The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …
- themondaymulligan
- Sep 22, 2025
- 7 min read
New week, same winner on the Asian Tour as Kazuki Higa goes back-to-back. There was also good representation on leaderboards around the world of golf from our Aussies who rallied and are firing up for the final run of events on many of the tours. Read on for this week’s recap.
The 2025 FedEx Open de France, held at Golf de Saint‑Nom‑La‑Bretèche near Paris, delivered a dramatic finish as Michael Kim claimed his first DP World Tour title in seven years. Kim, US‑based, fired a flawless final round of 6‑under‑par 65 to finish at 16 under, edging out Jeong Weon Ko (South Korea) and Australia’s Elvis Smylie, who both closed with 65’s themselves. Heading into Sunday, Brooks Koepka and Min Woo Lee shared the 54‑hole lead at 11-under. Koepka opened strong, especially with a red‑hot front nine, but couldn’t sustain momentum down the stretch, carding a 68 to finish solo fourth at 14 under. Min Woo Lee, similarly, dropped ground on the back nine, closing with a 69 to tie for fifth at 13 under. One of the pivotal moments came at the 16th, when Jeong Weon Ko eagled to take the clubhouse lead at 15-under. Kim then birdied the 17th to go 16-under, setting a tough target. On the 18th, after finding a bunker off the tee, Kim managed a delicate up‑and‑down, then dropped a clutch 16‑foot par putt to secure the win. Other notable performances: Guido Migliozzi, Marcus Armitage, and Kristoffer Reitan also finished in the top five.
Best of the Aussies was Elvis Smylie with his T2 finish and another top-10 in what is quickly becoming a breakout season. Min Woo also showed strong form in back-to-back weeks and looks to have tightened up his game heading into the next PGA season.
Michael Kim wins his first DP World Tour event in seven years at the FedEx Open de France
(photo courtesy of: https://sports.yahoo.com/)
The 2025 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, held at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas, was dramatically shortened due to heavy rain, with only one round completed. The tournament began under good conditions, Sarah Schmelzel and Minami Katsu each fired outstanding opening rounds of 8‑under‑par 63, sharing the lead. Players close behind included Leona Maguire, Lilia Vu, Somi Lee, Carlota Ciganda and Nasa Hataoka, all at 7‑under after the first round. By Saturday, weather turned severe. Intense rain and the deteriorating condition of the course forced suspension of play early in round two; eventually, the LPGA declared the course unplayable. With forecasts indicating more rain and an inability to complete 36 or 54 holes, the tournament was cancelled as an official LPGA Tour event. Scores reverted to just the completed 18 holes. Because the event was not deemed official (didn’t reach the minimum 36 holes), no CME (tour) points were awarded.
The purse was $3,000,000, with the winner’s share typically expected to be about $450,000. In this case, the top finishers after 18 holes – i.e. Schmelzel and Katsu – would share the top payout based on their first‑round tie.
A 16‑year‑old Canadian, Anna Huang, delivered a memorable maiden victory at the 2025 La Sella Open, becoming one of the youngest winners in LET history. Huang led wire‑to‑wire with scores of 64‑66‑69‑69, ending the tournament at 20-under-par, and winning by a commanding seven shots. Her final round featured a birdie at the 3rd hole and another at the 9th, before dropping shots at the 13th and 15th. Yet she responded strongly with birdies at 14 and 16, sealing the win in style with a birdie at the 18th. She remained calm under pressure in the closing holes which proved decisive in maintaining her advantage and running away with it. Huang’s performance was remarkable not only for the margin of victory but also because she joined the LET less than a year ago. Prior to this event, she didn’t even have a full tour card and entered some tournaments as a reserve. This makes her breakthrough even more significant. The La Sella Open field included experienced players such as Nuria Iturrioz, who posted a strong second‑round 66 (6-under) to move up the leaderboard, and other local and international stars aiming to challenge. In sum, the week at La Sella Golf Resort showcased a mix of youthful potential and veteran presence, but it was Huang’s composed, powerful performance that stole the headlines and etched her name into LET lore. She advances to 22nd in the Order of Merit with this win.
Best of the Aussies was Maddison Hinson-Tolchard who finished in solo third with a score of 12-under. Also in the top-10 was Kirsten Rudgeley with a solid T8 for the week.
Canadian Anna Huang is a runaway victor at the La Sella Open
(photo courtesy of: www.ladieseuropeantour.com)
Kazuki Higa made it back-to-back weeks as a winner on the Asian tour as he claimed victory at the 2025 Yeangder Tournament Players Championship held at Linkou International Golf and Country Club in Taiwan. Higa finished with a total of 17‑under par (271) over four rounds to win by two shots over a trio of runners‑up: Charles Porter, Wei‑hsuan Wang, and Rattanon Wannasrichan. He shot a bogey‑free final round 68 to seal the deal, maintaining steady performance throughout. Porter, who had been leading after three rounds, faltered slightly in the final round with a 71. Wang and Wannasrichan also posted solid rounds (67 and 66 in their final rounds respectively) but couldn’t catch Higa’s consistency. A notable storyline was the strong showing by amateur Hsieh Cheng‑wei, age 17, who tied for seventh place, the best ever by an amateur in the history of the Yeangder TPC.
Best of the Aussies was (once again) Travis Smythe who finished in T7 on 13-under. This result pushed Smythe inside the top-10 on the order of merit and is a reward for his consistent form and performance since returning from the break.
Kazuki Higa makes it two in a row at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship
(photo courtesy of: www.asiantour.com)
The Lavaux Ladies Open, held at Golf de Lavaux in Puidoux, Switzerland, concluded with Czech golfer Patricie Macková claiming her first professional win on LETAS. She finished at 11‑under‑par, posting rounds of 67, 71 and 67 to win by three strokes over Australia’s Justice Bosio. After a share of the lead in Round one with Sweden’s Corinne Viden (both shooting 67, 5-under), Macková slipped slightly in Round 2, but rebounded in the final round to run away with it by three shots. Among other top finishes, Swiss veteran Anaïs Maggetti had her best result of the season, finishing T3 with consistent sub‑par scores (68‑70‑71). Also notable was amateur Yana Beeli, who finished T5 at 6‑under, and was the best amateur in the field. The tournament carried a purse of €45,000 and featured a strong field, as the LETAS season heads toward its finale. For Macková, this win marked a return to form after she recovered from an injury sustained earlier in the season.
Best of the Aussies was Justice Bosio who fought hard all week and came away with an excellent result in solo second at 8-under.
Patricie Mackova secures her first professional win at the Lavaux Ladies Open
(photo courtesy of: www.letaccess.com)
Up Ahead
The stage is set at Bethpage State Park (Black) Course where America and European Teams will do battle this week for the Ryder Cup. Europeans are the reigning champions, however they have it all to do in order to beat America on their home soil. This has been built as one of the more hotly contested Ryder Cups in recent history, with Captain Keegan adding to the hype from the moment he was selected for the role. It’ll be a great watch and worth putting in some long nights to catch as much of the action as you can.
The Ladies European Tour high fives the DP World Tour this week as they step foot onto French soil to compete at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France. This event will be played at Golf Barriere and carries some strong momentum with it following on from last weeks epic DP World Tour finish. This will be great to watch alongside the Ryder Cup action. Chiara Tamburlini was last years winner and this iteration carries a purse worth €400,000.
The Asian Tour remains in Chinese Taipei this week as they head across to the Taiwan Golf and Country Club to compete in the Mercuries Taiwan Masters. This event carries a purse of $USD 1 million and Jbe Kruger was our 2024 champion. Although Kazuki Higa has leapt ahead on the Order of Merit, the fight in the mid-pack is heating up and taking shape as we enter the back end of the season.
The Australasian Tours, both Challenger PGA for the men and WPGA for the women, have another few weeks off before resuming the season. The men will next tee it up for order of merit (OoM) points at The CKB WA PGA Championship in early October whilst our ladies will be in business next at the Women’s NSW Open regional qualifying events in mid-October. In the meantime, there is the World Sand Greens Championship being played at the Binalong Community Club this weekend where the field will compete over 36 holes for a share of the $AUD 140,000 purse (although no Order of Merit points are on offer).
A few of the pother tours around the world are also taking this week off in order to clear the schedule for the Ryder Cup and give their members a break heading into the final stretch of the year. This includes the PGA, DP World, LPGA, LETAS and EPSON Tours.
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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