It’s been a sensational yr for golf. There was historical past for Rory McIlroy. Outrageous high quality from Scottie Scheffler. An American breakthrough for Tommy Fleetwood. Ryder Cup glory for Europe.
And the emergence of three new stars within the type of England’s Lottie Woad and Japan Miyu Yamashita within the girls’s sport, and Marco Penge within the males’s.
However how do they rank? Let’s discover out.
1. Rory McIlroy
All wins are good however some wins are higher and McIlroy’s triumph within the Masters was precisely that.
It was not simply his first win at Augusta Nationwide, it was additionally his first main championship victory in 11 years, and it additionally accomplished the Profession Grand Slam (he’s simply the sixth participant to win all 4 majors).
That one triumph alone is spectacular sufficient, however earlier within the yr he had gained the AT&T Pebble Seaside Professional-am and the Gamers Championship, and later in it he gained the Irish Open, led Europe to Ryder Cup triumph and claimed a seventh Race to Dubai title.
A beautiful yr. A career-defining yr. And the very best yr of any golfer in 2025.
2. Scottie Scheffler
In any regular yr the New York-born, Texas-bred World No. 1 would have simply been deemed to have had the very best return. It’s simply his dangerous luck that in 2025 McIlroy trumped him.
Scheffler truly had a sluggish begin, not firing till the tip of March following a lower on his hand throughout his 2024 Christmas festivities. However in his 15 begins from late March he by no means as soon as completed outdoors the highest 10, profitable six occasions together with the PGA Championship and Open.
The one stain on his yr got here with a Ryder Cup efficiency which was, for a second match working, flat and uninspiring within the US defeat.
3. Tommy Fleetwood
The Englishman had completed prime three on the PGA Tour 13 occasions forward of this yr’s Tour Championship and he was heading in the direction of Colin Montgomerie territory, which is to say that Individuals have been muttering about his lack of ability to win of their nation.
He’d led June’s Vacationers Championship however was caught on the road. The identical factor occurred in early August on the St Jude Championship. However on the finish of that month, within the Tour Championship, it was third time fortunate.
He then gained the India Championship in October, shortly after taking a lead position in Europe’s Ryder Cup heroics at Bethpage Black in New York. He was at all times a fan favorite however now he’s a star.
4. Luke Donald
The Englishman carded a primary spherical 67 to sit down inside the highest 5 after 18 holes of the PGA Championship, however that was the spotlight of this yr when the golf equipment have been in his palms – for probably the most half he struggled to make cuts.
That’s irrelevant, nevertheless. He’s one of many stars of 2025 due to his sustained high quality as a Ryder Cup captain as a result of whereas he was sensible guiding Europe to victory in Rome two years in the past, he was even higher when plotting the win and retention of the Cup at Bethpage Black in New York.
European followers would possibly solid their thoughts again to when Donald changed Henrik Stenson as captain – it is likely to be the best unintended substitution within the occasion’s historical past.
5. Lottie Woad
Golf at all times knew that England had a possible star within the 21-year-old as a result of when she gained the 2024 Augusta Nationwide Girls’s Newbie, she did so courtesy of birdies at 15, 17 and 18 within the last spherical.
However her July 2025 was little in need of sensational. Within the first week, when nonetheless an newbie, she gained the Women European Tour’s Irish Open by six (sure, six) strokes. Per week later she completed one shot outdoors the play-off within the Evian Championship, the fourth main championship of the yr.
A fortnight later, having turned skilled, she gained the LPGA/LET co-sanctioned Scottish Open and ended the month because the pre-championship favorite within the Girls’s British Open (the place she completed eighth).
6. Marco Penge
Within the Englishman’s last occasion of the 2024 season, the Genesis Championship in Korea, he wanted to make a birdie on the last gap to save lots of his taking part in rights for 2025 and he did so. A month later, nevertheless, he was banned for 2 months (with one other month suspended) for breaking betting laws. Heading into the ultimate weeks of April he was taking part in higher however but to show his greatest golf on the highest stage.
Then the dam broke in spectacular fashion. He gained the Hainan Basic, in July he was second within the Scottish Open, in August he added the Danish Championship and in October the Open de Espana.
Having began the yr outdoors the world’s prime 400 and banned, he ended it ranked second within the 2025 Race to Dubai, settled contained in the world’s prime 50 and searching ahead to taking part in all of the majors in 2026.
7. Miyu Yamashita
The depth of the LPGA has been a key theme in 2025 and solely two gamers have gained greater than as soon as – the World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul and Japan’s Yamashita.
The 24-year-old was a 13-time winner on residence soil forward of this yr and boy has she transferred her high quality to the very best stage. She gained the AIG Girls’s British Open in August and added the Maybank Championship in November.
Now ranked third on this planet she is on observe to problem Thitikul in prime spot in 2026.
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