Eveliina has now won 3 of the last 6 majors.
June 26, 2025 by Kingsley Flett in Analysis, Recap
Eveliina Salonen left it to the last hole to take down the second major of the season by one stroke over Hailey King and Cadence Burge in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, this past weekend. Here are what I saw as the top 10 storylines.
1. The Band is Back Together
The positioning of the biggest tournament outside of the Worlds in June gives the FPO season a different shape to MPO. Up to this point, it’s felt like only part of the full cast of characters was assembled. Majors apart, some main players have been following slightly different path, with contenders like Kristin Lätt, Eveliina Salonen, and Henna Blomroos spending May and June in Europe. It felt like the band was fully back together for the USWDGC, though.
2. Eveliina Takes Center Stage
Vying for position of bandleader is Eveliina Salonen, who, as the reigning World Champion, seems to be settling into her place in the top 5 in the world. It could be because of the ‘damn the torpedos’ way that she plays, the high drama that seems to follow her, or the infectious sense of fun that she exudes: whatever the reason, Eveliina’s absence was noted – she was missed.
“I took a little break from tournaments. I feel like the season is getting so long. So I need one little break for my mental health,” Salonen said in the pre-tournament interviews.
3. Some Luck Required
Rollin Ridge and Silver Creek both presented unique challenges to the bulk of the 330 strong field (some of the junior and higher age protected divisions played halfway in between the two courses at Lower Cato Falls). At Rollin Ridge, it was the tight fairways with some swirling wind thrown in; at Silver Creek, it was the wind streaming in off Lake Michigan.
Eveliina didn’t pull any punches about Rollin Ridge. “I feel there’s too many trees,” said Salonen before the tournament. “With most of the holes, my game plan is to close my eyes, drive as hard as I can, and just hope. With some of the holes, there is too much luck in play, and you just have to hope to get in a good place.”
It was a sentiment shared by Kristin Lätt, who said, “There are a lot of greens that are a little sketchy and super tough in my opinion. There are a lot of trees. I feel like you have to have some luck.”
4. Fireworks from the Finns
Eveliina’s game plan seemed to work in the fist round as she led the field with a provisional 1020-rated 8-under-par 59 that included an ace on the 276 foot hole 16. Salonen dropped two places in round two, behind Henna Blomroos and Hailey King. The slide wasn’t so much due to Eveliina’s luck running out off the tee, though. Salonen still hit 70% of fairways (compared to round one’s 90%); she missed a few more putts, though, only hitting 67% from C1x as opposed to 86% the day before.
The two Finns, Eveliina and Henna, certainly bring the entertainment. Watching them commit to their drives and fully send it down the crowded, skinny fairways is a thrill a minute. But just wait until they get to the green: unless they are close to bullseye, there’s always the sense that anything can happen.
5. Depite the Putting, the Finns are Dangerous
Henna Blomroos has worked on her putting stroke in the offseason, unpacking it and putting it back together again. She appeared to have a deeper crouch and a stronger base as she adjusted to a spin putt after taking a break from tour to get married and go on . While she was still only putting at 50% inside the circle, there were none of the disastrous three (and more) putts that have haunted her in the past. In Henna’s last tournament, she was 33% from C1X, had a three putt on hole 3, and fired a four putt on hole four in round two. Her putting was still not great, just not as brutal as it has been, and it was enough to put her in contention.
Blomroos held her one stroke round two lead on round three at Silver Creek. ”I finally felt like me on my upshots,” she said, before her timing off the tee deserted her and she tumbled to 9th place at the end after a 4-over-par last round that included two OB penalties and plenty of scrambling.
The wind on the final two rounds at Silver Creek wreaked havoc with most players’ putting strokes, so it’s hard to draw a clear line through them, but one gets the sense that both of the Finns are going to be hard to beat in the coming weeks if they make their putting merely decent.
6. Now We Have an FPO Pack, Too
In past years, it’s been common to see a pack of 10+ MPO players still in contention right up until the final holes in most tour events, while FPO tournaments have more commonly played out as a battle between two contenders: Paige v Catrina, Kristin v Paige, Kristin v Missy, and so on. Not anymore.
The rise of young talent like Cadence Burge and Emily Weatherman along with the influx of Europeans is starting to make it very crowded at the top of the leaderboard come the pointy end of tournaments. Going into Championship Sunday, this past weekend, we had 13 players within six strokes of the lead and with the way the wind was blowing the putts around, six stroke swings over a few holes was quite plausible. The lead card did their best to keep the door open for the chasers, too.
Hailey King looked like she might pull off the win on one of her home courses, despite tweaking her back during round three. “On the lighthouse hole when I was in the junk, I had to stretch pretty far and I heard a loud pop and felt pains down to my feet,” she said. “I’m pretty sure it’s the sciatic nerve. I’ll play regardless. I have the next month off, so I’ll finish.”
King and her trainer worked some magic overnight, and she was able to play with most of her freedom of movement intact for the final round. In a three way duel between King and Salonen on the lead card, with Burge on the chase card, King seemed to have the edge early, before bogeys on holes 5 and 6 and then a dry spell between 12 and 15, letting Salonen back into a share of the lead.
In a final two holes that held no real treachery, it was clear that the tournament would be decided by one great shot or one bad shot. It was King who served up the latter. After leaving her drive a little short on the par five 18th and seeing Salonen drive to perfect position, King attempted a high downhill flex shot in what may have been a bid for the eagle. It flew straight out of bounds, leaving Salonen a layup, pitch up, and tap-in for the win. The bogey from King dropped her to a share of second with Burge.
7. Quotes After the Battle
“I didn’t remember how fun the battle under pressure can be,” said Salonen. “I stayed patient and waited for opportunities to get strokes. I was texting my friends when I was flying here because I was watching The Preserve live, and I was not sure I can win anymore. The FPO level is rising all the time, and they were playing so well at The Preserve and so I didn’t see that I could play that well myself. So to win means a lot.”
“If I would have made any putt this week, I wouldn’t have to wait to the last hole,” said King. “I just didn’t really get comfortable. Teeing off at 9 in round one and then 3 the next day was a big difference. My back wasn’t the best. I was glad to be able to get through and not damage it further.”
8. The Burge Surge
Cadence Burge was the leader in the clubhouse at one point and was one more major slipup by the leaders away from a playoff or even the win from the chase card. The young Alabaman continues to impress with her solid range of shots, consistent putting, and fighting spirit. It’s clear that Cadence demands a lot of herself on the course and, after a host of podium finishes in big events this year, that she is sticking around.
9. A Dramatic Finish in FP40
Two of the most vibrant characters in FPO in the last decade, Jenifer Allen and Holly Finley, had a titanic battle in FP40. Finley took a six stroke lead into the final round only to see Allen erase the lead with one hole to play. Both players birdied hole 18, then did so again in the first round of the playoff, before Finley missed her birdie putt on the third attempt on the hole, handing Allen the win.
10. A Dominant Junior
Sarah Wadsworth, all the way from Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand, averaged 890 rated golf in the FJ10’s to win by 58 strokes over Georgia’s Keely Bain. Sarah’s goal is to be the youngest ever FPO player on the DGPT. Best we all remember her name.
Next stop: Norway. See you all in Langevåg.
