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    Top players, best moments and more at the PGA Tour midpoint

    The Sports Pulse NewsBy No Comments11 Mins Read


    • Mark SchlabachApr 30, 2025, 08:01 AM ET

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      • Senior faculty soccer author
      • Creator of seven books on faculty soccer
      • Graduate of the College of Georgia

    With the golf world nonetheless buzzing about Rory McIlroy‘s historic victory at the Masters practically three weeks in the past, it is laborious to consider the PGA Tour has reached the midway level of its 2025 FedEx Cup season.

    The tour hits the second half at this week’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson, which tees off Thursday at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.

    Whereas accidents slowed down Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, the perfect two golfers on the earth, there have been loads of surprises and first-time winners within the first half — together with two ultimately week’s Zurich Traditional of New Orleans.

    The excellent news is there are nonetheless three main championships to play within the closing 17 tournaments, adopted by what figures to be a memorable Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York, on Sept. 26-28.

    Here is a glance again on the first half of the 2025 season:

    Midseason Participant of the 12 months

    How might it’s anybody apart from Rory? Together with changing into the sixth golfer within the Masters period to finish the profession Grand Slam by capturing a inexperienced jacket at Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership, he additionally collected wins towards stacked fields on the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on February 2 and The Players on April 13.

    McIlroy leads the tour in scoring common (69.2) and is sort of a half-stroke higher than anybody else in strokes gained: whole (2.319). With 2,463 factors, McIlroy has an almost 800-point benefit within the FedEx Cup standings.

    The five-time main champion may simply be getting began, given his success at Quail Hole Membership in Charlotte, North Carolina, which can host the PGA Championship on Could 15-18. He has gained the Wells Fargo Championship on the similar course 4 instances and set course information with 61 and 62. He’ll even be heading residence to Northern Eire for the Open Championship at Royal Portrush on July 17-20.

    “Going again to Portrush goes to be unimaginable,” mentioned Shane Lowry, who gained the 2019 Open Championship there. “Rory going again because the Masters champion now could be going to take somewhat bit of warmth off me once more, so I am fairly pleased with that. It will be an incredible match.”

    Others thought-about: Justin Thomas, Scheffler, Russell Henley, Ludvig Åberg

    Midseason Rookie of the 12 months

    Karl Vilips, who moved to the U.S. at age 11, won the Puerto Rico Open by three strokes on March 9 in his fourth PGA Tour begin. The previous Stanford star set the 72-hole scoring report at 26-under 262 at Grand Reserve Golf Membership in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. He opened with a 6-under 66 and closed with an 8-under 64.

    “Dream come true for me and my dad,” Vilips mentioned. “Going at it for a very long time. That is what we dreamed of after I was a child. It is fairly surreal.

    Due to a bulging disc in his again, Vilips bought a late begin this season however did not want lengthy to carry a trophy. After three straight missed cuts and a tie for 54th within the RBC Heritage, Vilips teamed with Michael Thorbjornsen to tie for fourth in final week’s Zurich Traditional of New Orleans.

    Vilips, 23, grew to become the primary ambassador of Tiger Woods’ Solar Day Crimson attire line in February. The 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the 12 months idolized Woods as a younger golfer in Australia.

    “He is who bought me into this sport, who motivated me to be who I’m immediately,” Vilips mentioned. “The mentality he delivered to every part that he does.”

    Others thought-about: Aldrich Potgieter, Rasmus Højgaard, Isaiah Salinda, Danny Walker

    Midseason Comeback Participant of the 12 months

    Bud Cauley returned to the PGA Tour in February 2024 after he was sidelined for greater than three years due to accidents suffered in a severe automobile wreck. Cauley suffered six damaged ribs, a collapsed proper lung and fractured left leg within the single-car crash during which he was a passenger on the 2018 Memorial Event in Dublin, Ohio.

    Cauley returned to the tour for 2 years following the wreck however battled by way of ache in his ribs attributable to a plate that had been positioned in his chest. Extra surgical procedures and infections quickly adopted, sidelining him for 3 seasons.

    Cauley returned to the tour in 2024 and missed seven cuts in 17 begins. The brilliant spot got here in a tie for fifth on the Sanderson Farms Championship final fall.

    This yr, Cauley has regained his type with 4 top-25s and three top-10s in 9 begins. He tied for sixth at The Gamers, after Justin Thomas, his former Alabama teammate and good pal, admitted he would do some “actually, actually bizarre issues for Bud to win immediately.” That end helped Cauley hold his PGA Tour card.

    Cauley, who’s thirty seventh within the FedEx Cup standings with 553 factors, additionally tied for fourth on the Valspar Championship and for fifth on the Valero Texas Open.

    “After I’m on the market, I am not fascinated with something that is occurred in my previous, simply attempting to play in addition to I can,” Cauley mentioned on the Valspar Championship. “Yeah, after I’m on the market it is like nothing ever occurred.”

    Others thought-about: Michael Kim, Daniel Berger, Viktor Hovland

    Midseason breakout participant of the yr

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    Benjamin Griffin, Andrew Novak win Zurich Traditional for first PGA wins

    Benjamin Griffin and Andrew Novak get their first profession PGA Tour wins on the Zurich Traditional of New Orleans.

    Andrew Novak has skilled a gentle however irritating climb by way of the PGA Tour. He completed 156th within the FedEx Cup standings in 2021-22, relegating him again to the Korn Ferry Tour Championship to reclaim his card. He was one hundred and fifth within the FedEx Cup standings the subsequent yr and 86th in 2024.

    This season, the 30-year-old is enjoying the perfect golf of his profession. He was solo third on the Farmers Insurance coverage Open in January and tied for thirteenth in two signature occasions, the AT&T Pebble Seashore Professional-Am and Genesis Invitational.

    After not doing a lot through the Florida swing, Novak tied for third on the Valero Texas Open and misplaced in a playoff to Justin Thomas on the RBC Heritage. Then final week, Novak and Ben Griffin collected their first PGA Tour victories in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans group occasion. It was Novak’s a hundredth begin on tour.

    Novak is sixth within the FedEx Cup standings with 1,380 factors and he is ninth within the U.S. Ryder Cup group standings with 5,587.6 factors.

    “I believe I’ve completed a reasonably good job not getting overly pissed off with the shut shaves,” Novak mentioned. “I have been attempting to take as many positives from every as I can as a result of the thought is I can put myself in that place as many instances as I can. I wish to get higher every time I am in that place. I wish to be extra snug. I wish to have issues that I can look again on and enhance on.

    “Yeah, it is irritating, nevertheless it’s additionally good going right into a match figuring out you are enjoying effectively.”

    Others thought-about: Michael Kim, Ben Griffin, Joe Highsmith, Jacob Bridgeman, Brian Campbell, Ryan Gerard

    Most shocking stat

    Zero. That is the variety of victories in eight begins on tour for Scheffler, who gained 9 instances all over the world in 2024.

    It isn’t that Scheffler has performed poorly since returning to motion in early February after recovering from a right hand injury he suffered whereas cooking on Christmas Day. He completed within the prime 25 in every of his begins and tied for third on the Genesis Invitational and for second on the Texas Youngsters’s Houston Open. He was solo fourth on the Masters in his try to win inexperienced jackets in back-to-back years.

    However even Scheffler admits his sport has been just a bit bit off and he hasn’t made the putts that helped him win so typically in 2024. He is nonetheless second on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: whole (1.911) and tee to inexperienced (1.627) and fourth on strategy (.942). That is not terrible by any stretch of the creativeness.

    Finest victory

    The Masters, the primary main championship of the season, offered golf followers with every part they may presumably need: Rory McIlroy vs. Bryson DeChambeau within the closing spherical. Excessive drama on the second 9 at Augusta Nationwide in Sunday’s closing spherical, because of McIlroy’s near-collapse and Justin Rose’s beautiful comeback effort.

    Rose, who carded a 6-under 66 within the closing spherical, sank a 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd gap to place much more stress on McIlroy, who had squandered a four-stroke lead. McIlroy missed a 5-footer for par on No. 18 to pressure a playoff with Rose.

    On the primary playoff gap, Rose hit his strategy shot to fifteen ft of the outlet on the No. 18 inexperienced. McIlroy hit his second to 4 ft. Rose missed his birdie putt, after which McIlroy sank his to seize his first inexperienced jacket in his eleventh strive.

    “That is my seventeenth time right here, and I began to surprise if it might ever be my time,” McIlroy mentioned. “I believe the final 10 years coming right here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and attempting to attain that, yeah, I am kind of questioning what we’re all going to speak about going into subsequent yr’s Masters.”

    Finest spherical

    Jake Knapp carded the fifteenth sub-60 spherical in PGA Tour historical past with a bogey-free 59 with 12 birdies and 6 pars within the opening spherical of the Cognizant Traditional in The Palm Seashores.

    Finest shot

    After carding a double-bogey on the 14th gap within the closing spherical of the Masters, McIlroy hit the “shot of a lifetime” en path to a birdie on the fifteenth.

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    ‘Shot of a lifetime!’ Rory hits majestic fairway shot

    The group simply loves this shot from Rory McIlroy at Gap 15, finally resulting in a birdie for the Northern Irishman.

    Finest putt

    It was an extended highway again to the highest of the leaderboard for two-time main championship winner Justin Thomas, who lastly ended an almost three-year drought and not using a victory with a 20-foot birdie to win a playoff on the RBC Heritage on April 20

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    Justin Thomas wins RBC Heritage with lengthy putt in a playoff

    Justin Thomas is fired up after sinking the lengthy putt in a playoff for the RBC Heritage win.

    Finest drive

    Rookie Aldrich Potgieter leads the tour with a 324.1-yard common off the tee, together with this 374-yarder on the Mexico Open.

    Worst drive

    On the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Potgieter, a 20-year-old from South Africa, confirmed he is able to topping one like the remainder of us.

    Finest angle

    Joel Dahmen had the correct of mindset after ending with three straight bogeys and lacking a 2-footer on the seventeenth gap to lose to Garrick Higgo by one within the Corales Puntacana Championship in Puerto Rico on April 20.

    Finest punt

    Patton Kizzire wasn’t joyful after lacking a 5-footer for par within the first spherical of the Valspar Championship.

    Finest save

    Chandler Phillips practically waded into alligator-infested waters to hit top-of-the-line saves of the season in New Orleans.





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