The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …
- themondaymulligan
- Sep 29, 2025
- 6 min read
Aaaaaaaaand … breathe! Wow, no wonder the Ryder Cup is a biennial affair … that was an intense but phenomenal few days of competition. With plenty to cover, read on for the recap along with all the action happening around the world of golf.
The 45th Ryder Cup was held at the Black Course of Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York. Europe came into the event as defending champions, meaning they needed 14 points to retain the Cup, while the U.S. needed 14½ points to win it outright.
In the lead‑in, controversy swirled over crowd behaviour. Several media reports accused some fan conduct of crossing lines, leading to criticism from European players and broadcasters. Through the first two days, Europe built a commanding lead. By Saturday evening, they held a substantial advantage over the U.S. team.
However, Sunday’s singles offered the United States a chance at a dramatic comeback. The Americans won several matches on the final day, narrowing Europe’s lead and applying intense pressure. One pivotal moment came in the match between Shane Lowry (Europe) and Russell Henley (USA). Lowry halved that match — a half‑point he later described as one of the hardest he’d earned. That halved match helped ensure Europe would at least retain the trophy. Then, in another critical singles pairing, Tyrrell Hatton secured the half‑point that clinched the outright win for Europe, getting them to the 14½ needed.
An additional twist: Viktor Hovland (Europe) had to withdraw due to injury before his scheduled match with Harris English (USA). Ryder Cup rules dictated that in that situation a half‑point is awarded to each side for that match, so it was recorded as a tie before play began. Despite a late surge from the U.S., Europe held on.
The final scoreline stood at 15–13. This victory was significant in that it was Europe’s first Ryder Cup win on U.S. soil since 2012. The win marked Luke Donald as a back‑to‑back Ryder Cup winning captain (2023 and 2025). The U.S. effort was lauded for its Sunday push, but it ultimately fell short. The behaviour of some fans drew widespread criticism and sparked debate about decorum at golf’s highest team events. For Europe, this was a moment of vindication, retaining the cup under pressure and on foreign soil. This sets up for an excellent showing in 2027 where it will be hosted at Adare Manor in Ireland.
Europe win the 45th Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black
(photo courtesy of: www.europeantour.com)
The 35ᵗʰ Lacoste Ladies Open de France was held at the Golf Barrière Deauville (Diane Barrière Course) in Deauville, France, on the Ladies European Tour. A total field of 96 players competed, with a cut to the top 60 professionals and ties after the second round. In round one, Alessia Nobilio shot a 65 (6-under) to claim the early lead. French entrants Ariane Klotz and Charlotte Liautier were also in contention early, tied in or near the top‑5. During round two, local favorite Camille Chevalier made a strong move, posting a 66 (5-under) to climb into the mix and become one of the leading French players. She recorded an eagle and multiple birdies to reach 8-under total. At that point, Anna Huang (Canada) held the top spot at 10-under. The cut line was set at +1. By the conclusion of the event, Anna Huang sealed the title, marking her second back‑to‑back win in two weeks (following her Sella Open victory). She finished the tournament at 16-under, edging out Germany’s Helen Briem and South Africa’s Casandra Alexander, who shared second at 14-under. Meanwhile, French stars Céline Boutier and Nastasia Nadaud landed in a tie for 9ᵗʰ at 8-under. Huang’s clutch birdies on holes 16 and 18 were pivotal in separating herself from the chasing pack. In summarising the week, the victory underlined her rising status on the LET and made it a memorable fortnight for the young Canadian.
Best of the Aussies was Kirsten Rudgeley who put together three solid rounds to finish on 10-under at T5.
Canadian Anna Huang goes back-to-back, winning the Lacoste Open Ladies de France
(photo courtesy of: www.ladieseuropeantour.com)
The 39ᵗʰ Mercuries Taiwan Masters was held at the Taiwan Golf & Country Club. The tournament is a staple on the Asian Tour and carried a purse of US $1,000,000. On day one, Thailand’s Atiruj Winaicharoenchai shot a 5‑under (67) to take a one‑shot lead over compatriot Jazz Janewattananond, who carded 68. The weather and gusty winds proved challenging, with only a handful of players breaking par. By round two, Atiruj extended his advantage. A strong finish, three birdies in his last four holes, helped him record a 2-under (70), posting a 7‑under total of 137. Notably, he had rebounded from a double-bogey earlier in the round. Close behind were Suradit Yongcharoenchai and Scott Hend (both at 5-under), and Rattanon Wannasrichan (4-under). Over the final rounds, the race tightened. Ultimately, Rattanon Wannasrichan claimed the 2025 title with a total score of 283 (5-under), edging out Suradit Yongcharoenchai by one stroke. The win added Wannasrichan’s name to the list of champions in this long‑running Asian Tour event. The victory was significant because it came on home soil in Taiwan, at one of the country’s signature tournaments. It also demonstrates the depth of talent among Thai golfers on the Asian Tour, given that Thailand had multiple players high on the leaderboard throughout the event.
The Aussies were well represented in this event, with five of our fellas inside the top-30. Best of them was Scott Hend who battled hard all weekend to finish in T9 on a score of +1.
Rattanon Wannasrichan outlasts the field to win the Taiwan Masters
(photo courtesy of: www.asiantour.com)
Up Ahead
The PGA Tour is straight back into it with the field chomping at the bit to get back into competitive golf. This week will see the competition head to The Country Club of Jackson where they will battle it out for the Sanderson Farms Championship. Kevin Yu is the defending champion and the event offers a purse of $USD 6 million along with 500 FedEx Cup points on offer.
The LPGA Tour is also back in action as they descend upon the Hoakalei Country Club for the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei. The event carries a prize pool of $USD 3 million along with 500 points on offer towards the Race to CME Globe. A Lim Kim was our 2024 winner of this event and will be hoping to do more of the same this time around.
The DP World Tour is back to Scotland for one of the favourite stops on tour – The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship played at St Andrews. With only four events left before the playoffs, this will be critical for those on the cusp of making it and securing their playing rights for next season. With the quality of golf on offer, this event attracts a strong field with 2025 being no different. Tyrrell Hatton was our winner last year and, should he tee it up, will be hoping to use this event to gain some much-needed OWGR points. The event has a purse of $USD 5 million along with 5,000 points towards the Race to Dubai.
The Asian Tour continues their run of events as they head to Indonesia for the Jakarta International Championship. As an event on the International Series, this event carries a larger purse at $USD 2 million. For those not in the field for the DP World Tour in Scotland, this is their next best chance of gaining some OWGR points if they currently don’t have playing rights in a tour which consistently offers them. This should mean it’s another strong field as we have seen for the International Series events throughout 2025. Richard T. Lee was the winner for the 2024 version of this event, however there are plenty of Aussies in the field this week who will be hoping to throw their name of that honour roll.
The ladies of the EPSON Tour are into the final event of their season – The EPSON Tour Championship. The field will tee it up at the Indian Wells Golf Resort for a share in the $USD 250,000 purse along with 650 points in the Race for the Card. Heather Lin won this event last year, with plenty of aspiring young rookies in the mix to take that accolade for 2025.
The Ladies European Tour has a week off before resuming proceedings in India next week. The LET Access Tour also remains on a break until they compete in the final event of the season in Spain in mid-October.
The Australasian Tours, both Challenger PGA for the men and WPGA for the women, are still on a short break. 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.
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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