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Other than Scottie Scheffler, each the golf winner is unexpected, which helps us a little in picking five this week. But as we enter the golf offseason (this is a bit common, we enter the golf offseason pretty much every week, there is no offseason), it’s worth calling out a few.
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5 unexpected winners this week
1. Jeeno Thitikul (and his new commissioner)
For most of the LPGA season, one scenario prevailed: There were no repeat winners. For 25 weeks, 26 different players had won an event (24 individual winners plus the two-player Dow Championship), which was a statistical oddity as well as a clear expression of the depth and talent on the tour. But it was also a concern. Any sports league needs star power, recognizable faces in the mix, recurring characters. Of course, 2024 was the year of Nelly Korda. Could 2025 be the year of… everyone?
No.
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Jeeno Thitikul it was hardly a surprise; she won the 2024 final event (the CME Group Tour Championship) and the Mizuho Americas Open in April. She also won the world number 1 crown. But as she racked up heartbreaking finalists instead of wins (four second-place finishes in 2025, including three out of five starts between July and September), it seemed 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 CME, where she ran and hid from the field and ended up winning by four.
It was a thoroughly dominant result for what was ultimately a dominant season.
The numbers and awards tell an important story: the lowest scoring average ever recorded. The 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 a small town in Thailand. who learned golf at a local driving range is now world No. 1, a main face of the LPGA, a dominant player and a delightful and thoughtful interview.
“A lot happens in just one year, that’s for sure,” she said after her victory on Sunday. “You see me holding the trophy today, but you see me crying for sure for the four putts I made earlier (this season). Nothing you can predict with golf. Anything can happen. You can’t control anyone else. But what lasts a long time is your hard work, your discipline and, like, your passion for golf.”
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His victory capped a hugely successful few weeks for his league’s new leader, Commissioner Craig Kessler. While his tour dipped into controversial waters — much ink was spilled about Kai Trump as well as the LPGA’s new Saudi partnership — he scored a far more substantive victory in boosting coverage of the LPGA in the years to come. The end of season WEC was big because of this news, because of Jeeno’s win, and even because of little things like the awards ceremony at the beginning of the week, the speeches, the red carpet. The LPGA’s season of anonymity ended with optimism and star power. Nelly and Jeeno and the next one. Hopefully 2026 picks up where 2025 left off.
2. Sami Valimaki (and the Finnish nation)
He is already a two-time winner on the DP World Tour and a two-time finalist on the PGA Tour. Sami Valimaki is now a winner with a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour – and the first winner in Finnish history.
If you were to make up a brief story about the journey of a Finnish golf professional, you might be pretty close to Valimaki, who was a hockey forward with a nice shot who dreamed of a future in the NHL.
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“It was kind of my idea, but they didn’t choose me for the national team,” he said on Sunday after the victory. “So they picked me on the national golf team. I said, okay, let’s try this one, and that route worked out well.”
You can repeat it.
(Read more about who landed 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 golfer who finished 11th on the list of DP World Tour pros who will receive PGA Tour promotion. This would seem to be an unfortunate place for Dan Brown – unless one of the top 10 withdraws before the end of 2025. This is now a possibility, according to a report Since Sports Affairs Journal that Laurie Canter is set to return to LIV Golf despite qualifying for the PGA Tour.
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There are several levels to this. Canter was to be the first former LIV pro to earn his PGA Tour card; this is obviously now on hold. He is currently a version of “Schrödinger’s Golfer”, existing in the ultimate limbo between DP World Tour status, PGA Tour status and LIV Golf status. Until we know more about him or his new team, we won’t know for sure. But Brown hopes to make things official next month…
4. Anthony Kim (and some former colleagues)
Some Asian Tour events resemble expanded LIV events, including this week’s PIF Saudi International, sponsored by LIV backers, hosted in LIV’s home country and featuring a top 10 made up entirely of 2,025 LIV golfers.
The winner was remarkable, Jose Luis Ballestera young Spaniard and 2024 U.S. Amateur champion who signed with LIV earlier this year. He went from the top 1000 of the official world golf rankings to 264th; him and finalist Caleb Surratt (who rose to No. 244) reminded us that they each have the game to compete with the best on their tour and beyond.
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But the guy from T5 was just as intriguing: Antoine Kim. THE mysterious The former PGA Tour star has just completed his second year on LIV and faces an uncertain future after being relegated from the league. The problem wasn’t just being left out of LIV – the problem wasn’t showing he could compete. In 32 starts since his return, mostly among 54 LIV players (plus) some on the Asian circuit, Kim has 28 finishes outside the top 40 and a best finish of T25.
On Sunday, however, he completed his most complete week of golf by far, shooting 67-64-69-70 to finish T5 alongside Tyrrell Hatton, providing concrete proof that what he worked on paid off. Whatever you think of Kim, her comeback, her LIV decision, or her online wars of words, it’s hard not to marvel at her return to the course. It was his first top 20 since 2011. Since 2011! It’s remarkable.
5. Australian Golf (and Golf at Fun Times)
Do you live in the United States? What time do you like your golf? Do you like it at 9 a.m. ET on Black Friday, Skins-Game style, before a healthy dose of Thanksgiving leftovers? You’re lucky. But it’s for everyone. True die-hards will have already been immersed in the BMW Australian PGA Championship, which begins on Thursday, November 27 at the Royal Queensland Golf Club.
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No, it’s not next week’s Australian Open, which will take place at Royal Melbourne and feature a globe-trotting headliner. Rory McIlroy. But you will have Australian stars like Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott And Cameron Smithstars of the DP World Tour like Marco Penge And Rasmus Neergaard-PetersenLIV stars like Joaquin Niemann And David Puig that their DP World Tour begins before their fines get murky – and comeback stories like that of Andrew “Boeuf” Johnston And Eddie Pepperell.
The summer of Australian golf is here. Golf has no off-season.
SEATTLE NEWS
Monday End of HQ.
There is no hope of playing golf before work; the sun doesn’t rise until 7:30 a.m. and what’s more, it’s cold.
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There is no hope of playing golf after work; the sun sets at 4:20 p.m. and what’s more, it’s cold.
Time to hit the golf course at lunch. See you there.
And we’ll see each other again next week.
Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at [email protected].
The position 5 Unexpected Winners Entering Professional Golf’s ‘Offseason’ | End of Monday appeared first on Golf.
