Not many folks knew that a 26-event streak was in the offing, unless you were an ardent follower of the LPGA circuit. You had to swear that a player had won twice this year. There were two different golfers named Kim. There were two sisters named Iwai. Along came Lydia, Minjee, Jeeno, Charley, and Brooke. Lottie seemed to appear out of nowhere, and Grace came back, seemingly out of nowhere. There was even a partner event, and neither winner won on her own. Finally, in October, a golfer repeated as a 2025 winner, a feat that almost didn’t happen. That’s parity of the highest sort. Do fans like bushels of great golfers, or do they want one or two super-great ones? Impossible to say in this moment, but it gives us plenty to consider (unless someone wins three or four of the closing six events).

We also have plenty “tour” to run down this week. I was at “The Bridges of Madison County” on Friday, and “The Notebook” on Sunday, so I’ve had quite the fill-up of musical drama for the weekend. Now it’s time to lay out a different sort of drama, the kind that only golf brings.

PGA @ Baycurrent: New event, familiar name, terrific finish

Xander Schauffele has had a few moments in Japan. He tied for 10th at the Zozo in 2019, and won an Olympic gold medal in 2021. This year, he waged battle with Max Greyserman and Michael Thorbjornsen over the weekend, and came out on top of the renamed PGA Tour in event in Nippon, the land of the sun’s origin.

Greyserman had reached 130 strokes over two days’ play. He stood alone in first place, four shots clear of Schauffele and Alex Smalley. On Saturday, MG had some engine trouble, and coughed his way through a paucity of birdies, to a 71. This gave Schauffele the opening he needed, and his 67 drew him even with 18 to play. Lurking was the young Stanford alumnus with the Scandinavian name. Thorbjornsen posted the low round of day-three competition, and moved into position for an upset. On Sunday, the trio posted two 64s and a 65. Schauffele had one bogey and eight birdies, the last coming at the par-three 17th hole. He reached 19-under par on the week. Thorbjornsen had an early burst of eagle and four birdies, but the inward nine at Yokohama held him at bay. He needed 61 to tie Schauffele but birdie at the last could bring him just to minus-16, good for solo third. Greyserman posted birdie at the last for stand-alone second, but the 13th victory of his PGA Tour career came instead to Schauffele.

LPGA @ Buick Shanghai: End of the streak and second for Jeeno

We detailed the streak of one-time winners this LPGA season, so let’s focus now on how the streak came to an end. For a long time on Sunday, it was destined to continue. Minami Katsu was cruising to a 65, headed toward a 24-under finish, buoyed by a round-two 61. Minjee Lee would finish five shots back, apparently the closest pursuer. Then came Jeeno Thitikul.

Beginning at the 14th hole, the Thai champion ran off three birdies and an eagle to jump out of a tie with Minjee into contention. She and Katsu would finish at the same address: 264 Winner’s Lane. Off they went to a playoff to determine who would hoist the winner’s silver. After two pars each at 18, the duo moved to the 10th, where more pars were recorded. The fourth hole returned to 18, but pars again called for another trip down 10. Finally, on the fifth playoff hole, Jeeno knocked her approach close, for the only birdie of the extra session. Katsu was close, but Jeeno had a second 2025 win, and the streak was a memory.

Korn Ferry @ Tour Championship: Blanchett bags a big one

There were a lot of eyes this week on Johnny Keefer. The lad was poised to win the champion’s belt by even more strokes and move into the world top fifty despite not playing a PGA Tour schedule. Keefer played solid golf, but never broke into the 60s, a must for a win at Pete Dye’s French Lick course.

Neal Shipley, runner-up to Nick Dunlap in the 2023 U.S. Amateur, was the lead pony after round two in Indiana. Barend Botha of South Africa moved to the top after 54 holes, but the trophy and glory were anyone’s to grasp. On day four, it was Chandler Blanchett who made the big move. Coming from 4th position, Blanchett posted 66 on the day to eclipse Botha, Shipley, and all others. He moved from 7th to 2nd on the season-long points race, trailing only the aforementioned Johnny Keefer.

Blanchett did his work early. He reached 7 under on the day through thirteen holes, then eased up on the gas pedal. He closed in 1 over figures over the final five holes, but his 66 was enough to keep Botha at bay. The South African challenger simply could not find consistency on the day. Botha ran birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey-par over the closing pentathlon to claim solo second.

DP World Tour @ Open de España: It’s Penge in overtime

He’s not an overnight success story. He’s not a wunderkind with decades of professional golf ahead. He’s the English lad with the Italian name, and he is the breakout story of 2025 for the DP World Tour. Mike Keiser once proposed that one golf course is a curiosity, but two make it a destination. For Penge, if a first win in April made him a curiosity, then wins two and three, in August and October, make him something more.

Despite the two earlier wins, Penge still must learn to win from in front. He held a sizable advantage through 54 holes, but his plus-one closer gave hope to many. Joel Girbach made a run but finished on 14 under par, one behind the lead pair. Countryman Daniel Brown signed for a second, weekend 67 and matched Penge at 15 under par. With all the wind in his sails, Brown made par at the first extra hole…and lost. Penge summoned masterful strokes from somewhere and posted a birdie on the hole he parred moments before.

PGA Tour Champions @ SAS: It’s Cejka at the tape

You know that Ernie Els will show up at the close of play, but you’re never quite certain that he and his pit crew will have the winning formula. Els has one win and three runner-up finishes this year on Tour Champions, and that seems to be the story of his competitive career. He has 79 career victories across the world’s major tours, seven of them on the senior circuit. Els wins often, and perhaps that unfairly made us want him to win always. It’s impossible, right?

Els and Alex Cejka were matched in round four. The German champions, one-time World Cup partners, went back and forth all day. Els was better over the course of the round, but needed a lower number to truly put pressure on Cejka. Over the final three holes, the Big Easy was one under par and reached minus-six for the week. After a bogey at 15 brought him back to minus-seven and a bit of doubt, Cejka closed with birdies at 17 and 18 to claim a three-shot win.