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Tour Mash: McIlroy returns to top spot, wins Deutsche Bank

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Nearly every major tour went to work last week, so there’s much to mash. The Web.com took a week off before beginning its four-week playoff run, but the PGA Tour was locked in the second week of its playoff stretch battle. Tournaments in Canada, China, more Canada, Nicaragua and even more Canada kept our eyes glued to screens. Buckle in, let’s get mashing.

McIlroy wins by two at Deutsche Bank Classic

It’s funny how those who have been written off frequently return to muddy the waters and disrupt the proceedings. Rory McIlroy, yesterday’s wunderkind, returned to professional golf stardom in an apparent way, winning the second leg of the FedExCup series by two strokes over third-round leader Paul Casey. Casey was poised to script a comeback story of his own, but the simultaneity of his poor start and McIlroy’s explosive front nine proved to be too much to overcome.

Related: McIlroy’s Winning WITB

The tournament within the event was the stripping-down from 100 to 70 golfers for next week’s leg of the playoffs, the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Indiana. The year’s most improbable winner (Billy Hurley III) played well enough to move on. On the flip side, Martin Laird, Chez Reavie, Jerry Kelly, Ricky Barnes, Johnson Wagner and Colt Knost fell out of the top-70 and saw their seasons come to an end.

European Tour: Omega European Masters to Noren in playoff

https://twitter.com/EuropeanTour/status/772600223197605888

Alex Noren of Sweden and Scott Hend of Australia did battle all week in the mountains of Switzerland. Fittingly, the two tied atop the standings at the Omega Masters after 72 holes. Their margin was three strokes over beefy sensation Andrew Johnston of England, with a resurgent Lee Westwood another two back in 4th.

Hend signed for a marvelous 66 on Day 4, but Noren chased him down with a 65 of his own. The playoff ended swiftly, with Noren draining a lengthy putt for birdie on the first extra hole to dispatch the long-hitting Aussie. With the victory, Noren ascended to the 8th spot on the Race To Dubai chart and a top-30 post in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Masson by one at LPGA Tour’s Manulife Classic

Caroline Masson of Belgium made just six pars in Sunday’s final round of the Manulife Classic. She began her round with a double bogey and added two more bogeys along the way. As for the other nine holes, well, they were birdies and the anything-but-ho-hum 67 moved her to 16-under and was enough to stave off Karine Icher, Minjee Lee and Mi Hyang Lee by one for her first career LPGA Tour victory.

Prior to Sunday, Masson’s best finish was a runner-up at the 2014 Blue Bay LPGA, along with a 2012 win on the Ladies European Tour. Her inaugural win came anything but easy on Sunday in Cambridge, Ontario. Icher (France) made eight birdies of her own, including a closing flurry of four over the final five holes. Minjee Lee (Australia) lit the front nine, with four birds in an outward 32. Nine pars on the inward half had to leave her frustrated, wondering what might have been. Mi Hyang Lee (Korea), the overnight leader, also began slowly (bogey-bogey), but added an eagle and three birdies. A back-nine double bogey was too much to overcome for the one-time, LPGA Tour winner.

Franco claims Shaw Charity for 1st Champions Tour win

Carlos Franco had to feel a bit at home in the the open country of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The cowboy culture is reminiscent of the Pampas of his native Paraguay, so it was fitting that the 4-time PGA Tour champion made the Shaw Charity classic his first PGA Tour Champions victory. In the mix, as always, was Bernhard Langer, and Michael Allen came along to add to the challenge. Both Langer and Allen finished two back of the winner at 16-under par.

Franco’s regular-tour fame was long drives and birdie runs, and both of those assets showed up on Sunday in Western Canada. Eight birdies against one bogey brought him to 63 on the day and 18-under for the week. Allen could not get the closing birdie he needed to put pressure on the eventual winner, while Langer closed with a rush, posting three birdies and an eagle on the second nine for 30 strokes.

The Rest of the Best

Augusto Núñez of Argentina captured his first PGA Tour Latinoamerica win at the Flor de Caña Open in Guacalito de la Isla, Nicaragua. The 23-year-old posted a 25-under 259 to win by one stroke over countryman Puma Dominguez and Eric Steiger of the U.S. The victory moved Núñez to the top of the tour’s Order of Merit.

Zecheng Dou secured his fourth PGA Tour China victory of 2016, winning the Yunnan Open by 3 shots over Charlie Saxon of the U.S. Dou finished four rounds at 23-under, including a lightning-interrupted 67 in Round 4, his highest score of the week. Saxon gave honorable chase, closing with a 67 of his own, but could not close the gap. Three back of Saxon, in third, was Japan’s Shotaro Wada.

Dan McCarthy rebounded properly from two consecutive missed cuts on PGA Tour Canada with his fourth victory of the 2016 campaign. His Sunday 68 for 18-under 270 created a three-stroke margin of victory over runner-up Michael Schoolcraft, also of the U.S. Three golfers tied for third at 14-under. McCarthy’s win gives him a massive lead in the season-long order of merit and assures him of a coveted, top-5 hockey sweater and a card for the 2017 Web.com Tour.

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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.

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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.

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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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