Breakfast Ball #39: National Opens Keep on Delivering

In This Week’s Newsletter:

Angel Hidalgo Beats Jon Rahm to Win the Spanish Open

It all felt inevitable. The young rising star, still without a major tour win, had led all week. But now, he had been overtaken by the seasoned veteran, seemingly surrendering his one shot at victory. His performance would likely be described as "valiant" or "brave" in the face of an obvious champion. Yet, after missing a crucial four-foot putt to clinch the Spanish Open on the final hole, Angel Hidalgo didn’t fold. Instead, he rose from the brink. And with Spain’s greatest golfer of the 21st century on the rise, Hidalgo delivered a stunning knockout on the second playoff hole.

A birdie was enough to see off Jon Rahm and give Hidalgo his first DP World Tour victory. Hidalgo came into the week ranked 398th in the world and 88th in the DPWT. He only had two top ten finishes in 25 starts this year, but when he blazed into a four shot lead after rounds of 65 and 67, it seemed like his first win was in sight. However, a late charge from Jon Rahm saw him soar up the leaderboard and he booked himself a spot in the playoff with birdies on the last two holes of the tournament.

On the first playoff hole, Hidalgo confidently drove the green on the par-4 18th, setting up an easy two-putt for birdie. Rahm, whose drive sailed beyond the green, skillfully scrambled to match with his own birdie, pushing the contest to a second playoff hole. Then came a pivotal moment. Hidalgo’s drive appeared destined for the greenside bunker, but a fortunate bounce kept it clear. Meanwhile, Rahm’s tee shot strayed off target, leaving him to settle for par. With remarkable composure, Hidalgo chipped to within three feet and calmly sank the putt, sealing a dramatic victory.

Hidalgo was understandably emotional: “Two or three years ago, I was on the first tee, in the trees, supporting Jon. Without playing, I just came here to Madrid to see the tournament. To be here and win the tournament is unreal. Oh, my gosh, it's amazing.”

Other Notable European Results:

• 🇪🇸 Spain’s David Puig made a push on Sunday, leading the tournament by 3 shots after 4 birdies in the first 7 holes. However, 4 costly bogeys on the back nine meant he fell to T3

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Joe Dean qualified for the DP World Tour this season through Q-School, but was not able to afford to travel to the first few events of the season. He saved money by working as a delivery driver for Morrison’s supermarket in England. He is now in 25th position in the DPWT rankings after his fourth top 5 of the season at the Spanish Open and has earned almost €900,000 - more to come on that story in the offseason

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Tommy Fleetwood (T3), 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Tyrell Hatton (T10), and 🇮🇪 Shane Lowry (T13) all finished in the top 20

The Ryder Cup is One Year Away. What Does the Next 12 Months Look Like?

The 2025 Ryder Cup will kick off on September 26th at Bethpage Black Golf Course in Long Island, New York. There will be plenty of drama between then and now as we gear up for the best tournament in golf. Here is what to expect in the lead up:

November 14th - 17th: DP World Tour Championship

This is likely to be the last event we will see most Ryder Cup hopefuls play for points in 2024. 2,000 points will be on offer here, the same amount as a regular PGA Tour event in 2025. We will also know which 10 DP World Tour players will have gotten their PGA Tour card for 2025 after this event.

January 2nd - 5th: The Sentry

The first event of the 2025 PGA Tour season. Because of how the points are structured, it will be very difficult for a player playing on the DP World Tour to automatically qualify for the team without strong performances in the majors. The 2025 Ryder Cup team will likely all be playing on either LIV or the PGA Tour.

April 10th - 13th: The Masters

The first major of the season. If players perform well in the majors, they will make the team. 5,000 points will be split between the European players who make the cut. Unfortunately, Augusta National is assessing significant damage after Hurricane Helene ripped through the US this weekend.

May 15th - 18th: PGA Championship

The second major of the year will take place in Quail Hollow in Charlotte, NC. A pretty uninspiring major venue that typically hosts the Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour.

June 12th - 15th: US Open

The US Open comes to Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At this point, we will have a good idea of who the top 15-18 players that are in contention for a place will be.

July 17th - 20th: The Open

Royal Portrush is the host for the The Open in 2025. It will be the last opportunity for players to get maximum qualification points at the majors.

August 17th: The Final Event

Although the DP World Tour has yet to release its schedule for 2025, the event that finishes on August 17th will be the last one where players can compete for Ryder Cup qualification points. Given that this clashes with the BMW Championship in the FedEx Cup playoffs on the PGA Tour, expect the top 6 to be decided before then.

September 26th: The Ryder Cup

One of the most hotly anticipated Ryder Cups ever. Can the US defend home soil? Will the Europeans be able to handle the heat of the raucous New York fans? We shall see.

Other News and Results

• 🇺🇸 The US won the President’s Cup against the non-European Internationals by 18.5-11.5

  • The US team swept the internationals in the first foursomes session on Thursday 5-0, but the internationals snapped back and swept the second session to leave the score tied going into the weekend

  • However, the US team was much too strong for the internationals as they won the Saturday sessions 6-2 and the Sunday singles 7.5-4.5

• 🎟️ Registration for tickets to the Ryder Cup went live this week. There will be a lottery in November that will determine who is lucky enough to spend ludicrous amounts of money on one of the hottest tickets in sports

• ⚖️ Jon Rahm was only able to play in the Spanish Open after he lodged an appeal against the fines dealt to him by the DP World Tour for playing on LIV Golf

  • Rahm needs to play in two more DPWT events to maintain his membership and therefore his Ryder Cup eligibility - he is signed up to play in the Dunhill Links Championship this week

Coming up this week on Tour

• The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the DP World Tour

  • The tournament rotates through three golf courses for the first three days: The Old Course at St. Andrew’s, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns, before finishing at the Old Course on Sunday

  • McIlroy, Rahm, Fleetwood, Fitzpatrick, MacIntyre, and Lowry are amongst those signed up to play

• The Korn Ferry Tour Championship will determine the 30 players who will earn PGA Tour cards for 2025

• The PGA Tour’s fall season continues with the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi

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