The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …
- themondaymulligan
- Jul 15, 2025
- 9 min read
Wow! What a huge weekend of golf, capped off with a debut Major win to none other than our very own Aussie Grace Kim! She did it in fine fashion as well, with a stunning 7-under through her last 6 holes resulting in one of the all-time playoff wins. Read how it all unfolded below, along with a preview of this week’s Open in the men’s draw.
That was an electric playoff which may well become one of the all-time great finishes to a Women’s Major. Grace Kim had an incredible closing stretch which secured her place in a playoff against Jeeno Thitikul. The Kayo ‘split-screen’ feature really came into it’s own with The Amundi Evian Championship 2025 and the Scottish Open being played in parallel. However, it was the Aussie women who stole the show and hung tough through the final round to put themselves in contention down the stretch. Of the three who started the day in the top 10: Grace Kim, Min Jee Lee and Gabi Ruffels, it was Kim who got off to a shaky start going out in 2-over through the first six holes. A chip-in eagle on the seventh kicked her into gear and steadied the ship by the turn. A double-bogey at 12 again pushed her back into the pack and would have tested the mental fortitude to continue to grind it out. On hole 15, Kim put the foot to the four and closed out the last four holes of regular play in 4-under to force her way into the playoff. On the first playoff hole, both ladies were aggressive and played for the green in two. Kim sprayed her approach wide and found the water hazard, resulting in a penalty drop, whilst Thitikul went long but still retained an advantage. Kim then produced the shot of her life, chipping in for birdie and forcing Thitikul to go up and down to stay in it. The second playoff hole went better for Kim, who found the putting surface in two whilst Thitikul went long again. Kim had a 20-foot putt for her first major victory and dropped it in the heart of the hole, a fitting end to an outstanding performance!
Elsewhere, Min Jee Lee was hanging tough and was in the mix for most the day, but it was ultimately her putter which went cold and she finished one shot back in a share for third with amateur Lottie Woad. Woad’s strong finish saw her become eligible for a tour card under the LPGA Elite Amateur pathway and is just reward for a stellar breakout year as an amateur. Gabi Ruffels showed grit and determination as she found herself wayward off the tee through the final round, resulting in several admirable recovery attempts. But she couldn’t seem to find the groove which had served her well for the first three rounds and she faded to T9, still an excellent result for the young up-and-coming Aussie.
Grace Kim secures her maiden major victory with a clutch playoff performance
(photo courtesy of: www.lpga.com)
The Gensis Scottish Open also featured an enticing battle through the final round with American Chris Gotterup sharing the 54-hole lead with Rory McIlroy. Also in the mix were plenty of names likely to feature in the Ryder Cup for Team Europe later this year, meaning whoever won this one was going to have to earn it. Gotterup and McIlroy went shot-for-shot, with McIlroy holding a slim margin until Gotterup birdied the eighth, tenth and twelfth holes to gain a two-shot advantage. With a bogey and birdie in his closing holes, Gotterup managed to hold that two-shot advantage to secure only his second PGA Tour victory but one which must have tasted sweet, considering the pressure of playing alongside world number two McIlroy. With this win Gotterup has secured a spot at this weeks Open, requiring a rapid change of plans considering he was expecting to return to the states for the alternate PGA event. Rory shared second place alongside Marco Penge, both a shot ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick and Nicolai Hojgaard in T4. Best of the Aussies was Adam Scott whose experience came to the fore in links golf, resulting in a T17 finish. Unfortunately, some wayward tee shots and a cold putter throughout the four rounds meant he could never quite get within reach of the leaders. Elvis Smylie also quietly went about his business with a strong finish in T34 as the young Aussie showed plenty of promising signs ahead of his second appearance at The Open this week.
Chris Gotterup earns second career win at the Scottish Open
(photo courtesy of: https://kfor.com)
The LIV Golf League witnessed Talor Gooch return to some form after a lean patch in recent years. The Smash GC member hadn’t won since 2023, only contributing to team scores on the odd occasion and appeared out of sorts. Meanwhile, he continued to grind and work on his game with the fruits of that labour realised this week in Andalucia. Starting the final round with a four-shot lead, Gooch worked hard to retain it but was kept honest by a fast-finishing Jon Rahm. Heading to the last, he had a one-shot lead with plenty of pressure on the approach. He held the green with a clutch 210-yard (192 m) and safely two-putted his way to victory and you could tell a weight was lifted from his shoulders. Meanwhile, Rahm’s strong finish ensured he retained second place ahead of Abraham Ancer. Rahm’s final round, along with Tom McKibbin’s best LIV Golf performance to date, helped drag their Legion XIII team into the outright lead for the team standings ahead of the Fireballs GC. Best of the Aussies was Matt Jones who finished in T4, his best-ever result since joining the LIV Golf League. This was a clutch result given the year he was having and the risk of being in the drop zone come seasons end. Also in the top 10 was Ripper GC skipper Cam Smith, who started strong but faded and had to settle with T7. These are still some promising signs for Smith who will tee it up this week at The Open. Ripper GC were down in sixth in the team standings at Andalucia.
Talor Gooch returns to the winner’s circle at LIV Golf Andalucia
(photo courtesy of: www.livgolf.com)
On the EPSON Tour it was Gina Kim who was in control over the weekend at the Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship presented by Munich Re. The 25-year-old held a two-shot advantage at the 54-hole mark, however an early bogey got the nerves going, before she showed her maturity and experience by settling down and getting into the grind. Kim ended up firing seven birdies through the final round and signed for a 4-under (68), stretching her lead to six shots over her compatriots and EPSON Tour rookies Melanie Green and Camille Boyd. Best of the Aussies was Su Oh who faded over the weekend and ended in T39.
Gina Kim claims third win of the season on the EPSON Tour
(photo courtesy of: www.epsontour.com)
LET Access saw history this week at the Vasteras Open where Ragga Kristinsdottir became the first Icelandic woman to win a professional golf tournament. It was an up-and-down day for Kristinsdottir who gained the lead early however threatened to de-rail her efforts as she approached the turn. The leading pack kept the door open and Ragga happily stepped through it, posting a final round 1-over (73) which was enough to win by one shot. In solo-second was Denmark’s Amalie Leth-Nissen who finished one-shot clear of Isabell Ekstrom and Elena Colombo who shared third place. Best of the Aussies was Belinda Ji who started strong and finished in T10, six shots back of the winning score.
Ragga Kristinsdottir secures her first professional win at the Vasteras Open
(photo courtesy of: www.letaccess.com)
It was another Aussie winner on the PGA Tour of Champions as Steve Allen took out his second victory of the season and became the first wire-to-wire winner at the DICK’s Open. His win was set up with a strong opening round, shooting a 9-under (63) to take a two-shot advantage into the weekend. His lead was trimmed to just one shot ahead of the final round, however a stunning 6-under (66) on Sunday, which included a stretch of five birdies in six holes, ensured that he pulled clear of the field, winning by four shots. In solo-second was Jason Caron, one shot ahead of his fellow Americans Notah Begay III and Boo Weekley.
Steve Allen wins second PGA Tour Champions title with wire-to-wire victory
(photo courtesy of: https://golfweekly.usatoday.com)
The PGA Tour alternate event this week was the ISCO Championship, where William Mouw charged through the field with a final round 9-under (61). He then had to wait approximately two hours to see if that clubhouse lead would hold out. Despite the best efforts of Paul Petersen, three birdies down the stretch for him was not enough to close the gap and he fell short by one shot. In just his 20th start on tour, Mouw secured his maiden victory and will reap the benefits of playing rights and entry into better events moving forward. Best of the Aussies was Jason Scrivener, however he couldn’t get it to the weekend this time around.
William Mouw wins his maiden PGA Tour victory at the ISCO Championship
(photo courtesy of: www.sportskeeda.com)
Up Ahead
Alrighty … as if we weren’t just treated to one of the best weekends of golf for the year, we get to back it up with the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush Golf Club. Plenty have been licking their lips in anticipation for this battle and the spectacle that is links golf. Many of the pro’s have structured their schedule to include a deliberate preparation for this event, either taking weeks off to practice or playing in the field at the Scottish Open. Those with experience know what works best for them, however one thing remains as a constant, and that is links golf is a challenge for everyone and makes for great viewing. Xander Schauffele is our defending champion for the Open which is expected to have a purse of approximately $USD 17 million for 2025. This event carries 750 FedEx Cup points along with some valuable World Ranking points for those from Tours such as LIV where they struggle to accrue them through the regular season. With the LIV League coming off an event of their own over in Spain, it will be interesting to see how quickly their members can adapt to the links conditions again. Rory McIlroy looked to be regaining some form this past weekend and is always one to watch on a links course as is Cam Smith, who also appeared to be trending in the right direction with his game. Plenty of Aussies in the field this week alongside Cam, with a good mix of youth and experience to throw down a challenge. Adam Scott will make his 97th major appearance in a row this week and his game seems solid enough that if things fall his way he could find himself in contention. All that to say that this one is shaping up to be a cracker and if you didn’t have your ‘Kayo split-screen’ going last week, well now is the time to pull the trigger on renewing that subscription. You won’t want to miss this one!
LET Access is straight back into it and heads from Sweden to Spain to compete in this week's Islantilla Open at the Islantilla Golf Resort. Members will be competing for a share of the €100,000 purse along with some welcome momentum to build into the back half of the season. LET Access has been going back-to-back for some weeks now and it will be interesting to see how players manage their workload and fatigue before they get a week off after this one.
The EPSON Tour is also backing it up this week where they will tee it up at Pinehaven Country Club for the Casella Golf Championship. Lauren Stephenson is our past winner and this event carries a purse of $USD 200,000 along with 500 points in the Race for the Card.
Understandably, plenty of Tours are taking this week off either to have a break post the Evian Championship or to make way for their members to compete in the Open. The LPGA, Ladies European Tour, Asian Tour and LIV Golf League will all be off and resume at various stages over the next month.
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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