusing on trying to put a good swing and trying to hit a good shot on especially 15, 16, 17. The rhythm that I put on those swings, I was really, really pleased with. I leaned back on that really.

“I think just as experience builds, at some point you’re going to get it right, and I did today.”

ONE BIG QUESTION

Where did the process go wrong?

I’ll happily go on record saying Keegan Bradley should be at Bethpage as a player and a captain and if he does, it’ll be awesome. But I’m worried about the position he’s been put in and I’m worried he won’t go through it. After a decade-plus of dreaming about making a Ryder Cup as a player, they named him captain, which means the only person standing between Bradley and that dream is himself. Cruel game. The question, then: did they mess up making him captain to begin with?

ONE THING TO WATCH

Get to know the Hojgaards.

You’ll see at least one at the Ryder Cup…

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

I somehow made it this far in the column without mentioning this week’s most consequential moment: Brian Rolapp taking visible and vocal ownership of the PGA Tour’s future. I wrote about that here. But in meeting Rolapp after his press conference I made it my top priority to introduce myself and inform him that the Pacific Northwest needs a golf tournament. He was receptive. I hope he meant it. I sure did.

We’ll see you next week!

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

The post What Frankie Fleetwood showed us about Tommy | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post Ryder Cup dilemmas, LIV’s relegation shockers, Scottie’s moment | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post Ryder Cup dilemmas, LIV’s relegation shockers, Scottie’s moment | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Scottie’s moment.

A few weeks ago, as Scottie Scheffler blew the collective golf world’s mind with yet another runaway victory, a somewhat concerning question kicked up online: Does Scheffler have any memorable shots?

The answer was that he does, of course — you can probably picture his made chip shot on No. 3 at Augusta National en route to winning that first Masters, for instance — but Scheffler tends to win tournaments by a touchdown or so, he bludgeons the field to death with his relentless iron play and he’s the opposite of a showy guy; his understated reactions can make even his best shots seem routine. As he’s increasingly compared to human highlight reel Tiger Woods, he’ll always fall short in the memorable-shot category.

But then came Sunday at the BMW Championship. Scheffler started the final round four shots behind leader Robert MacIntyre, a margin he eliminated in the first few holes. But then he let MacIntyre hang around, a cat playing with a trapped mouse, missing a couple short putts including a gasp-worthy two-and-a-half footer at No. 14. Eventually, though, Scheffler did what he does best, bouncing back with a preposterously good approach shot from the fairway bunker at No. 15 that he described as “a really important shot in the tournament, one that I think will fly a little bit under the radar.” More from Scheffler, king of the bounce-back birdie, on that moment:

“I had just made a sloppy three-putt on the hole before to let Bob back into the tournament. Brought my lead only back down to one, and all of a sudden he hits it in there about seven feet on 15, it’s a golf tournament now. I stepped up there and hit it inside of him to about six and a half feet and was able to hole that putt.”

MacIntyre clawed back within one by making birdie at No. 16 before he and Scheffler both missed the green on the par-3 17th. And then? The World No. 1 pulled off one of the most epic shots of the year, one of the most iconic shots of his career, a perfect chip shot that died in the center of the cup in front of one of the biggest crowds on the golf course. This was a Scottie Scheffler Moment. It won’t be the last.

(LeBron James tweeting about your golf round feels like some sort of important threshold.)

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Scottie Scheffler won for the fifth time this season and for the 18th time in his PGA Tour career. He won $3.6 million for the first-place check and logged another $5 million for his positioning in the FedEx Cup; that’ll pair well with the $18 million in bonus money he cleared at the end of the regular season.

Akie Iwai won the LPGA’s Portland Classic, joining her twin sister Chisato (who finished T3) as rookie winners on the LPGA this season. Akie is the fifth Japanese player to win on the LPGA Tour this season and they’re now the fourth pair of sisters to win on the LPGA Tour, joining the Kordas, Jutanugarns and Sorenstams.

Mason Howell won the U.S. Amateur, trouncing fellow teen sensation Jackson Herrington in a 7-and-6 final at Olympic Club. Now Howell will start his senior year at Brockwood High School in Snellville, Ga. — and they’ll both likely be invited to next year’s Masters and U.S. Open.

Sebastian Munoz chased down Jon Rahm at LIV’s Indianapolis event, ultimately beating him in a playoff to prevent the Spaniard from his first win in 2025 (he now has four runner-ups). Munoz shot 59 in the opening round; the win was his first worldwide victory in six years.

Marco Penge of England won the DP World Tour’s Danish Golf Championship, his second title of the season.

Emilio Gonzalez of Mexico won the Korn Ferry Tour’s Albertsons Boise Open.

David Law of Scotland won the HotelPlanner Tour’s (formerly Challenge Tour) Vierumaki Finnish Challenge.

Kazuki Higa of Japan won the Japan Golf Tour’s well-named “ISPS Handa Explosion In The Summer. How Many Birdies Can You Make;” he shot 65-62-66-65, clarifying that he could make “a lot.”

Richard Green of Australia won his first PGA Tour Champions title at the Rogers Charity Classic in Calgary, Alberta.

And Erika Hara of Japan won the Epson Tour’s Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic in Pendleton, Ore.; she’s now No. 3 on the tour’s points list and expected to earn her LPGA card for 2026.

NOT-WINNERS

A few notes on assorted others:

Robert MacIntyre was understandably frustrated following his runner-up finish. He cited his “absolutely horrific start” despite feeling good entering Sunday with a four-shot lead.

“I was really expecting to go out there, foot down, and perform the way I have the last couple days,” he said, adding that he felt like breaking all his clubs. His consolation prizes? He’s officially qualified for the European Ryder Cup team, he’s up to No. 8 in the world and he’s putting distance between himself and the rest of the competition (cc: Akshay Bhatia, Brian Harman, etc.) when it comes to best lefty in the world.

Xander Schauffele’s season ended with a whimper; he played nicely in a Sunday 66 but that left him T28 and feeling a bit odd as he’ll miss the Tour Championship for the first time in his career.

“I mean, everyone out here is trying really hard,” he said post-round. “There’s nothing worse than trying your hardest and playing like ass. It’s the worst combo. Some of us do it, some of us don’t. It’s been a while since I have, and I did it for a few weeks now, and it sucked.”

And although Rickie Fowler’s summer surge came too late for him to be a serious factor in Ryder Cup discussions (not to mention going bogey-double on 14-15 to doom Tour Championship chances), but he’s finished top 20 in four of six starts including T6-T7 the last two weeks to show some promise for 2026 and beyond.

On LIV, Jon Rahm’s second-place finish earned him LIV’s season-long points title and the $18 million bonus that comes with it. This was somewhat controversial given Joaquin Niemann won five times this season. But they had opposite years; Rahm’s worst finish was T11, while Niemann’s T4 on Sunday was the first time he’d cracked the top 10 without winning.

“I know I’m supposed to be happy; it’s a great moment. But it just doesn’t feel great to finish the year losing two playoffs,” he said.

SHORT HITTERS

Five pros on LIV’s relegation bubble.

The league has talked a big game about relegating stars in the part but hasn’t followed through; this year it’ll be interesting to see where those who finished outside the season’s top 48 end up.

1. Lee Westwood avoided relegation with his second top-20 of the season; he finished at No. 46 in the standings and inside the “Open Zone.”

2. Ian Poulter birdied two of his last three holes to jump inside the top 20, finishing T17 alongside Westwood to end his regular season with 6.5 points, cruelly spelling doom in the process for…

3. …teammate Henrik Stenson, whose 6.12 points left him in 49th, on the outside looking in. It’s not clear what comes next for the 2016 Open champ, who finished T12 in the second event of the season but never better than T20 in the weeks that followed.

4. Mito Pereira finished the season in 51st; his final-round 65 helped his team to the title but wasn’t enough to save his own prospects.

5. Anthony Kim failed to earn a point while playing the full season as a “wild card” individual; his season peaked with a T25 at Dallas in June but he had just one other top 40. It will be interesting to see where Kim’s comeback tour heads next.

RYDER CUP WATCH

Now what on Earth happens?

Team Europe faces a fascinating dilemma. We talked last week about its situation: 11 players from the 2023 team essentially locked in for an encore performance (Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland and Matt Fitzpatrick) plus one complete wild-card spot with front-runners that included Rasmus Hojgaard (No. 8 on the points list) or Harry Hall (the top-ranked FedEx Cup finisher not already named). This week? Rasmus nearly won his home Danish Championship, making eagle at No. 18 to lose by one. Hall, meanwhile, finished solo 6th at the BMW Championship and is clearly in top form.

One particularly interesting wrinkle: Rasmus could play his way into the No. 6 spot on the team (and make himself an auto-qualifier) at this week’s British Masters, while Hall (still No. 17 on the points list) can’t earn any points at the Tour Championship. So what do you do?!

(Others who could still complicate the picture: Aaron Rai, back in action after missing the top 50 in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, last week’s winner Marco Penge, current Ryder Cup No. 11 Matt Wallace, Norwegian star Kristoffer Reitan and 2023 alum and Rasmus’ twin Nicolai Hojgaard.)

The U.S. team’s situation seems even more confusing. Captain Keegan Bradley now has his six auto-qualifiers — Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau. He also seems to have three more nearly guaranteed picks in 7-8-9: Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Ben Griffin. Patrick Cantlay at No. 15 also seems like a lock given his consistent form and his team history. But it’s messy. If you were looking for clarity you didn’t find it in Maryland; Maverick McNealy surged back into the conversation with a third-place finish while Sam Burns (T4) stated his case, too. Cameron Young (11th) played well for a third consecutive start while Bradley (T17) played well enough to show decent form, too. Cantlay (T30) and Morikawa (T33), meanwhile, finished closer to the bottom.

So now what do you do? Our most scientific solution is something like “lean on vibes.” No matter what happens at East Lake this week, though, we now appear to be hurtling towards a situation where Bradley’s is going to have to make some extremely tough decisions — the toughest being whether to pick himself.

TEAM USA RYDER CUP RANKINGS

1. Scheffler 2. Spaun 3. Schauffele 4. Henley 5. English 6. DeChambeau 7. Thomas 8. Morikawa 9. Griffin 10. McNealy 11. Bradley 12. Harman 13. Novak 14. Young 15. Cantlay

TEAM EUROPE RYDER CUP RANKINGS

1. McIlroy 2. MacIntyre 3. Fleetwood 4. Rose 5. Hatton 6. Lowry 7. Straka 8. R. Hojgaard 9. Aberg 10. Hovland 11. Wallace 12. Fitzpatrick 13. Detry 14. Penge 15. Rai

Complete standings here.

ONE SWING THOUGHT

No days off.

Scheffler on his continued success:

“I think it has a lot to do with the intensity that I bring to each round,” he told NBC’s Cara Banks post-round. “I try not to take days off. I try not to take shots off. When it gets to this time of the year it can be a little bit tiring. Today was a grind, and I think it just has a lot to do with the intensity we bring to each round and each shot.”

ONE BIG QUESTION

Back to the Ryder Cup. What should Keegan Bradley do?!

This may sound very obvious, but let’s talk it through: U.S. captain Keegan Bradley should do whatever he thinks will give his team the best chance to win. If he feels like that involves him playing, and the competitive pressure of playing captain excites him, he should absolutely follow that instinct. If it seems like a terrifying prospect with unthinkable pressure amidst a laundry list of tasks, he should skip it. But he shouldn’t bother pandering to the inevitable second-guessing he’ll face; we’re so far down this that if the U.S. team loses he’ll get crushed and if they win he’ll be a hero and it’s hard to imagine an in-between.

ONE THING TO WATCH

Dustin Johnson, Warming Up.

I got a real moment of joy when I exclaimed in awe at one of Dustin Johnson’s tee shots and he just agreed: “Yeah.” If there’s a sales pitch for the below video it’s that DJ was very much himself. Come hang:

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

We moved on Friday of last week — still in the same Seattle neighborhood! — which naturally coincided with the first two rainy days of the entire summer. But mostly I was struck by just how much stuff can lurk in the corners of what I think of as a relatively clean, minimalist apartment. I kept thinking I was done with boxes and then I’d need like, several more boxes. Enough to make a guy want to toss it all and start over from scratch. Except the golf clubs, of course.

We’ll see you next week!

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

The post Ryder Cup dilemmas, LIV’s relegation shockers, Scottie’s moment | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.