The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …
- themondaymulligan
- Apr 14
- 5 min read
Wow! What a phenomenal finish to the Masters. Rory didn’t make it easy on himself, but boy did he get it done. Just the sixth ever to complete the grand slam and what a deserving winner. It might be worth doing a welfare check on any of your mates who are Rory fans, they would have experienced all of the emotions on what was one of the better finishes in recent history.
The Masters once again delivered a thrilling tournament with story lines a-plenty, none better than Rory McIlroy finally winning his green jacket and securing his grand slam. Things didn’t look promising when he got off to a slow start on Thursday, however he hung in there and ground out a round of golf from which he could launch a stunning charge on moving day and set himself up with a chance. The first round saw plenty of struggles, none more so than young Nick Dunlap who had a horror of a start to the tournament. Full credit to him though, as he held his head high and showed up the next day to shoot 1-under (71). It’s a missed cut but he will be remembered for how he carried himself when some would have withdrawn under similar circumstances. After the first round it was a stacked leaderboard where the quality rose to the top. Scheffler played the smart and consistent golf we have come to expect, whilst Fred Couples wound back the clock to shoot an opening round 1-under (71). He now holds the record for the longest time between under par rounds at Augusta after his first was 42 years ago. Meanwhile Justin Rose laid down the challenge and early indications were he was up for it as he took the 36-hole lead. Last years runner-up, Aberg, got off to a slow start but rallied to ensure he made the weekend. Min Woo Lee and Jason Day were the only Aussies to make the cut. The weekend saw Rory take control of proceedings and quiet the doubters as he posted a stunning 6-under (66) which included going 5-under through his first 5 holes. That set up a tantalizing Sunday with a Bryson vs Rory rematch on the cards. That storyline only got better as both of them stumbled out the gate and there was no denying that nerves were playing a role. Credit to Rory who rallied after an opening double bogey to re-gain the lead. At the turn, it appeared Rory's to lose as he took a 4-shot lead into the back nine. Meanwhile Bryson had his own troubles as he was trying to chase the lead and reduce the gap, which only led to a water ball on 11. Rory then brought everyone back into it on 13 when he tried to play conservative, only to put his third shot into the water with a wayward chip. Further back, Rose and Aberg were making a charge, the latter unfortunately running out of holes and steam in the final few holes. Meanwhile, Rose sunk an incredible birdie putt on 18 to take the club house lead and put the pressure squarely back on Rory to finish it off. The pressure proved too much as Rory couldn’t follow up a perfect drive down 18 and proceeded to bogey his 72nd hole. Rose and McIlroy marched back down the 18th hole for a playoff, the first playoff since 2017 where Rose lost out to Garcia. Unfortunately for him, history repeated itself as Rory threw a dart and successfully sunk the putt to birdie the 73rd hole and secure his first green jacket. For those who hung around to watch, it was quite the finish and was anyone’s to win at various times throughout the final round. Rory didn’t make it easy on himself, but proved his ability to bounce back and got it done when it mattered most. Jason Day was the best of the Aussies ending at 5-under to finish T8.
Rory McIlroy wins The Masters to complete the Grand Slam
(photo courtesy of: www.europeantour.com)
It was Perrine Delacour who held her nerve to secure her second LET Title at the SA Women’s Open as the Frenchwoman survived windy and difficult conditions on Sunday. It was a great finish to the tournament with an ever-shifting leaderboard down the stretch as the conditions proved the better of many in the field. It is a great bounce-back after a disappointing T65 last week at the Joburg Ladies Open for Delacour, who shot a final round 2-under (70) which was enough to get her to 14-under for the tournament and finish 2 shots clear of her closest competitor, Casandra Alexandar. Aussie Kelsey Bennett was one shot further back on 11-under and alongside Bronte Law to round out the podium. This event was the last on the Sunshine Ladies Tour which sees Alexandar take out the Investec Order of Merit which will be a nice boost to her confidence heading into the latter half of the year.
Perrine Delacour takes out her second LET Title at the SA Women’s Open
(Photo courtesy of https://ladieseuropeantour.com)
Up Ahead
The fellas on the PGA Tour get straight back into it this week for the RBC Heritage played at Harbour Town Golf Links. As a signature event, it is sure to have a packed field with plenty of the best in the world taking some confidence away from Augusta. Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion for the event which carries a purse of $20 Million and 700 FedEx Cup points.
The LPGA Tour is back 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. Aussie Hannah Green is the defending champion and will be hoping to regain some of her 2024 form through this event.
The DP World Tour continues it’s ‘Asian Swing’ as players head to the Volvo China Open. The tournament will be played at Enhance Anting GC in Shanghai where the purse is worth EUR2.25 Million and carries a further 3,000 points on the order of merit. Defending champion is Adrian Otaegui.
The LET has some time off before resuming on the 9th of May for the Aramco Korea Championship. Prior to that there will be U.S Women’s Open PQ in Italy.
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. We are stoked to be back and covering what we love across the world of golf.
That’s it for now, stay safe and play well!
Play well,
TMM
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