LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – William Mouw’s year started with a viral video no golfer wants — an octuple-bogey 13, courtesy of an 18-foot bunker at La Quinta Country Club that swallowed his ball, his wedge, and could’ve swallowed what was left of his dignity.
By sunrise, a half-million people had watched him ping-pong between sand traps on the par-5 16th — up the slope, back down, rinse, repeat. A lot of guys wouldn’t come back from that. Mouw came back the next day, shot a 67, and laughed the whole thing off.
Now, they’ll remember him for something else entirely — his first PGA Tour win.
On Sunday, the 24-year-old rookie fired a course-record 61 to blow past the field and take the ISCO Championship at Hurstbourne Country Club.
He grew up in Chino Hills, California, where his parents run an egg farm. Maybe that explains his approach to golf: crack it, scramble it, serve it hot.
Either way, on Sunday, he proved to be one tough egg.
He didn’t see a leaderboard until the back nine — and even then, just a glance. Said he was trying to break the course record, like he does back home.
Back home? Most people are just trying to break 80.
Here? He broke hearts. Broke expectations. Broke through.
And along the way, broke the record for the best final round in the tournament’s history.
He shot 67 on Thursday, then struggled at times in a second-round 73, slipping into the weekend one shot ahead of the cut line. His third-round 69 left him seven strokes back heading into the weather-delayed final round.
William Mouw is greeted by fans after shooting a course record 61 at Hurstbourne Country Club on his way to winning the ISCO Championship.
ERIC CRAWFORD
That’s when his game went sunny side up. Mouw didn’t stumble into the lead. He stole it.
Birdied his first three holes, then 7 and 8. When he birdied 10 and 11, he admitted, “I was thinking 59 a little bit.” He missed a putt on 16, bounced back with a birdie.
He came to the 18th hole like a man who knew the steakhouse was still open. But came up just short on a final birdie.
And the best part? He didn’t even know he set the course record.
“I was just trying to play good golf,” he said.
Yeah, and Secretariat was just trying to jog. (Hey, we are in Kentucky.)
This wasn’t some fluke. The kid flushed it.
It’s not like the rest of the leaderboard wasn’t trying. Paul Peterson, who led going into the final round, had a chance on 17 and just missed. Had a chance to force a playoff on No. 18 but his tee shot went right and he left himself too tough a putt in the end.
“I really wanted to play a clean weekend,” Mouw said.
Clean? His final round was straighter than a Baptist sermon, cooler than a mint julep in the Hurstbourne clubhouse. Which, incidentally, is where they wound up giving him the trophy, with storms threatening outside.
Doesn’t matter where they handed it to him, he was taking it. A guy with just over $1 million in career earnings on all tours cashes a $720,000 check. He gets a two-year Tour exemption and a trip to the 2026 PGA Championship, which is nice. But the real prize is the feeling — the walk from the scorer’s tent to the clubhouse, knowing you just took a tournament by the throat and didn’t let go.
You only get one first win. Mouw made his a story — a redemption arc, a track meet, and a highlight reel all at once.
Let’s recap: missed cuts, viral blow-ups, a 13 on a hole that didn’t have alligators or windmills — and now this. The best round of his life. The best finish of the week.
And finally, an answer to the question:
“Who the hell is William Mouw?”
They know now. He’s the son of the Chino Hills egg farmer who taught himself how to juggle golf balls on YouTube, then started juggling eggs. The guy who taught himself how to ride a unicycle in junior high. The guy with a baby on the way in a couple of months and whose wife, Hannah, didn’t want to crowd in on the trophy presentation because she didn’t want to get in the way of photographers.
And he’s the guy who built a snowman on No. 16 at La Quinta then laughed at it and came back like a champion. Now, at Hurstbourne, he won the trophy to prove it.
More Coverage:
Peterson overtakes Kim in ISCO Championship as darkness halts Round 3
Louisville may have found its long-lost PGA Tour home at Hurstbourne Country Club
Hurstbourne holds up: Louisville course earns high marks after early rounds of 1st PGA test
NBC’s Kevin Kisner talks a good game, and is playing one at Hurstbourne
Meet the Mystery Man who torched Hurstbourne for a course-record 61
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