Surprise Winners Are Why I Love Golf So Much

View From The Fairway by Derek Clements

I love sport. Its unpredictable nature is what gets me on the edge of my seat and keeps bringing me back for more.

In football’s FA Cup we see unlikely and entirely unpredictable results every single year. Who would ever have foreseen lowly Plymouth bating high-flying Liverpool in this year’s competition? These things should just never happen. Emma Radacanu won the US Open tennis tournament as an unseeded outsider. How could that happen?

And what about our own sport? On the PGA Tour this year we have already seen Thomas Detry, Brian Campbell and Joe Highsmith winning for the first time. On the DP World Tour, Elvis Smylie, Ryggs Johnston, Jacques Kruyswijk, Dylan Naidoo and John Parry have changed their lives for ever.

During the PGA Tour’s Fall Season there were a host of unexpected winners - Kevin Yu, Matt McCarty, Nico Echavarria, Rafael Campos and Maverick McNealy. In fairness, McNealy had been knocking on the door for a while, and many were beginning to question his hunger. He has now silenced those critics in spades.

Parry’s game had fallen off a cliff and he had to scratch around for somewhere to make a living. He won the Vivendi Cup in 2010 and looked to have a bright future but somewhere along the road it all went wrong for him. By 2021, he was playing on the third-tier EuroPro Tour.

However, in 2024 he found something on the Challenge Tour, winning the Italian Challenge Open, Blot Open de Bretagne and Delhi Challenge to regain his playing privileges. In truth, I wonder if he had many expectations. If he did, you can be absolutely certain that he has already exceeded them.

He has made a superb start to the new campaign, finishing tied eighth at The Australian PGA and tied second at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek before winning the Mauritius Open and finishing second to Kruyswijk at the Magical Kenya Open. At the age of 39, Parry now finds himself in second place in the Race to Dubai and, unbelievably, dreaming of securing a place in Luke Donald’s European Ryder Cup team.

In 2024 perhaps the most unlikely story of all was Paul Waring winning the Abu Dhabi Championship, pocketing more than £1m and securing his place on the PGA Tour at the age of 39. The Englishman is finding it all something of a challenge in America right now but he is nevertheless living the dream.

Detry’s victory at the Phoenix Open was not a huge surprise. He has been there or thereabouts several times but, despite his undoubted talent, this was his first victory on either the PGA or DP World Tour - and it has changed his life.

Perhaps the most heartwarming victory thus far has been that of Brian Campbell at the Mexico Open. With so much premium now placed on distance from the tee, the 32-year-old American is a throwback to a different era. He averages just under 280 yards from the tee. 

His playing partner in the final round was South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter. 

When asked to produce a list of the 10 golfers I expected to make the big breakthrough in 2025, Potgieter was one of the first names on said list. He is currently the biggest hitter on the PGA Tour, averaging more than 323 yards. During the final round of the Mexico Open he consistently outhit Campbell by more than 40 yards. 

But the American proved that there is more than one way to skin a cat. He accepts that he is a short hitter and knows that is not going to change, so he has worked tirelessly on his short game. His wedge play and putting in Mexico were something to behold, thus proving the truth of the old adage "Drive for show, putt for dough".

There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that Potgieter, who is still only 20 years old, will win many times on the PGA Tour. I also expect him to win some majors along the way - and I am not alone.

But it is the unlikely winners that keep me coming back.

Do we really want to see Scottie Scheffler winning seven times again in 2025? I know that most British golf fans will be rooting for Rory McIlroy to finally end his major drought this year and perhaps even pick up the Green Jacket at Augusta in April to secure the career grand slam. There will also be those who will be hoping that Jordan Spieth can find a return to form.

I am far more excited to see what Potgieter can achieve in his first full year on the PGA Tour. I also expect McNealy and McCarty to become multiple winners.

It goes without saying that several of the first-time winners may never again enjoy such success and that is surely what drives everybody on - you just never know when it is going to be your week. And when it is, you have to enjoy every single second of it. 

I can promise you one thing - when the pundits (myself included) were looking to predict a winner at the Mexico Open the name of Brian Campbell would not have figured in anybody’s equations. But he had the last laugh and will be walking on air for weeks to come. He will also have given a huge amount of hope to all of those tour pros who do not bomb the ball 300+ yards. And precisely the same can be said of Cognizant winner Joe Highsmith, who made the cut on the number but still managed to win his maiden title.

As I said, I love sport.