Six favourite golfing moments of 2025 - glory for Rory, Bob MacIntyre sportsmanship, Syme's time

The 45th Ryder Cup was besmirched by bad behaviour from US fans in New York but produced an epic final few hours before the coveted trophy stayed in European hands for another two years.

From a Scottish perspective, it was a very productive year in the men’s professional game in particular as four players landed DP World Tour triumphs, while Gemma Dryburgh finished the season strongly on the LPGA.

Here are my six favourite moments of 2025:

Glory for Rory

Even the eternal optimists, myself included, had begun to wonder if Rory McIlroy would get his Green Jacket and a collective cry of “oh, no!” probably echoed around the world as he dumped a wedge into Rae’s Creek at the 13th in the final round of The Masters and duly ran up a double-bogey 7. The Northern Irishman wasn’t going to be denied on this occasion, though, and the raw emotion that came spilling out after he’d beaten Justin Rose in a play-off said it all about what winning at Augusta National meant to him and becoming just the sixth player to complete a career grand slam. He also created another memorable moment when making an eagle at the last hole at The K Club to force a play-off then went on to win the Amgen Irish Open before seeing his year get the reward it deserved when becoming the first golfer in 36 years to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Sportsmanship at its best

Bob MacIntyre is hoping he’ll become a major winner one day and the Scot will certainly have been encouraged by finishing runner-up in this year’s US Open at Oakmont. After posting a clubhouse target of one over in difficult conditions for the final round, it looked as though the Oban man might have seen his dream come true on this occasion before J J Spaun finished birdie-birdie. It was a touch of class as MacIntyre reacted to the American holing an outrageous putt across the last green by applauding as he watched on TV and, mouthing to himself, said: “Wow!” Yes, he might swear a lot on the golf course, but no wonder he received worldwide acclaim for this lovely gesture.

Main man Shane

What looked set to be a straightforward final day in the 45th Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York turned into a nail-biting affair from a European perspective, leading to an early piece written by this correspondent about how the match had effectively been won on the opening two days being dispensed with an hour from the print deadline. Thankfully, though, Shane Lowry is made of stern stuff, with the Irishman coming to his side’s rescue as the Americans threatened to pull off a remarkable fightback on Long Island. Lowry reeled off five 3s to finish, culminating in a crucial birdie putt on the 18th, to secure the half point that retained the trophy for Luke Donald’s team and, hilariously, his celebration was like a scene from a Benny Hill sketch.

Syme’s time

Of the four Scottish title triumphs on the DP World Tour in 2025, the one that pleased so many people was seeing Connor Syme make his big breakthrough after producing a polished performance to land the KLM Open. The victory, which came in Syme’s 182nd appearance on the circuit, came a few months after he’d created one of the best images of the year as he ran on to the green to congratulate compatriot Calum Hill following his victory in the Joburg Open and gave him a huge hug. It left me writing a column about how it was time for a golfing God to do his bit and, thankfully, he listened on this occasion.

By letter of Law

James Morrison winning the HotelPlanner Tour’s Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A in Mallorca with his son Finley on the bag to regain a DP World Tour card when he was on the brink of walking away from the game was a truly brilliant moment to witness in the flesh. As was seeing David Law, a close friend of Morrison, taking Finley over to take the flag off the pole, as is customary, on the 18th green at Club de Golf Alcanada in Port d’Alcudia. All in all, it was a wonderful week to be part of as Law also regained his seat at the top table and was joined in graduating by fellow Scots Daniel Young and Euan Walker. The latter finally made the step up after three agonising season-endings at the same venue, where he’d been followed every step of the way by his mum and dad, Rona and Eric. No stressful week for them in the Balearics in 2026.

Amateur dramatics

It had been quite a while since I walked all the way round watching a Scottish Amateur Championship final and I picked a good one this year. For starters, the weather at Gullane was glorious and there are few better places in the world to be than the seventh tee on No 1 when the sun is shining. The title decider was between Archie Finnie, a rising star who plays his golf at Royal Burgess, and Chris Somers, a Murcar Links member. Producing what had to be the best tee shot in his life, Somers set up a hole-winning birdie at the 390-yard par-4 17th by knocking his driver just off the back edge to square the match before getting his nose in front when it mattered most by holing a ten-footer for another birdie at the par-4 closing hole. Terrific stuff and, seeing what it meant to Somers in particular but also those there to cheer him on in East Lothian, it would be nice if being the Scottish champion became a bit more desirable again.