Rising Aussie sensation Karl Vilips secured a breakthrough victory in just his fourth start as a PGA Tour member at the Puerto Rico Open.
The 23-year-old, who learned to play golf in Mandurah as a youngster before moving to the States aged 11, set a tournament record of 26-under-par to lead home the field by three strokes.
Leading after three rounds, Vlips overcome a mid-round stutter where he lost the lead to Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen before three consecutive birdies from the 13th put the Aussie back in the driving seat.
He duly closed out victory with a birdie at 18 to claim a career-changing win that earns him a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, as well as invites into this week’s Players’ Championship and May’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
“It’s a dream come true for me and my dad,” Vilips said, paying tribute to his father, Paul, immediately after holing his winning putt.
“It makes me incredibly happy to hoist that trophy on the 18th green. It’s everything that I’ve dreamed of and in the moment, you have to kind of just put all that aside and focus on winning. But I’m sure when I’m back in my hotel I’ll just be smiling and calling my friends.”
Vilips’ meteoric rise has seen him graduate as one of Stanford University’s most-successful golfing products, win on the Korn Ferry Tour and be named as a brand ambassador for Tiger Woods’ Sun Day Red clothing range – all within the last year.
Minjee’s resurgence continues
After a modest year by her standards in 2024, Minjee Lee’s resurgence continued apace with a runner-up finish at the Blue Bay LPGA Tour event in China.
Helped in no short order by a number of outrageous chip-ins during her weekend rounds, Lee finished the week at -11 for the championship, six shots back from runaway winner Rio Takeda of Japan.
Since adopting a broomstick putter in the close season, Lee has made four cuts out of the four on the LPGA Tour so far in 2025, including two top-10 finishes.
At this early stage in the season, Lee is well within the top 10 of the LPGA Tour season rankings as she bids to re-establish herself in the world’s top 10.
Minjee Lee’s confidence on the greens looks to be back since switching to a broomstick putter
