The video of the Indianapolis Colts then-coach Jim Mora in the “Playoffs?! Don’t talk about playoffs! You kidding me? Playoffs?! I just hope we can win a game,” has a place in our athletic hearts for all eternity. This week on the tours, playoffs are nearly all that we have to discuss. Overtime and extra sessions were the rage across the professional golfing world. None last beyond the first hole, but extra golf is extra golf.

With one week left in the DP World season, and two weeks each for the LPGA and PGA Tour, the 2025 seasons are truly in the wind-down phase. We still have the Australian summer to anticipate, along with some exhibition play, but that’s all until January of 2026. We are grateful for four events this week, so let’s run down their conclusions in this week’s Tour Rundown.

LPGA @ TOTO Japan Classic: Playoff #1

The lady golfers of Japan came out in force to defend the home turf. Shina Kanazawa finished ninth, Kotone Hori came eighth, Sayaka Takahashi tied for sixth, Ai Suzuki placed fifth, Shuri Sakuma claimed fourth spot. Now it’s time for a break. Whoooooo. On the podium, Miyu Yamashita placed third, leaving the top two spots to … you guessed it…a playoff. Nasa Hataoka was the top golfer heading into Sunday, and she posted 68 to reach 15 under, one shot ahead of Yamashita. Pursuing furiously was Yuna Araki, who notched five consecutive birdies on the front nine, on her way to a 65 and a tie with Hataoka.

Before the playoff summary, let’s consider that eight of the top nine finishers are Japanese golfers, and two more tied for 10th. It was a stellar week for the local contingent. On to the playoff. Araki went at the flag on the par-3 18th, and went just long. Hataoka hit the putting surface wide right, then banged her long birdie putt nearly 10 feet past. With a chance to put real pressure on her opponent, Araki’s chip went long, and then her putt for par was pulled left. Hataoka looked to have missed low, but her recovery putt seeped in the right side, and the title was hers.

DP World Tour @ Abu Dhabi HSBC: Playoff #2

The playoff run to the World Tour Championship is surreal. The views and surroundings reek of linksland, then you realize that you’re in the Middle East, esconced in a massive desert. The Yas Links finish heroically against a watery backdrop, hard against the eastern end of the Arabian Gulf. It proves to be a terrific set-up for the following week’s conclusion in the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai had the fortune of witnessing a 62 from Rory McIlroy on Sunday. While the eight birdies (five consecutive) and one eagle didn’t win the event for the Masters champion, they brought him agonizingly close to the…you guessed it…playoff. McIlroy tied Nicolai Hjogaard at 24 under par, one shot behind two Englishmen.

Aaron Rai and Tommy Fleetwood matched each other, shot for shot, since Saturday morning. It was 66-67 on day three, in favor of Rai; then 66-67 on day four, in favor of Fleetwood. After Hjogaard missed for eagle at eighteen to reach 25-deep, both Fleetwood and Rai missed to reach 26-under, and the overtime session was scripted. Each player hit wedge into the 18th green again, but Fleetwood missed low after missing high in regular time. Rai was not to be denied, and his birdie effort caught the low edge and dropped for the victory.

Asian Tour @ Singapore Open: Playoff #3

As I write this portion of Tour Rundown, the PGA Tour has not yet teed off its final group in the final round of the WWT Championship. We might have a fourth playoff this week, but three are already guaranteed.

If you weren’t mid-60s on a Singapore Sunday, you weren’t in contention. A number of LIV golfers were in the field, hoping to gather a victory that would earn world ranking points. All fell away on day four. Surging were Soomin Lee, Jeunghun Wang, and Yosuke Asaji. Lee came to the final hole in search of an eagle to match Asaji, whose closing 67 brought him to the top at 19-under par. His effort was brave but errant, and he tied for third with Rattanon, Wannasrichan. As for Wang, his birdie effort was both brave and true, and he matched Asaji on minus-nineteen.

The pair returned to the devilish closing hole, and Wang boldly went for the green and glory, but ended in the fountains. His watery second opened the door for Asaji, who wedged to six feet and made for birdie and the overtime win.

PGA Tour @ World Wide Technology: No playoff, but a Ryder Cup touch

There was rush-hour congestion at the top of the board in Mexico for much of the afternoon. Ben Griffin, a member of the USA Ryder Cup side at Bethpage Black, ran off a quintet of birdies (look familiar?) from holes eight through twelve, and he was away to the finish. Griffin’s final round of 63 was, as Patrick sings to David in Schitt’s Creek, simply the best, better than all the rest.

Garrick Higgo had posted 61 on Saturday, the third of that number on the week. Sami Valimaki and Nick Dunlap led off the tournament with minus-11 tallies, and each tallied a top-10 finish. Dunlap tied for eighth spot, while Valimaki finished two behind Griffin, in a tie for second with Chad Ramey. Higgo was derailed by a double bogey at the twelfth, a score so rare this week that it merited a double-take and a confirmation. Still, the young South African tied for fourth position, three behind the champion.

It was Griffin who corralled a third PGA Tour title in Baja California Sur, Mexico, to go with previous wins in Louisiana and Texas. 2025 was one memorable year for the 29-year-old from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. All that’s left now is a major championship.