Power Cut

On the 72nd hole of the Tulum Championship at Riviera Maya on the Korn Ferry Tour, 30-year-old Stuart Macdonald was one shot behind Bryson Nimmer, hitting his third shot on the par-4 from 100 yards out. His tee shot found trouble, and after pitching out to the fairway, he now had to hole-out to force a playoff. 

A tour pro has about a 4% chance of hitting a 100 yard shot inside of three feet. A hole-out to force a playoff? – A moonshot. Macdonald wasn’t thinking about the odds though. Just by getting into this position he had already beaten them. 

On Monday of tournament week, Macdonald was holding his bloody foot in a dark room. There were blood smears on the tile floor behind him worthy of a horror film. Macdonald was walking down the stairs in his rental home when the power went out. His heel caught the edge of a step and was sliced wide open. The next day, Macdonald practiced shoeless on the driving range. 

The Canadian nearly earned his PGA Tour card in 2021, and in recent seasons dominated the mini tour circuit, picking up wins on the Asher Tour, Canadian Tour, and Americas Tour. Last year, he Monday qualified for the PGA Tour’s Mexico Open, where he finished T-24. 

At the end of the 2024 Americas Tour season, Macdonald finished 11th on the points list when the top-10 earned status on KFT. A disappointing performance at Second Stage of Q school ended his season early. Macdonald was a new father, wrestling with the demands of a growing family and life on the road.

“I had the devil on one shoulder, saying after a couple years of being close to getting back full Korn Ferry status, telling me maybe call it quits,” Macdonald said at the beginning of 2025, in an interview with Monday Q Info’s Ryan French. “Maybe it would be easier to find something else to do. I’ve got a kid, got another one coming. And the (other voice on his shoulder) is saying hey, you’re playing good, you’ve been close. The game’s there. Keep on going.”

Macdonald’s best finish in a KFT event was a T3 in 2021, a season where he had four top-10s in a stretch of five events. He’s been trying to find his way back to that level ever since.

“I’ve won a lot of mini tour events,” Macdonald said. “Won a couple times in Canada the last couple years. Those are the highs of the highs. The end goal is graduating to the Korn Ferry Tour or the PGA Tour, and that hasn’t happened, which makes it tough emotionally.” 

Fredrik Kjettrup, the 25-year-old Danish pro, finished second on the 2024 Americas Tour points list. Before the start of the 2025 season, Kjettrup signed with LIV Golf, bumping Macdonald into the top-10 of the Americas Tour points list. The lucky break gave Macdonald KFT status, and made the decision about his future much easier.

“Obviously, a huge break with Freddie going to LIV,’ Macdonald said. “It’s been an up and down roller coaster emotionally.” 

Macdonald arrived in Tulum having made six of nine cuts this season on KFT, but his game had abandoned him on Sundays. His best finish of the season was a T-56 and he was 138 on the KFT points list. He had good memories from a successful weekend at last year’s Mexico Open, but when the power went out in his rental home on Monday, and his heel caught the sharp edge of the stairs, Macdonald wasn’t sure he’d even tee it up on Thursday.

Maybe his bare feet on the driving range grass connected him intimately with the ground and the dirt. Maybe it helped Macdonald swing within himself. Maybe the heel injury lowered his expectations and he was just happy to be playing. (Beware of the injured golfer.) Whatever the reason, he played steadily in the opening round, tied for the second-lowest score of the day in Round 2 with a five-under 67, and closed the third round under par. He entered the final round three shots behind Notre Dame alumnus and tournament leader, Davis Chatfield. 

With eight holes to go on Sunday, Macdonald was three-under for the day and held the lead. A double bogey derailed his round, but he managed to remain within striking distance after a birdie two holes later. After an errant tee shot on 18 and a pitch back to the fairway, Macdonald was one shot back and faced a must-make situation from 100 yards to force a playoff.

When leader-in-the-clubhouse and conditional KFT member, Bryson Nimmer, heard the roar from Macdonald’s shot, he assumed the worst: that Macdonald holed out for eagle to beat him. The heroic shot had been for birdie however, and Nimmer gave Macdonald a high-five as Macdonald entered the clubhouse. 

The competitors returned to the 18th hole for a playoff and both made par. Macdonald’s magic in Mexico ended with a bogey on the second playoff hole. 28-year-old Nimmer was the champion. The win added $180,000 to the former Clemson star’s bank account and launched him 147 spots up the KFT points list to 16. 

For his grit and determination, Macdonald’s best-ever finish moves him 110 places up the points list to 28th. Undoubtedly, the playoff loss will sting more than his heel. With time, both cuts will heal, and this week will propel Macdonald to new heights. 

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