How are Northwestern golf alums faring in the pros?
Around this time last year, Inside NU recapped the success of Northwestern alums in the professional golf world. So what’s changed 13 months later? Let’s take a look.
Matt Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick — a major champion after the 2022 U.S. Open — is still highly relevant on the PGA Tour today. The 30-year-old has one top-ten finish in 2025, having finished T8 at the PGA Championship and briefly flirting with the top of the leaderboard before Scottie Scheffler’s runaway finish.
The Englishman also made the cut at the Masters and the U.S. Open, marking five straight major cuts made dating back to last year. He enjoyed top-five finishes at the Players and the Memorial in 2024, two of the most prestigious non-major events. Currently, Fitzpatrick ranks No. 78 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and he has taken home nearly $1.5 million in official winnings during 2025.
Luke Donald
Donald is in the twilight of his career as a regular PGA Tour player. Nonetheless, he has played in four events in 2025, notably making the cut at the PGA Championship for a second straight year. He has finished top-eight in all four major championships during a highly successful career, but remains one of the better players on Tour without a major title.
Additionally, Donald is set to be Europe’s Ryder Cup captain as the Europeans take on the Americans at the famed Bethpage Black Course in New York. Donald will select six players alongside six automatic points qualifiers to round out a 12-man team. Inherently, the process will require some tough decisions, as Europe seeks to retain the Cup after winning in 2023.
As of now, Europe’s automatic qualifiers would be Rory McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Sepp Straka and Rasmus Højgaard. The next-highest players in the Ryder Cup standings are Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Åberg, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland, Thomas Detry and Matt Wallace.
Donald’s selections will likely look similar to the latter list of six. However, he’s almost sure to pass over at least one of them in favor of Jon Rahm, the LIV Golf phenom who ranks 17th in points but offers plenty of firepower and top-line experience to the squad. Regardless of his choices, captaincy itself will be a big challenge for Donald, who will need to stave off Scheffler and the rest of the Americans at their home course in September.
David Lipsky
Lipsky has competed on several different tours in his career, and he’s been a regular on the PGA Tour this season, playing in 17 events so far in 2025. His best finish was a T4 at the Zurich Classic, where he paired up with fellow Northwestern graduate Dylan Wu in a four-round team event featuring both four-ball and alternate shot formats. Last year, Lipsky had four top-10 finishes, most notably placing second at the Procore Championship.
In other events, Lipsky has made five cuts so far this season. In the past, he’s made cuts at both the PGA Championship (finishing T71 in 2019) and the Open Championship (ending up at T58 in 2015). Having accumulated over $330,000 in official money this year, the 36-year-old has shown no signs of slowing down just yet.
Dylan Wu
Wu has played in just nine PGA Tour events this year, but has accumulated nearly $400,000 in winnings, making six cuts and teaming up with Lipsky for the top-five team finish in New Orleans. Last year, he came through in multiple big tournaments, finishing T19 at the Players and T10 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Wu’s best major finish was a T31 at the 2021 U.S. Open.
David Nyfjäll
Nyfjäll has yet to make a cut in two PGA Tour appearances, and he hasn’t played on the Tour yet in 2025. The Sweden native appeared in the 2023 U.S. Open, missing the cut by five shots but outplaying a number of well-respected players on Tour.
Lauryn Nguyen
It’s possible Nguyen ends up forging an NU-to-LPGA pipeline, as the Wildcats’ graduating star expressed her intention to turn pro following a miraculous national championship victory. She ended her season ranked No. 30 nationally among women’s golfers. However, Nguyen did boost her professional stock with a clutch victory against No. 8 Paula Martín Sampedro in the national title against Stanford.
Making the LPGA right away could be a long shot for Nguyen, but she may get noticed quickly if she can make a name for herself on an overseas tour. Regardless, her impact as both a player and a leader for Northwestern’s women’s golf team is undeniable. If Nguyen can string together a few good events over the summer, the possibilities could be endless.