This week's winners and losers from the golf world

There were of plenty of storylines this week on the links. Justin Thomas capped off a great season, Lucas Bjerregaard captured his first European Tour title, one Georgia Bulldog had an epic Saturday, and a PGA Tour winner offered support to athletes kneeling during the national anthem.

Here are this week's winners and losers from the golf world:

Winners:

Justin Thomas

• Five PGA Tour wins in 2016-17
• Won first career FedEx Cup title Sunday at East Lake
• Took home the $10-million playoff bonus
• Secured the PGA Tour Player of the Year award

Enough said.

Peter Malnati

The PGA Tour pro isn't exactly a household name (though he did win the Sanderson Farms Championship in 2015), but he was the first player to offer his opinion on the recent controversy surrounding professional athletes protesting the national anthem. Malnati tweeted a long note Sunday morning responding to President Donald Trump's comments calling for NFL players who protest the anthem to be fired.

"The messages of the current administration make it painfully clear that greed, hubris, and power are their 'American values,'" wrote Malnati. "... As for me, I stand for freedom. I stand for 'justice, for all.' I stand for equality, for empathy, and for compassion. I kneel to hubris and greed. Therefore, I take a knee for the flag that represents this administration. Not because I don't love this country, but because I do."

Lucas Bjerregaard

The Dane, who came into the Portugal Masters trying to retain his tour card, claimed his first European Tour victory Sunday. Bjerregaard closed with a final-round 65 to finish at 20-under par for the week, beating Marc Warren of Scotland by four shots. "It's definitely not been the year I've been looking for," the 26-year-old told europeantour.com. "To be in contention again felt really good, and to come out on top feels even better."

Kevin Kisner's Saturday

With the Tour Championship staged in Atlanta, the Georgia alum needed a little help to go watch the Bulldogs face Mississippi State on Saturday night at Sanford Stadium.

After receiving some assistance from Justin Thomas and a third-round 64, Kisner was airborne in a helicopter en route to Athens, Ga., where he watched Georgia blow out the Bulldogs 31-3 from the sidelines.

Losers:

Jason Dufner's pants

The 2013 PGA champion suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction Friday at the Tour Championship. While he was retrieving his ball from the cup at the par-4 16th hole at East Lake, Dufner's pants split.

The 40-year-old would play the final two holes in 1-over, and signed for a round of 67.

Matthew Southgate

The Englishman was on his way to earning his PGA Tour card Sunday at the Web.com Tour's DAP Championship. Then calamity ensued. Southgate faced a par attempt on the par-4 15th hole at Canterbury Golf Club, but his putt struck a leaf, moving his ball offline. Southgate would tap in for bogey, but was later slapped with a three-stroke penalty under Rule 19-1 when he failed to replace the ball and redo the putt after it hit the leaf. The 28-year-old went 8-over par on the final four holes to post a 79, and now has one more event in which to try to earn PGA Tour status.