The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …

themondaymulligan
May 27, 2023
3 min read

What a week! It should come as no surprise that the second men's Major of the year had a little bit of everything … comedy, drama and fairytale finishes all in one. At the end of it all, it was Brooks Koepka who took home his 5th Major and Michael Block who intrigued the golfing world.

The 105th PGA Championship held its own against the fanfare that was The Masters from earlier in the year. In a diverse field of golfers from across the world, it was the Liv Golf League v PGA rivalry which received its fair share of headlines heading into the contest. However, yet again, professional golfers demonstrated a mature approach to the competition and let their golf do the talking. It was big names up the top from the get-go, however with tricky conditions on a tough course, many began to fade through the weekend. Scheffler looked to be holding true to form, before a 3rd round, 3-over 73 pushed him back in the pack. It would take an excellent 65 on Sunday to secure him a share of second. He shared that spot with Victor Hovland, who again put himself in contention on a Major Sunday. In can only be a matter of time before Hovland takes home a win, after finishing top 10 in the last three Major Tournaments. Meanwhile, PGA Professional Michael Block was the unsung hero of the week with an unlikely, yet just as impressive, T15. Block appealed to the crowd with his appreciation for the invite to compete and his genuine indifference to what was going on around him. His attitude was admirable all week, and not even the intensity of a Sunday paired with Rory could wipe the smile off his face. His fairytale finish at the PGA Championship came complete with a hole-in-one and a number event invites which is sure to keep the smile on his face. However, the biggest storyline of them all belonged to Brooks Koepka who is well and truly back to his form of old, taking control of a golf competition and stamping his authority down the stretch on a Sunday. It was a pleasure to watch the five-time Major winner strut his stuff around Oak Hill and stare down his competitors as they came at his lead. Like him or not, Brooks is in some seriously good form and would be a favourite in any competition he teed it up at around the world. That’s the second Major of the year done for the men, halfway through them and definitely excited for what comes next.

Brooks Koepka wins his 5th Major at the PGA Championship

Photo courtesy of pga.com

There wasn’t a whole lot else going on in the world of golf this week besides the PGA Championship, so let’s get stuck into what’s coming up.

Looking ahead …

Always a tough act to follow after a Major, but that’s exactly what the Charles Schwab Challenge will be hoping to do this week. The event will be played at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas where some big names will back it up and compete for a share in the $US8.7 million purse. Sam Burns is the defending champ and shouldn’t be discounted, despite not having his best run of form of late.

Liv Golf League is off to Washington DC this week, where Brooks will be hoping to double down on his rich vein of form with some more silverware. The event will be played at Trump National Golf Course for their usual 54-hole event.

The DP World Tour is battling it out in the Netherlands this week in the KLM Open, at Bernardus Golf where the purse is $US2 million. After a week off for the PGA Championship, the DP World Tour members will be keen to get back into it and advance their way up the R2D rankings.

The LPGA Tour is competing in one of its match-play tournaments this week, the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play in Las Vegas. The star-studded field of 64 will be hoping to put their stamp on the competition and establish some status points before the season is out.

That’s all from me, good luck to all those getting in a hit over the weekend.

Play well,

TMM