The Collapse and the Crown: Auston Sorg Wins the 2025 DGA Tour Championship

Presented by Haywood Golf

Golf is cruel. That much is certain. And at Virtues Golf Club — Ohio’s finest public course and the toughest test the DGA Tour has ever faced — it was Auston Sorg, not Jack Spence, who survived the cruelty to lift the 2025 DGA Tour Championship trophy.

This was no ordinary finale. It was a Greek tragedy, a comeback story, and a comedy of errors rolled into one unforgettable afternoon.

The Stage

The setting was flawless: crisp air, blue skies, and the rolling terrain of Virtues in all its punishing glory. Beautiful weather disguised a course that proved to be the league’s great equalizer, forcing the best players in the DGA into mistakes they hadn’t made all season.

The Opening Act: Spence’s Coronation

For nine holes, it looked inevitable. Jack Spence — the machine, the season-long dominator — was doing exactly what he’d done all year. With 2 birdies, 5 pars, and just 2 bogeys on the front, he turned at +1 gross, -1 net, comfortably in command. Behind him, Sorg was flailing after a disastrous opening double bogey where his chip agonizingly rolled back off the green in slow motion, a scene that felt like destiny slipping away before the round had even begun.

By the turn, Spence led by five shots over Sorg and six over Will Eyman. The gallery, the players, the league — everyone assumed the coronation was on.

But Virtues doesn’t do coronations.

The Collapse

Over the final six holes, Spence authored the greatest collapse in DGA Tour history. A man who hadn’t made a triple bogey all year recorded one on the 16th, and it came wrapped inside a back nine meltdown that featured 3 doubles, 1 triple, and 7 bogeys in total. His back nine score? 49. His net finish? +2, one shot shy of victory.

He called the collapse “equivalent to six mental breakdowns” — an absurd but fittingly raw reaction to a season-ending heartbreak.

The Chase: Sorg’s Redemption

Sorg’s day was a rollercoaster. His card tells the story: 1 birdie, 7 pars, 8 bogeys, 2 doubles. A scoreline that screams “middle of the pack” somehow became the winning formula at Virtues.

The key moment came on the 16th. After doubling the hole, Sorg assumed he was dead. Deflated, he admitted defeat. But Messner — out of contention himself — urged him to stay even-keeled, reminding him that anything was possible at Virtues. Within minutes, the chaos proved him right.

• On 16: Sorg doubled, but Eyman doubled too, and Spence tripled. Suddenly, the door creaked open.

• On 17: Sorg found a steady par. Eyman doubled again, Spence double bogeyed, and just like that, Sorg was tied for the lead.

• On 18: Sorg striped one down the middle, found the green, and lagged to three feet. Then disaster struck — he missed the par putt. A bogey left the door cracked for Spence.

All Spence needed was par to win, bogey to force a playoff. Instead, he spun his chip off the green, left his recovery short, and two-putted from 40 feet for double. The machine broke. The trophy went to Sorg.

The Contenders

• Will Eyman (3rd, Net +3): The eternal gamer. Two birdies kept him in the hunt, but doubles on 16 and 17 ended his chances. Virtues giveth, Virtues taketh.

• Kyler Messner (4th, Net +6): Striping it off the tee, sharp with approaches, but the putter was ice cold. His 1 birdie, 5 pars, 9 bogeys line says it all. A season-long rival to Spence, undone by the flatstick.

• Trevor Monk (5th, Net +7): The defending champ never found his rhythm. After a par on 1, he gave it back with a triple on 2 and never recovered. Ended with 1 birdie, 6 pars, 5 bogeys, 3 doubles, 3 triples. His season deserved better.

• Dylan Sharp (6th, Net +24): Catastrophe incarnate. A 108, featuring no birdies, four-putts, quads, and a six-hole stretch where he lost a ball every hole. His range, as always, is his best weapon — from 85 in the playoffs to 108 in the finale. A comedy so dark it almost became art.

The Final Standings

1. Auston Sorg (-10) – Net +1 | Gross 83

2. Jack Spence (-12) – Net +2 | Gross 86

3. Will Eyman (-12) – Net +3 | Gross 87

4. Kyler Messner (-10) – Net +6 | Gross 88

5. Trevor Monk (-12) – Net +7 | Gross 91

6. Dylan Sharp (-12) – Net +24 | Gross 108DNP: Shea McGuire, Mike McGuire, Harry Gilmore, Gianni Young

Legacy of Virtues

This wasn’t just another tournament. This was a season-defining, league-shaping moment. Auston Sorg, so often labeled the Fleetwood of the DGA, finally shook the burden — proving that being “always in the mix” can, on the right day, end with the trophy.

For Jack Spence, it was a cruel reminder that golf is merciless. A season of dominance ended not with celebration, but with collapse. For the league, it was everything the DGA embodies: brilliance, disaster, heartbreak, and laughter, all wrapped into one unforgettable round.

The 2025 DGA Tour ends not with the machine, but with the underdog. Not with the favorite, but with the fighter. And for Auston Sorg, his second career win will forever stand taller than the first — because it came on the biggest stage the DGA Tour has ever seen.

The Champion of Virtues. The Champion of the DGA.

Auston Sorg.