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Tour Rundown: Bryson goes back-to-back, and a four-man playoff

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We’ve gotten used to Boston on Labor Day, so it’s with moderately-misty eyes that we bid farewell to the New England portion of the PGA Tour playoffs. With 2018-19 offering a three-week playoff, to be concluded by the end of August, we’ll no longer finish the third leg of the playoffs on Labor Day. Time marches on, seasons change, and football arrives. Oh, so does the Ryder Cup, and we should know the next three members of the USA squad by Monday evening. The first weekend of September brought us leg two of the Web.Com Tour playoffs, a Champion’s Tour event in Calgary, and a long-time-coming victory on the LPGA Tour. Running, running, let’s get this Tour Rundown started in here.

DeChambeau on one of those second-season rolls, wins second straight at Dell

Not only is Bryson DeChambeau making Jim Furyk’s first pick for Ryder Cup side USA a sneeze, he’s now the darling of the FedEx Cup playoff run. We’ve seen this before, in the guise of Billy Horschel and Henrik Stenson. Golfers win a pair of the postseason prizes and hold off the field for the overall title. Who knows if Bryson will get it done over the next two weeks, in Philadelphia and Atlanta. What we do know is, he has the potential to be a force in the game, in areas far beyond professional golf events.

Related: DeChambeau’s Winning WITB

DeChambeau tossed a scintillating 63, in the company of Tiger Woods no less, to take the lead in Saturday’s 3rd round. He was slightly less luminous, but no less effective, on Sunday. Five birdies and one bogey on the outward nine served notice that someone would have to chase him down. Justin Rose nearly did, with birdies on 4 of the closing 6 holes. The Englishman seized the runner-up spot on the podium at 14-under, but DeChambeau played controlled golf on the homeward half, with 1 birdie and one bogey, for a two-shot win. The third spot belonged to Cameron Smith, one shot back of Rose.

With the victory, @b_dechambeau opened a 2300-point gap over Dustin Johnson in the FedEx Cup. The playoffs move to delightful Aronimink in Philadelphia this week, before closing two weeks later in Atlanta, at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

Four Brits Walk Into A Playoff…

If I were witty, I’d have a punchline. Instead, I have a tale of four Englishmen who finished at 19-under in the European Tour’s Made In Denmark event. Lee Westwood, Steven Brown, Jonathan Thomson and Matt Wallace took different routes to the 72nd, but they all broke the tape together. At the first extra hole, both Wallace and Brown hit approach shots inside 10 feet and converted, eliminating Westwood and Thomson’s pars. Back to the 18th tee they went, and Wallace went even closer on his approach, tucking it neatly to 4 feet. With the ensuing birdie conversion, he earned his 3rd title of the 2018 season, 4th of his career, and certainly gave interested onlooker Thomas Bjorn (European Ryder Cup captain) another reason to offer a wild card to @MattSJWallace. With a fifth Englishman, Matthew Fitzpatrick, coming close to victory but not winning, Thorbjorn Olesen was guaranteed the final, automatic spot on the European Ryder Cup team.

Alex storms back to claim first LPGA title at Portland

No bookmaker would have given odds that Georgia Hall and Minjee Lee would shoot 75 and 77, respectively, on day four of the Cambia Portland Classic. Since both decided to do that, the door opened wide for anyone brave enough to step through. Marina Alex made 10 birdies in her opening 62, but struggled a bit during the tournament’s middle rounds. She recaptured the magic on Sunday, making 8 birdies before a closing bogey, but it was enough to blaze past Lee and Hall, and nab a 4-shot victory for LPGA tournament tile number one. Hall has been in terrific form since her singular victory at July’s British Open, but that form was absent on Sunday. Unfortunately for Lee, she has inherited the undesirable crown of most talent wins least from Brooke Henderson. As for @Marina_Deee, since this box is checked, she can move on to the next important task in life, serving as bridesmaid for a Vanderbilt teammate in Nashville.

McCarron finds the handle in final round of Shaw Charity Classic

At last week’s PGA Tour Champions stop, Scott McCarron was one of three, final-group golfers who conspired to let Scott Parel claim his first title. The conspiracy was completely unintentional, as not one of the three could buy, steal or scavenge a putt to avert Parel’s magnificent, closing charge. Leap ahead to September’s first weekend, and the scenario nearly repeated itself. Parel was once again in contention, as was McCarron. This time, the long-hitting Californian had just enough gas left in the tank to another Parel blitz. Last week’s winner had 62 on Sunday, including 6 birdies for 29 on the inward nine. McCarron’s run to the house wasn’t elegant, but it held off Parel. Beginning at 14, @ScottMcCarron went ACE-bogey-birdie-bogey and, finally, birdie at the par-five closer, for Champion’s Tour win number 2 on the season, the 8th of his career. Parel did his best, but came up one birdie shy of a playoff, finishing at 15-under par. Canadian Rod Spittle chose Calgary as the site of his swan song, ending a storied, competitive career with a fine T17 finish, at 6-under par.

Comfort allows Hickock to swing freely and claim first Web title

We’ve seen it before: golfer earns tour card for following season, relaxes, plays great. Kramer Hickok is the latest example of the House-Money syndrome. With a 2018-19 PGA Tour card securely in hand, thanks to a Top-25, regular-season finish on the Web.Com Tour, Hickok took charge of the 2nd leg of the playoffs, winning his first Web title in Cleveland. Hickok began the week with a magnificent 63 at Canterbury, than tacked on two 68s and a 67 to finish at 14-under. @KramerHickok eclipsed runners-up Matt Jones and resurgent Hunter Mahan by 3 shots, moving to 2nd spot on the season-long money list, and first on the Playoff portion.

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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

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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