Golf

Top players at PGA Tour Midpoint, Best Moments, etc.

15 Min Read
Copy Link

The world of golf is still bustling about Lori McIlroy’s historic victory at the Masters almost three weeks ago, so it’s hard to believe the PGA Tour has reached the midpoint of the 2025 FedEx Cup season.

The tour hits the second half at Byron Nelson this week, and will be tee-off at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas on Thursday.

The injury slowed down two of the world’s best golfers, Scotty Schaufferer and Xander Schauffere, but there were many surprises and first-time winners in the first half.

The good news is that when it comes to the memorable Ryder Cup at the Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York on September 26-28, there are still three major championships to play in the final 17 tournaments.

Let’s take a look back at the first half of the 2025 season.

Mid Season Player of the Year

How can you become someone other than Rory? Became the sixth golfer in his Masters days, he completed his career grand slam by capturing a green jacket at the Augusta National Golf Club, and won the field stacked on February 2nd at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AM and on March 17th.

McIlroy leads the tour with a scoring average (69.2) and has nearly half-stroke better than anyone else in the stroke: total (2.319). With 2,463 points, McIlroy has the advantage of nearly 800 points in his FedEx Cup standings.

The five-time major champion may just start, given his success at the Quazur Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, which will host the PGA Championship from May 15-18. He won the Wells Fargo Championship four times on the same course, setting course records with 61 and 62. He will also return to Northern Ireland for the Open Championship, which will be held at Royal Portrush from July 17th to 20th.

“It’s incredible to go back to Portrush,” said Shane Laurie, who won the 2019 Open Championship there. “Rolly is back as the Masters champion gets a little hotter from me again, so I’m pretty pleased with it. It’s going to be a great tournament.”

Others include Justin Thomas, Scheffler, Russell Henry, and Rudig Åberg

Midseason Rookie of the Year

Karl Vilips, who moved to the US at the age of 11, won the Puerto Rico Open on March 9th with a three-stroke start in the PGA Tour. The former Stanford star set a 72-hole scoring record with 26 under 262 at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. He opened at 6 under 66 and closed at 8 under 64.

“My dreams come true for me and my dad,” Bilips said. “I’ll go to it for a long time. This is something I dreamed of as a child. It’s pretty surreal.

See also  Billy Horschel undergoes surgery and damages Ryder Cup wishes

With an inflatable disc on its back, the Vilips started late this season, but they didn’t need it long to lift the trophy. After three consecutive missed cuts at RBC Heritage and a tie in 54th place, the Vilips teamed up with Michael Thorbjornsen to rank fourth at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last week.

Bilips, 23, became the first ambassador of Tiger Woods’ Sunday Red Apparel Line in February. The 2024 Corn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year idolized Woods as a young Australian golfer.

“He was the one who got me into the sport and motivated me to who I am today,” Bilips said. “The mentality he brings to everything he does.”

Other considerations: Aldrich Potgieter, Rasmus Højgaard, Isaiah Salinda, Danny Walker

Midseason Comeback Player of the Year

Bud Cauley returned to the PGA Tour in February 2024 after being sidelined for over three years after being injured in a serious car accident. Courley suffered six broken ribs, a right lung, and a broken left leg in a single-car crash that was a passenger at the 2018 anniversary tournament in Dublin, Ohio.

Kowley returned to the tour for two years following the wreck, but fought through the pain of the ribs caused by the plate placed on his chest. Additional surgeries and infections soon followed, and he stood by for three seasons.

Cauley returned to tour in 2024, missing seven cuts in a 17 start. The bright spot came last fall with a fifth-place tie at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

This year, Cauley regained form with four top 25s and three top 10s in nine starts. He came sixth with the players after former Alabama teammate and good friend Justin Thomas admitted he would do “what really, really weird to see Bud win today.” That finish helped Cauley maintain his PGA Tour card.

He was 37th in the FedEx Cup standings with 553 points, fourth in the Valspar Championship and fifth in the Valero Texas Open.

“When I’m there, I’m not thinking about anything that’s happened in the past, I’m just trying to play as much as I can,” Cauley told the Valspar Championship. “Yeah, it seems like nothing happened when I was there.”

Others thought: Michael Kim, Daniel Berger, Victor Hofland

Midseason Breakout Player of the Year

play

0:39

Benjamin Griffin and Andrew Novak win the Zurich Classic for the first PGA to win

Benjamin Griffin and Andrew Novac won their first career PGA Tour at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans.

Andrew Novak has experienced a stable yet frustrating climb on the PGA tour. He placed 156th in the FedEx Cup standings from 2021-22, relegating him to the Corn Ferry Tour Championship to retrieve his card. He was 105th in the FedEx Cup ranking the following year and 86th in 2024.

See also  Former winners John Daly and Rich Bem opt out of the PGA Championship

This season, the 30-year-old is playing the best golf of his career. He finished third in the Farmers Insurance Open in January and 13th in two signature events, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational.

After not doing much during Florida’s swing, Novak came third at the Valero Texas Open and lost in the playoffs for Justin Thomas at RBC Heritage. Then last week, Novak and Ben Griffin gathered their first PGA Tour victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event. It was the 100th start of Novak’s tour.

Novak is sixth in the FedEx Cup standings with 1,380 points and ninth in the US Ryder Cup team standings with 5,587.6 points.

“I think I did a pretty good job without being overly annoyed by the close shaving,” Novak said. “I’m trying to get as many positives as possible, as many positives as possible, because I can put myself in that position as I can. I want to be better every time I’m in that position. I want to be more comfortable. I want to look back and have something that I can improve.

“Yeah, it’s frustrating, but it’s nice to go to the tournament knowing you’re playing well.”

Other considerations: Michael Kim, Ben Griffin, Joe Highsmith, Jacob Bridgeman, Brian Campbell, Ryan Gerald

Most amazing statistics

zero. This is the number of eight wins on the tour of Scheffler, who won nine times worldwide in 2024.

Schaeffler hasn’t played poorly since he returned to action in early February after recovering from an injury to his right hand that he suffered while cooking on Christmas Day. He finished in the top 25 in each start, finishing third in the Genesis Invitational and second in the Texas Children’s Houston Open. He was fourth in the Masters solo in his attempts to win consecutive Green Jackets.

But even Schaeffler admits that his game is just a little far away and that he hasn’t made the putts that helped him win frequently in 2024. It’s not bad due to the spread of imagination.

The best victory

The Masters, the first major championship of the season, offered golf fans everything they could offer Rory McIlroy vs. Bryson decanbaugh in the final round. Thanks to McIlroy’s nearly Collapse and Justin Rose’s stunning comeback efforts, the second high-drama was at Augusta National in the final round on Sunday.

Rose, who had a 6-under 66 in the final round, sank a 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole, putting even more pressure on McIlroy, who wasted a four-stroke lead. McIlroy missed five footer on No. 18 and forced the playoffs against Rose.

In the first playoff hole, Rose hit an approach shot up to the 15-foot hole on the 18th green. McIlroy hit 4 feet from his second. After Rose missed a birdie putt, McIlroy sank to capture his first green jacket on his 11th attempt.

See also  Pioneer Black Golfer Jim Dent dies at age 85

“This was my 17th time I’ve had here and I started to wonder if it would be my time,” McIlroy said. “I think the last 10 years have been trying to come here with a Grand Slam burden on my shoulder and achieve that.

Best Round

Jake Knapp made the 15th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history with a bogeyless 59 with 12 birdies and six pars in the opening round of Cognizant Classic at Palm Beach.

Best shot

After a double bogey on the 14th hole in the final round of the Masters, McIlroy hit a “lifetime shot” on the way to birdie on the 15th.

play

0:27

“A lifetime shot!” Rory attacks Majestic fairway shot

The crowd loves this shot from Rory McIlroy in Hall 15, which ultimately leads to a Northern Irish birdie.

The best putt

It was a long way back to the top of the leaderboard for two-time major championship winner Justin Thomas. He ended a nearly three-year drought without winning a 20-foot birdie on April 20 to win the playoffs in RBC Heritage.

play

1:05

Justin Thomas wins RBC legacy with long putts in the playoffs

Justin Thomas was fired after sinking a long putt in the playoffs of the RBC Heritage victory.

The best drive

Rookie Aldrich Potgieter leads the tour with an average of 324.1 yards, including this 374 yards at the Mexican Open.

The worst drive

At the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Podgeturn, a 20-year-old from South Africa, showed that he could topped like everyone else.

The best attitude

Joel Dahmen finished with three straight bogeys and missed two footers on the 17th hole and had the right mindset after losing to Garlic Higugo at the Corales Punta Cana Championship in Puerto Rico on April 20th.

The best

Patton Kizaia wasn’t satisfied after missing out on the PAR’s five footer in the first round of the Valspar Championship.

Best Save

Chandler Phillips was almost walking into the waters where alligators were infected to attack one of the best saves of the season in New Orleans.

TAGGED:
Share This Article
Leave a comment

POPULAR