By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco. For comments: [email protected] Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as the PGA Tour heads to Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 1. Monday finish and Eckroat a winner AP report…”Austin Eckroat waited a long time to become a winner on the PGA Tour. Another day didn’t hurt.” “Eckroat got the first victory of his Tour career Monday, topping Erik van Rooyen and Min Woo Lee by three shots to win the weather-delayed Cognizant Classic. Among his prizes: $1.62 million — by far his biggest golf payday — along with Tour status for two years and a trip to the Masters for the first time.” “Eckroat shot a final round of 4-under 67, finishing at 17-under 267.” Full piece. 2. Niemann to play PGA Championship Our Matt Vincenzi…”While speaking to GolfWRX, Niemann revealed that the Masters wasn’t the only major he’s received an invitation to.” “Vincenzi: “So, you’re now in the Masters. You’re in the Open via your win at the Australian Open. PGA Championship, you’ll probably be in?” “Niemann: “Yeah, I got an invite for the PGA Championship as well. So I’m in that one.” “Niemann also added that he intends to qualify for the U.S. Open.” “I’m going to try and qualify for the U.S. Open. Hopefully I have a good finish at the Masters and I won’t need to.” “The top 60-point leaders and ties as of May 22, 2023, in the Official World Golf Ranking will receive an invite. Joaco currently sits at 72nd in the OWGR. Therefore, a strong finish at the Masters could certainly get him in.” Full piece. 3. Tiger to receive USGA’s Bob Jones Award Golf Digest’s Tod Leonard…”Tiger Woods and Bobby Jones are the only two golfers in history to win nine USGA titles, and it was only a matter of time before their names were joined in the governing body’s highest honor. That moment has come, with the USGA announcing on Saturday that Woods was selected the 2024 recipient of the Bob Jones Award that “recognizes commitment to sportsmanship and respect for golf’s time-honored traditions.” “Woods, 48, joins fellow Jones winners Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Francis Ouimet, Mickey Wright, Patty Berg, Annika Sorenstam and President George H.W. Bush” Full piece. 4. Woodland wins Ben Hogan Award PGATour.com staff report…”Gary Woodland, who underwent a craniotomy last September to remove a brain lesion, is the winner of the Golf Writers Association of America’s 2023 Ben Hogan Award for remaining active in golf “despite a physical handicap or serious illness,” the GWAA announced Monday.” “Woodland said he began feeling symptoms at the Mexico Open at Vidanta last May. He started waking up with a jolt – small seizures – and having thoughts of death. He was nauseous the week of the PGA Championship in May, and his doctor ordered an MRI, which revealed the lesion.” “He went on medication and was advised to wait and see regarding surgery, but with symptoms worsening, it seemed that the lesion might be growing. It was time to operate.” Full piece. 5. Bubba’s ‘easy’ solution for LIV pros to play majors Ben Parsons for Bunkered…Bubba Watson, who has a lifetime exemption to the Masters as a two-time winner, thinks a solution that ignores the current ranking system is “easy.” “Let’s say top 50 or top 75 on the PGA Tour get in all the Majors. DP World Tour, say whatever, top 20, 30 or 40 and for the Masters it might have to be even better,” Watson explained to Gulf News. “Say with us, we’ve got 54 guys out here so top ten on the money list or points list, however you want to word it, gets in. “Top ten, top 15 get in because they’re all great champions out here. You just start going to the money list and points. If you play enough on all of them Tours and you make the top whatever on the money list, that is how you should do it. “Then it’s not about World Ranking, so if you want to play on the DP World Tour, PGA Tour or in Japan, you still have the chance to make these great events and that will make these great events greater.” Full piece. 6. Edoardo Molinari joins Arccos Elliot Heath for Golf Monthly…”European Ryder Cup vice captain Edoardo Molinari has joined Arccos Golf to become the brand’s Chief Data Strategist & Lead Tour Ambassador.” “The DP World Tour pro is known as a stats guru and currently works as an Analytics advisor to more than 35 tour pros including Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland and Nelly Korda as well as the European Ryder Cup Team.” “In his new role, Molinari will become an investor in Arccos and his StatisticGolf service will be renamed Arccos Pro Insights.” Full Piece. 7. Photos from the Arnold Palmer Invitational Check out our photos from Bay Hill as they continue to flow in. Full Piece. 8. Winning WITB: Austin Eckroat Presented by 2nd Swing Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees @9.25) Shaft: Project HZRDUS Smoke Green 70 6.5 (tipped 1 inch) 3-wood: Ping G430 Max (15 degrees @14.75) Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 X (tipped 1.5 inch) Irons: Ping Blueprint S (3), Ping Blueprint T (4-PW) Shafts: Project X 6.5 Wedges: Ping Glide Forged Pro (50-10S, 54-10S, 60-06T) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Putter: Ping Redwood D66 Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Full WITB.

It was the week that the ghost of Anthony Kim returned to professional golf. It was the week that the former wunderkind, the ankle-breaker from L.A., turned his ten-years-older back on his former tour, and competed on a rival circuit. That’s a lot of hype that could have potentially diverted attention from the major professional tours. The DP World, LPGA, Korn Ferry, and PGA tours, however, produced stirring competition that returned focus to their events. The Florida stretch of the PGA Tour began in Palm Beach Gardens, while the LPGA celebrated the HSBC World Championship in Singapore. The DP World Tour competed in South Africa, while the Korn Ferry caravan found its way to Argentina. Four different continents produced four compelling storylines.

Enough with the hyperbole. Time to move on to the nitty-gritty details of the resolution of each event. It’s a day late (thank you, south Florida weather) but it’s fine like wine. Enjoy this week’s Tour Rundown with us.

PGA Tour @ Cognizant Classic: Eckroat rode momentum to the W

The Championship course at PGA National is a difficult foe. Water and/or sand inhabits the grounds with such frequency, that one might conclude that the course was not so much built, as found. It is pure Florida golf, and when the winds are up, it is as difficult a challenge as found on the PGA Tour. This week, the winds spared the golfers, and unheard-of scores in the low 60s were familiar, if not commonplace. Austin Eckroat, Shane Lowry, and David Skinns carried a three-shot advantage into the final round, but there were plenty of challengers with designs on the top prize.

As Lowry and Skinns slipped away with even-par 71s on day four/five (Monday finish, doncha know?) Erik Van Rooyen mounted a charge. The two-time Tour winner posted eight-under 63 to reach 14-under par and set a significant bar. This meant that the tri-leaders would have to shoot in the 60s to win. Also surging were Min Woo Lee (67 for T2 with Van Rooyen), Cameron Young and K.H. Lee (matching 66s for T4 with three others.)

Austin Eckroat was the overnight leader who steadied the rudder and stayed the course. He navigated the fairways and greens with but a single bogey over the final 18 holes. Five birdies brought him to 67 for the round, and a three-shot win over his pursuers. The victory was his first on the PGA Tour, and was portended by a T10 finish at the 2023 US Open. The tour now moves to Orlando and Puerto Rico, for a split week of bonus golf.

LPGA @ HSBC World: calm Green takes title on final green

Hannah Green and playing companion Andrea Lee were neck and neck in the final group, as they reached the 16th tee. Green proceeded to make birdie at each of the closing holes, while Lee play them in plus-one figures. A four-shot swing, you say? That should have made the walk along 18 a breeze for Green. It might have been, if not for the star of 2023, Celine Boutier. The Frenchwoman began the day one behind Green, in a tie with Lee. Boutier played marvelous golf, making five birdies through the 15th, reaching 12-under par.

It was a tale of two uneven parts. Boutier played brilliantly for 15 holes, then lost the magic and closed with three pars. In contrast, Green was two under par over the same stretch, and appeared relegated to a top-three finish, until she found her wind. The brilliance of the closing stretch was enough to elevante Green past Boutier by a single stroke.

A short and emphatic putt for birdie at 16, was followed by a longer and equally-courageous effort at 17. Reaching the 18th, Green had a 20-feet putt for the win. The putt never looked like it would bend back enough, until it made a final, right-turn at the end. The most unlikely of scenarios brought Hannah Green her fourth LPGA title and first since April of 2023.

DP World Tour @ SDC: Gumberg avoids defeat in playoff

The St. Francis links of South Africa played host to the SDC Championship for a second time in 2024. Despite its location of Eastern Cape, the links lie halfway along the coastal route from Cape Town to Durban, squarely in the central part of the southern perimeter. Defending champion Matthew Baldwin was unable to recapture the mojo that brought the 2023 trophy to his hands. He made the cut, but went backward over the final 36 holes, finishing in a tie for 47th position.

Near the top of the leaders’ board, third-round leaders Connor Syme and Daniel Brown headed away from victory station. They concluded with matching 75s, each dropping three positions to a fourth-place tie. Moving from sixth to third was France’s David Ravetto, on the strength of a closing 70. Two shots better were the home country’s Robin Williams and the USA’s Jordan Gumberg. Williams had the tournament in his sites, until a double-bogey at the par-three 17th dropped him down from 14-deep.

He and Gumberg headed to the 18th tee for extra holes. They would play the closing trace two times, and it was Gumberg who concluded the day with birdie for the win. His tee ball was perilously close to a water penalty, but he remained dry. His approach reached within twenty feet of the hole, and his putt was authoritative and true. The title was Gumberg’s first on the DP World Tour. The caravan moves north this week, near Johannesburg for the Workwear Open.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Argentina Open: Andersen’s triple birdie wins in overtime

Van Holmgren’s slim, third-round lead didn’t last long. The American with the seventies-Hollywood name stumbled early with bogey at two and three, and finished with +1 for a fifth-place tie. It was one of those “I’d have taken it at the beginning of the week” that ends with “man, I had a chance and that hurts.” With Van’s exodus, the battle was joined, and by none more feverishly than Mason Andersen. The former Arizona State golfer posted eight birdies over a nine-hole stretch, and concluded with another at the last. His seven-under 63 parasailed him ten shots up the board, to 17-under par.

His countrymen, Dalton Ward and Brian Campbell, did their level best to chase him down, but each could only reach 16-deep on the week. Norway’s Kris Ventura had a bit more steam in his engine, and parlayed three birdies into a final-round 68. Ventura had a chance to win in regulation, but could not make birdie at the par-five closer. Andersen and Ventura returned twice to the 18th tee. Andersen birdied the hole twice more, while Venture could only make four the first time around.

The title brought Andersen an exemption into the 2024 Open Championship, which is a pretty nice bonus on top of the win. Why not hear the final putt in the language of Argentina?

GolfWRX is on the ground in Orlando ahead of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.

We’re assembling our usual collection of WITB photos, general galleries, and of course, gear inspired by the King himself.

We’ll continue to add to the photos below as more flow in from Florida.

General Albums

• 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #1
• 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #2
• 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #3
• 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #1
• 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #2
• 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #1 (thanks, bvmagic!)
• 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #3 (bvmagic)
• 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #2 (bvmagic)

WITB Albums

• Matt (LFG) Every – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• Sahith Theegala – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• Scottie Scheffler – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• Luke List – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• Adam Schenk – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• Taylor Moore – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• David Ford – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Pullout Albums

• New Cameron putters (and new “LD” grip) – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• New Bettinardi MB & CB irons – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• Custom Bettinardi API putter cover – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• Custom Swag API covers – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• New Golf Pride Reverse Taper grips – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• New PXG putters – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• Scottie Scheffler putter change – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• Sepp Straka – shaft change to new Ventus blue – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• Rickie Fowler’s new Cobra Darkspeed X driver and Denali shaft (and Radspeed 3-wood) – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• Justin Rose testing Srixon Z Forged II irons – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational

See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.