The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …

themondaymulligan
Jun 12, 2023
4 min read

I tell you what, considering its a non-major week we were certainly treated to some huge storylines and big finishes in the world of golf! Notwithstanding the massive news during the week regarding the agreement which was brokered between the PGA Tour, Liv Golf League and DP World Tour. I won't delve into that here as it is well documented across golf's various media outlets and this blog is designed to be a catch-all on the week of golf from the various competitions played around the world. However, it is good to see golf continues to trend upwards across the sporting world.

Nick Taylor wins the RBC Canadian Open and becomes the first Canadian to do so since 1954. Not only was this an incredible storyline in itself, but how he got it done was the stuff of dreams. Taylor sat 120th after the first round, a long way from his Sunday heroics. However, some solid golf and impressive rounds of 67, 63 and a Sunday 66 brought him right back into contention. An 11-foot putt on 18 secured a birdie and placed him at 17-under and the clubhouse leader. Not long after Tommy Fleetwood, chasing his first PGA Tour victory, matched his score and took the Canadian Open to extra time. With his fellow Candian competitors following the playoff group, the crowd serenading him to the tune of “O Canada” and the country holding its breath, Taylor and Fleetwood duked it out over an additional four holes on Sunday afternoon. That ended when Taylor dropped a 72 foot eagle putt to break the drought and secure a national victory for the ages. Plenty of the field were within reach entering the final round, however in dreary conditions the challengers quickly dropped off the pace one-by-one, leaving a clear race to the finish line between Taylor, Fleetwood, Hatton, Rai and C.T Pan. An 8-under, 64 by Hatton was an impressive Sunday charge however fell one short of his ticket to the play-off.

Nick Taylor wins the RBC Canadian Open

Photo courtesy of indianexpress.com

At the ShopRite LPGA Classic played at Seaview, it was South African Ashleigh Buhai who shot out of the blocks on Sunday and held off the field to win by one. With four birdies in her first five holes, it was hers to lose, a position which Buhai admits she has found herself in far too often without capitalising in the past. Not this time and not today was her response! Buhai shot a 6-under 65 to hold off Hyo Joo Kim and secure her first win on US soil. Kim finished second whilst rookie Yan Liu shot an impressive Sunday 67 to come in at outright third, her best result for the season to date. Buhai becomes the oldest winner on the LPGA Tour for this season, a year which has turned out plenty of storylines and fairytale finishes with its diverse group of winners. With her recent upswing and strong form, Buhai will be hoping to capitalise with a few more wins before the season is out.

Ashleigh Buhai wins the ShopRite LPGA Classic

Photo courtesy of www.lpga.com

A drought was also broken in Sweden on the DP World Tour this week, although this one was personal. Dale Whitnell, after 106 appearances across 14 years, finally secured his maiden victory on Tour in the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed event. It seemed as if Whitnell was a seasoned winner on the tour, the way he controlled the field from the outset through to a composed two-under Sunday round to secure victory. It all started with a 96 yard hole-out eagle on day one and finished with a three-shot victory on Sunday, a massive result for the Englishmen. American Sean Crocker was the closest chaser, applying some pressure down the stretch with an impressive final-round 65 and finshing three shots off the pace in second. He was followed by the best-placed female in the field, Anne Van Dam, who finished at 15-under alongside Yannik Paul. The win for Whitnell caps off a solid season where he has already had three top-10 finishes and now moves inside the top-20 in the Race for Dubai standings. An impressive run of form for the veteran and one which he will be hoping to maintain heading into the latter half of the season.

Dale Whitnell wins his maiden DP World Tour title

Photo courtesy of www.europeantour.com

It was another maiden title in the LET Access Series as Denmark’s Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen got the job done at the Montauban Ladies Open in France. The 24-year-old charged into contention with a final round 68 (-4) to win by three strokes. The win solidifies Kibsgaard Nielsen’s position at the top of the standings in the LETAS Order of Merit and is just reward for a strong rookie season which has also featured two second place finishes. Second place was shared by Slovenia’s Katja Pogacar and England’s Emily Price, whilst fourth belonged to Amateur and French-woman Alice Kong.

Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen wins her first LET Access Series title

Photo courtesy of www.letaccess.com

Up ahead …

It’s a Major week! Get excited for the 123rd U.S. Open being played this week at The Los Angeles Country Club (North Course) in California. Matt Fitzpatrick is the defending champion and after some solid form of late he will back himself to feature up the top of the leaderboard once again. An exciting field is descending on Los Angeles and it is certainly one to factor into your weekend plans and allocate some time to give it a look.

The DP World Tour takes a break this week as it’s a major week. They will be back in action from 22 Jun for the BMW International Open in Munich, Germany.

The LPGA Tour is off to Belmont this week where they will compete at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, played at the Blythefield Country Club. The strong field will battle it out for a share in the $US 2.5 million purse and 500 points in the Race to CME Globe. With this being the final event before the women's next major, it will be one to watch and gauge who is running up some form.

Nothing from the Liv Golf League this week and they won't be back until after the U.S. Open when they compete at the Real Club Valderrama from 30 Jun.

That’s it for now, buckle up for another Major week!

Play well,

TMM