The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …
- themondaymulligan
- May 1, 2023
- 6 min read
Talor Gooch goes back-to-back and his RangeGoats get their first win of the season as well as an enthralling finish in the LPGA Tour event in LA capped off an exciting week of golf!
In a wild week in Singapore, it was Talor Gooch who secured his second win in as many weeks despite a number of weather delays and interruptions throughout the three rounds. The big names established themselves at the top early, and on the final day it was a heavyweight bout between Koepka, Garcia and Gooch. Unlike last week, where it was his to lose, this week Gooch had company at the top and had to hold his nerve during the first playoff of his career. It came down to the final hole where Garcia and Gooch both birdied to take it to a replay of the 18th. Gooch got lucky off the tee after taking an aggressive line however the gamble paid off and he lag-putted his eagle attempt to a few feet to give him an easy tap-in win. In other news across the week, Ripper GC bounced back after an average showing on their home turf last week to finish sixth. Scott Vincent, a previous winner on both the Japan and Asia Tour, was in the hunt for most the day however struggled to get the putts to drop when it mattered most. Another great week of golf presented by the Liv Golf League as their competition marches on.
Talor Gooch and the Range Goats as winners at Liv Golf Singapore
Photo courtesy of livgolf.com
The Korean Championship presented by Genesis put on a treat in its inaugural addition to the DP World Tour. It came down to a thrilling finish in the final round where there were five at the top when eventual winner, Pablo Larrazabal, made the turn. He then proceeded to put on a birdie blitz to hold off a classy chasing pack. It was his four birdies on the back nine, along with some smart golf and safe pars, which saw Larrazabal secure his eighth DP World Tour title. Other notable performances saw the young Dane Marcus Helligkilde finish second, Joost Luiten in T3, and Rob Macintyre, who looked solid all week, finished in T7. Another result which caught the eye was young Australian David Micheluzzi, who won the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit and made his debut on tour this week, finish the best of the Aussies in a respectable T21. An encouraging sign for a soon-to-be rookie on the DP World Tour for 2024. Overall a great week of golf with some strong competition and promising signs for a few young guns on tour.
Pablo Larrazabal wins the Korean Championship
Photo courtesy of DP World Tour
A chaotic final round in the LA Championship in Los Angeles saw the lead change numerous times amongst some big names in the top 10 who were hunting down the title. Overnight leader, America's Cheyenne Knight, had a fourth round to forget as she let slip the lead early in her round and struggled to wrestle back any momentum. This opened the door for Japan's Ayaka Furue who came tearing up the standings with a final round 6-under 65. However, despite an impressive final round by Furue, it proved not to be enough as Aditi Ashok and Xiyu Lin set the clubhouse lead. World number one Nelly Korda was also in the hunt however fell two shots short of the playoff number. It then came down to Hannah Green to decide how many would make the playoff, the Australian sinking a long-range birdie putt on the last to make it a three-way tie at the top and set the stage for a thrilling finish. All three players headed back to the 18th to duke it out in what became a sudden-death, par-three. Hannah Green took the advantage hitting her tee shot to 3 feet, however all three ladies had a birdie putt opportunity to extend the playoff. Ashok lipped out her birdie putt, coming up agonisingly short of her first LPGA Tour victory. Lin sunk hers and put the pressure on Green’s birdie attempt however the Australian responded and both ladies headed back to the tee. Green kept her cool on the second playoff hole where par was enough to take home the vicory. It was another impressive week of ladies golf with big stories and close finishes which makes for some compelling viewing.
Tony Finau wrapped up his sixth title on tour with a clinical display at the Mexico Open. Finau’s bogey-free 66 was his highest score of his four rounds but he never gave anyone a chance to chase him down in a faultless display tee to green. There were plenty of competitor’s circling, however Finau continued to make his pars and they ran out of holes to catch him. One such competitor was Jon Rahm who was solid, but nothing special, over the first two rounds. However it was a course record 10-under, 61 in his third round which saw him tearing up the leaderboard and poised for a final round challenge. Another challenger was 21-year-old, Akshay Bhatia, who has special temporary membership on tour and finished an impressive fourth. The win for Finau is his second for the season and advances him to fourth in the FedEx Cup standings in what is shaping up to be a solid season.
Tony Finau wins the Mexico Open by three
Photo courtesy of PGATour.com
It was a first-time winner on the EPSON Tour as Savannah Vilaubi held her nerve through a two-hole, three-person playoff to secure the victory. Vilaubi started with a course record in the first round and held that lead to become the first wire-to-wire winner for the 2023 season. The Californian looked to be in control as she fired five birdies down the stretch to force the playoff and, despite a three putt on the second playoff hole, the 29 year old got the job done. We love to see a first-time winner and hopefully this is a sign of some exciting things to come for Vilaubi on tour.
Savannah Vilaubi secures her first win on the EPSON Tour
Photo courtesy of epsontour.com
The week ahead
The PGA Tour is off to Quail Hollow this week for the Wells Fargo Championship where Max Homa will defend his 2022 title. It is a strong field which will compete for the $20 million purse and I am keen to see how both Jason Day and Rickie Fowler resume their comeback march after a short break.
San Francisco is host to the LPGA Tour this week for the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown. In a unique format and being played for the fourth time on tour, the event features 32 players representing their eight countries and vying for the crown. The Koreans are defending champions and will be hoping to go back-to-back, however it will be a significantly harder challenge at TPC Harding Park compared to their title win on home soil in 2022. The event has a purse of $2 million.
The Liv Golf League has a week off before heading to Tulsa where they will compete at the Cedar Ridge Country Club.
The DP World Tour heads to Italy where they will compete in the DS Automobiles Italian Open to be played at the Marco Simone GC. There are plenty of Italians in the field who will be hoping to put on a strong showing, however I liked the look of where Rob Macintyre’s game is at and expect him to pull off the W this week.
The Asian Tour resumes this week after a fortnight off and will compete in Korea for the 42nd GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship at the Namseoul Country Club. Bo Kim will be hoping to defend his 2022 title as 144 players compete for the KRW1,300,000,000 prize fund.
The LET Tour has another week off before descending on the Evian Resort Golf Club in France for the Jabra Ladies Open. The entry list looks like a strong field with plenty of players hoping for a solid return after a break to establish themselves on the tour and advance in their standing on the order of merit.
Another exciting week with plenty happening and I hope you are all getting a chance to have a hit or watch some of the golf being played around the world.
Play well,
TMM
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