Welcome back to Monday’s wrap up, where we’re thankful for golf. And for you. Without both, we literally wouldn’t be here. For golf news!
Except Scottie Scheffler, ANY The winner of golf is unexpected, which helps us a little in picking the five this week. But as we enter the golf offseason (this is a bit of a run, we enter the golf offseason basically every week, there is no offseason) it’s worth calling out a few.
5 unexpected winners this week
1. Jeeno Thitikul (and its new commissioner)
For most of the LPGA season, one story ruled: There were no repeat winners. In 25 weeks, 26 different players had won an event (24 individual winners plus the two-man Dow Championship) that was a statistical marvel as well as a clear expression of the depth and talent of the circuit. But it was also something of a concern. Every sports league needs star power, it needs recognizable faces in the mix, it needs recurring characters. Of course, 2024 was the year of Nelly Korda. Would 2025 be everyone else’s year?
No.
Jeeno Thitikul it was not a surprise; she won the final event of 2024 (the CME Group Tour Championship) and the Mizuho Americas Open in April. She was also crowned world number 1. But because she racked up heartbreaking runner-up finishes instead of wins (four runner-up finishes in 2025, including three in five starts from July to September), it felt like her year would be defined by near misses. But then she flipped the script, winning the Buick LPGA Shanghai in October and then repeating at this weekend’s big-money CME, where she ran and hid from the field and ended up winning by four.
It was a suitably dominant result to what was ultimately a dominant season.
The numbers and awards tell an important story: Lowest scoring average ever. Most money ever. Rolex Player of the Year. Winner of the Vare Trophy. And so on. But that’s just part of what I hope will become an even bigger story: a girl from small-town Thailand who learned golf at a local driving range now it is no. 1 in the World, the main face of the LPGA, a dominant player and a delightful and thoughtful interview.
“A lot happens in just one year, for sure,” she said after her win on Sunday. “You see me holding the trophy today, but you see me probably crying about the four shots I made earlier (this season). You can’t predict anything in golf. Anything can happen. You can’t control anybody else. But what lasts is your hard work, your discipline, and like that, your passion for golf.”
Her win capped off a hugely successful few weeks for her league’s new frontman, the commissioner Craig Kessler. While his tour waded into controversial waters — plenty of ink was spilled over Kai Trump as well as the LPGA’s new Saudi partnership — it scored a much more substantial victory in bolstering LPGA coverage for years to come. CME at the end of the season felt big because of that news, because of Jeeno’s win, even because of the little things like the awards ceremony earlier in the week, the speeches, the red carpet. The LPGA’s season of anonymity ended with optimism and star power. Nelly and Jeeno and whoever is next. Let’s hope 2026 picks up where 2025 left off.
2. Sami Valimaki (and the nation of Finland)
He was already a two-time DP World Tour winner and a two-time PGA Tour runner-up. Now Sami Valimaki is a winner with a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour – and the first winner in Finnish history.
If you were to create a quick history of the past of a Finnish golf pro, you might come very close to Valimaki, who was a hockey forward with a beautiful shot and dreams of an NHL future.
“It was all my idea, but they didn’t pick me for the national team,” he revealed on Sunday, after the win. “So they picked me on the national golf team. I said, OK, let’s do this, and that path has worked out well.”
You can say it again.
(More on who snagged PGA Tour cards — and who didn’t — here.)
3. Dan Brown (we think)
In this case, we’re not talking about the author of The Da Vinci Code, but rather the English player who finished 11th on the DP World Tour Pro List to earn the PGA Tour promotion. This would seem like an unfortunate place for Dan Brown – if one of the top 10 is not out of the race before the end of 2025. This is now a possibility, according to a report BY Sports Business Journal that Laurie Canter is set to return to LIV Golf despite qualifying for the PGA Tour.
There are layers to this. Canter was set to be the first ex-LIV pro to earn his PGA Tour card; which is obviously now up in the air. He is currently a version of “Schrodinger’s Golfer,” existing in terminal limbo between DP World Tour status, PGA Tour status, and LIV Golf status. Until we hear more from him or his new team, we won’t know for sure. But Brown will be hoping to make things official in the next month…
4. Anthony Kim (and some former associates)
Few Asian Tour events feel like extended LIV events, none more so than this week’s PIF Saudi International, which was sponsored by LIV’s financial backers, held in LIV’s home country and featured a top 10 made up entirely of LIV 2025 players.
The winner was obvious, Jose Luis Ballestera young Spaniard and 2024 US Amateur Champion who signed with LIV earlier this year. He dropped out of the top 1,000 in the Official World Golf Ranking at No. 264; he and runner-up Caleb Surratt (which climbed to #244) reminded us that everyone has the game to compete with the best in their county and beyond.
But the guy in T5 was just as intriguing: Anthony Kim. of arcane The former PGA Tour star just completed his second year at LIV and faces an uncertain future after being dropped from the league. The problem wasn’t just the match from LIV – the problem wasn’t showing that he could be competitive. In 32 starts since his return, mostly in LIV’s 54-man fields (plus a few on the Asian Tour), Kim had 28 finishes outside the top 40 and one best T25.
On Sunday, however, he completed his most complete week of golf, shooting 67-64-69-70 to finish T5 alongside the likes of Tyrrell Hatton, providing concrete evidence that what he’s been working for has paid off. Whatever you think of Kim, his comeback, his LIV decision or his online wars of words, it’s hard not to marvel at his return to the course. This was his first top 20 anywhere since 2011. Since 2011! This is extraordinary.
5. Australian golf (and golf in funny moments)
Do you live in the US? What time do you like your golf? Fancy a 9am ET Black Friday, Skins-Game style, before a big helping of Thanksgiving leftovers? You are lucky. But this is for everyone. True diehards will have already dived into the PGA Australian BMW Championship, which kicks off on Thursday, November 27 at the Royal Queensland Golf Club.
No, that’s not next week’s Australian Open, which will take place at Royal Melbourne and feature the world number one. Rory McIlroy. But you will have Aussie stars like Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott AND Cameron SmithDP World Tour stars like Marco Money AND Rasmus Neergaard-Petersenthe stars of LIV as Joaquin Niemann AND David Puig getting their DP world tour started before their fines go dark – and comeback stories like that of Andrew “Beef” Johnston AND Eddie Pepperell.
The summer of Aussie golf is here. Golf has no off-season.
NEWS FROM SEATTLE
Monday Finish headquarters.
There is no hope of golf before work; the sun doesn’t come up until 7:30am, plus it’s cold.
There is no hope of golf after work; the sun sets at 4:20 p.m., plus it’s cold.
It’s time to curl up on the golf course for lunch. See you there.
And see you next week.
Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.
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