The biggest golfing flops from the 2025 season

Sport is about glory, triumph and trophies. It’s about records, acclaim and celebration. But for every winner there are many losers.

For them, there is disappointment and despair. There are unwanted records, criticism and cat calls.

Who have been the biggest losers in golf in 2025? Let’s find out.

1. PGA of America

Appointing Keegan Bradley as the Ryder Cup captain always looked like a foolish move and nothing that happened in 2025, or in the match itself, changed anyone’s mind about the tragicomic decision that was announced in July 2024.

Bradley, remember, was controversially overlooked for the 2023 match by captain Zach Johnson and he was filmed receiving the news by the Netflix series Full Swing. It was if the PGA of America wanted to make things better when they gave him the captaincy and the move came back to haunt them.

Bradley was already playing well when he won June’s Travelers Championship and so had to decide whether or not to be a playing captain. Rory McIlroy revealed that he had once been sounded out about such a role and immediately fired it down. Bradley snapped that the Northern Irishman didn’t know if it was possible. It wasn’t a good look or a good mental state for a captain and it was so unnecessary.

In the match itself Bradley did not fare well in the first two days but the PGA of America doubled down on their incompetence by hiring a comedian who joined the US galleries in chanting on her tannoy: “F**k you Rory!”

Oh, and then the PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague had to email an apology to McIlroy about that mess, and about fans hurling abuse at him and a beer at his wife.

All in all? Easily the biggest flops of the year.

2. LIV Golf

You know you’ve flopped when you confirm the doubts of your critics and, at the same time, disappoint your fans – and that’s what LIV Golf did when it announced that the 2026 schedule will include 72-hole events rather than 54-hole ones.

The shortened length was, of course, one of the rebel circuit’s signature moves so to change its mind cannot be anything other than a stand down. Inevitably, therefore, there was crowing from the smugger critics. Others just shrugged (which might be even more of a snub).

But when LIV’s fans gasped in outrage, or felt betrayed, it really was flop time.

3. Joaquin Niemann

Make absolutely no mistake: the Chilean is one of the world’s finest golfers and he proved it time and again in 2025, not least when winning five times on LIV.

But he remains a baffling flop in the majors. He’s played in 26 of them and landed only one top 20. That was this year’s PGA Championship and was largely the consequence of a final round 68.

He then missed the cut at the US Open and Open to re-establish his elite level difficulties.

4. Wyndham Clark

In 2023, the Colorado golfer won the US Open at LA Country Club but this year he missed the cut at Oakmont and then trashed his locker.

The broken furniture appeared on social media and his broken reputation went with it. He was banned from Oakmont and then issued a grovelling apology.

He did finish fourth in the Open, which was his only major championship top 30 finish other than his win, so perhaps letting off steam has helped him out.

It’s still a very, very bad look, though.

5. Max Homa

There are few golfers more popular than the Californian who is a six-time winner on the PGA Tour – the last of them in 2023.

But something odd happened to his career. When winning all those titles he was poor in the majors. Then, in early 2024, he finished top 10 back-to-back at the Masters and the PGA Championship.

But in 36 starts since then he has landed only two top 10s anywhere and in early 2025 he was little short of abject. A return to his best golf is among most golf fans greatest hopes for 2026.

6. Dustin Johnson

DJ insisted late in the summer that he’d found something in his game that would improve his golf going forward and he did achieve a season’s best third at LIV Indianapolis.

But as a major championship performer he was a significant flop for a second year running in 2025. He missed the cut in the first three majors of the year and was on track to do so again after opening with a 73 at the Open. He managed T23 in the end but his opening round in the 2024 and 2025 majors are little short of rotten.

They read: 78-73-74-74-74-78-75-73. It’s eye-wateringly bad.

7. Patrick Cantlay

In eight seasons from 2017 to 2024 the 33-year-old registered 26 top three finishes and he was particularly strong in 2022 when he notched seven of them.

But this season he recorded just one top three and while it was lucrative – at the Tour Championship – it’s a very poor return for a golfer of his quality. He also hasn’t won since 2022.

8. Rickie Fowler

The 36-year-old impressed when finishing sixth and seventh at the St Jude Championship and BMW Championship in the FedEx Cup Play-Offs, but many observers were unimpressed by his mere presence in them.

Why so? He’d only made one top 10 in the entire year before then and he’d played many tournaments on invitations which was viewed as an unfair advantage over other golfers who had to compete on earned starts. Fowler will want to avoid such carping in 2026 and will need to play better to do so.

9. Yannik Paul

When the German claimed a first DP World Tour win in late 2022 and then added a trio of top three finishes in 2023 he was on many a short list to make the European Ryder Cup team.

2025 has been different. Very different. In 27 starts he managed only one top 30. He didn’t retain his card, had to return to Q School – and he missed the cut.

Read more: The biggest breakthrough stars from the 2025 season