April, come she will. And when she does, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, she will bring glorious golf and renewal for many. Even this writer isn’t immune. While in a golf dome in Buffalo, I stumbled into a breakthrough in my swing. How many years on, and the game still reveals itself?

This was a week for the women. The Augusta National Women’s Amateur was celebrated along the Carolina-Georgia line, while the greatest golf around, match play, took center stage on the LPGA. The men humbly took care of business in Texas, Florida, Georgia, and Brazil. With the green jacket tourney on the near horizon, it’s time to get golf-giddy with this week’s Tour Rundown.

El recuento de una ronda muy especial para Carla Bernat. #ANWAgolf | @rfegolf pic.twitter.com/OI4Flrjna8

— Augusta National Women’s Amateur (@anwagolf) April 5, 2025

Amateur @ Augusta National Women’s Amateur: Maybe a tattoo

Carla Bernat Escuder, from those twin hotbeds of golf, of Valencia, Spain, and Kansas State, rolled three 68s this weekend in the southeast. She didn’t post the low round at venerable Augusta National on Saturday (that 66 came from Eila Galitsky of Thailand). Among the leaders from Champion’s Retreat (site for rounds one and two of the tournament), she was the cream of the crop.

CBE jumped out to minus-five through 16 holes on day three, gaining a two-shot advantage over Punctuation (aka Asterisk Talley) before a bogey at 17 made things exciting. Bernat Escuder was able to coax a four-foot, downhill putt for four and the win into the hole. Talley made matters oh-so-close, with birdies at 16 and 17, to turn a victory stroll for Bernat into a march. When asked how she would celebrate her victory, the Spaniard mused over a tattoo, perhaps the flower of Augusta National.

A unique celebration in the works for Carla Bernat Escuder. ?#ANWAgolf pic.twitter.com/Wj8jRHxE9z

— Augusta National Women’s Amateur (@anwagolf) April 5, 2025

LPGA @ T-Mobile Match Play: Don’t trust the seeds

Whoever set the seeds this week in Vegas (NLV, to be precise) had to be scratching someone’s head. From the quarterfinals on, it was more likely that the underdog would emerge victorious. That’s match play, where a missed shot is but a hole, but a miracle play might result in a change of momentum.

The final match, if possible, was even more topsy-turvy than the preceding rounds. Lauren Coughlin, the surprise of 2024, went four down through six holes, agains Madelene Sagstrom. The seventh and ninth holes are par-five straits, and Sagstrom played them in a combined score of plus-three. She lost both holes to halve her lead, then handed the entirety back with a bogey-double-bogey run from ten through twelve. Exhaustion was evident, as plus scores (ten) doubled the tally of birdies and eagles (five).

At the par-five 16th, it was Coughlin’s turn to stumble, as her double-bogey 7th was surpassed by Sagstrom’s par. Matching pars at 17 sent the tilt to the 18th tee. Despite a dalliance with disaster, Sagstrom made par and closed out Coughlin.

The winning sequence that made @msagstrom a 2x LPGA Tour Winner ?? pic.twitter.com/V62oEEaFoa

— LPGA (@LPGA) April 7, 2025

PGA Tour @ Texas Open: Harman holds on

It’s nearly impossible to imagine a scenario in which a tournament is won by a player who shoots 75 in the final round. Odds increase when the two playing partners, and closest rivals, each posts 76. Brian Harman, the 2023 Open champion, turned Sunday in 39 strokes, made bogey at two of his final four holes, and still won by a comfortable three shots over Ryan Gerard. Gerard posted 69 on Sunday, moving 15 spots up the board for a career-best, runner-up finish.

In the final threesome with Harman, neither Tom Hoge nor Andrew Novak could muster a semblance of a challenge to the left-handed leader. The winds were up and the temps were down in Alamo Town, contributing to the loss of efficiency for both Hoge and Novak. Harman, meanwhile, did enough lifting to earn a fourth PGA Tour victory.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Club Car Championship: Playoff chooses Gandon

As PGA Tour experience failed Russell Knox, third-round co-leader Jeremy Gandon held firm in the final round of Korn Ferry Tour action on Sunday. Facing challenges from Cole Sherwood (64) and Garrick Higo and Rick Lamb (67), Gandon made birdie at three of his final five holes, to reach 17 under par. Higo, Sherwood, and Knox tied at -16, one agonizing shot away. It was Rick Lamb who surged just enough to join Gandon atop the table. Lamb went eagle-birdie at holes 14 and 15, but was unable to secure one more birdie on the way home, for an outright victory.

Lamb and Gandon returned to the 18th tee, where playoff jitters won out. Gandon found the rough, while Lamb nestled in a fairway bunker. Gandon was able to access a greenside bunker with his second, from which he got the ball up and down for birdie. Lamb went from sand to thick rough and was unable to flip his pitch close enough for a tying birdie. The win was a career-first for the Frenchman Gandon.

“Be good.”

It was … Jeremy Gandon is tied for the lead with one to play @clubcarchamp. pic.twitter.com/oLV7fHdDUy

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) April 6, 2025

PGA Tour Americas @ Brasil Open: Moldovan musters magic at Olympic course

The course that made Gil Hanse a household name in golf course architecture took center stage this week on PGA Tour Americas. Benefitting from the minimalist design was the USA’s Max Moldovan. Two shots out of the lead at daybreak, Moldovan had a near, front-row seat to the struggles of overnight leader Chris Francouer. The final trio had scores of 76-74-72 on Sunday, propping the barn door three tractors wide for would-be chasers. The day’s top round was 65 from Joey Vrzich, but his efforts were good enough only for a top-fifteen finish.

In the end, it was the opening-day leaders, Moldovan and George Markham, who did battle down the stretch. The pair shared top honors on Thursday with 63, and took differing routes to the final fairways. After birdie at 16, Moldovan ripped an eagle out of the earth at the last, to reach 18-under par. Markham did fine detail work at the end, signing for birdie at three of the final four holes. He was helpless to watch as Moldovan’s 72nd-hole eagle won the week.

FROM 50 FEET FOR THE WIN ?@MoldovanMaxwell eagles the 18th to secure his first career win at the 70th ECP Brazil Open! pic.twitter.com/Q0PY732VIa

— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) April 6, 2025

PGA Tour Champions @ James Hardie: El Pato quacks

Much like what we saw on the PGA Tour, the senior circuit, front-runner benefited from the lack of performance of his group mates on Sunday. Angel Cabrera posted a mundane 71 at Broken Sound. As Alex Cejka and Miguel Angel Jimenez went above par with their scores, Cabrera’s task was made much easier. Through 16 holes, the Argentine had two birdies and two bogeys on the day, but put the match away with a final birdie at the 17th. He won by two over K.J. Choi, but it wasn’t easy.

Atop the 17th tee deck, Cabrera and Choi were tied at minus ten strokes. The Argentine champion posted the aforementioned birdie to take a one-shot advantage to the final deck. Pressing for birdie and a playoff or outright victory, the Korean stalwart stumbled at the last, posting bogey. Cabrera coaxed his ball into the cup for par and a first PGA Tour Champions title.

What a response by Ángel Cabrera!

He leads by one with one to play. pic.twitter.com/sJm7WbkZT3

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) April 6, 2025

LIV @ Doral: DeChambeau stumbles, opens door for Leishman

In the land of the retired snowbird, two of the older members of the Saudi Arabian circuit put on a Sunday show. Bryson DeChambeau took a lead into day three, but the 2024 US Open champion was unable to sign on the dotted line. His final-round 75 relegated him to fifth place. Easing on past were Charl Schwartzel (2nd) and Marc Leishman (1st). The title was the first since leaving the PGA Tour for Leishman.

The Doral course, site of PGA Tour events for many years, put up much more defense on Sunday. Both Schwartzel and Carlos Ortiz (4th) posted aberrative 66s, while many in the field struggled to eclipse par. LIV takes a three-week break now, resuming the fourth week of April in Mexico City.