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Tour Mash: Thomas goes back to back, Harrington and Minjee grab wins

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It was a thin week on the world’s tours, with just three contested events. That doesn’t mean excitement was absent from professional golf. The European and LPGA events were decided by one stroke, while the shared PGA Tour/Asian Tour event in Malaysia saw a Sunday filled with birdies.

Before we rejoin those tours, plus the PGA Tour Champions and others next week, let’s catch you up on this week’s results with a wee October mash.

Thomas captures second-straight CIMB Classic

Anirban Lahiri wears his confidence well and boldly. He believes that he will win on the PGA Tour sooner, rather than later. He had his chance at the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, but a 9 on the third hole did him in. Playing with the golfer from India in the day’s final group was defending champion Justin Thomas. Thomas capitalized on good conditions and a course that fits his eye, with an eight-birdie 63 on Sunday to claim a three-shot win.

Related: See the clubs Thomas used to win.

On the third hole, Lahiri lost his tee ball in a tree and he was forced to re-tee, making double-bogey seven with his second ball. He then went birdie-eagle trying to right the ship. Unfortunately for him, Thomas started hot, with birdies on four of his first five holes, to turn a four-stroke deficit into a one-stroke advantage. Lahiri bogeyed the sixth and was able to make just two more birdies on the day. That dropped him into a third-place tie with Derek Fathauer at 19-under par.

Cruising past all but Thomas and into second alone was Hideki Matsuyama. Needing a 63 of his own to catch the leader, Matsuyama was able to scribble six birdies onto his card, coming up three blows shy at 20-under.

Thomas’ name was mentioned as one of the possible, final wild-card selections for this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup team. His 2nd PGA Tour win gives him a leg up on making the 2017 Presidents’ Cup team.

Minjee Lee snatches Blue Bay from Korda

One day after surrendering seven strokes and her tournament lead to Jessica Korda, Minjee Lee of Australia was able to bounce back with a score good enough to snatch victory from the hands of the young American. Unlike the first three days, when scores in the mid-60s were fairly common, day four proved to be a battle of nerves and emotion, as Lee, Korda and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn battled to the wire.

Jutanugarn stood on the 18th tee in a tie with Lee, with Korda one back. Her entire career has seen the 20-year-old miss left when the pressure is on. On a hole where birdie is commonplace, she once again sent a tee shot into a water hazard on the port side of the fairway. The resulting bogey dropped Jutanugarn to 11-under, in third place by herself.

Lee was coming off an adrenaline-fed, three-putt bogey on the penultimate green. She steeled herself and made a beautiful pitch-and-run to 3 feet for birdie at the last to hold off Korda, who also completed the par-5 finisher in four strokes. The birdies moved Lee and Korda to 13- and 12-under par, respectively, securing the top two spots.

Harrington wins 15th Euro Tour event in Portugal

An unbelievable nine years had passed since Paddy Harrington’s last non-major European Tour victory. That won took place at the 2007 Irish Open. Although the Irishman has won three majors and a number of PGA Tour events since then, victory on his home tour had escaped him until Sunday along the Iberian peninsula.

Related: See the clubs Harrington used to win.

Both Mikko Korhonen and Anders Hansen, leaders after Round 3, posted 68 on Sunday, and certainly had to be quite happy with their numbers. Unfortunately for them, both Harrington and Andy Sullivan found their way into the mid-60s with bogey-free rounds on Sunday. Sullivan’s six-birdie performance with zero blemishes was a wonderful arrow at the target, but Harrington’s five-birdie, no-bogey performance did him one better.

Since the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine, Sullivan has played with renewed skill and enthusiasm. He tied for the week’s low round with Richie Ramsay, notching 10 birdies into his belt for a Friday 61. Sullivan was the defending champion at Vilamoura, but his 22-under performance on the week came up one short of matching both his score last year and Harrington’s 2016 tally.

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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.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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

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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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