Golf Monthly February 2025

neil.tappin@futurenet.com By the time you pick up this issue of Golf Monthly, January will be creeping towards an end, with the faint hope of brighter, less muddy golfing days on the horizon. It’s only natural to look ahead, so to be bold and risk setting myself up for a fall, here’s my 2025 prediction… Europe will win the Ryder Cup in New York. I know what you’re thinking, but hear me out. Luke Donald and his team have smartly characterised winning an away Ryder Cup as one of the toughest tasks in sport. The players are buying into the gravity of this historic challenge and, with the needle from Rome plus the internal US pay-to-play debate rumbling on, the cultural gulf between the teams looks wider than for many years.…

Time for a shake-up I honestly believe that golf is at a crossroads. LIV Golf isn’t going anywhere, especially with the money involved, and it should be a wake-up call to the powers-that-be running the tours. The PGA Tour especially feels stale; the DP World Tour, too. I’m just not sure who wants to watch four-round tournaments any more. With the advent of YouTube and TikTok, the emphasis is on pace, wit, razzmatazz, glamour and colour. The new generation coming through is vibrant! I think the money men should get together to create a new product that inspires the younger generation. Keep the four Majors and the Ryder Cup, but instead of four-day events, have one big day that everyone can get involved in – one-round shootouts, challenges, audience participation,…

Shane, Ludvig and Wyndham, you played in the first TGL match and won 9-2. How did you find the whole experience? SL: The last time I had that much fun was probably last September [Ryder Cup]. I think some weeks can be monotonous and tough, but this is just something different and something fun. LA: It was awesome. I always said I was so jealous of basketball and NFL players because they get to do this a lot and we don’t. This whole stadium-like feel is awesome to be a part of, and it gets you going a little bit differently from a normal golf tournament. WC: There’s a bunch of cool things you could do with this. I feel like the possibilities are almost endless. You can put a…

MONTH IN STATS Niklas Norgaard claimed the season-high number of DPWT eagles in 2024 23 SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER WAS 105-UNDER IN HIS SEVEN PGA TOUR WINS IN 2024 ____ MULTIPLE RACE TO DUBAI CHAMPIONS SINCE IT WAS INAUGURATED IN 2009 ____ 2 Lee Westwood 6 Rory McIlroy 2 Henrik Stenson 29 Holes-in-one on the LPGA Tour in 2024, with Jiwon Jeon bagging three 416 Matt McCarty went 416 holes without a three-putt on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour PGA TOUR TOP-TENS RECORDED BY AMATEUR LUKE CLANTON IN 2024 ____ 5 Thriston Lawrence had more runner-up finishes than any other DPWT player in 2024 10 The South African also recorded more DPWT top-ten finishes than anyone else 17 Years between John Parry turning pro and hitting the world’s top 100…

“A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY GOING TO CHARITY AND WE’RE GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF C**P”Xander Schauffele responds to the Ryder Cup payments row “IT’S A LOT BETTER, BUT I STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO”Tiger Woods gave a fitness update at the PNC after undergoing the sixth back surgery of his career last September “IT’S RIDICULOUS. I FEEL SORRY FOR THE FANS HOW SLOW IT IS OUT THERE”Charley Hull has called for players to start losing their tour cards if they don’t speed up play on the LPGA Tour “LOOK, WE ALL GET OLDER, WE ALL MATURE A LITTLE BIT, AND THEN YOU REALISE, HEY, BRYSON’S A GOOD DUDE”Brooks Koepka admits he was wrong about Bryson DeChambeau…

Hideki Matsuyama’s winning score at The Sentry was the lowest in PGA Tour history. His 11 birdies in round three were the most he has made in a single round on the PGA Tour. Titleist was the most-played driver brand on the PGA Tour for the sixth straight season last year. SOCIAL SCENE Freak injury sidelines World No.1 Scottie Scheffler took to Instagram to announce a delay in his return following a freak accident on Christmas Day. The 28-year-old required surgery to his right hand after injuring it on broken glass while preparing Christmas dinner. He initially thought he’d only miss the season opener, but later confirmed he’d be forced to take a longer break. “After consulting with my medical team, I have made the decision to withdraw from next week’s…