The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …
- themondaymulligan
- Apr 7
- 7 min read
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the biggest week of the year - Masters Week! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, there was plenty happening in the world of golf over the weekend. First time winners, back-to-back winners and some content creators doing what they do best. Buckle up!
The LIV Golf League returned this week and players were hit hard by ‘The Blue Monster’ at Trump National Doral in Miami. Conditions were brutal resulting in only nine players in red figures after the first round and that number was reduced to seven after 36 holes. The Team scores faired no better with no teams under par at the 36 hole mark. The lead changed a number of times throughout the final round before Marc Leishman steadied down the stretch and took out his maiden win in the LIV Golf League. His Sunday round was the only bogey-free round of the week and helped get his Rippers over the line for the team win as well. It is pretty wild to think of an entire field of professional golfers playing a full tournament and there being only a single round which is bogey-free. Certainly a tough week out for the LIV Golf field. It is the first time in LIV Golf that the winning team has done so with a score above par, with Ripper GC finishing at 4-over. However, in a tournament where it was survival of the fittest, the Ripper boys certainly benefited from their pre-season camp which they hosted at the Blue Monster as well and evidently took away some valuable lessons. It wasn’t ideal preparation for the 12 members of LIV who will be teeing it up at Augusta next week as the course will play markedly different from what they just endured. After a strong showing at Augusta from the LIV members last year, it’ll be interesting to see how they fair this week.
Marc Leishman wins his first title in the LIV Golf League
(photo courtesy of: www.livgolf.com)
A special shoutout to LIV and Grant Horvat who hosted ‘The Duels’ which seems an immediate hit amongst the online golf community. The video captured over 900,000 views within the first 18 hours with that number sure to climb throughout the week. The Duels appears to be LIV’s response to the ‘Creator Classic’ and certainly made waves online not long after dropping on Horvat’s Youtube channel. It’s amazing what Youtube golfers have done for the game of golf in the past 24 months, making it far more accessible with some unique insights and perspectives. Without giving away any spoilers, The Duels is worth a watch and goes to show just how good these professionals out on tour really are.
The PGA tour competed in the Valero Texas Open this week, where 27 of its members took to the field in their final week before the Masters. Some big names were absent, taking some time off to fine tune their game before Major season hits. Conditions were tough with strong winds for the duration of the tournament which kept both players and caddies on their toes. It was anyones to win after the first round, before Harman stamped his authority and jumped out to a 4-shot lead after 36 holes. Harman hung tough through the blustering conditions in the third round where an even-par 72 was enough to see his lead only shrink by 1-shot. The final round came down to a “a game of attrition” where Harman hung tough as the chasing pack tried to reel him in. The conditions were never going to allow for anyone to go low, which meant it was all up to Harman to keep his composure and grind it out. That he did, with a final round of 3-over par which was enough for him to secure a 3-shot victory, his fourth on the PGA Tour. The final pairing on Sunday shot a combined 11-over par round on a day where only nine players in the field broke par. Ryan Gerard finished second, one shot ahead of McNealy and Novak who tied for third.
Brian Harman wins the Valero Texas Open
(photo courtesy of: www.pgatour.com)
The 2025 T-Mobile Match Play event threw up plenty of highlights and storylines for the ladies of the LPGA Tour. The round of 16 saw a few blow-outs and clean sweeps along with some incredibly close matches, most notable was that of Ashleigh Buhai and Celine Boutier who took 28 holes to split them. It was a mixed field for the quarterfinals, where 5 countries were represented across the 8 players, demonstrating the diverse and global reach of the LPGA Tour. Boutier again went to an extra hole to decide a winner, however couldn’t pull off her heroics again. That left only 4 where the semifinals saw Sagstrom defeat Yin over 16 holes and Coughlin defeat Jutanugarn. That semi-finals match was the sixth straight of 18 holes or more for Coughlin, which surely must have taken a toll late on the fifth day. In the final, on Sunday afternoon, it was Sagstrom who claimed her second LPGA Tour victory, coming almost 1,900 days after her first. The Swede jumped out to an early lead, before Coughlin fought back before running out of holes down the stretch to eventually lose 1-down after the last. Best of the Aussies was Steph Kyriacou who made it to the round of eight.
Madelene Sagstrom claims her first victory in almost 1,900 days
(Photo courtesy of www.lpgatour.com)
Mimi Rhodes, AGAIN! The rookie claims back-to-back wins and is certainly on a hot streak of form in her first year on tour. The Ladies European Tour headed to South Africa for the Joburg Ladies Open, played at The Modderfontein Golf Club. The 23-year-old Englishwomen slept on the lead heading into the last round after a mature showing through the first few days, despite the challenges which the conditions threw at the field. Due to the conditions, the tournament was reduced to 54-holes and the second round was suspended prior to the field finishing their rounds. Where some might find this disruptive and a distraction, Rhodes rose to the occasion and settled into her work nicely through the final round. She started the day leading by three shots and carded three birdies on her way to a final round 2-under, 71. Her final score of 14-under par was enough to win by one despite a nervous approach on 18 which went long and required a good up-and-down to avoid a playoff. South Africa’s Casandra Alexander finished in second, two shots ahead of Germany’s Helen Briem who closed out the podium on the back of a bogey-free final round. Best of the Aussies was Kelsey Bennett who finished a solid week in T8 on 7-under.
Mimi Rhodes wins back-to-back on LET
(Photo courtesy of https://ladieseuropeantour.com)
The WPGA of Australasia rolled into Wagga Wagga this week for The Navigate Advisors Wagga Wagga CC Pro-Am. Thailand’s teenage sensation Cholcheva Wongras controlled proceeding for the 36-hole event where she won by five shots. The 17-year-old ran away with it on the second day where she fired a scintillating 10-under 63 to close out the tournament. This win comes off the back of some strong results where Wongras finished second in last week’s World Sand Greens Championship in Binalong along with a number of third place finishes earlier in the season. She now leads the WPGA Tour of Australisia Order of Merit at the halfway mark of the season. Best of the Aussies was Claire Shin who finished in T2, an impressive result considering she made it into the field through a qualifier event late last year.
Thailand’s Cholcheva Wongras wins the Wagga Wagga CC Pro-Am
(Photo courtesy of https://wpga.org.au)
Up Ahead
The Masters … the biggest week of the year! All eyes turn to Augusta this week to see what memorable moments will be etched in history throughout the 2025 Masters. It’s an exciting week for golf with plenty of big storylines and the potential for many more. You would have to think Scheffler is a red-hot favourite to get a third, whilst McIlroy has been in form and would be chomping at the bit to finally claim a green jacket. Youngster Ludvig Aberg will be hoping to back up his strong showing from last year where he finished in second place, an incredible result for someone playing in their first Masters. Aussie Min Woo Lee has momentum and will be desperate to back up his first PGA Tour victory with another soon, a major would be the ideal way to do it. It is sure to be a great week of golf.
The LPGA Tour has a week off before returning for the JM Eagle LA Championship in Los Angeles. The tournament will be played at the El Caballero Country Club and carries a purse of $3.75 Million and 500 Points in the Race to CME Globe. Aussies Hannah Green is the defending champion and will be hoping to regain some of her 2024 form through this event.
The DP World Tour isn’t back until after the Masters, where the next event on the ‘Asian Swing’ of the DP World Tour will be the Volvo China Open commencing on 17 April.
The LET remains in South Africa this week where they will compete in the Investec SA Women’s Open to be played at The Erinvale Country and Golf Estate. Manon De Roey is the defending champion where the purse is worth €340,000.
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.
Stay safe and play well!
Play well,
TMM
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