With the golf world still buzzing about Rory McIlroy`s historic victory at the Masters just weeks ago, it seems hard to believe that the PGA Tour has already reached the halfway mark of its 2025 FedEx Cup season.
The second half of the tour schedule kicks off this week with the CJ Cup Byron Nelson tournament, beginning Thursday at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.
While injuries impacted world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, limiting their starts, the first half of the season still saw plenty of surprises and new winners, including two first-time champions crowned at last week`s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Looking ahead, there`s good news for fans: three major championships remain in the final 17 tournaments. Following these will be the highly anticipated Ryder Cup, scheduled for September 26-28 at Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York.
Here`s a summary look back at the significant events and players from the first half of the 2025 season:
Midseason Player of the Year
Could it possibly be anyone other than Rory? In addition to becoming only the sixth golfer in the Masters era to achieve the career Grand Slam by winning the green jacket at Augusta National, he also secured victories against strong fields at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on February 2nd and The Players Championship on April 13th.
McIlroy currently leads the tour in scoring average with 69.2 and holds a significant edge, nearly half a stroke better than anyone else, in Strokes Gained: Total (2.319). His 2,463 points give him a commanding advantage of almost 800 points in the FedEx Cup standings.
The five-time major champion appears to be just hitting his stride, especially considering his impressive history at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, the venue for the PGA Championship from May 15th to 18th. He has won the Wells Fargo Championship there four times and holds course records with rounds of 61 and 62. He is also set to compete in The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland from July 17th to 20th, returning home.
“Going back to Portrush will be unbelievable,” commented Shane Lowry, the 2019 Open Championship winner at the same course. “With Rory returning as the Masters champion, it will take some pressure off me again, which I`m quite happy about. It`s going to be a fantastic tournament.”
Other notable contenders: Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, Russell Henley, Ludvig Åberg.
Midseason Rookie of the Year
Karl Vilips, who moved to the U.S. at age 11, claimed victory at the Puerto Rico Open by three shots on March 9th, in just his fourth PGA Tour appearance. The former Stanford standout set a new 72-hole scoring record of 26-under 262 at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. He started with a 6-under 66 and finished strongly with an 8-under 64.
“It`s a dream come true for me and my dad,” said Vilips. “We`ve been working towards this for a long time. This is what we dreamed of when I was a kid. It feels pretty surreal.”
Due to a bulging disc in his back, Vilips had a delayed start to the season but quickly found success. After missing the cut in three consecutive events and finishing tied for 54th at the RBC Heritage, Vilips partnered with Michael Thorbjornsen to tie for fourth place at last week`s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
The 23-year-old Vilips also made headlines in February by becoming the first ambassador for Tiger Woods` new Sun Day Red clothing line. Vilips, the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year, looked up to Woods during his youth in Australia.
“He`s the one who got me into this sport, who inspired me to become who I am today,” Vilips stated. “The mindset he brought to everything he does is incredible.”
Other notable contenders: Aldrich Potgieter, Rasmus Højgaard, Isaiah Salinda, Danny Walker.
Midseason Comeback Player of the Year
Bud Cauley made his return to the PGA Tour in February 2024 after being sidelined for over three years due to severe injuries sustained in a car accident. Cauley suffered six broken ribs, a collapsed right lung, and a fractured left leg in a single-car crash as a passenger during the 2018 Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.
Following the crash, Cauley initially returned to the tour for two years but struggled with pain from a plate in his chest. Subsequent surgeries and infections further interrupted his career, keeping him out for three full seasons.
Upon his return in 2024, Cauley missed seven cuts in 17 starts, with a fifth-place tie at the Sanderson Farms Championship in the fall being a highlight. This year (2025), Cauley has impressively regained his form, achieving four top-25 finishes and three top-10s in just nine starts.
He tied for sixth at The Players Championship, a finish that helped him secure his PGA Tour card, shortly after his close friend and former Alabama teammate, Justin Thomas, jokingly remarked he`d do “really, really weird things for Bud to win today.” Cauley, currently 37th in the FedEx Cup standings with 553 points, also tied for fourth at the Valspar Championship and fifth at the Valero Texas Open.
“When I`m out there, I`m not thinking about anything that`s happened in my past, just trying to play as well as I can,” Cauley commented at the Valspar Championship. “Yeah, when I`m out there it`s like nothing ever happened.”
Other notable contenders: Michael Kim, Daniel Berger, Viktor Hovland.
Midseason Breakout Player of the Year
Andrew Novak`s journey on the PGA Tour has been one of consistent, albeit sometimes frustrating, progress. He finished 156th in the FedEx Cup standings in 2021-22, requiring him to regain his tour card via the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. He improved to 105th the following year and 86th in 2024.
This season, the 30-year-old is playing the best golf of his career. He finished solo third at the Farmers Insurance Open in January and tied for 13th in two signature events: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational.
After a quieter stretch during the Florida swing, Novak tied for third at the Valero Texas Open and was defeated by Justin Thomas in a playoff at the RBC Heritage. Then, last week, Novak and Ben Griffin celebrated their first PGA Tour victories as a team at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. This win came in Novak`s 100th career start on tour.
Novak is currently sixth in the FedEx Cup standings with 1,380 points and ranks ninth in the U.S. Ryder Cup team standings with 5,587.6 points.
“I think I`ve done a pretty good job not getting overly frustrated with the close calls,” Novak reflected. “I`ve been trying to extract as many positives as possible from each experience because the goal is to put myself in contention as often as possible. I want to improve each time I`m in that situation. I want to become more comfortable. I want to have things I can review and work on. Yes, it can be frustrating, but it`s also encouraging to head into a tournament knowing you`re playing well.”
Other notable contenders: Michael Kim, Ben Griffin, Joe Highsmith, Jacob Bridgeman, Brian Campbell, Ryan Gerard.
Most Surprising Stat
Zero. That`s the number of victories for Scottie Scheffler in his eight starts on the tour this season, despite winning nine times globally in 2024.
It`s not that Scheffler`s play has been poor since returning in early February after recovering from a right hand injury sustained while cooking on Christmas Day. He has finished in the top 25 in all his starts, including a tie for third at the Genesis Invitational and a second-place finish at the Texas Children`s Houston Open. He also finished solo fourth at the Masters, attempting to win the green jacket consecutively.
However, even Scheffler acknowledges his game is slightly off, particularly noting that he hasn`t been making the crucial putts that contributed significantly to his numerous wins in 2024. Nevertheless, he still ranks second on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Total (1.911) and Tee to Green (1.627), and fourth in Approaches (.942). By any measure, these are far from poor statistics.
Best Victory
The Masters, the season`s first major championship, delivered everything golf fans could hope for: a final-round showdown featuring Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau. The back nine at Augusta National on Sunday provided high drama, marked by McIlroy`s near-stumble and Justin Rose`s impressive surge.
Rose, who carded a final-round 66 (6-under), sank a critical 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole, increasing the pressure on McIlroy, who had seen his four-stroke lead diminish. McIlroy then missed a 5-footer for par on the 18th, sending the tournament to a playoff with Rose.
On the first playoff hole (the 18th), Rose`s approach shot landed 15 feet from the hole. McIlroy`s second shot finished just 4 feet away. Rose missed his birdie attempt, allowing McIlroy to sink his putt and capture his first green jacket on his 11th appearance at Augusta.
“This is my 17th time here, and I started to question if my time would ever come,” McIlroy reflected. “I think the last 10 years, coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and striving to achieve it, yes, I`m almost wondering what we`ll all discuss leading up to next year`s Masters.”
Best Round
Jake Knapp recorded the 15th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history with a flawless 59, featuring 12 birdies and six pars, during the opening round of the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.
Best Shot
After a double-bogey on the 14th hole in the Masters final round, Rory McIlroy executed what was called the “shot of a lifetime” en route to a birdie on the 15th.
Best Putt
It was a long journey back to the top for two-time major champion Justin Thomas. He finally ended a nearly three-year winless streak by sinking a 20-foot birdie putt to win a playoff at the RBC Heritage on April 20th.
Best Drive
Rookie Aldrich Potgieter leads the tour in average driving distance at 324.1 yards, including an impressive 374-yard blast at the Mexico Open.
Worst Drive
At the Arnold Palmer Invitational, 20-year-old South African Aldrich Potgieter demonstrated that even top players are capable of topping one like the rest of us.
Best Attitude
Joel Dahmen showed commendable perspective after finishing with three consecutive bogeys and missing a short 2-footer on the 17th hole to lose by one shot to Garrick Higgo at the Corales Puntacana Championship in Puerto Rico on April 20th.
Most Expressive Reaction (Best Punt)
Patton Kizzire was clearly displeased after missing a 5-foot putt for par in the first round of the Valspar Championship.
Best Save
Chandler Phillips came close to wading into alligator-inhabited water to make one of the most memorable saves of the season in New Orleans.
