Monday Leaderboard: An octuple bogey? Pros are just like us!

Welcome to the Monday Leaderboard, where we run down the weekend’s top stories in the wonderful world of golf. Grab an Arnold Palmer, pull up a chair and watch your mouth …

1. Tyrrell Hatton’s great $&%*ing victory

Tyrrell Hatton is one of the best $*#)*ing players in the world, a #$)*ing maestro with his putter and a $)#)* artist with his driver. He also has the worst #$_(ing mouth and temper in the game, and both his skill and his vocabulary were on display this weekend at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. Hatton held off Daniel Hillier by a stroke to claim the victory, a significant boost to his Ryder Cup hopes. (Playing on LIV Golf’s Legion XIII, Hatton has seen his pathways to prominence narrow.) Hatton also made sure to leave his mark on the course, literally, when he destroyed a tee marker after a bad shot.

“Hopefully I can be a little bit more patient out there when I need to be and still maintain that fire,” Hatton said after getting a little talking-to from tournament officials. “Because if I lose that, then I’ll just be boring, like everyone else.”

2. TGL3: The arrival of JT

And here we are: crunch time for TGL. The tech-infused indoor golf league has now burned through its two big cards: the debut night, and Tiger Woods’ first appearance. What now? As we’ve discussed here in the past, TGL has a whole lot of promise, but a whole lot of flaws to work out as well on the broadcast side of things. Justin Thomas makes his TGL debut Tuesday night along with Atlanta Drive GC against New York Golf Club, which got blown out on Night 1 … and a competitive match would go a long way toward helping the event have a little more life.

3. Straka charges to AmEx win

Sepp Straka tore up the PGA West’s Stadium Course at The 2025 American Express this past weekend, posting a 25-under score and defeating Thomas by two strokes for the win. Straka went 69 holes without a bogey, and was in control for virtually the entire week. Straka is from Austria, but he attended college at the University of Georgia and quoted Kirby Smart in his post-tournament press conference. The United States needs to claim him for its Ryder Cup team, pronto.

4. What will a new LIV CEO mean?

Greg Norman is out, and Scott O’Neill is in as LIV Golf CEO. What does that mean for the organization going forward? TBD, but it’s worth noting that O’Neill, who has a background in entertainment and gaming, has a pre-existing relationship with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. LIV is weeks away from beginning its fourth season, and appears to be a fixture of the golf world for the foreseeable future. O’Neill could well be a more mitigating influence than the polarizing Norman, but LIV’s future will be decided on even higher levels.

5. Augusta National’s hurricane recovery

Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley spoke publicly last week for the first time about the effects of Hurricane Helene on the club and the city of Augusta. “As far as the impact, the long-term impact, we have not quite as many trees as we did a year ago,” Ridley said at the 2025 Latin America Amateur Championship in Argentina. “As far as the golf course goes, it’s in spectacular condition. … I don’t think you’re going to see any difference in the condition for the Masters this year.”

Tour Trophy of the Week: The American Express

Straka gets to take home this big ol’ paperweight, a chunk of (presumably) carved crystal to commemorate his AmEx win. Great victory, unimaginative trophy. Plus it looks like a serious toppling hazard. Compare that to Hatton’s beast, above, and, well … step up your game, AmEx.

Mulligan of the Week: The Octo-Bogey

PGA Tour rookie William Mouw had himself one hell of an awful hole on Friday at the AmEx, carding a 13 (!!!) on the par-5 17th hole. Mouw ended up buried in the hole’s horrific canyon of a bunker, and — as you can see from the shot chart and video above — struggled mightily to get out. He would end the day with a cringeworthy, but all too familiar, 81.

“Golf is a lot like life, man,” Mouw told PGATour.com the next day. “It’s not about dwelling on adversity. It’s how can you turn your adversity into positivity and use that to fuel you to get better and look at the bigger picture.” Anyway, he followed up Friday’s debacle with a Saturday 67 … but still missed the cut.

Hit ’em straight and roll ’em true, friends, and we’ll see you back here next week.