It was a very busy time in the world of golf.
With Rory McIlroy, whom the Masters won, the PGA Tour did not lose steam as they continued their signature event in the RBC heritage that Justin Thomas ultimately won in the playoffs.
Elsewhere, Masters Law Amateur in 2024 (US Open Law Am 2024) Neil Shipley won for the first time on the Corn Ferry Tour. Speaking of the first, Ingrid Lindblad won his first LPGA Tour. Again, it was a big week.
As destined, the PGA Tour was holding Alternative Event Week at the Corales Punta Cana Championship in Puerto Rico. Joel Derman took the lead on Thursday and Friday, so it seemed far less dramatic than our out of Harbortown. and Saturday, but the bogeys on the final three holes of Sunday’s round lost the victory for him.
It was Garic Higugo who won the championship in Puerto Rico, his second career victory. Higugo is only 25 years old and in fact is the youngest winner in history for the event. This victory will open some doors for him for the rest of the season.
Higugo was the winner, but Damen was definitely a big story given his popularity. Interestingly, his victory marked the third time in the last four years when the player holding the solo lead after the first three rounds failed to win, and his bogie bogey finish has been rather rough in this respect.
“I woke up suddenly and lost the golf tournament.”
Joel Damen bosie the last three holes and lost one Corrales Puntacana Championship. pic.twitter.com/oguwqjgnk0
– golf.com (@golf_com) April 21, 2025
Dermen has three top 10 finishes this season, so they’re playing well this season. Winning is clearly the ultimate goal, but his game is in a good place.
Hopefully he can quickly enter the winner’s circle.
