The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …
- themondaymulligan
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
It was heartbreak for home fans, as Australia’s own Cam Smith missed out on the 72nd hole! However, the Australian Open is well and truly back, making headlines across the world of golf as Neergaard-Petersen won his maiden DP World Tour title. All that and much more below in the recap and preview ahead of this weeks events.
The Australian Open was back in a big way this week, boasting one of the strongest fields in the past decade and saw the largest ever attendance by spectators of any golf event in the country. The tournament came down to a final-hole standoff at 15-under between 26-year-old Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and home favourite Cameron Smith. After a poor drive into heavy rough, Neergaard-Petersen managed a difficult flop-shot from thick grass and then drained a 12-foot par putt under immense pressure. Smith, who had laid up safely on the 18th green, faced a five-foot putt to force a playoff, but missed. That miss gave Neergaard-Petersen the dramatic one-stroke victory. His final score was 15-under, giving him his first win on the DP World Tour and earning him a spot in the 2026 Masters Tournament. He also becomes the first Dane to win the Australian Open. Smith ended solo second at 14-under (one shot back). Meanwhile, Si Woo Kim finished third at 13-under; Michael Hollick and Adam Scott also fared well and secured spots in the 2026 The Open Championship. One of the biggest talking points of the week was the return of Rory McIlroy to the tournament, his first Australian Open since 2015. He drew huge crowds, helped restore the event’s prestige, and finished in a four-way tie for 14th on 7-under after battling a “roller coaster” week that included a 1-over 72 in Round 1 and a strong weekend performance. Overall, the 2025 Australian Open delivered a strong international field, intense final-day drama, and renewed excitement around a historic event.
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen wins his maiden DP World Tour title at the Australian Open
(photo courtesy of: https://golf.com.au/)
The Hero World Challenge, played at Albany Golf Course in the Bahamas last week, saw a dramatic finish, clutch shots and a deserved winner. The tournament ended with Hideki Matsuyama prevailing in a sudden-death playoff over Alex Noren. Both closed out regulation at 22-under (266), each carding a final-round 64. On the first playoff hole, Matsuyama hit a crisp 9-iron approach to three feet and tapped in for birdie, while Noren’s birdie attempt slid by, giving Matsuyama his second Hero World Challenge title (he previously won in 2016). Matsuyama’s final round was highlighted by a hole-out eagle from 116 yards at the par-4 10th, and five birdies on the front nine, setting the stage for his comeback. Meanwhile, 54-hole leader Sepp Straka, who had entered the final day one shot ahead of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, closed with a solid round but finished solo third at 21-under, a shot short of the playoff. Scheffler, bidding for a third straight Hero World Challenge crown, fell back down the leaderboard after a mixed Sunday and ended tied for fourth at 20-under. The event once again delivered high drama, underlining why it remains a favourite off-season showcase. With a $5 million purse and $1 million winner’s check, this invitational continues to attract a star-studded field.
There were no Aussies competing this week as most are back home competing in a variety of events across the Australian golfing landscape. It is great to see our homegrown heroes returning to strengthen the fields and increase the viewership.
Hideki Matsuyama wins his second Hero World Challenge title in the Bahamas
(photo courtesy of: https://www.si.com/)
The Nedbank Golf Challenge, held at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, delivered as one of the flagship events on the DP World Tour, often dubbed “Africa’s Major.” From the very first round, 27-year-old Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan turned heads. He fired a stunning 9-under (63), one shot off the course record, with ten birdies and a bogey, putting him in the lead by three strokes. Reitan maintained his composure over the next two rounds and carried a five-shot lead into the final day. The final round proved far from smooth: bogeys at holes 1, 3, 7 and 15, despite four birdies on the front nine, meant Reitan’s advantage evaporated and pressure mounted as challengers closed in. Still, he held his nerve, finishing with a level-par 72 to secure victory by a single shot at 17-under. Runners-up were England’s Dan Bradbury and South African Jayden Schaper. For Reitan, this is his second DP World Tour title (after the 2025 Soudal Open), and, after such a professional performance, an impressive statement early in his main-tour career.
There also weren’t any Aussies in the field in South Africa.
Kristoffer Reitan becomes the first Norwegian winner of the Nedbank Golf Challenge
(photo courtesy of: https://www.compleatgolfer.com/)
Up Ahead
The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia continues its run of events as they maintain their momentum in Victoria and head up to the road to Moonah Links for the Victorian PGA Championship. This event will be played across both the Open and Legends Course, where Corey Crawford took the chocolates last year along with a generous share of the $AUD 250,000 purse.
The WPGA Tour of Australasia continue a series of qualifying events and will not be back until early next year when they compete in the Webex Players Series Perth hosted by Min Jee Lee and Min Woo Lee.
The DP World Tour, or those that played in the Nedbank Golf Challenge last week, will remain in South Africa this week for the Alfred Dunhill Championship. This event will be played at the Royal Johannesburg Club, a change in venue from last year where Shaun Norris won the event at Leopard Creek Country Club. The prize pool is worth $EUR 1.5 million along with 3,000 points towards the Race to Dubai rankings.
The Asian Tour is back this week as they wrap up the year at the Saudi Open presented by PIF. This event carries a purse worth $USD 1 million where John Catlin was our winner last season.
The PGA Tour has a week off now whilst Q-School is completed and many of the professional’s head across to compete in the Grant Thornton Invitational which is covered below.
Whilst the LPGA season may have ended, many of the professional women on that tour are competing in the Grant Thornton Invitational in a couple of weeks in Naples. As a co-sanctioned event, players will pair up to compete for a share in the $USD 2 million purse where Jake Knapp and Patty Tavatanakit were our winners from last year.
Not a massive amount of golf on at this time of the year as a few of the tours continue play, with many being done for the Christmas break and will start back up in the New Year.
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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