Tour Confidential: Did Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler or someone else win 2025?

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss what we learned in 2025, who won the year and more.

Who won the year? Well, Rory McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam, Scottie Scheffler won two majors but Luke Donald and the European Ryder Cup team won a road game at rowdy Bethpage. That’s just a sample of nominees, and it doesn’t even include recreational golf, which was booming yet again. Who, or what, won 2025?

Jessica Marksbury, senior editor (@jess_marksbury): Some very worthy nominees here, but I’ll take the obvious answer and go with Rory. A career Grand Slam is a generational accomplishment — and the drama that accompanied his achievement, from the playoff and the banishment of his Augusta demons to his cathartic reaction to finally shedding the weight of his major-championship drought — made it all the more compelling and emotionally satisfying for us watching at home.

Nick Piastowski, senior editor (@nickpia): Yeah, hard to argue against Rory. Biggest win, biggest moment. Let’s do this, though. McIlroy wins the year. And we’ll say that Scottie Scheffler is on his way to winning the decade. And the news that every LPGA event will be on live TV could be the most impactful moment for the future.  

Josh Schrock, news editor (Schrock_And_Awe): It’s Rory. He checked two of the final three items off his career bucket list, won at Pebble, Sawgrass, Augusta and in Ireland before stuffing the golf fans at Bethpage in a locker for three days. Oh, and he won Sports Personality of the Year. But an honorable mention to the LPGA for hiring Craig Kessler as commissioner. He has already made some important changes, starting with the broadcast change, as Nick noted. I think the LPGA is in good hands, and I look forward to where they are headed under his watch. If we’re doing a who won the year podium, Rory gets the gold, Scottie gets the silver and the LPGA gets a premature medal for where I think Kessler can take them. 

What was the most memorable moment of the year? And no, you can’t all pick the same one.

Marksbury: Rory’s 18th-green breakdown at Augusta brought a tear to my eye. As members of the media, we’re accustomed to remaining neutral, but watching Rory’s ups and downs during that final round was an exhausting and emotionally draining viewing experience. I can’t recall a recent major championship where viewers and onsite fans wanted a win for a player more, maybe since Tiger at the Masters in 2019, or Tom Watson at Turnberry in 2009. Rory’s achievement felt like a win for all of us who have watched him over the course of his career.

Piastowski: Let’s go with J.J. Spaun’s U.S. Open-winning putt at Oakmont. I like his story. I liked his rebound after making five bogeys in his first six holes during the final round. Then came his 65-foot bomb, in the rain, with the ball illuminated by cameras and a greenside leaderboard. It was movie-like.  

Schrock: For me, it was Rory’s eagle putt to send the Irish Open to a playoff. He had been in a big funk that he came out of at Portrush. He lost the Irish Open last year when Rasmus Hojgaard tracked him down on Sunday. The shot of the crowd literally all levitating off the ground as the eagle putt dropped with him fist-pumping was electric and a reminder that few are able to do what Rory McIlroy can do. 

What story didn’t get as much attention as it deserved?

Marksbury: I had the pleasure of revisiting Jeeno Thitikul’s record-breaking season for our countdown of the year’s best stories, and wow, what she accomplished in 2025 is truly remarkable. She won three times — a far cry from Nelly Korda’s seven victories last year — but that was the most of anyone on the LPGA Tour this year, where 29 different players claimed titles (also a new record). Jeeno’s consistency was absolutely amazing: 14 top 10s in 20 events, leading to a new single-season earnings record ($7,578,330!) and a new record scoring average of 68.68, besting the mark set by Annika Sorenstam in 2002. Such accomplishments are worthy of endless praise!

Piastowski: I like that answer, Jess. Thitikul should have gotten more attention for what she accomplished. I’m going to go with Minjee Lee’s win at the Women’s PGA, giving her three majors. It’ll be interesting to see if she could win one or two more and fully enter the conversation of all-time greats, if she’s not already there. 

Schrock: Love that answer, Nick. I was there that week in Frisco and it was so impressive to watch Minjee pick that course apart while everyone else was complaining about unfair pins. I don’t know if we have fully appreciated the run that Justin Rose is on at age 45. He was runner-up at Troon, played Rory to a draw for 72 holes at the Masters, which included going nuclear on Sunday, beat Tommy in Memphis and then stole Team USA’s souls with every putt at Bethpage. I don’t know how long his “Indian Summer” will last, but it’s one of the best stories in professional golf right now.

What did you learn in 2025?

Marksbury: Given the runaway success of the Internet Invitational, the advent of TGL and the introduction of the Optum Golf Channel Games, it’s becoming more and more clear that there is an appetite for golf consumption that reaches far beyond the Tour. I’m very interested to see where that leads. 

Piastowski: Love that answer. Yes, there’s a lot of golf, for sure, and the question will be whether golf can sustain that. I’m going to go with something I relearned, I guess, and that’s just how good Tiger Woods was and the effect he’s had. Think about how many times his name was brought up this year with Scottie Scheffler. Think about how much attention is paid whenever the man even speaks. His influence is remarkable. 

Schrock: Piggybacking off Nick here, but Tiger still has another legacy-writing chapter ahead off the course. The influence he has in helping shape the future of the PGA Tour can’t be overstated. From a potential new-look schedule to reunification, Tiger will play a major role in what the Tour’s future looks like. Tiger might not be teeing it up a ton in the future, but what we see will have his fingerprints all over it.

Teams led by Scott Scheffler and Rory McIlroy headlined the Optum Golf Channel Games on Wednesday, where the made-for-TV event ditched a traditional format and competed in speed golf and a slew of different challenges. What did you think? And does this type of event have more staying power than some of the traditional matches or skins games we’ve seen?

Marksbury: Challenge-based games are always fun, even when it’s unknown players competing, like in the days of Golf Channel’s Big Break. So adding top-ranked players like Rory and Scottie definitely increases the entertainment factor — and I think I actually like the fast pace better than traditional matches and skins games.

Piastowski: I didn’t mind it! The speed challenge was fun. The polos seemed to be unbuttoned a bit, so to say. But yeah, as we talked about above, I wonder whether all these events and shows and competitions are sustainable. That said, different is better for me, and I hope this one sticks around. 

Schrock: I liked it more than I thought I would. What worked was the pace. It was fast and something new. I really liked the relay idea and thought it worked overall. Golf needs more variety and something like this was way better than another version of The Match.