Despite the golf world still buzzing about Rory McIlroy`s historic Masters victory just weeks ago, it`s remarkable to realize that the PGA Tour has already reached the halfway point of its 2025 FedEx Cup season.
The tour transitions into its second half this week with the CJ Cup Byron Nelson tournament, which begins on Thursday at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.
While injuries impacted top players like Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, the first half of the season saw numerous surprises and players earning their first tour wins, including two winners at last week`s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Looking ahead, there are still three major championships to be played among the final 17 tournaments. This will be followed by what is expected to be a memorable Ryder Cup event at Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York, scheduled for September 26-28.
Here is a look back at the key highlights from the first half of the 2025 season:
Midseason Player of the Year
Could there be anyone else but Rory? Not only did he become the sixth golfer in the Masters era to achieve the career Grand Slam by winning the green jacket at Augusta National Golf Club, but he also secured victories in strong fields at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on February 2 and The Players on April 13.
McIlroy leads the tour in scoring average (69.2) and holds a significant advantage in strokes gained: total (2.319), performing nearly half a stroke better than his closest competitor. With 2,463 points, McIlroy boasts an almost 800-point lead in the FedEx Cup standings.
The five-time major champion might just be getting started, especially considering his strong record at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, the host of the PGA Championship from May 15-18. He has won the Wells Fargo Championship at this course four times and set course records with rounds of 61 and 62. He will also return home to Northern Ireland for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush on July 17-20.
Shane Lowry, who won the 2019 Open Championship there, commented, “Going back to Portrush is going to be incredible. Rory going back as the Masters champion now is going to take a little bit of heat off me again, so I’m pretty happy with that. It’s going to be a great tournament.”
Others considered: Justin Thomas, 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 strokes on March 9 in only his fourth PGA Tour start. The former Stanford standout set a new 72-hole scoring record at 26-under 262 at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, opening with a 6-under 66 and closing with an impressive 8-under 64.
Vilips shared, “Dream come true for me and my dad. Going at it for a long time. This is what we dreamed of when I was a kid. It’s pretty surreal.”
Despite a late start to the season due to a bulging disc in his back, Vilips quickly found success. After three consecutive missed cuts and a tie for 54th at the RBC Heritage, Vilips partnered with Michael Thorbjornsen to tie for fourth place in last week`s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
The 23-year-old Vilips also became the first ambassador for Tiger Woods` Sun Day Red apparel line in February. As a young golfer in Australia, Vilips idolized Woods.
Vilips stated, “He’s who got me into this sport, who motivated me to be who I am today. The mentality he brought to everything that he does.”
Others considered: 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 a hiatus of over three years due to injuries sustained in a severe car accident. Cauley suffered six broken ribs, a collapsed right lung, and a fractured left leg as a passenger in a single-car crash during the 2018 Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.
Following the accident, Cauley returned to the tour for two years but continued to battle pain in his ribs caused by a plate implanted in his chest. Subsequent surgeries and infections led to him being sidelined for three seasons.
This year, Cauley has significantly regained his form, achieving four top-25 finishes and three top-10s in nine starts. He tied for sixth place at The Players; his good friend and former Alabama teammate, Justin Thomas, even remarked he`d do “really, really weird things for Bud to win today.” This strong finish was crucial in helping Cauley retain his PGA Tour card.
Cauley, currently ranked 37th in the FedEx Cup standings with 553 points, also tied for fourth at the Valspar Championship and fifth at the Valero Texas Open.
Speaking at the Valspar Championship, Cauley commented, “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. Yeah, when I’m out there it’s like nothing ever happened.”
Others considered: Michael Kim, Daniel Berger, Viktor Hovland
Midseason Breakout Player of the Year
Andrew Novak`s journey through the PGA Tour has been a steady but challenging climb. He finished 156th in the FedEx Cup standings in 2021-22, requiring him to compete in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship to regain his tour card. He improved to 105th in the standings the following year and 86th in 2024.
This season marks the best golf of the 30-year-old`s career. He secured a solo third place finish 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 quiet period during the Florida swing, Novak tied for third at the Valero Texas Open and lost in a playoff to Justin Thomas at the RBC Heritage. Most recently, last week, Novak and Ben Griffin earned their first PGA Tour victories together in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event, marking Novak`s 100th tour start.
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.
Novak reflected, “I think I’ve done a pretty good job not getting overly frustrated with the close shaves. I’ve been trying to take as many positives from each as I can because the idea is I can put myself in that position as many times as I’m able to. I want to get better each time I’m in that position. I want to be more comfortable. I want to have things that I can look back on and improve on.”
He added, “Yeah, it’s frustrating, but it’s also nice going into a tournament knowing you’re playing well.”
Others considered: Michael Kim, Ben Griffin, Joe Highsmith, Jacob Bridgeman, Brian Campbell, Ryan Gerard
Most Surprising Stat
Zero. That`s the number of wins in eight starts on tour for Scottie Scheffler, who dominated with nine victories worldwide in 2024.
It`s not that Scheffler has performed poorly since returning in early February after recovering from a right hand injury sustained while cooking on Christmas Day. He has finished within the top 25 in all his starts and tied for third at the Genesis Invitational and second at the Texas Children`s Houston Open. He also finished solo fourth at the Masters, attempting to win consecutive green jackets.
Even Scheffler acknowledges that his game has been slightly off, and he hasn`t been converting the crucial putts that were key to his frequent wins in 2024. Despite this, he remains second on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: total (1.911) and tee to green (1.627), and fourth in strokes gained: approach (.942). These are still impressive statistics.
Best Victory
The Masters, the season`s first major championship, delivered everything golf fans could hope for: a final round showdown between Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau. The back nine at Augusta National on Sunday provided immense drama, thanks to McIlroy`s near-collapse and Justin Rose`s remarkable comeback attempt.
Rose, who shot a final-round 6-under 66, sank a 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to increase pressure on McIlroy, who had lost a four-stroke lead. McIlroy then missed a 5-foot par putt on the 18th, forcing a playoff with Rose.
On the first playoff hole, the 18th, Rose hit his approach shot to 15 feet from the hole. McIlroy placed his second shot just 4 feet away. Rose missed his birdie attempt, and McIlroy then sank his putt to claim his first green jacket on his 11th appearance.
McIlroy reflected, “This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time. I think the last 10 years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that, yeah, I’m sort of wondering what we’re all going to talk about going into next year’s Masters.”
Best Round
Jake Knapp recorded the 15th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history with a bogey-free 59, featuring 12 birdies and six pars, in the opening round of the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.
Best Shot
After suffering a double-bogey on the 14th hole during the Masters final round, McIlroy hit what was described as the `shot of a lifetime` en route to a birdie on the 15th.
Best Putt
The journey back to the top of the leaderboard was lengthy for two-time major champion Justin Thomas, who finally ended a nearly three-year winless drought with a 20-foot birdie putt to win a playoff at the RBC Heritage on April 20.
Best Drive
Rookie Aldrich Potgieter leads the tour in driving distance with an average of 324.1 yards off the tee, including a remarkable 374-yard drive at the Mexico Open.
Worst Drive
At the Arnold Palmer Invitational, 20-year-old South African Aldrich Potgieter demonstrated that even top players can occasionally mishit a drive, just like the rest of us.
Best Attitude
Joel Dahmen displayed an exemplary mindset after finishing with three consecutive bogeys and missing a 2-foot putt on the 17th hole, resulting in a one-stroke loss to Garrick Higgo at the Corales Puntacana Championship in Puerto Rico on April 20.
Best Punt
Patton Kizzire showed his frustration after missing a 5-foot par putt in the first round of the Valspar Championship.
Best Save
Chandler Phillips came close to wading into alligator-infested waters to execute one of the season`s most impressive saves in New Orleans.
Benedict Kingsley