UR-Golf Blog Entry #9: The Players Championship Full Recap

Drama At TPC Sawgrass

What a week for golf! Between a Monday finish, player storylines, feuds between Collin Morikawa and the media, and hot takes from Phil on X, there is so much that I am looking forward to covering.

First off, a big congratulations to Rory McIlroy. Despite not winning the majors, I would argue that Rory is at the peak of his career. Watching Rory on Sunday, I knew he was bringing his best stuff just by how he walked from the green to the tee box after making an eagle on the second hole. Although everything Rory has said in the past couple of months appears to be wrong in the eyes of the media, if he can put the blinders on and block out all of the external things, he will have an excellent 2025. With the win at TPC Sawgrass, this will be the first time Rory has won two times before April… is this his year?

The Week of the Alternates

There were so many storylines to follow between the players participating this week. Bud Cauley was a crowd favorite as he continues to play well in 2025. Cauley is a Florida native and now resides in Palm Beach Gardens. After graduating from the University of Alabama and turning pro in 2011, Bud is now playing off of a major medical extension after suffering from five broken ribs, a broken leg, and a collapsed lung in a car accident during the Memorial Tournament in 2018. Bud, ranked 251st in the OWGR, got in as an alternate on Monday of the Players Championship. As if being in contention at the biggest event of the year, which is not a major event, Bud also needed to finish inside the top 18 to extend his medical extension. With a T-6 finish this week, a big weight is taken off of Bud Cauley’s shoulders.

Another alternate who entered the tournament on Thursday morning was Danny Walker. The University of Virginia grad secured his Tour Card last fall by finishing inside the top 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour money list. Walker’s best finish so far this season is a T-13 at the Mexico Open, other than that, he hasn’t made any headlines. This was the 284th ranked golfer’s reaction to getting into the tournament: “I’ve wanted to play this event my whole life, especially like the last several years living in Jacksonville,’’ Walker said. “This feels like my hometown event in a lot of ways. Especially watching it last year, watching some of my friends play, I just wanted to get in this year so much.

“Then actually getting in, it’s just an accomplishment of a goal. A big goal.’’

As Rory said after his round on Saturday, “If you can play well here… you can play well anywhere.” The future is bright for this PGA Tour rookie.

Collin Morikawa vs the Media

Before this week, I didn’t know Morikawa had an attitude. For background, last week after the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Morikawa refused to talk to the media after losing by 1 stroke to Russel Henley, who was very deserving of his victory. Rocco Mediate was the first to speak out on Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio saying: “Biggest bunch of horsesh– you could ever say, period. I mean, that is the dumbest, most selfish garbage you could ever say… Mr. Palmer told me one thing that stuck with me. [He said,] ‘You know what, Roc, it’s real easy to go in and talk to somebody when you won or when you’ve played well, but can you do it when you don’t? That’s the key.’” Mediate shared. “Obviously [Morikawa] can’t, okay, so stop talking to me about, ‘I didn’t wanna talk to anybody.”

When asked about his decision to avoid the media, Morikawa stated that he was “Just pissed. And that I don’t owe anyone anything.”

Paul McGinley brought up a great point on the Golf Channel. There is so much money going into golf. The winner this week at the Player’s Championship get $4.5 million. For Collin to say that he doesn’t owe anybody anything is completely wrong because it’s the public and the media that are paying higher prices to get into events to pay him.

McGinley also used Rory as an example of somebody who has given an interview “from loss not from victory.”

Collin Morikawa didn’t lose the tournament. He didn’t choke. He didn’t shoot 98. He got beat by the guy who had the hot hand last week.

What are your thoughts?