Garrick Higgo captured the PGA TOUR’s Corales Puntacana Championship, capitalizing on a dramatic late collapse by Joel Dahmen to safe his second win on the tour. On a windy Sunday on the Corales Golf Course, Higgo shot a 72, 14-under par (274), sufficient to leapfrog Dahmen and win the title.
The turning level got here on the par-3 seventeenth gap, when Dahmen, main after the primary three rounds, missed a three-foot putt for par, his second consecutive bogey. Dahmen didn’t sink an eight-foot putt for par on the 18th, closing with a 76 (+4) and slipping to second place, tied with Alejandro Tosti (68), Keith Mitchell (71), Jeremy Paul (72) and Michael Thorbjornsen (73). Thorbjornsen, in flip, missed a 4-foot putt on the 18th.
Higgo, outcomes
Higgo, a 25-year-old left-handed South African, confirmed composure regardless of a bogey on the seventeenth, saving par on the 18th to safe the win. The success, which follows his 2021 success on the Palmetto Championship, grants Higgo a two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR, however not an invite to the Masters.
For Dahmen, the loss was a blow. The 2021 winner of the event, the 37-year-old American had a three-shot lead after 54 holes, however closed the ultimate spherical with three consecutive bogeys, recording the very best rating among the many high 37 finishers. “Successful a golf event is so exhausting,” Dahmen stated after his triumph 4 years in the past, phrases made well-known by the Netflix docuseries Full Swing. Those self same phrases tackle a bitter tone right now, as Dahmen misplaced his likelihood to turn out to be the primary two-time “King of Corales.”
The event, an add-on occasion on the PGA TOUR, awards 300 FedExCup factors and a two-year exemption to the winner, making Higgo’s victory a big milestone.
From April 14-20, 2025, the PGA Tour returns to the gorgeous Dominican Republic for the eighth version of the Corales Puntacana Championship, an occasion that runs concurrently with the distinguished RBC Heritage, a Signature Occasion on the Tour. Whereas the Punta Cana event is taken into account a “sideshow,” it represents a vital alternative for a lot of gamers to earn FedExCup factors and safe a distinguished spot within the season.
The Corales Puntacana Championship has the excellence of being the primary and solely PGA Tour occasion to be held within the Dominican Republic. Performed on the Corales Golf Course at Puntacana Resort & Membership, the event provides a $4 million prize pool, with $720,000 up for grabs for the winner and 300 FedExCup factors on the road. Whereas these prizes aren’t as excessive as Signature Occasions, they’re vital for gamers trying to climb the FedExCup leaderboard or safe a spot at an even bigger event.
In contrast to the RBC Heritage, which attracts most of the world’s high golf stars, the Corales Puntacana Championship is an Extra Occasion that showcases rising expertise, veterans trying to relaunch their careers, and native gamers.
The Tom Fazio-designed Corales Golf Course is a 7,013-yard par-72 with a spectacular format that winds by means of pure cliffs with breathtaking ocean views. The course is thought for its problem, particularly when the wind is blowing, and options one of many event’s most iconic challenges: the Satan’s Elbow, a sequence of three remaining holes (par 4, par 3, par 4) which have traditionally produced scores above par, testing the nerves of the contenders.
Regardless of its size, the course tends to favor low scores because of beneficiant fairways and accessible greens. Nonetheless, precision will probably be key to avoiding the quite a few pure obstacles.
The 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship discipline consists of 132 gamers, with a mixture of well-known names, younger skills and native golfers.
Ben Griffin, the highest-ranked participant within the discipline (fifty fifth within the Official World Golf Rating), will look to capitalize on his season-long consistency. Billy Horschel, winner of the 2024 version, returns to defend his title. His victory final yr, his eighth profession victory on the PGA Tour, was a second of redemption for the American veteran.
Native golfers equivalent to Juan Jose Guerra, Guillermo Pumarol, Julio Santos and Hiram Silfa, who proudly characterize the Dominican Republic and add a contact of native taste to the competitors.
Among the many curiosities, the Monday qualifiers stand out, equivalent to Thomas Longbella, gold medalist within the qualifier with a powerful -9 (62), and Joseph Deraney, Canadian mid-amateur champion, who carry tales of sacrifice and dedication.
