McIlroy wins at Pebble Beach as bold PGA Tour plan delivers immediate results
Rory McIlroy will play fewer golf tournaments on the PGA Tour this calendar year, as the popular Northern Irishman looks to win his first major championship since 2014
Rory McIlroy will play fewer golf tournaments on the PGA Tour this calendar year, as the popular Northern Irishman looks to win his first major championship since 2014Rory McIlroy has won at Pebble Beach (
Image: Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy has won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California to secure his first PGA Tour title of 2025.
McIlroy, 35, produced an electric final round of golf on Sunday (66) to finish on -21 for the tournament, two shots ahead of Shane Lowry in second. The likes of Lucas Glover and Justin Rose (-18), plus Scottie Scheffler (-15), also finished in the top 10.
The victory is McIlroy's 27th on the PGA Tour, with only 20 men achieving more wins on golf's biggest circuit. It also sees the four-time major winner continue his sensational form, having won the DP World Tour Championship in November.
McIlroy's only other tournament since then was last month's Hero Dubai Desert Classic, where he finished in a tie for fourth. The experienced golfer has pledged to play fewer tournaments this year, as he looks to end an 11-year wait for a major championship.
"So the minimums, I still have to play my 15 events on this tour, so I'll make sure I fulfil my minimum here," he said earlier this week. "I played 27 events last year. I think to fulfil both minimums, I need to play around 22, so that's what I'll do. I'll play around 22, so that's five weeks. That's an extra 35 days at home, and that's something that I want to do."
And McIlroy's strategy appears to be working after winning one of the PGA Tour's signature events. The world No. 3 is undoubtedly one of the best players on the planet but struggled to compete with Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele last year.
Scheffler dominated golf in 2024 by winning nine tournaments, including the Players Championship, Masters and Olympics. Schauffele, meanwhile, picked up his first two major titles by winning the PGA Championship and the Open Championship.
McIlroy is still chasing major No. 5 (Image:
Getty Images)McIlroy came agonisingly close to winning golf's other major last year, the US Open, but collapsed during the back end of his final round to hand LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau the title. Yet if McIlroy can continue his good form heading into the Masters in April, there's every chance he could finally end his lengthy wait for a fifth major crown.
McIlroy was asked what it would mean to win this tournament during a chat with CBS reporter Amanda Balionis on Saturday. He replied: "Historically, the West Coast hasn't been that good for me. I haven't played that well over here - I had a top-10 (finish) in the US Open at Pebble but haven't played great around this golf course.
"I don't even know if I've ever won in California, so tomorrow would be big for a lot of reasons... It's exciting to try to get my first win of the season."
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If there was a list of K-drama tropes that have been overused to the point where fans have started to dislike them, main-leads-having-a-past-or-childhood-connection would undoubtedly top that list. Seriously, can two adults not fall in love with each other without having any interactions in their childhood and/or past in general?
So, if you're tired of this trope and want some heart-fluttering romances where the male and female leads didn't know each other before falling in love in the present, you're in for a treat! Here are four K-drama romances with zero childhood or past connections.
Warning: while all of these dramas will make you giggle, some might also have you crying your eyes out—so, beware!
Summer Strike
Summer Strike, based on the webtoon I Don't Feel Like Doing Anything, is a slice-of-life romance revolving around the life of Yeo Reum (Seolhyun), a young woman living in Seoul and working at a publishing house. Her life might not be perfect, but she has a stable job and a boyfriend—until one day, everything goes south. First, she loses her job, then her boyfriend, and finally, tragedy strikes hardest when her beloved mother passes away.
After going through so much pain, Yeo Reum decides to go on a healing journey and moves to a small seaside town for a year, where she plans to do literally nothing and just spend her days idly. There, she meets a math prodigy-turned-librarian, Dae Bum (Yim Si Wan), and the chemistry just flows!
While most K-drama romantic comedies—or rom-coms in general—feature loud and eccentric characters that quickly grab your attention, Summer Strike is a K-drama that takes pride in its main couple being introverts. The male lead is so introverted that he doesn't speak for the entirety of the second episode, where he is first introduced. But even when words fall short, the chemistry between the couple is palpable and heart-fluttering.
Mostly a romantic comedy, Summer Strike also features a half-baked thriller subplot sprinkled throughout the show, which, thankfully, does not disrupt the flow of the story.
Start watching Summer Strike:
[viki-watchnow url=https://www.viki.com/tv/38861c-summer-strike]
Crash Landing on You
Crash Landing on You is one of those K-dramas that opened up the world of K-dramas to a newer audience during the start of the pandemic, so it's often thought of as a drama that everyone has already seen. But if you haven't, it's time to put it on your watch-later list.
The tvN drama begins with one of South Korea's richest heiresses, Yoon Se Ri (Son Ye Jin), paragliding during rough weather. The wind blows so hard that tractors are flying in the air. As she is near the North Korean border, she ends up flying to North Korea and gets stuck in a tree on the other side of the border, unable to get down. The night passes, and the next day, she meets the male lead, a North Korean soldier named Ri Jung Hyuk (Hyun Bin), and falls from the tree and crash lands on him, hence the name. Their story begins there: the soldier agrees to hide her in his house and help her return to South Korea, but somewhere along the way, they both fall in love.
While past connections in K-dramas have been overdone to death, they cannot compete with the star-crossed lovers trope. Nothing can come close to the longing and slow burn of Crash Landing on You, which keeps you on the edge of your seat. The romance between the main leads was so palpable that the actors ended up falling in love and got married in real life.
Because This Is My First Life
Because This Is My First Life is a 2017 K-drama featuring the marriage-of-convenience or contract-marriage trope. The story revolves around Se Hee (Lee Min Ki), an academically gifted man working in tech in his late 30s, with a personality as dry as sandpaper. Unlike most people his age in Seoul, he owns a house of his own, though he has a lot of mortgage to pay off. His plan? Get a housemate and use the rent to pay off the debt. The only problem? He's extremely picky about his tenants. His other quirk? He doesn't want to get married and is tired of his mother trying to set him up with a new girl every week.
On the other side is Ji Ho (Jung So Min), a K-drama writer in her early 30s who hasn't had her big break yet and works as an assistant writer. Though Ji Ho's biggest desire is to be loved, she has never dated anyone. One thing leads to another—Ji Ho loses her job and her place, and she is about to move back in with her dysfunctional family in her hometown, leaving her dream of becoming a writer behind. Before she leaves, Se Hee offers a unique proposal: marry him so he can stop his mother's pestering, and she can live in Seoul at a cheaper rent than the market rate. And she accepts the offer, of course!
Because This Is My First Life is similar to Summer Strike in that both K-dramas feature main couples who are introverts. However, while Yeo Reum and Dae Bum communicate healthily despite their shyness, the main leads in Because This Is My First Life are awkward and don't open up until the final episodes. This lack of communication is frustrating at times and makes viewers want to pull their hair out. However, the trope is used effectively, is entertaining, and makes the ending all the more satisfying.
Start watching Because This Is My First Life:
[viki-watchnow url=https://www.viki.com/tv/35630c-because-this-is-my-first-life]
Twinkling Watermelon
Twinkling Watermelon is the only K-drama on this list that doesn't exclusively belong to the romance or rom-com genre. Although this drama focuses more on family, friendship, and music, the love plot is so heart-fluttering that it's a must-watch!
The story of Twinkling Watermelon begins in 2023 with Eun Gyeol (Ryeoun), a high school student who is also a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults). During the day, Eun Gyeol is a diligent student working hard to get into a medical university as his father Yi Chan (Choi Hyun Wook) wishes. However, by night, he takes to the streets with his electric guitar, busking the night away under the city lights.
When his father discovers his nighttime routine, a major argument ensues, prompting Eun Gyeol to run away from home. In a twist of fate, he is magically transported to the past—a time when his father was a high school student himself. Initially, Eun Gyeol is focused on returning to the future, but he soon realizes that, in this timeline, his father has fallen for another girl and hasn't even met his mother, Chung Ah (Shin Eun Soo). To prevent his existence from vanishing, Eun Gyeol takes on the mission to make his parents fall in love again.
While childhood or past-life connections are overdone in K-dramas, Twinkling Watermelon stands out due to its time-travel element, which introduces a future connection. Some viewers might consider it similar, but even without Eun Gyeol's interference, Chung Ah and Yi Chan had fallen for each other in the original timeline.
What makes their relationship so endearing is Yi Chan's dedication to learning Chung Ah's language from the moment he realizes she is deaf, just so he can communicate with her better. This was long before he fell in love with her—he simply wanted to connect with and understand a friend, who he later grows to love.
Start watching Twinkling Watermelon:
[viki-watchnow url=https://www.viki.com/tv/40131c-twinkling-watermelon]
Hello Soompiers! What is your favorite K-drama romance with no past connections? Let us know in the comments section below!
Javeria is a binge-watching specialist who loves devouring entire K-dramas in one sitting. Good screenwriting, beautiful cinematography, and a lack of cliches are the way to her heart. As a music fanatic, she listens to multiple artists across different genres and stans the self-producing idol group SEVENTEEN. You can talk to her on Instagram @javeriayousufs.
Currently watching:Â Namib, Love Scout, and Motel California.
Looking forward to:Â Reborn and Weak Hero Class 2.
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