After two weeks of four-plus events, the arrival of American football’s big game will coincide with a brief slowdown in professional golf. The LPGA takes a one-month break prior to an Asian sojourn, while the PGA Tour Champions continues its hiatus until February 16th, when it plays three events in four weeks. Korn Ferry will have a fortnight off in February as well. Even Europe will take a week off around Valentine’s Day, although I doubt that the purpose coincides with romance.

By March 1st, we’ll be back to four-plus events each week. Until then, rejoice in this week’s quadrilateral and treasure any golf that you can follow. It was a Højgaard of a week in professional golf and much more. Let’s do some touring in this week’s professional golf Tour Rundown, beginning with Shane Lowry’s albatross in San Diego.

ALBATROSS FOR @ShaneLowryGolf!

Are you kidding?! pic.twitter.com/FEZNihLOG7

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 27, 2024

PGA Tour @ Farmers Open: bienvenue au podium, Matthieu Pavon

With the current tumult in professional golf, folks used to stability are left scratching their heads. Make no mistake: the game on the US PGA Tour is more international than ever, and golfers from around the globe will breathe vigor into the product that we know and love. It felt like Big Game Weekend, with the Farmer’s Insurance Open finishing on Saturday instead of Sunday, but when a Frenchman, a German, and a Dane got together for some final-round golf, a new, stateside flavor took shape.

With 18 holes left to play, Germany’s Stephan Jaeger clung to a one-shot advantage over a caravan of challengers. The Farmers begins play with 18 holes of play over Torrey Pines North and South courses, makes its cut, then concludes with 36 holes over the vaunted South. Although the North is the more architecturally-interesting of the two tracks, it is also the easier to amass birdies. That’s why you often see great disparity in opening rounds. Jaeger opened with 68 on the South, then posted 64 on the North. What appeared to be his week, turned into a tight battle down the stretch.

The German struggled to plus-one, 145 on the weekend, and finished in a tie for third with Jake Knapp and Nate Lashley. Over the final thousand yards or so, the tournament became a wrestling match between France’s Matthieu Pavon and Denmark’s Nicolai Højgaard. Pavon won the 2023 Spain Open on the DP World Tour, while Højgaard owns three triumphs on that circuit, including November’s Tour Championship.

Pavon began the final round with bogey at the first, but more than recovered with four birdies to the turn. His advantage was better than tenuous, until he made bogey at the 17th, to drop back to 12-under par. Højgaard had a turbulent round going, with four birdies and three bogeys to the 17th. After Pavon’s stumble, the advantage was one shot on the tee of the watery, closing hole. Pavon found himself in thick rough after two shots, while Højgaard looked lean and clean on the green, fifty feet from eagle.

It was then that Pavon struck the shot of his career, an iron to eight feet for birdie. Højgaard’s attempt at three and -13 lagged to two feet, where he tapped in for 12-under par. With immorality on the line, Pavon’s stroke was true, and the ball tumbled in, just left of center. For the second consecutive week, a first-time winner appeared on the PGA Tour. Bravo, Pavon!

Clutch from the thick stuff.
@MatthieuPavon knocks it to 8 feet for a birdie look @FarmersInsOpen. pic.twitter.com/LobyRFTnRZ

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 28, 2024

LPGA @ Drive On Championship: Korda rises

The final round from Bradenton Country Club was, indisputably, the most exciting sports this weekend. Despite two NFL conference championships on tap, Lydia Ko and Nelly Korda treated the viewing public to gritty, gutsy shotmaking down the closing holes and into the playoff. Each had extra motivation toward a victory. Ko needed one more title to earn a spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame, while Korda craved confirmation that she was back from the illness that knocked her down and out in 2022.

What brought us to this overtime tilt? To begin, Lydia Ko ripped a ball-below-your-feet hybrid into the 71st green, to all of 18 inches, and tapped in for eagle and a three-shot advantage. In the very next group, Nelly Korda reached the fringe with her own approach, then calmly sent the 20-foot putt serpentine, into the bottom of the cup. Down by one on the 72nd hole, Korda’s approach settled inside 12 inches, gaining the birdie she needed to tie Ko at 11-deep and go into overtime.

The level of accuracy drifted away at the first playoff hole. Ko missed the green long, ironically adjacent to some too-soon roses and bottles of champagne, in case she made the HOF. Korda looked to be inside five feet for birdie, but her approach ran to the back fringe. From those spots, both players made par and returned to the 18th tee.

Both players missed the green with their approach shots, and Ko lipped out for par. Korda was able to pitch to six feet, and she center-cut the putt for her ninth career win and first in 14 months. The LPGA takes a four-week break before returning to action at the Honda LPGA Thailand in Chonburi.

ARE YOU KIDDING?!?!?!@NellyKorda isn’t letting up on this one! pic.twitter.com/YbNw1NgAE9

— LPGA (@LPGA) January 28, 2024

DP World Tour @ Ras Al Khaimah: Lightning from Thor

Thorbjørn Olesen was one of the bright European stars of the 2010s, until life intervened. His return to the upper echelon of professional golf continues to evolve. His win this week was his third in three years on the DP World Tour, and appeared as much more of a runaway than it was. The six-stroke margin of victory was four strokes on the 72nd tee. You’ll understand more when we talk about the pursuers.

Cast your eyes north to the intimation of “a Højgaard week” in the opening salute. While older twin (by a few minutes) Nic was tearing it up in SoCal, younger brother Ras had it going on in the United Arab Emirates. Rasmus was paired with Thor in the final group on Sunday, thanks to rounds of 66-64-68. If it weren’t for the electricity generated by Olesen’s 62-63 tweeners, Rasmus Højgaard might have held the lead. Højgaard was compelled to play catch-up on Sunday, and simply put, Olesen gave him little opening.

Standing on the eighth tee, Rasmus was four-under on the day, and 22-under for the week. Fellow competitor Olesen stood even on the day, at the same number for the week. In the 15-minute blink that it takes to play a par five hole, everything changed. Rasmus fanned right his second shot to the green, ending up in the water. He was forced to drop 100 yards back, and ultimately made a four-feet putt for bogey. Meanwhile, Olesen hit the shot you’ll see below, converting the putt for eagle and a sudden, three-shot advantage.

Højgaard was unable to reboard the birdie train, and he made another, par-five bogey at the last for -21 and solo second. At age 34, Olesen appears poised to challenge for more titles and perhaps, a return to international team play.

Take a bow @Thorbjornolesen ?#RAKGolfChamps pic.twitter.com/r71Bea2SjJ

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 28, 2024

Korn Ferry Tour @ Great Abaco Classic: Amateur, meet your professional self!

After a year in which EVERYONE mispronunced Ludwig Alberg (LUD-vig OH-bear) we shall not make the same mistake with this week’s KFT winner in the Bahammas, Aldrich Potgieter. The first name isn’t so difficult (Awld-rich) but it’s that surname that has everyone guessing. It’s POD-guitar, and it’s no longer intimidating. The South African’s golf game did intimidate this week, resulting in a maiden professional triumph.

For those not in the know, Potgieter is a wee lad. He’s 19 years old, and won the 2022 British Amateur (The Amateur) title at Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s. The Korn Ferry Tour hosted a second consecutive, Sunday start in the Bahammas, and we love them! US Air Force academy graduate Kyle Westmoreland opened with 66 to grab the lead, and held it through 54 holes, with rounds of 74-68 over the middle. Round four was not so kind to Westmoreland, who amassed five bogies against two birdies through 14 holes on day four. With grit, he made birdie at three of the final four squares, and reached eight-under par.

Joining Westmoreland at eight-deep was this week’s best Instagram handle, Quade @qcumber00 Cummins, of the University of Oklahoma. Cummins had a nice week going, just inside the top twenty, until he struck a match and lit fire to the Abaco Club course on Wednesday. Eight birdies against one bogey, including four of the final five holes, brought Cummins into a second-place tie on the week. It was his best professional finish to date, and gives the former Sooner momentum as the Korn Ferry swing south to a South America stretch.

It was Potgieter in the end, who had just a bit more than the others, to write the script. The South African authored a 65 of his own, adding a bit of everything to the recipe. There were an eagle, a pair of bogeys, a helping of pars, and seven birdies in the mix. Birdies at 16 and 18 separated him from the runners-up, and forced a rewrite of this year’s goals.

Pin hunting ??@AldrichPotgiet3 makes birdie on No. 12 to move into the co-lead @BahamasKFTour. pic.twitter.com/QPSuV5OGqx

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) January 24, 2024