The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …
- themondaymulligan
- May 8
- 7 min read
A big week in golf with Bryson’s bounce back, a runaway win, the selection of the Presidents Cup Team Captains and a few first-time winners. Read on to get the latest news in the golfing world.
Geoff Ogilvy and Brandt Snedeker will lead their respective sides as Team Captains for the 2026 Presidents Cup. The news caused a bit of a stir amongst the golfing world, however all in all it comes as no massive shock with both considered good choices. It’s great news for Australia as Ogilvy has been a legend in the game and a great exponent of Australian golf over the years, not to mention he has experience as the Captains Assistant in 2024. Hopefully a few of the Aussie lads can string together some form in the lead up to the event and get themselves into the run-on side. The 2026 version will be played at the Medinah Country Club where the Internationals will be desperate for a win.
It was a matter of Scottie – plenty of shots – then the rest as the world number one stamped his authority on the event from start to finish. The CJ Cup Byron Nelson has copped some flack over the years for it’s high scoring and this year proved no different as Scottie matched the PGA 72-hole scoring record at 31-under. TPC Craig Ranch is about to go through a re-design and overhaul prior to 2026 so it will be interesting to see if the scoring is reigned in somewhat. However, nothing can take it away from Scheffler who put together an excellent four days of tournament golf to give himself a buffer. The leaderboard wasn’t anything too special behind him as we have unfortunately come to expect with these non-signature events on the tour. Scottie did it easily with all four rounds in the sixties, his best of them coming on day one with a 10-under (61). Despite having a healthy lead after 54-holes, he certainly didn’t let up on the field as he fired a Sunday 63 to secure the victory. South African Eric Van Rooyen battled hard all day to eventually finish eight shots back in solo second. Sam Stevens was a further 3 shots in arrears in third. Of note was a hard-charging finish by Jordan Spieth who appears to be finding form of the back of his injury woes as he finished in solo fourth after a Sunday 9-under (62). He may be finding touch at the right time as he approaches his chance of securing the Grand Slam at the PGA Championship later this month. Best of the Aussies was Karl Vilips in T49 who started strong and is proving he has what it takes at this level.
Scottie Scheffler storms away to win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson
(photo courtesy of: www.rydercup.com)
Bryson bounced back in emphatic fashion as he took the chocolates on Sunday and led his Crushers to a team win alongside his first individual title for the season. Liv Golf proved itself the ‘world tour’ once again as they attended Korea for the first time and in the process set a record for the largest crowd at a golf event in Asian. It was a tight leaderboard for the majority of the 3 days between both individual and team competitions. Bryson dueled it out with Crusher GC teammate Charles Howell III in an entertaining Sunday final round. Howell III firing an impressive 9-under (63) which fell short of the required number by two shots as Bryson replied with a 6-under (66). Despite starting the final day with a four-shot lead, Bryson found himself only one clear at the turn with Howell III putting up a solid challenge. The pressure was on for Bryson to convert a 36-hole lead after not managing to do so at both Liv Miami and Mexico City earlier in the season. It was a composed DeChambeau down the final stretch who outlasted Howell III and steadied the ship to get it done, sinking some clutch putts in the process. Gooch rounded out the podium in solo third and further back was Smith as the best of the Aussies in T7.
Bryson leads his Crushers to a win at Liv Golf Korea
(photo courtesy of: www.livgolf.com)
It was also a runaway victory on the LPGA Tour this week as Korea’s Haeran Ryu stormed ahead of the field in the inaugural Black Desert Championship. It came on the back of a faultless 8-under (64) on Sunday to convert her overnight lead and stretch the margin, giving herself some time to savor the feeling of securing her third title on the LPGA Tour. The chasing pack applied pressure all day, with the lead cut to one at the turn and Germany’s Esther Henseleit looking strong. It was a birdies on 11 and 15, split by an eagle on 13 which did the damage and pushed Ryu back out of reach as the final holes closed in. Henseleit finished in a tie for second alongside China’s Ruoning Yin who competed all day. Best of the Aussies was Steph Kyriacou who was 10 shots back in T6.
Haeran Ryu wins the Black Desert Championship
(photo courtesy of: www.lpga.com)
The 44th iteration of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open witnessed a sensational Sunday charge as Korea’s Doyeob Mun posted a bogey-free, 8-under (63) to snatch victory. There was not a whole lot the overnight leaders could do about it as Mun, who started six shots in arrears on the final day, strung together a birdie blitz down the stretch to win by three shots at 10-under par. Mun finished a full two hours before the final group which created an anxious wait to see if his clubhouse lead would hold out. The chasing group stumbled at various stages through their final round and couldn’t match his run home, falling short at 7-under par. That chasing group saw a three-way tie for second between Jazz Janewattananond, Baekjun Kim and Junghwan Lee. The win is crucial for Mun as it’s his first on the Asian Tour and, given this is a co-sanctioned event, it also makes it his fourth win on the Korean PGA Tour, his last win coming in 2022. Best of the Aussies was Travis Smyth in T24.
Doyeob Mun wins the GS Caltex Maekyung Open
(photo courtesy of: www.asiantour.com)
It was Yana Wilson on the Epson Tour who broke through for her first win, taking out the Reliance Matrix Championship in her hometown event. Wilson looked to be in control from start to finish, stringing together some consistent golf and looking like she very much belongs amongst the professionals out on tour. The win sees her jump to second on the Race for the Card standings and will build some good momentum in her hunt for that LPGA card come the end of the season. The win comes off the back of two top-10 finishes from four starts prior to this event, after she made the decision to forgo College in pursuit of golf as a professional, a decision which looks to be paying off right about now. It was weekend rounds of 8-under (64) and 4-under (68) which set Wilson up for a calculated and mature final round where she played smart and stayed clear of the chasers, winning by two shots. Finishing second was Mohan Du, followed by a tie for third between Napat Lertsadwattana and Ashley Lau. Best of the Aussies was Su Oh, however she unfortunately did not make the weekend.
Yana Wilson claims her first Epson Tour Title
(photo courtesy of: www.epsontour.com)
Up Ahead
The PGA Tour heads up another one of its signature events as players will tee it up for the Truist Championship at The Philadelphia Cricket Club (Wissahickon Course). Rory McIlroy is the defending champion and will be hoping to continue on his hot run of form as we head towards the PGA Championship. Without getting ahead of ourselves however, this week players will go at it for a share of the $USD 20 Million purse and 700 FedEx Cup points. As a signature event, there are plenty of past winners in the field and I doubt anyone will be running away with this one too easily. The PGA Tour also has an alternate event on to accommodate those not in the field in Philly, with the remainder headed to the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic in South Carolina. Chris Gotterup won this event last year and took away a fair chunk of the $USD 4 Million purse and 300 FedEx Cup points on offer.
Meanwhile, the LPGA Tour is off to Jersey City for the Mizuho Americas Open where Nelly Korda will defend her title. The event carries a purse of $USD 3 Million and 500 points in the Race to CME Globe.
The Liv Golf League has about a month off now before they will resume competition at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Washington DC. Liv Golf DC will be the final tune-up for a few in the field who will be competing at the U.S Open, the most obvious being Bryson who will be defending that title.
DP World Tour has enjoyed a week off and is now heading to The Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya on 08 May. This event carries a purse of $USD 2.75 Million along with 3,500 R2DR Points. Also of note around this time of the year is the fact that this event also carries 1,000 Ryder Cup points which will become critical in the latter part of the season for those interested in making the team.
After completing the Women’s Open PQ, The LET is not back until the 9th of May for the Aramco Korea Championship. The International Series is also still on a break until mid-May when the Caledonian Club in Japan will play host.
The Asian Tour is resuming it’s International Series, this time in Japan. The field of 156 will tee it up at the Caledonian Golf Club for a share of the $USD 2 Million. With the addition of Liv Golf money into the International Series this has aided in boosting the competitiveness of these events and will be one to watch over your weekend.
The Epson Tour will back it up again this week as they head to Scottsdale for the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic. China’s Ruixin Liu is the defending champion and the purse on offer is $USD 400,000 along with 500 points in the Race for the Card.
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 capturing the highs and lows across the world of golf.
That’s it for now, stay safe and play well!
Play well,
TMM
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