It’s time for TG’s Alternative Golf Awards, featuring the DP World Tour’s undisputed ironman, the most over-the-top celebration, and the fastest 184 holes ever played…
The tour season is wrapped up for another season, and everyone is talking about when Tommy Fleetwood will shed his unofficial title as the Best Player Yet to Win a Major. But before we get into all that, it’s time to hand out some awards which recognize the weird, the wonderful, and the downright absurd stories and moments that made golf so gloriously unpredictable this year.
We can’t promise any of these categories will be featured in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year, but we’re confident that the next seven pages will be far more interesting!
Best Second Half of the Season
Winner: Tommy Fleetwood
This is the alternative awards for a reason, people, which is why we’re ignoring the first half of the season on the basis that Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler won practically everything there was on offer. Instead, we celebrate England’s curly-haired conqueror, who finally cracked America at the 164th time of asking with a dominant three-stroke victory in the FedEx Cup finale.
Our friends at Data Golf now consider Fleetwood to be the second-best player in the world on current form – and that’s without factoring in his four victories at Bethpage. It does feel like the off-season has come at the worst possible time, but if this year has taught us anything, it’s that golf loves a storybook moment. Maybe, just maybe, Tommy’s big chapter is waiting to be written next summer on his hometown course at Royal Birkdale. He’s waited long enough.
RELATED: Who’s already qualified for the 2026 Open at Royal Birkdale
Breakout Superstar
Winner: Lottie Woad
A staple of any annual awards ceremony, this title was heading Lottie Woad’s way the moment she blew the field away by six shots as an amateur at the Women’s Irish Open. Since then, she has come within a whisker of making a playoff at the Evian Championship, won the Women’s Scottish Open by three on her professional debut, and tied for eighth at the Women’s Open. All that in the space of three crazy weeks.
She’s slowed down a little since moving to America, but two wins and four other top 10s are not a bad return for a 21-year-old who was playing college golf six months ago. England Golf finally have a new star on their hands.
Most Committed & Clutch Shot
Winner: Jordan Gumberg
No one loves a tee time more than Jordan Gumberg. This year he earned the title of golf’s ironman after appearing in every DP World Tour event that he was eligible for. The only ones he missed were the four majors, the two DP World Tour playoffs, and the Barracuda Championship – which overlapped with the Scottish Open anyway.
We’re yet to be convinced that the frequent flyer card was worth it, especially as he missed the cut 16 times across 35 starts, but he did save his best for last by pitching in for eagle with his final shot of the season in Korea to keep his DP World Tour card. That miraculous shot not only moved him the right side of the top 115 in the Race to Dubai standings, but it also catapulted him into a tie for seventh, his best result all year.
“It was the best shot I’ve hit in my career so far,” the American said.
Worst Intern Error
Winner: Ralph Lauren
Somewhere in Ralph Lauren’s creative department, someone thought it was a good idea to slap Rory McIlroy’s silhouette on a Team USA shirt ahead of the Ryder Cup. The $65 collector’s item promptly vanished from their website faster than their ‘intern’s’ login credentials, which is usually what brands do when they’ve made a horrible mistake. Lesson learned: always double-check your stars, stripes and silhouettes.
Most Cringeworth Moment
Winner: The Scottie Scheffler chant that never was
Cast your mind back to day two of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage, when three overly-enthusiastic announcers decided to kick off a “Scottie Scheffler” chant. It was supposed to go to the tune of Queen’s We Will Rock You, but the only audible rhythm was the sound of thousands of fans booing in perfect harmony. What should have been a hype moment turned into a very embarrassing lesson on how not to energize a crowd.
Totally unforgettable… in the worst possible way.
Most Improved
Winner: Marco Penge
If the DP World Tour have any sense, they’ll turn the last 12 months of Marco Penge’s career into a documentary. He’s battled anxiety, been diagnosed with ADHD, and dealt with the fallout from a three-month betting ban to become the only three-time winner on the DP World Tour this season.
He’s now assured of playing in the Masters and on the PGA Tour next season, which is pretty good going for someone who had to get up and down at the Genesis Championship last season just to avoid dropping down to the HotelPlanner Tour. He also has one of the best swings we’ve ever seen.
Biggest Underachiever
Winner: Nelly Korda
It feels a little cruel to hand this unfortunate honour to a newly-engaged Nelly Korda, but she’s the one who made greatness look routine. Last year she was golf’s golden girl with seven wins and a highlight reel that was comparable to Scottie Scheffler’s. This season, though, her star has waned.
She’s already lost top spot in the World Rankings to Jeeno Thitikul and has watched 26 different players crash the winner’s circle on the LPGA while she’s been left empty-handed. It’s not that she’s playing badly – she’s still third in Scoring Average and Total Strokes Gained – but when you set an impossibly high bar, even ‘really good’ feels like underachieving.
Biggest Fashion Statement
Winners: Jason Day and Malbon
An honourable mention goes to Keegan Bradley’s mustache, which had strong Thomas Magnum energy and even stronger ‘midlife crisis in the pro shop’ vibes. But for the second year running, the title goes to Jason Day, who continues his brave campaign to redefine what counts as ‘golf attire’.
Those stars-and-stripes shorts, in particular, had plenty wondering if he’d lost a bet with John Daly, or if Malbon’s design team had been locked in a room with too many energy drinks and a flag. Still, in a sport dominated by beige and blacks, both parties’ commitment to chaos deserves some recognition.
Weirdest Injury
Winner: Charley Hull
Charley Hull just can’t catch a break – or rather, she keeps finding new ways to almost do exactly that. Last year it was a slip in the shower that forced her withdrawal from the Aramco Team Series event in London with a shoulder injury.
This year she barely made it out of the locker room at Centurion in the same event before tripping over a curb and tearing her ankle ligaments.
To make matters worse, she had only just returned from a virus that saw her faint twice and leave the Evian Championship on a stretcher. At this rate, the LET might need to issue her with a crash helmet and a risk assessment form.
Most Outrageous Round
Winners: Ross Lawrance and Nicolas Brewaeys
You know those rounds where you feel like you’ve been out there forever? These two Cornish golfers practically were. Ross Lawrance and Nicolas Brewaeys set a new Guinness World Record at West Cornwall Golf Club this summer after playing (and walking) 184 holes in just 21 hours and 45 minutes – which is three more than the previous record by a pair and more than two hours faster.
They teed off at 11am, played through the night using floodlights and head torches, and even convinced members to act as ball spotters. Their efforts helped raise more than £7,000 for Prostate Cancer UK, with Brewaeys estimating that they hit more than 900 shots and covered around 56 miles on foot during the challenge.
Maybe take a buggy next time, lads.
Worst Temper Tantrum
Winner: Wyndham Clark
It won’t surprise you to learn that Tyrrell Hatton contended heavily for this one, but Wyndham Clark stands alone as the only player to be banned from a golf club after he damaged two lockers in a post-round meltdown at the US Open.
In a letter sent to members, Oakmont’s President John Lynch revealed that the 31-year-old will only be permitted to return to the property if he pays for damages, makes a “meaningful contribution” to a charity selected by the club’s board, and undergoes counselling and/or anger management therapy.
Luckily for Clark, the US Open doesn’t return there until 2033, so he’s still got a few years to get back in their good books.
Worst First Impression
Winner: Jose Luis Ballester
Everyone knows you need to be on your best behaviour at Augusta National, so we’re not sure what rookie Jose Luis Ballester was thinking when he treated Rae’s Creek like a personal toilet on the 13th tee.
When asked about the incident afterwards, the Spaniard doubled down with the confidence of a man who forgot to read the fine print on his invitation. “If I had to do it again, I would do it again,” he said, proudly adding that it drew “one of the loudest claps of the day”.
That sound, Jose, was not applause – it was Augusta’s membership gasping as one. Still, if you’re going to break tradition, you might as well go all out with a splash.
Toughest Loss
Winner: Marc Leishman
Picture the scene: You’re playing off +5 and you’ve just equalled the course record at Warrnambool Golf Club in Australia with nine birdies and one eagle. Ordinarily, that bogey-free round of 61 would be good enough to win any 18-hole competition, right?
Marc Leishman thought so, too, only to be upstaged by a 12-handicapper in a Stableford competition. Leishman’s score of 42 points was bettered by the brilliantly-named David Greed, who took full advantage of the handicap system to beat the Aussie by a point. It’s not every day a LIV star gets humbled by someone whose last name perfectly sums up their feelings.
Biggest Anti-Climax
Winner: Matt McCarty
Dale Whitnell undoubtedly deserves a mention, given he followed two holes-in-one with a double bogey (and an air shot) at the South African Open, but this year’s crown goes to Matt McCarty for what happened after he made eight birdies in a row at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan.
Needing a par on his final hole to break 60, the 29-year-old blocked his tee shot into the trees and couldn’t find his ball. He still did well to make bogey after hitting three off the tee, but even he acknowledged that he was “one [good] swing away” from becoming only the second man to make a 58 on the PGA Tour.
“It’s weird to play that well and come off the course feeling like this,” he said afterwards.
Biggest Attention Seeker
Winner: Michael Block
Rory McIlroy will have you believe it’s Bryson DeChambeau, but we can’t look past former crowd favorite Michael Block, who blamed his early exit from the PGA Championship on a lack of support from his fans.
“I wish there was a huge crowd on every hole because that’s when I hit my shots,” Block said after missing the cut by 14 shots. “It’s the weirdest thing. When there’s no one around is when I hit my worst shots.”
Weird indeed.
Most Relatable Moment
Winner: John Daly
John Daly is very much a man of the people, so you may not be surprised to learn that he added another chapter to his legendary blooper reel after taking 19 shots on the par-5 12th hole at Minnehaha Country Club.
Seven of them went straight into the water, so you’ve got to give him props for persistence, if not his accuracy.
After finally clearing the hazard with his eighth attempt, he managed to get up and down from the edge of the green to card the highest single-hole score in PGA Tour Champions history. To his credit, though, he didn’t quit and recovered his composure to play his final six holes in level par. He ended up signing for an 18-over 88, which is still two shots better than the 90 he shot at the Valspar Championship in 2014.
Silver linings and all that.
Best Feel-Good Story
Winner: Yani Tseng
Forget Rory at the Masters, the story that stole our hearts belongs to Yani Tseng.
Once the best player in the women’s game for 109 consecutive weeks, Tseng hadn’t won a title since January 2014. A decade of injuries and the dreaded yips could’ve ended her career but she refused to walk away. Instead, the five-time major champion made what she called the “mother of all changes” last winter, switching to a left-handed putter that has helped her conquer those yips.
The grin on her face after winning the Wistron Ladies Open in her native Taiwan was a beautiful reminder that it’s never too late to fight your way back.
“I’ve been waiting for this trophy for so long,” Tseng said. “To win this tournament in my home country and in front of my family and friends is amazing. I’ve been really emotional from this win and [it] just shows you should never give up on your dreams.”
Most Over the Top Celebration
Winner: Alejandro Tosti
If you think spending £230,000 on 240 bottles of champagne, 10 bottles of vodka and 10 bottles of cognac is ‘over the top’, then whoever footed the bill for Europe’s Ryder Cup after-party wins this award hands down.
Otherwise, allow us to point you in the direction of Alejandro Tosti, who celebrated a hole-in-one on the par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass by swan diving into the lake.
The Argentinean went onto lose his PGA Tour card at the end of the season, before regaining it a few weeks later at Q School.
Most Outrageous Claim
Winner: Phil Mickelson
This award should really be sponsored by Phil Mickelson. He’s come out with some corkers in the past, but predicting that Scottie Scheffler wouldn’t win a title in 2025? That’s aged about as gracefully as his game and reputation since moving to LIV. But hey, at least he keeps our headlines entertaining.
Biggest Overshare
Winner: Tyrrell Hatton
Of course we couldn’t finish without giving Tyrrell Hatton an award!
Some things in life are better left unsaid. Hatton found that out the hard way by revealing – in great detail – how his over-exuberance at getting picked for the Ryder Cup involved him waking up in a pool of his own vomit in a hotel room.
“I was rushing to make the room somewhat acceptable before leaving,” said Hatton, whose drinking session with Jon Rahm involved wine, gin and one too many cocktails. “I ended up stripping the bed, leaving some cash and a note, saying, “Really sorry, I was sick in the bed in the night, please throw it in the trash.”
Never change, Tyrrell.