So many tours were in play this week, we once again found ourselves limited to a top-five list. Mexico, California, Texas, South Korea, and Alabama hosted top-tier events across the golfing globe. Last week saw the year’s second major championship, and May will bring two more elite events to our eyes. In the interim, the golf that was played this week was easily as enticing, and the courses offered a diverse lesson in how to lay out a golfing ground. Excitement? You bet. Imagine making this putt, just to get into a playoff! Time for Tour Rundown.

@hannahgreengolf finds her rhythm just in time on 18!

Tune into @GolfChannel to see how this ending unfolds pic.twitter.com/ygPekx5yqZ

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 1, 2023

PGA Tour @ Mexico Open: Finau finds sixth tour title

After Jon Rahm posted 61 on Saturday, I calculated that another one of those gems would have moved him to 27-under par. Unlikely, sure, but it would have given him a three-shot advantage over the number that Milton Pouha “Tony” Finau ultimately posted on Sunday. Still, if Rahm had gone off for a second-consecutive day, would Finau have matched him? Probably.

Even though young Akshay Bhatia was tied with Rahm through 54 holes, two back of Finau, he seemed like the odd man out. Bhatia, who eschewed college study and golf for the professional life, has Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour, which is legalese for a lot more legalese. Suffice it to say, another week like this one and 2023-2024 is secured. However, Bhatia found little good on Sunday, and fell away to a solo fourth finish.

Finau was flawless on Sunday. He made zero bogies and snatched five birdies from the Vidanta Vallarta course. This meant, of course, that Rahm needed 64 for a playoff, and 63 for an outright win. Rahm stood minus-four through 15 holes, and needed to make things happen. His par-bogey-birdie finish meant that runner-up would be his fate. Still, the 2023 Masters champion and world number one reminded all of us of the special echelon to which his game has ascended of late.

Dialing it in.@TonyFinauGolf now leads by 4?? @MexicoOpenGolf. pic.twitter.com/VK3R6kuYlC

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 30, 2023

LPGA @ LA Championship: Overtime triumvirate reveals BBB as winner

The 18th hole at Wilshire Country Club is normally the club’s 10th. This week, the LPGA has decided to move golfers from the 9th green to the 11th tee, shifting the traditional closing par-four to penultimate status. This set the stage for a downhill pitch to a funky-cold green. Well, it worked. Hannah Green, Xiyu Lin, and Aditi Ashok all came to the wee tee at eight-under par, and each one dropped a putt for a deuce, necessitating a three-way playoff. Guess where the playoff began? You’ve got it! The wee three.

During the first extra playing, Lin and Green each made two but Ashok was eliminated with par. The four-time winner on the Ladies European Tour takes her search for LPGA title number one to San Francisco’s Harding Park next week. The second trip down 10, errr, 18, saw quite a different tone.

Xiyu Lin ran into trouble off the tee, and could only manage a bogey four. With that much opportunity, the 2019 Women’s PGA champion approached to six inches, and calmly tapped in for a winning par. LA was her third LPGA title, and first since her breakout season in 2019.

They don't call her Hannah Green for nothing!

The playoff winning putt to clutch the @JMEagleLAChamp pic.twitter.com/RjenYbkGmy

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 1, 2023

DP World Tour @ Korea Championship: Larrazábal claims 8th tour title

No one will ever question the validity of the name DP World Tour. The rebranded European Tour has its sites set on conquering the world. After opening the year in the Middle East, the DPWT has traversed the globe, from Singapore to Korea, including a first-time stop in Japan. This week, the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea, hosted the globetrotters, and it was Spain’s Pablo Larrazábal who came away with the win.

Scotland’s Robert Macintyre had a one-shot advantage through three days of play, but a pair of opening bogeys dropped him behind the field. He countered with two birdies before the eighth hole, but it was pars the rest of the way, and a frustrating, seventh-place finish. In truth, no one dominated the course over the course of the week, so the winner most certainly would be the last man standing.

For a time, home-country hero Sanghyun Park was in the mix, as were Scott Jamieson and Marcus Helligkilde. All faded away, with Helligkilde finishing in solo second, at minus ten. Spain’s Jorge Campillo and Joost Luiten of The Netherlands each closed with 65 to tie for third with two others, but Larrazábal’s march to the title was never seriously threatened.

.@plarrazabal's short game is world class ? #KoreaChampionship pic.twitter.com/MxPljtZxjW

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 30, 2023

 

Korn Ferry Tour @ HomeTown Lenders: Ben Folds Four

Ben Kohles is the guy you want in a playoff, it seems. For the third time in a KFT event, Kohles was pushed to extra holes, this time by another Ben (Silverman.) On the second extra hole … well, let’s set the stage. Kohles followed a round-two 62 in the rain-delayed event with 67, to reach 13-under par. This pushed him past second-round leader Carter Jenkins, whose closing 72 dropped him out of the top five. Nearly catching Kohles were David Skinns (65) and Frankie Capan (66), who finished at twelve deep.

Getting work done was the aforementioned Other Ben, who parlayed a 67 of his own into a playoff duel with Kohles. Silverman had a two-shot edge over Kohles with one hole to play, but found trouble on the 18th and made a double-bogey six. Still, he was alive as they returned to the final tee for overtime. Each golfer made par, so the stage was reset. On the second go-round, Kohles nearly holed his approach shot, leaving a five-feet attempt from above the hole. With complete confidence, the American brought the week to a close with birdie and a second extra-time win in 2023.

2?8? days between wins. ?@ben_kohles captures his second win this season @HTLChamp. pic.twitter.com/OvDzKphpWr

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 1, 2023

PGA Tour Champions @ Insperity: Alker finally gets 2023 win

Steven Alker had to imagine that his time was near. The most delightful surprise of the senior circuit’s post-COVID phase had yet to break through for a sixth title, until this week. Alker’s last victory came in October of 2022, and it was his fourth of that calendar year. What better way to break through than to defend a 2022 title! That’s precisely what Steven Alker did this week, north of Houston.

It has been quite a fortnight for The Woodlands area. Last week, Lilia Vu won her first LPGA major at the Chevron. This week, Alker held off a furious charge from Mr. Wisconsin, Steve Stricker. The lanky one got to minus-seven on the day quite early, to give Alker a bit to consider. Unfazed, Alker closed with two birdies in his final four holes to reach minus-fifteen on the week. His day-three 66 was only one off Stricker’s day-low 65, and Alker had a successful title defense and a four-shot win.

The week was a bittersweet one for the champion. His former caddie, Sam Workman, had passed due to cancer. A massive Houston sports fan, Workman was remembered by a large gallery presence, wearing jerseys with his name on the back. Despite the emotional baggage, Alker was able to get the job done and honor his former looper.

This one's for Sam ? pic.twitter.com/vbkkNTe1sw

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) April 30, 2023