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Tour Mash: Dufner, Fowler Return to winner’s circle

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Six of the last seven PGA Tour events held in Palm Springs have gone to a playoff. Play the tournament at five rounds or four, odds have been that regulation holes won’t be sufficient to determine a champion.

David Lingmerth looked like a winner all day on Sunday, following a Saturday 62 with a bogey-free 65. Jason Dufner had the visage of a man battling an extended run of tournaments without victory, and with two holes to play the duo was tied.

For Dufner, all appeared lost when his tee ball on “Alcatraz,” the island-green 17th, found the rocky hazard behind the green. Given a miraculous reprieve with room for a stance and swing, Dufner nearly made a remarkable birdie.

Somehow the ball stayed out, Dufner parred No. 18 and the two men went to extra holes. After pars sawed off the first go-round, Lingmerth made his only mistake on the day, caroming his approach off the rocks, into the water guarding the 18th. Dufner stayed dry, made par, and cinched victory number four on the PGA Tour.

Related: See what clubs Dufner used to win

Duffy wins Mitsubishi

Duffy Waldorf doesn’t wear a gunslinger’s hat, but his grey ball cap is much more intimidating than the Hawaiian-themed ones he used to sport. Over the final three holes at Hualalai, Waldorf stared down leader Tom Lehman in an old-fashioned shoot-out and came out on top at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship.

One stroke in arrears with three to play, the Californian knocked in a 10-foot birdie putt to tie Lehman for the top spot. On No. 18, with Lehman much closer, Waldorf’s putter again came through as his 24-footer went drano for the lead. Lehman made a run at the tie, but left his roll two inches shy, dead in the heart. The win was Waldorf’s second on the Champions Tour.

Fowler More Than A Snappy Dresser In Abu Dhabi

Pre-tournament attention on Thursday’s marquee trio was divided equally among Jordan Spieth (the man who would be king) and Rory McIlroy (the man who would be king again.) As for Rickie Fowler, attention was limited to his pants (elastic-ankled joggers) and shoes (high top baller’s variety.) By week’s end, Fowler was holding the winner’s falcon-topped trophy, re-established as one of the game’s powerful young contenders to the throne of world’s best golfer.

After a double-bogey on No. 7 brought him back to the field on Sunday, Fowler holed a long bunker shot for eagle on the next hole, signaling that he would not go quietly.

McIlroy and Thomas Pieters gave the man in orange all he could handle, though. McIlroy finished with an eagle to cap a 31 on Sunday’s inward nine, falling two strokes shy of a playoff. For Pieters, the finale was even more agonizing: a long eagle putt staggered ever-so-close to the cylinder, but would not drop.

Fowler’s routine par established his one-stroke, winning margin.

Related: See what clubs Fowler used to win. 

Olympics Course Test Event

What if they held an Olympics test event and no one came? What if that test event was a necessary part of the IOC protocol, to legitimize a sport? What if that sport was making its return to the games after a 100 year-plus absence and wanted to make a solid first impression? If you’re confused, it’s golf!

The golf course in Rio has been mired in environmental and ownership red tape since, well, forever. Delays in building the course resulted, and a test event that was originally scheduled for November of 2015 has been pushed to March of 2016… except everyone’s dance card is apparently filled.

So why a test tournament? First off, it’s an Olympic Games requirement. Sports venues must be submitted to a preliminary event with elite competitors, in order to troubleshoot potential sticking points. Second, with a brand-new course that has hardly had time to grow in, much less settle, the chance for complaints is high.

And that’s before anyone dares to whisper that awful four-letter word, Zika, a mosquito-borne disease linked to severe birth defects that has caused growing concern in Brazil and abroad.

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Ronald Montesano

    Jan 25, 2016 at 2:02 pm

    How’s that, Bubba? You can connect Gates with Zika?

    • john

      Jan 27, 2016 at 1:28 am

      not really the website for it, but Oxitec is an organsation modifying mosquitoes to REMOVE their disease carrying abilities and in other cases to have their offspring only produce males (thus eradicating the problem) – have you tried a fedora styled tin-foil hat at all? i heard they’re amazing

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

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GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.

Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.

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WITB Albums

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See what GolfWRXers are saying about our photos from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in the forums.

 

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Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

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GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.

We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.

We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.

Check out links to all our photos, below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

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See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

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Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open

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GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.

The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.

GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.

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