The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …

themondaymulligan
Apr 18, 2023
5 min read

Some exciting results out of the golfing world this week with a first time winner in the LGPA, a fairy-tale finish in the Korn Ferry Tour and some tight finishes in both the Asian Tour and the PGA Tour.

The Australian rising star, Grace Kim, brought the house down with her first win on tour in her rookie year as she won the LOTTE Championship in a playoff. Kim, who birdied the final two holes, finished at 12-under alongside Yu Jin Sung and Yu Liu and took it to a playoff where she held her nerve to secure her first win in only her third start on the LPGA Tour. It was a back and forth final round with the lead changing hands multiple times. All three players went for the green in two when they replayed the 18th, however all missed and it was Kim who held the advantage after almost holing her third shot. She then sank the tricky 5-footer to seal the win. The 22-year-old has been held in high regard within Australian golf and this win goes a long way in vindicating the hype and will surely settle some nerves for the remainder of her LGPA Tour season. An exciting career ahead and one to watch!

Grace Kim wins the LOTTE Championship

Photo Courtesy of golfdigest.com

At the RBC Heritage it was Matt Fitzpatrick who stiffed it to a few feet in the 3rd playoff hole to secure his second win on US soil. With the RBC being an elevated event, it remained a strong field despite being played the week after the Masters. McIlroy was an early withdrawal and Rahm got off to a slow start before putting on a clinic in his second round. After a tough first day, the conditions softened and created a scoring frenzy as everyone raced for the cut-line. For those lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the golf, during round two the group of Rahm, Spieth and Adam Scoot were on fire as they went 12-under between the three of them in their first 5 holes. The golfing world was also treated to a stint of commentating by Rahm who jumped on the mic after completing his final round and gave a fantastic insight into the mind of a champion golfer. The stage was set for a big final day where Spieth was in the hunt to defend his title. It was a race down the stretch (albeit a slow race with Cantlay in the final group and numerous officials being called for relief or rulings at stages) where the magic number was assessed to be 18-under. However, nobody actually got there, with all three of the contenders making errors and not taking opportunities throughout the final few holes. Whilst the hype was around Spieth and Cantlay, who contested in the playoff last year, it was Fitzpatrick who remained quiet in his advance up the leaderboard to finish at 17-under alongside Spieth. It took three playoff holes before Fitz got it done and secured the $3.6 million prize. Overall, a pretty food tournament of golf considering the Masters is a tough act to follow.

Matt Fitzpatrick wins the RBC Heritage

Photo Courtesy of PGA Tour Website

The International Series Vietnam was host to the Asian Tour this week where Kieran Vincent won the race down the stretch against seasoned veteran and Liv Golf League player Anirban Lahiri and the Aussie young gun Kevin Yuan. Vincent, in just his second year of professional golf, shot a final-round, six-under-par 66 to get to 19-under, a number that wasn’t reached until the final hole and that nobody could match. Yuan, who has made all eight cuts this season, had the opportunity to send it to a playoff on his final hole however missed the 12-footer and had to settle for second alongside Lahiri. The win for the Zimbabwean comes just 10 months after his brother won the International Series England before going on to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit and play in the Liv Golf League for the 2023 season, a path Kieran would surely be contemplating on taking. Whatever his future plans are, a win in his second year on tour which puts him second in the order of merit is a sign of good things to come and a promising career.

Kieran Vincent wins the International Series Vietnam

Photo courtesy of Asian Tour Website

The Korn Ferry Tour put up a fairy tale finish where it was Monday-qualifier Spencer Levin who carded a bogey-free, 8-under final-round to secure the win. Not only did Levin register for the playoff at the last minute, but he then birdied the last hole to avoid a 5-way playoff and earn his spot in the Veritex Bank Championship played at the Texas Rangers Golf Club. Levin started the final day 6 shots back, however his equal low-round-of-the-day and a composed two-putt on the final hole got him to 20-under and secured the $180,000 reward. It really is an inspiring story where Levin, who has spent the past decade on the PGA Tour, went back through Q-school and, if it wasn’t for a bogey on his final hole, would have had status for this event. However, where that final hole didn’t go to plan, this one certainly did and will hopefully get him back on a winning run towards the PGA Tour.

The week ahead

The Liv Golf League is making its debut in Adelaide, Australia at the Grange Golf Club this week where it is sure to be met with a frenzied crowd. Adelaide is coming off a huge sporting week where it recently hosted the entire round of Australian Rules Football (AFL) games and now backs it up to host the Liv players and a star studded lineup of entertainers for the event. The party hole is set and all eyes turn to see what sort of a reception the Liv Golf concept will receive. I expect the Aussies to get right behind it and create a huge atmosphere for the weekend. Time will tell!

The LPGA Tour heads to The Club at Carlton Woods where they will compete in the Chevron Championship for a purse of over $5 million dollars. Jennifer Kupcho is the defending champion, however it is a packed field with plenty of class players who enter the week in form making it hard to pick a winner.

The PGA Tour heads to the Zurich Classic of New Orleans where Cantlay and Schauffele will defend their title and fight for the $8.6 million purse. The tournament will again feature the two-man team format which has been running since 2016 and adds an interesting element to the format and something different for golf fans of the PGA Tour.

Japan will host the DP World Tour this weekend at PGM Ishioka Golf Course for the ISPS Handa Championship Japan. This one is a real mixed field with plenty of players in the hunt to secure a win this season or to simply secure their card for the next season.

That’s all for now, apologies this one was a little late and if you want anything specific covered be sure to let me know!

Play well,

TMM