That big game notwithstanding, there was plenty of stellar athleticism on display this past week, and most of it took place on golf courses around the world. The Korn Ferry Tour continued its South American swing in Colombia, while the PGA Tour played one of the tour’s favorites in Scottsdale, Arizona. DP World Tour stars gathered in Singapore, while Morocco played the part of PGA Tour Champions host. Four continents, four clutch finishes. Let’s rev up and run down this week’s action on Tour Rundown. Nothing like an ace from Rickie Fowler to raise the roof.
PGA Tour: Phoenix Open belongs to Scheffler for second consecutive year
Scottie Scheffler, the reigning Masters champion, is now a two-time winner of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. In 2022, he was forced to extra holes by Patrick Cantlay. In 2023, Scheffler held off Canada’s Nick Taylor by two shots, to win his fifth tour title. Scheffler’s first career win (it seems impossible to believe) came one year ago at the same tournament. On Sunday this year, the defending champ turned in an immaculate card, etching four birdies and an eagle against zero bogies. Taylor did his best to track Scheffler down, posting seven birdies of his own over the final 18 holes. A bogey at the Colosseum, TPC Scottsdale’s vaunted 16th hole, was Taylor’s undoing. He had no strokes to spare on this day, and that bogey was enough to preserve Scheffler’s lead. In the end, the UTexas star posted 19-under par, to edge Taylor by a pair of shots. Jon Rahm finished solo third, three more back at 14-under par.
DP World Tour: Straydom snares Singapore Classic with marvelous bumper
Ockie (rhymes with smokey) Strydom and Sami Välimäki raced through the open Sunday door, and made a memorable round on Sunday at Laguna National. Saturday’s leaders were ill-prepared to do battle on day four, so the challengers from South Africa and Finland, respectively, decided to answer the call. Välimäki must have felt like a champion this day, posting six-under through ten, and balancing one bogey and one birdie the rest of the way. He was forced to step aside when Strydom zipped past with nine birdies on the day, for 63 and a one-shot advantage, at 19-under par.
Left to wonder what might have been were overnight co-leaders Jeunghun Wang and Alejandro del Rey. Each posted 71 over the final 18 holes, and each was four shots adrift from the pole position. Joining them in third position was Germany’s Marcel Schneider, whose eagle at the last moved him onto the podium. The tour moves along to Thailand this week, for that country’s Classic.
Korn Ferry Tour: Astara Golf Championship welcomes Gibson as champion
Australia’s Rhein Gibson has toiled on the Korn Ferry Tour for a number of seasons. He tasted victory in 2019 in South Carolina, then endured a wait of over 1300 days before arriving at win number two. Gibson did it in style, smoking the Country Club of Bogota’s Lagos course with 64 on the final day. Gibson moved up from second to first, leaving third-round leader Kris Ventura (71) and Kevin Dougherty (68) in his wake.
Gibson is no stranger to going low when it matters. In 2012, Gibson posted 55 on a course in Oklahoma, setting a Guinness world record. On tour, it hasn’t been quite so effortless, but the Aussie took advantage of favorable conditions and completed a four-shot win with his second eagle of the day, at the par-five finishing hole. The KFT goes on an extended, six-week break, before resuming matters in Savannah, Georgia, on March 23rd.
PGA Tour Champions: Trophy Hassan II now has a place with Ames
It’s rare that 18 pars happen in one round, let alone merit a shot at victory. Stephen Ames stood nine-under par after two rounds in Morocco, and held a three-shot advantage over Mark Hensby. Surely Hensby should have seized the opportunity to make some birdies on Rabat’s five par-five holes, to put a scare in Ames. Instead, quite the opposite happened. Hensby made double and single bogey at the 13th and 14th holes, dropping five shots off the pace. He ultimately finished in solo second, but was left to wonder what might have been.
The win was Ames’ third on the PGATC, and his first in two years. The Tour Champions touches down in Florida this week, for the Chubb Classic. Defending champion Bernhard Langer will again try to tie Hale Irwin for the all-time wins total on the Champions Tour.
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