Viktor Hovland won his first Rolex Series title as he completed a sensational finish with a play-off victory over Richard Bland at the 2022 Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic. The Norwegian was barely in the picture when he missed a short putt and made a bogey on the 15th but he finished birdie-eagle-birdie to sign for a 66 and post the target at twelve-under.
Jin Young Ko held off Japan's Nasa Hataoka to clinch the CME Group Tour Championship, the $1.5 million pay cheque, and the player of the year title. Four players came into the fourth round tied at the top of the leaderboard but it developed into a two-horse race.
It was always going to be a struggle for Europe given the strength of the American team but might things have been a little different? We look at five key areas where it went wrong for Padraig Harrington and the European Ryder Cup set-up.
Team USA opened with their most significant lead after day one of a Ryder Cup against Europe by winning both of Friday's sessions 3-1 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. The last time a team earned 3 or more points in each of the first two sessions was in 2004, when Team Europe went 3½-½, 3-1 at Oakland Hills on its way to a 18½ -9½ victory on foreign soil.
How Louis Oosthuizen hasn't won more majors is beyond us. The man from South Africa who has a swing to die for made his way effortlessly around a tough Royal St George's on Thursday to lead the 149th Open Championship.
Australian Cam Davis holed from the greenside bunker for eagle at the penultimate hole and then birdied the last to force his way into a three-way playoff in which he prevailed to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic and his first PGA Tour victory. “It’s the only reason I’m sitting here now,” Davis said afterwards. “To be honest, in my head, there wasn’t a thought of trying to hole it.”
I must admit to being quite confused when Maria Fassi received a two-shot penalty at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, which contributed to her missing the cut. It was not that I did not think she deserved punishment but rather why it was two shots and why were no other penalties handed out at the tournament? There have been two other penalties handed out to LPGA players this year.
Harris English beat fellow American Kramer Hickok at the eight-hole of a marathon playoff to win the Travelers Championship. After trading pars for seven holes, English finally broke the deadlock when he holed a twenty-foot putt at the 18th hole on the sixth time of asking in the playoff.
Phil Mickelson became the oldest man to win a major title as he claimed the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. 50-year-old Mickelson's win came amidst incredible scenes as spectators flooded onto the 18th fairway to watch the closing moments.
In a nail-biting finish, Ariya Jutanugarn overturned a five-shot deficit to win the Honda LPGA Thailand at Siam Country Club Pattaya by a single shot from Countrywoman Atthaya Thitikul.
Sam Burns earned his maiden win on the PGA Tour at his seventy-sixth attempt at the Valspar Championship in Tampa. The American closed with a final-round three-under 68 to finish on seventeen-under-par, three shots clear of countryman Keegan Bradley.
Ten years ago, Hideki Matsuyama was sitting in Butler Cabin as the leading amateur at the 2011 Masters. On Sunday, the man from Japan returned to the cabin but this time, it was to pick up the coveted Green Jacket.
