The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …
- themondaymulligan
- Mar 31
- 6 min read
Aussie golf is on a heater right now thanks to the efforts of Min Woo Lee and Steve Allan who added their names to the winners lists of the PGA Tour and PGA Champions Tour respectively. A couple of Aussies also received their reward for effort as they were handed DP World Tour cards from their Order of Merit standings on the PGA Tour of Australasia. Overall, a great week of golf with plenty of highlights and some good viewing for those who managed to catch a glimpse.
Min Woo Lee! The PGA Tour was treated to an absolute stripe-show as Min Woo held off a hard-charging chasing pack which included the likes of McIlroy and Scheffler. The field battled showers for the first two days where nobody really took control of proceedings. However, as the weather cleared and the players were able to make the most of the ‘lift and place’, the tournament started to take shape throughout the third round. Australia’s Min Woo Lee put his foot down and demonstrated maturity and composure to stamp his authority on the course and set himself up with a four-shot lead heading into the final round. The golfing world has seen glimpses of what Min Woo is capable of, however his ability to put it all together across four rounds on the PGA Tour had been questioned. Those questions were answered with a final round of 3-under and getting his total to 20-under for the tournament, which was enough to seal the victory, just! Lee played smart golf through his first nine holes, guided by his experienced caddy Brian ‘Bo’ Martin. There were big names lurking with the likes of Major winners McIlroy, Scheffler and Woodland all posting scores and applying the pressure. Min Woo looked to be in control until the 16th where he dunked one in the water and cut his lead to just one shot. He held his nerve down the last, with a clutch lag putt on 18 securing his maiden PGA Tour victory and a chance to silence the doubters.
Min Woo Lee captures his first PGA Tour Victory
(photo courtesy of: www.pgatour.com)
The Hero Indian Open provided challenging conditions for those teeing it up on the DP World Tour this week. With a cut-line of +6, it was anyones tournament heading into the weekend. After a nervy start, it was 25-year old Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra, who took control of proceedings and set himself up for a final day charge towards the finish line. He slept on a one-shot overnight lead which was sure to test the nerves, however he put those to bed down the back straight where he opened up a four-shot lead, eventually securing his maiden DP World Tour Victory by two shots. His victory was stamped with a number of clutch par saves alongside his birdie blitz, which ensured the chasers couldn’t get close. Those chasers were Keita Nakajima, who once again put in a solid showing and is playing some exceptionally consistent golf right now. Joost Luiten finished one shot further back in third. Jason Scrivener was the best of the Aussies with a T31 finish.
Eugenio Chacarra winning his maiden DP World Tour Victory
(Photo courtesy of www.europeantour.com)
It was a thrilling finish on the LPGA Tour as Hyo Joo Kim edged out Lilia Vu in a clutch playoff, after both got themselves to 22-under after 72 holes. The win comes as Kim’s seventh on the LPGA Tour and required all of that experience to chase down a four-shot deficit and force a playoff. Kim’s impressive 8-under 64 on Sunday was capped off with a 6-foot putt on the 73rd hole to secure the victory. Allisen Corpuz finished in third, just one shot off the pace.
Hyo Joo Kim winning the Ford Championship in a Playoff
(Photo courtesy of www.lpgatour.com)
The fellas on the PGA Tour of Australasia had it all to play for in the final event played at The National’s Gunnamatta Course. The first three days didn’t throw up too many challenges, however the course bared its teeth in the final round as the coastal winds picked up and wreaked havoc across the field. Sydney’s Harrison Crowe used all his experience, coming from a coastal course himself in the form of St Michaels Golf Club, to stay solid down the stretch and clinch the victory. He was a deserving winner, being the only player in the field to post a bogey-free final round despite the 50km/h winds. The event made for some great viewing where players across the field were in the hunt for the DP Tour cards on offer as the Order of Merit concluded for the season, whilst others were just fighting to retain their PGA Tour of Australasia cards. The end result saw Aussies Ryan Peake and Anthony Quale secure DP World Tour cards, whilst Crowe finished the Order of Merit in eighth and will benefit with a host of starts off the back of his win. The event capped off a great Tour of Australasia season as all eyes turn to the Majors.
Harrison Crowe winning the final event of the PGA Tour of Australasia
(Photo courtesy of https://pga.org.au)
The WPGA of Australasia hosted one of its more unique events at Binalong in the World Sand Greens Championship. 22-year old Korean Min A Yoon secured the victory with a come-from-behind finish in what was a remarkable 4-under on her final round. The conditions proved challenging as heavy rain, paired with the unique aspect of playing on sand greens, caught out many a contender. Only five players managed an under-par final round, Yoon being one of them as a deserving winner. West Australian Abbie Teasdale was the best of the Aussies, finishing in third with a final score of 1-under.
Korean Min A Yoon is the World Sand Greens Champion at Binalong
(Photo courtesy of https://wpga.org.au/)
The PGA Tour Champions welcomed another Aussie into the winners circle, with Steve Allan taking out his first win at The Galleri Classic. A final round 5-under was enough to hold off the hunting pack, which included seasoned veterans such as Jimenez and Appleby. Allan started the day with a one shot lead and surged ahead of the field following five birdies in his first nine holes. He held his nerve down the stretch to clinch victory by one shot, which breaks a winless drought of over 22 years. American Tag Ridings also shot a final round 5-under to post a total of 14-under and finish in second, an impressive result considering he gained entry into the field through a qualifier.
Australia’s Steve Allan secures his maiden victory on the PGA Tour Champions
(Photo courtesy of www.pgatour.com)
Up Ahead
The PGA Tour heads to the Valero Texas Open this week, another important week for those preparing themselves to tee it up at The Masters. Akshay Bhatia is the defending champion and will be hoping he can repeat his efforts from 2024. The event has a purse of $9.5 Million and 500 points for the FedEx Cup.
LIV Golf returns for their event in Miami at Trump National Doral, colloquially known as ‘The Blue Monster’. This should be a fascinating event as big name players such as Bryson and Brooks prepare for their run at the Majors. Another unique contest this week aligned to the LIV Golf Miami event is the 2v2 match which has garnered the interest of a few ‘social media golfers’ who will be teeing it up alongside the stars of the field. It adds something different and is definitely capitalising on the popularity of ‘youtube golfers’. Hopefully it makes for some good viewing.
The LPGA Tour is off to Shadow Creek in North Las Vegas for their Match Play event this week where Nelly Korda is once again the defending champion. She will be hoping to bounce back after her T22 finish this week. The event carries a purse of $2 Million as well as 500 points in the Race to CME Globe.
The ladies on the WPGA Tour of Australasia are off to Wagga Wagga in New South Wales where they will tee it up in The Navigate Advisors Wagga Wagga CC Pro-Am which has a purse of $50,000 and the defending champion is Jeongmin Cho.
The DP World Tour isn’t back until after the Masters, affording those teeing it up at Augusta with some time to prepare and get themselves over there in advance. Following the Masters, the next event on the ‘Asian Swing’ of the DP World Tour will be the Volvo China Open commencing on 17 April.
The Asian Tour doesn’t tee it up again until the first weekend of May at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open to be played at the Namseoul Country Club in Korea. The International Series also has an extended break until mid-May when the Caledonian Club in Japan will play host.
That’s it for this week, I hope it covered what you are after and if not, feel free to get in touch and offer some suggestions so we can improve the blog here at The Monday Mulligan.
That’s it for now, stay safe and play well!
Play well,
TMM
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