It was a week of triumph, and a week of loss. Both Tiger Woods (mother) and Matt Kuchar (father) lost parents to the inevitable circle of life. Three golfers earned inaugural victories on three different tours. Golf and life intersected as they often do, with both smiles and tears. As we move closer to the spring in the northern hemisphere, we lick our lips and anticipate a bit more each week. Let’s have a rundown of five tours and start to get excited for the remainder of the 2025 golf season.

PGA Tour @ Waste Management: Belgium now has a PGA Tour winner

Thomas Detry was in a bit of a shadow behind countryman Thomas Pieters, first at the University of Illinois, and then in his early days on tour. That shadow has passed, and Detry now stands in the sun of a first tour title. While Pieters has gone away, Detry finds himself wearing the mantle of WM Open champion. And the manner in which he secured the victory, is the stuff of labor, belief, and dreams.

A rejuvenated Daniel Berger, recovered from injuries that sidetracked his career, gave serious chase to Detry, despite the Belgian’s five-shot advantage through 54 holes. Berger made his fifth birdie of the day on the 15th hole, but he needed to close with eagles all the way. Unbeknownst to all, Detry was about to close with four consecutive birdies, highlighted by what he called the best shot of his life. The Belgian ripped a short iron inside two feet at the gauntlet 16th, the grandstand-surrounded par three.

In the end, Detry had a seven-shot victory and a spot in all the year’s majors and all the tour’s designated events. Michael Kim and Berger, tied for a distant second, each earned a spot in next week’s Genesis, a designated tournament. In some ways, there were many winners this week in Scottsdale.

A statement shot from Thomas Detry! ?

The leader sticks it to a foot on No. 16 in search of his first career win.

? CBS pic.twitter.com/zWxAckWc1S

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 9, 2025

LPGA @ Founders Cup: Noh Way! Yealimi collects first title

Yealimi Noh had a pair of runner-up finishes on the LPGA Tour, in Oregon and Texas, prior to this week. She no longer has to point to them, or to her stint on Team USA in the 2021 Solheim Cup, as favorite moments as a professional. Noh posted 64-63 in the middle rounds to seize the lead. With proven winners like Nelly Korda, Jin Young Ko, and Meghan Kang in pursuit, Noh had her work cut out.

Playing like a seasoned professional, Noh made zero mistakes on Sunday. She parlayed three birdies and fifteen pars into a fourth consecutive round in the 60s. She made her chasers come after her, and none was up to the challenge. As with many events this week, low scores on Sunday were unavailable. No one went lower than 67, which made Noh’s challenge much easier. Jin Young Ko stood three-under par on the day through nine holes, but limped home with a three-over 38, to remove all doubts.

Heading down 18, @YealimiNoh has a 4 shot lead ?

Tune in to see the final putt drop on @GolfChannel! pic.twitter.com/cUQH4lTDWH

— LPGA (@LPGA) February 9, 2025

DP World Tour @ Qatar Masters: Haotong from 15 for the win

It’s interesting how 3-4 great hope cycles from a developing golf nation are required, prior to the emergence of a true champion. Japan saw Jumbo Ozaki and brothers, Tommy Nakajima, and Isao Aoki, before Hideki   emerged as Japan’s greatest male golfer in history. To date, Haotong Li is the Isao Aoki of China. He has four DP World Tour titles to his credit, thanks to a resounding birdie march at the 72nd hole, this week in Qatar.

There are exceptions to the rule, of course. Vijay Singh had no predecessors from Fiji, but he won two PGA Championships and one Masters, in addition to other titles. So many Argentine golfers competed and won, before Angel Cabrera won his Masters and US Open. See how it goes? Back to Li. He battled with the wonderfully-hyphenated Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen along the final strait of holes at the Doha golf club. Li took the lead at the 16th, only to see RNP match him at th 18th. The watery closer had not been at all generous to Haotong, with three pars to his credit over the first 54 holes.

When his drive landed in the right rough, another five seemed imminent. A mighty lash sent the ball soaring 250 yards, into a green-adjacent pit of sand. The man from Miluo City splashed out to 15 feet, then casually drained the five-yarder to edge past the formidable Dane, into the embrace of a fourth triumph.

Clinching victory in style, Haotong ?#CBQMasters pic.twitter.com/v6MYHwsztn

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 9, 2025

Korn Ferry Tour @ Astara Championship: You don’t say!

What if we told you that a guy had back-to-back 61s this week in Bogotá, and all that he could earn was a tie for 4th position? Meet Johnny Keefer. He’s that guy. What if we told you that a guy would start his final round with a double bogey, finish it with a bogey, and still win by one shot? Believe it or not, Kyle Westmoreland did just that. His Saturday 61 brought him into the lead, and he was able to withstand the pressure of gaining the first big win.

Keefer never found the rhythm of his twin 61s, but he still played admirable golf in preserving a top-five finish. Unlike the previous two days, there were zero low numbers on Sunday. No big moves were made, with Mitchell Meissner (6th to 4th), Christon Lamprecht (3rd to 2nd) and Pierceson Coody (6th to 2nd) representing the largest ascents on day four. Captain Westmoreland, a former, active-duty officer in the US Air Force, made seven birdies over the final 18 holes. In addition to the stumbles at the first and last, he added a trio of bogeys, but hung in for the win.

ICE IN HIS VEINS ?@KWestmoreland sinks two birdie putts from downtown to regain the lead @CountryBogota. pic.twitter.com/gJnQkIkA5V

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) February 9, 2025

PGA Tour Champions @ Trophy Hassan II: MAJic happens in Morocco

In 2023, the Hassan II moved officially from the regular DP World Tour to the PGA Tour Champions. No doubt, the adventurous golfers among the senior set were grateful, as they would have the opportunity to begin their season in Hawaii, and not a month on, play on the African continent. It would appear, then, that seasoned travelers would have an edge, and few are more experienced at negotiating time changes, than the most interesting man in golf, aka Miguel Angel Jimenez, aka the MAJic Man.

This week in Morocco, Simon Griffiths and Steven Alker opened with 69 to lead the field. While Griffiths went sadly away with twin 77s on the weekend, Alker remained as Jimenez’ most daunting challenger. Also figuring in the finale result were stalwarts Ernie Els and K.J. Choi, but neither could secure that mid-60s round needed to close the Jimenez gap.

Alker and Jimenez played in lock-step on Sunday. Alker made bogey at 15 to drop one back, but Jimenez returned the undesirable favor with a bogey of his own, at 16. The drivable 17th beckoned, and that’s when the magic happened. Jimenez ripped driver onto the green, ten feet from glory, and calmly drained the putt for a deuce and a sudden, two-shot advantage. Pars at the last for both players gave the final, two-stroke margin of victory for the pride of Malaga.

CLUTCH eagle on 17 to take the lead ?

Miguel leads by two with one to play in Morocco! pic.twitter.com/NcTxCnLG4p

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) February 8, 2025

TGL Week Five: LAGC takes down BCG

It’s funny how folks on the sidelines have outsized opinions. Yes, it’s true that simulator break down. It’s also true that folks bet on TGL. If all we were doing was watching the match, we’d laugh off the simulator issues, but we can’t, with betting in the mix. What are we going to call it, rub of the gig? It’s one of a list of boxes that need to be checked, for TGL to have more success than XFL and USFL.

Week six watched as Los Angeles Golf Club took on cross-country rival Boston Commons Golf. Four of nine holes were won in triples, which made play a bit more interesting. Unfortunately, they were all won by the same team, and BGC went into singles play down by a quad. No one threw the Hammer, an idea whose time appears to have come and gone in a flash. As the squads moved to singles, Keegan Bradley gave BGC hope with an opening win over Justin Rose. Needing to essentially run the table, Adam Scott and Collin Morikawa sawed matters off, but Tommy “Not Sim Jesus” Fleetwood ended matters by dousing Rory McIlroy, to restore the four-point margin. From that point on, it was academic.

Captain America grabbed a second point off Rose, and the match ended in a 6-2 margin of victory for the men from the west. After taking Big Pigskin Game week off, the TGL will return with a vengeans on Presidents’ Day. Three matches, at 1, 4, and 7, aim to draw the eyes of golf fans to the sims in Palm Beach county.

pic.twitter.com/GWz35jV0dg

— TGL (@TGL) February 5, 2025