The Stroke Index ⛳ Thursday May 22 2025
Scheffler's crowning glory at the PGA / Can LIV players go the distance? / Pavon has major dreams for France / Inspirational Smith finds fairway friends / Learn to chip like Matt Fitzpatrick
After all the talk of mudballs, illegal drivers and tantrums on the course, Scottie Scheffler transcended the white noise to claim his third major title at last weekend’s US PGA Championship. The victory was arguably won on Saturday evening when the world number one raced ahead of the field by coming home in -5 for the final five holes, which also included a missed birdie putt - it was a gear change no one else could match. Yet the world of golf trundles on, and another packed newsletter this week includes some of the stories you might have missed elsewhere. I hope you enjoy.
View From the Tee - US PGA Mop-up
⛳ Scottie Scheffler spoke candidly to the press after winning his third major at Quail Hollow on Sunday, and golfnews.co.uk has published the full transcript.
⛳ The Mirror’s Jake Bayliss explains how both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy had to get to grips with new drivers after their clubs failed routine checks by the USGA.
⛳ The team at livgolfweekly.com have looked deeper into Scottie Scheffler’s victory by delving into his bag and studying the clubs that made all the difference.
⛳ Fraser Watson at The Express reports on criticism of Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau at Quail Hollow, as the LIV Tour players saw their day 4 challenges fade.
⛳ My shot of the week was Scottie Scheffler’s tee shot to the par-4 14th on Day 3 of the PGA, which set up an eagle and sizzling run of -5 for the final five holes. Sky Sports has put together this short package of the best shots - what’s your favourite?
Other Results
⛳ ladieseuropeantour.com describes how 23-year-old Mimi Rhodes’ year got even better when the 23-year-old Englishwoman won her third LET title in four starts at the Dutch Ladies Open.
⛳ Brendan Lawlor of Ireland and Daphne van Houten of The Netherlands were the proud victors at last weekend’s G4D Open at Woburn, reports europeantour.com.
⛳ Monday saw US Open Qualifying at Surrey’s Walton Heath Golf Club, where golfmonthly.com’s Mike Hall followed the action.
Fairway Fact
Si Woo Kim made history at last week’s PGA Championship when his hole-in-one at the 252-yard par-3 sixth hole broke his own record for the longest ace in major championship history. Extraordinarily, the South Korean holed out at the 238-yard, par-3 17th in last year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon.
This Week
⛳ The PGA Tour bandwagon returns to Texas for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club, with no rest for Scottie Scheffler according to Adam Stanley at pgatour.com.
⛳ Amy Rogers at lpga.com describes five things to know as the Tour returns to Mexico for the first time since 2017 for the MEXICO Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba.
⛳ An eager Francesco Molinari speaks to europeantour.com ahead of teeing it up at the Soudal Open 2025, as the DP World Tour stops off in Belgium.
⛳ The Ladies European Tour continues with the Jabra Ladies Open at Evian Resort Golf Club, where Chiara Tamburlini tells ladieseuropeantour.com she has been working on her short game ahead of next week’s US Women’s Open.
⛳ Elliott Heath at golfmonthly.com reports on 52-year-old Lee Westwood (below) making his debut in the Senior PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club.
Around the Greens
🕳 It has been a busy week on the amateur scene with englandgolf.org reporting on successes for Jake Sowden, Charlotte Naughton, and Sarah Naden and Carol Simpson.
🕳 In this reprinted interview, Bunkered’s John Turnbull speaks to Frenchman Matthieu Pavon about his goals for 2025 and dream of becoming a major champion.
“France has had tremendous players over the years and now we need to have a major winner for our country. It would help grow golf in France, so that’s really the next step if we want to make the sport bigger.” - Matthieu Pavon
🕳 Derek Clements at golfshake.com wonders if penalising players a stroke is the fairest way to put an end to slow play.
🕳 Inspirational Paralympian David Smith reveals in this scottishgolf.org article and short series of YouTube videos why paralysis, cancer and numerous operations will not keep him off the golf course.
🕳 Alistair Dunsmuir at thegolfbusiness.co.uk reports on the appointment of Dumbarnie Links’ manager David Scott as The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews’ sixth honorary professional.
🕳 The BBC’s Phil Daley and Henry Miller catch up with the progress of King’s Lynn golfer Josh Simpson, who is on track to break the world record for the number of golf courses played in a year.
Clubhouse Chat
☕ golf365’s Mark Townsend shares Matt Fitzpatrick’s thoughts on his very effective ‘left over right’ grip when chipping. Why not give it a try?
☕ Mudball was a buzzword coming out of Quail Hollow last week after the tournament’s soggy start, so todays-golfer.com has provided this informative definition and reminder of rule 14.1c of the Rules of Golf.
☕ If you are into your golf kit and want to know what next to spend your money on, Joel Tadman and Sam De’ath at golfmonthly.com have had the unenviable task of deciding their six best buys from 150 products.
☕ In this instructional Titleist swing video, Dave Phillips describes and shows what releasing the golf club means when striking the ball.
Thanks for reading edition number 6 of The Stroke Index. I aim to bring you all the latest news and developments from the world of golf. But you can also play a role. Leave your comments or join the chat with suggestions for content that you want to see. And if you notice something I might have missed, do not hesitate to let me know here.