Yamashita’s Playoff Triumph, Tours Return to Action, and PGA of America Honors Legends
In this week’s “The Starter,” PGA professional Brendon Elliott, a three-decade industry veteran, gives his thoughts on the week that was in golf for R.org. Yamashita’s playoff victory in Malaysia. Both the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour are back in action this week. The PGA of America celebrating its newest Hall of Fame class.
LPGA Tour: Yamashita Delivers in the Clutch
Miyu Yamashita won the LPGA’s Maybank Championship. More than that, she proved something about herself in her breakthrough season.
The 24-year-old Japanese star made birdie on the first playoff hole at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. Three-round leader Hye-Jin Choi of South Korea managed par. So did Australia’s Hannah Green. The victory gives Yamashita two career wins in her first full year on tour, including the Women’s British Open in August.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Yamashita said after her playoff heroics. “To win twice in my first full season, including a major, is beyond what I dreamed of.”
Getting there took patience and precision. Yamashita posted the day’s equal lowest round of 65, vaulting up a packed leaderboard to 18-under 270. She started the final round well back but applied maximum pressure with a bogey-free performance.
Choi began Sunday with a four-stroke advantage. Then the putts stopped falling. The 26-year-old has 29 career top-10 finishes. No wins. This marks the third time she’s led heading into Sunday and finished runner-up.
Green came in fresh from helping Australia claim the International Crown title. Her 68 included seven birdies and three bogeys, the kind of volatile round that keeps you guessing. A birdie at 18 forced the three-way playoff, the type of moment that separates consistent performers from the rest.
An hour-long rain delay after the turn added tension. Choi responded with a birdie at the par-4 16th when play resumed. Another rain shower pushed the playoff back more than 30 minutes. Yamashita stayed composed throughout.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul (68), China’s Liu Yan (65), Akie Iwai (67) of Japan, and South Korean pair A Lim Kim (68) and Kim Sei-Young (66) finished tied for fourth at 17-under, one back. Thitikul, a Malaysia runner-up the previous two years, bogeyed 16 to end her latest attempt at winning in Kuala Lumpur.
Defending champion Yin Ruoning shot 70 to finish 12th at 14-under 274. Canada’s Brooke Henderson also posted 70, tying for 27th.
PGA TOUR: Fall Series Heads to Mexico
The FedExCup Fall continues south of the border. The World Wide Technology Championship returns to El Cardonal at Diamante from November 6-9, another chance for players to lock down their 2026 playing privileges on the Tiger Woods-designed course.
Major champions J.J. Spaun (U.S. Open) and Wyndham Clark (PGA Championship) headline the field. Recent winners fill out the roster, none more compelling than Michael Brennan. The 23-year-old won the Black Desert Championship as a sponsor exemption, earning a two-year exemption and rocketing from No. 681 in the world rankings to a projected No. 47. A Masters invitation sits within reach if he cracks the top 50.
Nico Echavarria, Austin Eckroat, Mackenzie Hughes, and Matt Wallace bring momentum from their 2024-25 victories. Sponsor exemptions went to PGA TOUR members Luke Donald and Taylor Montgomery. Will Gordon, Johnny Keefer, Peter Knade, and Tyler Weaver received unrestricted sponsor exemptions.
Three FedExCup Fall events remain after this week. Players outside the top 125 are running out of chances.
DP World Tour: Play-Offs Begin in Abu Dhabi
The DP World Tour Play-Offs kick off this week at Yas Links with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, November 6-9. Forty events across 27 countries have led to this. Two tournaments left to crown the 2025 Race to Dubai champion.
Rory McIlroy could claim the Harry Vardon Trophy for a seventh time, putting him one behind Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight. He leads England’s Marco Penge by 441.32 points. Penge has posted three DP World Tour wins in his breakout season.
The top 70 available players compete for 9,000 Race to Dubai Ranking Points and a $9 million purse. Three of the world’s top ten are in the field: McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, and Robert MacIntyre.
Nine members of Europe’s winning Ryder Cup team tee off at Yas Links. That includes Ludvig Åberg, Shane Lowry, and Fleetwood. Every eligible winner from the 2025 Race to Dubai accepted, including Sweden’s Alex Noren, who won twice during the Back 9 at The Belfry and Wentworth Club.
Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm, and Matt Wallace declined their spots despite finishing in the top 70. Sepp Straka withdrew from both Play-Off events citing personal reasons.
No cut this week. All 70 players complete 72 holes. The top 50 then advance to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 13-16, where 12,000 Race to Dubai Ranking Points and a $10 million purse await.
PGA of America Celebrates Hall of Fame Class
Six distinguished individuals enter the PGA of America Hall of Fame on November 5 at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort in Frisco, Texas. The ceremony happens during the 109th PGA Annual Meeting and recognizes excellence across four categories: Past President, Golf Professional, Tour Professional, and Ambassador.
Jim Richerson, PGA, enters as a Past President after leading the PGA of America through a period of record growth. The former President has also collected multiple Wisconsin PGA awards.
Three Golf Professionals join the class.
Ronny Glanton, PGA, has served as head professional at Sherrill Park Golf Course in Richardson, Texas, since becoming a PGA of America member in 1984. A three-time Northern Texas PGA Golf Professional of the Year and multi-time NTPGA Major Champion, Glanton played a significant role in the PGA’s relocation to Frisco.
Jim McLean, PGA, founded the Jim McLean Golf School at Doral and became one of the game’s most influential instructors. A PGA Master Professional, McLean has taught more than 100 PGA, LPGA, and Champions Tour professionals. He’s written 15 books.
J.D. Turner, PGA, an Iowa PGA Section member and former head professional, won five Iowa Open Championships. He entered the Iowa PGA Hall of Fame in 1995 and now receives the sport’s highest honor at the national level.
Nancy Lopez represents the Tour Professional category. The LPGA Tour legend and World Golf Hall of Fame member won 48 LPGA Tour events and three major championships.
Dennis Walters enters as a PGA of America Ambassador. An Honorary Member and adaptive trick-shot artist, Walters became paralyzed from the waist down in 1974. He has spent decades inspiring golfers of all abilities, proving that physical limitations don’t define your relationship with the game.
The Week Ahead
Yamashita’s playoff victory in Malaysia required the kind of nerve you can’t manufacture — the PGA TOUR heads to Mexico. The DP World Tour begins its season-ending Play-Offs in Abu Dhabi. Stakes are rising everywhere.
The PGA of America’s Hall of Fame ceremony offers a reminder: golf’s greatest legacy isn’t measured solely in trophies. It lives in the people who dedicate themselves to growing the game and the countless lives they touch along the way.
Thursday’s “Playing Through” will cover the PGA TOUR’s World Wide Technology Championship, the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, and the LPGA’s TOTO Japan Classic as the season draws to a close.