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. Jeeno Thitikul’s record-breaking dominance in Naples. Sami Valimaki becomes Finland’s first PGA TOUR winner. The brutal mathematics of the bubble at Sea Island. A week where champions were crowned, records were shattered, and careers hung in the balance on the season’s final putts.

LPGA Tour: Thitikul Rewrites the Record Books in Naples

Back-to-Back and Better Than Ever

Jeeno Thitikul didn’t just defend her CME Group Tour Championship title on Sunday. She obliterated it, turning what could have been a tense final round into a coronation at Tiburón Golf Club. The 22-year-old from Thailand closed with a 4-under 68 to finish at 26-under par, winning by four strokes over fellow Thai player Pajaree Anannarukarn and collecting the $4 million winner’s check for the second consecutive year.

She became just the second player to win back-to-back CME Group Tour Championships, joining Jin Young Ko. But she’s the first to pocket the $4 million prize in consecutive years—the purse wasn’t raised to $11 million until 2024, meaning Thitikul has maximized the moment in ways no player before her could.

The Numbers That Matter

The accolades came in a flood on Sunday afternoon. Thitikul secured the 2025 Rolex Player of the Year award, her first. She claimed her second Vare Trophy with a scoring average of 68.681, breaking Annika Sorenstam’s single-season record of 68.696 that had stood since 2002. She won the Money Title for the second time while maintaining the No. 1 ranking in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

Breaking Sorenstam’s record carries special weight. The Swedish legend’s 2002 season was one of the most dominant in golf history. For Thitikul to surpass that mark, even by the slimmest of margins, speaks to the consistency and excellence she maintained across an entire year.

Dominance From Start to Finish

Thitikul entered Sunday’s final round with a six-stroke lead. She never let anyone get close, posting four rounds in the 60s and making just three bogeys all week. In 20 starts this season, she finished in the top 10 fourteen times, won twice, and missed just one cut.

“My life still be the same, I guess. I need to hit the ball the same. I need to putt and chip still,” Thitikul said when asked about all her success. “I think I been the same human being as you guys.”

That humility makes her dominance all the more impressive. She’s not playing to prove anything to anyone. She’s simply playing the best golf of her life and letting the results speak for themselves.

A Thai Celebration

Anannarukarn’s runner-up finish made history in its own right. It marked just the second time in LPGA Tour history that two players from Thailand finished first and second in a stroke-play event. Anannarukarn shot a final-round 66 to finish at 22-under par, seven strokes better than her previous career-low 72-hole score. The $625,000 runner-up check was the largest of her career.

“It’s amazing for what Jeeno has done and what she’s doing,” Anannarukarn said. “She’s been a big role model to a lot of new generations and to us, and she inspired so much, even us, too.”

Thitikul is just the second player from Thailand to earn the Rolex Player of the Year award since it was introduced in 1966. She’s building a legacy that will inspire generations of Thai golfers to come. And at 22 years old, she’s just getting started.

PGA TOUR: Valimaki Makes History, While Others Watch Dreams Slip Away

Finland’s First

Sami Valimaki became Finland’s first PGA TOUR winner on Sunday, closing with a 4-under 66 to win The RSM Classic by one stroke at Sea Island. The 27-year-old’s victory came in his 54th career start and his tournament debut, making him the sixth player to win The RSM Classic in his first appearance.

Valimaki, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour, had been knocking on the door. He finished runner-up at the Mexico Open in 2024 and tied for second at the World Wide Technology Championship just two weeks ago. On Sunday, he finally broke through.

“It has been a long road, of course,” Valimaki said. “I feel like it’s a really tough year even when I kind of played decent golf, and then to keep pushing and find some good grooves in the last few tournaments, it feels amazing.”

The victory gives Valimaki a two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR, 500 FedExCup points, and invitations to THE PLAYERS Championship and the PGA Championship in 2026.

The Cruelest Mathematics

But Valimaki’s triumph was only part of the story at Sea Island. The real drama unfolded in the final hour, as players fought not for trophies but for survival. With the PGA TOUR reducing the number of fully exempt players from 125 to 100, the bubble was tighter and more unforgiving than ever before.

Ricky Castillo shot 28 on the front nine and closed with an 8-under 62, his career-low round. When he finished at 21-under par, it looked like that would be enough to move him from No. 135 inside the top 100. He waited, watching the leaderboard, calculating the points.

Then Max McGreevy holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 63, moving into solo second place. That single putt bumped Castillo down to No. 102 in the FedExCup standings by fewer than 10 points. His season, his card, his livelihood, all decided by a putt he didn’t hit.

Right after McGreevy’s birdie, Lee Hodges stood over a 10-foot birdie attempt on 18. Make it, and he’d move inside the top 100. The putt narrowly missed. The par for a 66 left him at No. 101 in the FedExCup standings by about two points. Two points. The margin between security and uncertainty, between a full schedule and scrambling for sponsor exemptions.

For Castillo and Hodges, the fall came up just short.

Playing With Freedom

McGreevy, who already had his card locked up, played the final round with a freedom that showed in his score. His 63 moved him to No. 60 in the FedExCup Fall standings, qualifying him for a pair of Signature Events to start 2026.

“I never felt that nervous,” McGreevy said. “I felt like I was playing to win. Luckily, my best golf came out at the end of the year.”

That’s the difference between playing for a card and playing for a trophy. McGreevy could be aggressive, could take chances, could hole a 30-foot putt without worrying about what it meant for anyone else. For players like Castillo and Hodges, every shot carried the weight of an entire season.

A Season’s End

The 2025 PGA TOUR season is over. The cards have been distributed, the exemptions have been determined, and the Signature Event invitations have been sent. For Valimaki, it’s a beginning. For Castillo and Hodges, it’s a setback that will require resilience and determination to overcome.

That’s professional golf. The margins are razor-thin. The difference between success and failure can come down to a single putt, a single shot, a single round. Valimaki made enough of them when it mattered. Others came up just short. And in a few months, they’ll all tee it up again, chasing the same dream, knowing that in this game, nothing is guaranteed and everything is earned.