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?
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