The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …
- themondaymulligan
- May 28
- 7 min read
Ben Griffin for his first solo win, Iwai runs away with it in Mexico, Cabrera gets the Senior PGA done and several break-through wins and good news stories across the world of golf! A huge week of results covered in the recap below…
For the second time in two years, one of the winners from the Zurich Classic team went on to secure their breakthrough solo victory on the PGA Tour at the Charles Schwab, this time it was Ben Griffin. The American didn’t have it all his own way, but he was at the pointy end for most of the tournament after taking a share of the lead at the 36 and 54-hole mark. Matti Schmid appeared to be his greatest threat as the two of them went shot for shot to start the final round. Bogeys by Schmid on 13, 14 and 17 appeared to give Griffin all the breathing space he needed, before he also made a bogey on 16 and kept the door open. That door remained open when the German holed out from the rough on the last, forcing Griffin to make his putt from a few feet. He calmly rolled it in and secured his first solo win on the tour and opened the discussion surrounding Ryder Cup selection later in the year. He is in form with a couple of wins and a top 10 finish in 2025 so will be one to watch for Captain Keegan Bradley. Fleetwood and Scheffler both finished inside the top 10 however never got close to throwing down a challenge. The best of the Aussies was Karl Vilips in T11 who continues to impress in his debut season on tour.
Ben Griffin takes out his first solo win on the PGA Tour
(photo courtesy of: www.flashscore.com)
The LPGA Tour found themselves in Mexico this week with a number of competitors considering themselves a chance until Chisato Iwai ran away with it. A large chunk of those at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday had not won on the LPGA Tour so it was going to come down to a battle of wits and who could maintain their composure and string together some good golf down the stretch. Iwai shot out of the gate with five birdies in the first six holes before steadying down the stretch and playing some smart golf to bring it home. The Japanese pro turned Sunday into her own highlight reel to run away with it off the back of a faultless Sunday 66, winning by six shots. The win makes Iwai the third rookie to win this season and sets her up for a strong showing at this week’s U.S. Women’s Open. Best of the Aussies was Robyn Choi who finished in T9.
Chisato Iwai claims her first LPGA Tour win in Mexico
(photo courtesy of: www.lpga.com)
It was Kristoffer Reitan’s day at the Soudal Open as he laid down a course record on Sunday and proceeded to take the win through a playoff. The Norwegian becomes just the second to win on the DP World Tour, the only other being his compatriot Hovland. Reitan, who graduated through the Challenge Tour in Europe, posted a course record 62 on Sunday, coming from nine shots back to work his way into a playoff. Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson had the opportunity to win on the 72nd, however after missing the putt it came down to a playoff between Ferguson, Reitan and the Dutchman Darius van Driel. All three made par on their first trip back down the 18th. On the second attempt it was Reitan who holed a 15-foot putt to win his first DP World Tour victory in his debut year. It was a remarkable turn of events after Ferguson looked to be in control and the likely winner for most of Sunday. The win is just reward for Reitan, who was actually the first Norwegian to make it into the field at a U.S Open back in 2018. The best of the Aussies was Jason Scrivener in T37.
Kristoffer Reitan wins the Soudal Open
(photo courtesy of: www.bbc.com)
It was another maiden winner on the Ladies European Tour as Sara Kouskova fired a Sunday 67 (4-under) to win the Jabra Ladies Open. The 25-year-old started the final round one shot behind and knew it was going to take some of her better golf to get the job done given how tight the leaderboard was. The Czech made her move around the turn with birdies on 7, 8 and 10 setting the platform for her run down the stretch. A minor blip on 14 threatened to unsettle her, however she steadied with birdies on 17 and 18 to pull away and win by two shots. Singapore’s Shannon Tan finished in solo second, ahead of a tie for third between Cara Gainer and Maha Haddioui. Best of the Aussies was Maddison Hinson-Tolchard who rallied on Sunday with a 69 (2-under) to finish T34.
Sara Kouskova wins the Jabra Ladies Open
(photo courtesy of: www.ladieseuropeantour.com)
It was a tense finish to proceedings in Korea on the Asian Tour as Sadom Kaewkanjana and Poom Saksansin had an enthralling Sunday shoot-out. It is rounds like this which are great for viewing as competitors go head to head and don’t give an inch. The two Thailand professional’s put on a show for the Kolon Korea Open with Sadom eventually taking out the win on the back of a Sunday 70, two shots clear of his compatriot. Bogey’s by Poom on 14 and 15 proved the difference and gave Sadom a buffer with three holes to play. The win is his first since the Singapore Open in 2022 and also secures him a tee time at The Open later this year. Poom finished in solo second ahead of Korea’s Songgyu Yoo in third. Best of the Aussies was Kevin Yuan in T15.
Sadom Kaewkanjana wins the Kolon Korea Open
(photo courtesy of: www.asiantour.com)
Angel Cabrera took his opportunity at the Senior PGA to rally past Padraig Harrington and snatch the win. Where Harrington proved wayward down the stretch, Cabrera strung together a solid Sunday 69 (3-under) to take out the win, his second in a week after winning the Regions Tradition in Alabama earlier in the week. Harrington had done well to get himself in a share of the lead after starting the final round two shots back, however a double bogey on 15 undid some of that good work and opened the door, a door Cabrera was only too willing to walk through as he birdied that same hole not long after. Cabrera then steadied through the final few holes to retain his one stroke advantage and win the tournament ahead of Thomas Bjorn and Harrington in a tie for second. Best of the Aussies was Cameron Percy in solo seventh.
Angel Cabrera wins the Senior PGA
(photo courtesy of: www.flipboard.com)
Up Ahead
The highlight of this week is sure to be the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally. It has been fascinating following some of the stories across the world as players achieved some remarkable feats to qualify and earn their spot on the tee sheet. Yuka Saso is the defending champion and this Major carries a purse of $USD 12 million and a critical 650 points in the Race to CME Globe. Plenty of big names are yet to fire up their season so far and I am sure they will be hoping to capture some of their previous form on a big stage such as this.
The PGA heads to the Memorial Tournament this week, a poignant stop-over on the tour and always a respected event by players and viewers alike. As a signature event, it’s a strong field headed to the Muirfield Village Golf Club where Scottie Scheffler will be defending his 2024 title. The tournament carries a purse of $USD 20 million and 700 Points towards the FedEx Cup rankings. Another storyline to keep in mind is Ryder Cup selection, where current form will be critical as the captains look to identify their picks towards the back end of the season.
As part of the endeavor to reach a more global audience, the DP World Tour resumed the Turkish and Austrian Open for 2025, the latter is being hosted this week at Gut Altentann GC in Salzburg. John Catlin was the previous winner of this event when it was last held back in 2021. For this year’s edition, players will compete for a purse of $USD 2.75 million, 3,500 points towards the Race to Dubai and 1,000 points towards the Ryder Cup standings.
LET Access is off to Spain this week where Helen Briem is the defending champion for the Santander Golf Tour – AVILA. Players will be competing for a purse of €45,000 across the 54 holes at the par-72, Naturavila Golf Course.
The Liv Golf League has another week off before they resume competition at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Liv Golf Virginia 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. The EPSON Tour is also off on a break until they resume business in early June for the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship. The Asian Tour also has a week off before resuming business at the International Series Morocco. The LET is also off for a week and will freshen up before returning to competition in the Canary Islands.
That’s it for this week, I hope it covered what you were 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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