Welcome to the Monday Leaderboard, where we run down the weekend’s top stories in the wonderful world of golf. Grab an Arnold Palmer, pull up a chair and get ready for the Return of the King.
Tiger Woods returns to golf … sort of
Last week’s debut of TGL, the tech-infused indoor golf league co-created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, was a ratings success … and that’s even without the Man in Red and Black on the course. Woods now steps onto the tee for his initial TGL round, taking on noted Californian Justin Rose and the rest of the Los Angeles Golf Club. Whether you think TGL is ridiculous or sublime, there’s something fun about seeing Woods swinging a club again, if only indoors. You know the competitive fire still burns, even if the back and knees won’t allow for much more than weeknight rounds.
Here’s the lineup for Tuesday night’s showdown:
Nick Taylor triumphs over astronomical odds
When he stood on the 18th hole on Sunday afternoon, Nick Taylor had a 0.4 percent chance — 1 in 250, in other words — to win the tournament. And yet (spoiler) he did, thanks to a spectacular stretch of golf capped by this 59-foot chip-in eagle on the par-5 18th:
That chip tied him with Nico Echavarria at 16-under, forcing a playoff that Taylor would go on to win on the second hole. Even more improbably, this is Taylor’s third win in the last three years … and all three have come in playoffs. That’s a level of icy cool that few players on Tour can match. If Taylor can start playing better during the week when there’s no playoff (yet), he might actually make some more noise. For now, though, he’ll comfort himself with another sweet trophy (see below).
Not so happy: J.J. Spaun and Stephan Jaeger, who had appeared to be dueling for the title right up until they suddenly jumped the tracks together. They combined for one (1) birdie over the last 10 combined holes, allowing Taylor and Echavarria to slide right past them. Tough game.
Remembering Grayson Murray
One year ago, Grayson Murray won the 2024 Sony Open for his first victory in seven years. Four months later, Murray passed away; his parents later confirmed Murray had died by suicide. This weekend at the Sony Open, friends, family and competitors remembered Murray, and the tournament presented his parents with the “check” that Murray left behind last year:
After winning @SonyOpenHawaii last year Grayson Murray left his ceremonial check at the clubhouse in haste to make a flight. Today Raymond Noh & Waialae CC presented it to Grayson’s family. Father, Eric Murray says he now has all of the ceremonial checks from Grayson’s career. pic.twitter.com/2pKnveEhzT
— Todd Lewis (@ToddLewisGC) January 11, 2025
It was a fine tribute that everyone involved wished wasn’t necessary.
A LIV Golf cautionary tale
LIV Golf has been around long enough now that we can start to discern peaks and valleys … and Eugenio Chacarra has fallen from the former to the latter. Chacarra was one of LIV’s big gets early, a massively talented amateur who left Oklahoma State early to join the upstart tour in 2022. He made a whole bunch of money, and even won a tournament, playing for Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs. But he also finished this season outside of LIV’s “lock zone” — the top 24 players in the league — and the Fireballs cut him loose.
Speaking to the Flushing It podcast, Chacarra bemoaned what’s become of his career, complaining that LIV didn’t show much attention in developing him. Plus, LIV’s limited options for re-entry — there was exactly one space available this year — and the mandatory one-year layoff from the PGA Tour for playing on LIV mean that Chacarra is in golf limbo for now. Yes, he has a ton of money at age 24 … but what’s next for him?
Bryson DeChambeau treats his fans right
It took Bryson DeChambeau weeks to hit a hole-in-one over his house. It took a fan all of five swings. DeChambeau remains the overwhelming fan favorite in golf right now, and stunts like this are why:
Not everything needs to be church-solemn in golf. Sometimes, it’s just about swinging hard and seeing what happens.
Trophy of the Week: The Sony Open
New bit here at ML, surveying each week’s distinctive new trophy on Tour. This time, the Sony Open brings us a modified gold surfboard. Combine it with a lei and you’ve got yourself a fine piece of hardware.