While The Quad has already spoken throughout the season with Champions, Cutmakers, and (Point) Missers—all of those linked below in case you want to relive 2025 in all of its general glory—the Golf Gods demanded a year-end focus on the very best performances of 2025.
Scottie Scheffler. Winning two majors in a season and becoming the 22nd player in golf history to do it makes this his best year yet. As with Xander Schauffele’s PGA-Open double in 2024, Scheffler’s pair of wins stand out because of the vast differences between the two course setups, designs, and weather. Scheffler’s PGA victory at Quail Hollow was a product of a more tempered approach and calmer attitude despite not really having his best (or the driver he started the week with after it failed a test). A similar zen (ish) attitude (by Scheffler standards) arrived in Portrush and led to an unfathomable 59 of 63 putts made inside 10 feet. He just missed what would have been four birdies in four days at Calamity, one of the scariest par-3s in major championship golf. Scheffler’s 111-under-par in majors since the beginning of his pro career in 2020 is 46 shots better than anyone else in that span. This came after a later-than-expected start to the year due to a hand injury from rolling ravioli. By all accounts, Scheffler has survived Christmas without injury to life or limb. Look out 2026: a U.S. Open win at Shinnecock would complete the career Grand Slam.
Harris English. Runner-up finishes to Scheffler in the PGA and The Open secured the 35-year-old a Ryder Cup spot and well-deserved respect for big stage play second only to Scheffler’s brilliance. By making all four cuts and finishing -5 in 2025’s majors, only four players were better: Scheffler -32, Rory McIlroy -11, Xander Schauffele -10, and Jon Rahm -6.
17th at Royal Portrush
Royal Portrush. “Portrush has quickly turned into one of the best two or three venues that The Open goes to,” said Rory McIlroy after a sensational week on a course with no weak moments and so many beautiful holes. “Talk to every player this week, and they won’t say one single bad thing about the golf course.” Well, there are those silly and random white stakes that mark someone’s old property lines, but, yeah, Portrush offers a variety of looks, shot shapes, elevation changes, stances, decisions, shifts in hole directions, and a few unexpected twists without ever resorting to trickery. The major championship venue of the year.
McIlroy clinches his first Masters (Masters Images)
Rory McIlroy. Despite putting the golf world through abject misery each time he bungled chances to put the Masters away and stroll up the 18th stress-free, all was forgiven after finally earning a Green Jacket and the career Grand Slam. And because the easy-to-understand feat has never been more difficult to achieve, the world took notice of McIlroy’s incredible accomplishment. He did it with a brilliant putter that made up for only hitting 47 greens in regulation while recording a record four double bogeys by a winner. Two shots will go down with the very best ever played in The Masters: Sunday’s recovery shot on the seventh and the hard-drawing, soft-landing 7-iron at 15. As he acknowledged later in the year and after 17 Masters starts, finally winning the Masters with the Career Slam on the line had to be this topsy-turvy way. Still getting over a nasty cold and cranky after word got out about his driver failing earlier in the week, the PGA was a forgettable follow-up that ended dreams of a Grand Slam. But a final round 67 at Oakmont and Saturday’s 66 at Portrush were two of the best rounds anyone played all year and reminded everyone that there are many more dimensions to his game compared to over a decade ago. McIlroy’s third-round eagle at Portrush’s 12th produced the loudest Open roar anyone could remember and gave the home country faithful hope for a win. Capping it all off was a willingness to play around the world and support national Opens, adding luster to a year where he led Europe to an “away” Ryder Cup win.
Justin Rose. In a sport purportedly overtaken by the yutes, the 44-year-old finished second in last year’s Open and lost a second Masters bid in 2025’s sudden-death playoff to McIlroy. Two straight majors finishing second would damage plenty of egos. Losing a second Masters playoff in that silly sudden-death format after starting the final round seven back? Positively cruel. Ten birdies in Sunday’s finale fell one short of the record for any Masters round. In September’s Ryder Cup, Rose was arguably Europe’s best and most feared player despite losing his singles match 1-down to Cameron Young. Rose’s feisty pushback to perceived gamesmanship (or just a brain fart by Bryson DeChambeau’s caddie) gave the Europeans enough backbone to fend off unruly crowds and America’s Sunday comeback.
Maja Stark plays into the 18th at Erin Hills (USGA)
Maja Stark. The U.S. Women’s Open winner at Erin Hills is a 25-year-old from Abbekås, Skåne County who sports a Ludvig-meets-Annika hybrid approach. With a huge career ceiling, Stark’s joyous performance at Erin Hills was the culmination of a career previously best known for her 10-5-1 Solheim Cup record and plenty of promise.
Minjee Lee. In a year with extreme parity and top-player inconsistency, the best golf swing in the world carried Lee to a second Rolex Annika Major Award after earning 78 points through the five major championships. The Australian excelled in miserable conditions in Frisco to win her third major in the 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA. Lee would have had top 10 finishes in all five majors if not for a second-round 76 at Royal Porthcawl’s AIG Women’s Open, where she still managed a T13 finish.
Spaun celebrates his 66-foot winning putt (USGA)
J.J. Spaun. The year’s most insane, too-good-to-be-cinematic, non-career Grand Slam victory was captured in shocking fashion by the late-blooming L.A. native. Spaun hit the shot of the year (17th hole driver) and made a putt for the ages (18th). Spaun not only won the U.S. Open in brilliant fashion while the conditions took everyone but Robert Macintyre down, but he also salvaged a rainy mess of a final round that saw a play stoppage, a miserable fan experience, and brutal luck for leaders, who got the worst of the conditions. Thanks to Spaun, three of the last seven majors have been won by former San Diego State Aztecs.
Walker Cup at Cypress Point
Walker Cup. The matches were tight, the uniforms crisp, the conduct (mostly) dignified, and the venue sublime. Even better, we don’t have to wait two years for a rematch.
Nathan Smith. The rare captain to spend as much time avoiding the limelight in a nod to his players, the mid-amateur great channeled his Walker Cup experiences to get the most out of a team, and all while squelching any embarrassing moments (despite having to manage a few point missers). The same could be said for his GB&I counterpart, Dean Robertson. So it’s fitting both return in 2026 at Lahinch.
Sunday singles at Cypress Point (USGA)
Cypress Point. The venue of the year race was never going to be a fair fight. The most magnificent meeting of land, sea, and MacKenzie delivered in every respect. Sure, it’s absurdly short for the modern game, the sixth fairway couldn’t hold drives when cut at modern heights, and a little more wind might have been nice despite the modern ball flying straight through it. The matches were entertainingly tight, and the finishing holes saw plenty of action, with the 16th and 17th deciding several matches and even the often-maligned 18th turning out to be a dreamy setting for concluding contests.
Nial Shiels-Donegan approaches the 18th
Ryder Cup. Sure, it was cringe-inducing at times, predictably oversold, and will be remembered for producing an American home loss where the red-white-and-blue are still blaming everything but themselves. The matches once again delivered thanks to one team’s better tacticianing, clutch putting, the first world silliness of it all, and an ingenious 28-point-system that guarantees it’s never over until it’s over.
Luke Donald. Another captaincy, another outcome impacted by steady stewardship, teamwork (Dodo!), and mood-setting touches (that shampoo!). It sure sounds like a third go at it’s in the cards for Donald. And with Adare Manor already having the amenities dialed in and then some, why not?
The winning European team (PGA of America)
R&A and USGA Leadership. Congrats on maintaining composure in the face of disingenuous claims by the PGA Tour and PGA of America over distance findings. New testing rules should have been in place for elite competitions starting January 1st, 2026, but were postponed after much whining during the process. And yet the two organizations have had the temerity to lob weird claims long past deadlines and imply that conclusions reached without a seat at the table. Less civilized folks would have called those claims out for what they are: lies. Strap in blue blazers, it’s going to be a long 2026 as the private equity types start wanting to be paid for so kindly allowing PGA Tour players to show up at the U.S. Open and The Open. Because, you know, Arthur Blank and John Henry need their ROI.
Ryan Gerard. In recognition of his eighth-place finish in the PGA of going 27 hours and 10,000 miles away to play the Mauritius Open before losing in a playoff—but securing a top-4 finish to reach the Masters—what a cool season-ending reminder that some people still play for the dreaded love of the game. Even better, Gerard admitted before his voyage that he was motivated by the chance invitees have to act like an Augusta National member—minus the wine lockers—in the months leading up to the TUAO. Enjoy those trips Gerard. You earned them, along with the admiration of fans who are clamoring to be reminded that there are still plenty of hungry players who aren’t entitled schmucks.
Apologies to the countless others who did not make the list but contributed to a fantastic year. Happy New Year and as always, thank you to The Quadrilateralisphere for supporting the cause.
Geoff
The Quad’s Champions, Cutmakers and (Point) Missers from 2025.
(Point) Missers, 2025 Masters
(Point) Missers From The 2025 PGA
2025 U.S. Open: Champions
2025 U.S. Open: Cutmakers
2025 U.S. Open: (Point) Missers
Champions, The 153rd Open
Cutmakers, The 153rd Open
(Point) Missers, The 153rd Open
What The 50th Walker Cup ReinforcedChampions, 2025 Ryder Cup
Cutmakers, 2025 Ryder Cup
(Point) Missers Part I, 2025 Ryder Cup
(Point) Missers Part 2, 2025 Ryder Cup
