No Tiger, no problem. The vulnerable one bailed on the Safeway Open at the 11th hour, declaring that parts of his game were simply not up to snuff for the challenge of the PGA Tour. A wealth of hungry golfers, including Ryder Cuppers and journeymen, did show up to do battle at Silverado Country Club, though.

More golfers were on course in North Carolina (Champions Tour), South Korea (LPGA Tour) and England (European Tour) to decide titles on the world’s other major tours. Sure, it might be football season, but there’s great golf for us to mash for your eyes only.

Steele steals Safeway from Kizzire with 65

Side door is open!

Brendan Steele takes a share of the lead on No. 17.#QuickHits https://t.co/O7pYwgvPWW

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 17, 2016

Patton Kizzire was the poster boy for wins on the Web.com Tour two years ago. Last year was his learning year on the PGA Tour, and Kizzire entered the final round of the first event of the new season eager to prove he was ready to win on golf’s biggest stage. After making 19 birdies through the first three rounds of the tournament, the Auburn alum was poised to light up the Silverado North course and claim his first title.

Related

• Patton Kizzire WITB 2016
• Brendan Steele’s Winning WITB

The trouble with this plan was Brendan Steele. The 2011 Valero Texas Open champion had searched near and far for his second Tour title, and scooped up all the birdies that Kizzire desperately needed on Sunday. Feeling comfortable in his home state, Steele posted eight birdies on the day, including an incredible finish of birdie-birdie-birdie on the closing three holes to snatch the tournament title from Kizzire. Four golfers tied for third at 16-under par, one shot back of second and two out of first, including the hottest golfer on the planet, England’s Paul Casey.

Noren wins British Masters by two strokes

Up and down for your third win in eight starts… pic.twitter.com/zLIwqyQ35e

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 16, 2016

Alexander Noren of Sweden added a third European Tour title to his 2016 pair (Scottish Open, European Masters). His middle rounds of 65-65 staked him to a lead entering Sunday’s final round, and the 34-year-old opened and closed well with birdies on Nos. 1, 2, 16 and 18 to secure a two-shot win over Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger.

Related: See Noren’s Winning WITB

The Austrian played superlative golf throughout the final round, but was unable to catch Noren. After making birdie on the 15th, Wiesberger closed with pars when birdies were needed. In third place was Ryder Cupper Lee Westwood, in search of the game that deserted him at Hazeltine two weeks ago. Westwood posted four solid rounds in the 60s to remind the world that his game is not lacking.

Garwood grabs first Champions Tour title at SAS

Doug Garwood leads by 5 shots @SASChampionship thanks to shots like this. https://t.co/DuU5vPATOz

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) October 16, 2016

California’s Doug Garwood qualifies as the least-likely winner on the 2016 Champions Tour. In the final event before the new Schwab Cup Playoffs, the journeyman pro overcame jitters and a history of final-round struggles with a monster performance at Prestonwood in Cary, North Carolina. Paired with all-world Bernhard Langer and tournament leader Larry Mize, Garwood went out in 30 strokes and added birdies on three of his first seven back-nine holes. A bogey at the last was meaningless, as the 53-year-old had opened up a five-stroke lead on Langer and the field and finished at 16-under.

The win moved Garwood inside the top-20 as the Champions Tour moves near his home, to Sherwood Country Club in Sherman Oaks, California, for the first leg of the three-week playoffs. After Langer at 12-under, Mize, Tom Byrum and Jeff Sluman were tied for third at 11-under.

A promising bonus opportunity fell flat during Wildcard Weekend. A golfer outside the top 72 who could post a top-10 finish would earn a spot in the playoffs, which starts next week. Although Dan Forsman and Michael Bradley gave it a run, no one could snare the prize.

Here’s a note for PGA Tour Champions: make sure that somebody wins that spot if you want the promotion to have legs. Dangling the carrot and then snatching it away is bogus.

First LPGA title to Ciganda in playoff at Hana Bank Championship

ICYMI: Final round highlights from #KEBHanaBank where @carlotagolf wins in a playoff. Watch how it all unfolded ==> https://t.co/1ygyPZOfUl pic.twitter.com/RNZBytGuWP

— #CMEFinalStretch ???? (@LPGA) October 16, 2016

Either Alison Lee or Carlota Ciganda was going to win an inaugural LPGA tournament when the pair entered extra holes after tying at 10-under. Neither golfer appeared poised enough to seize the tournament: Ciganda had closed with a double bogey and two bogeys in her final five holes to fall back four strokes, while Lee played 3-over golf on the day, including a watery bogey on her final hole when par would have clinched a victory.

Returning to the par-five 18th for the playoff, Ciganda stuck her third shot to 8 feet and watched as Lee’s approach went long, leaving a birdie chip. The American gave it her best, throwing a lengthy chip across a massive green, over a rise, creasing the edge of the cup but not falling. With an opportunity to decide matters, the Spaniard’s was not her best, but it was good enough to fall in the low side and give her a water-bottle shower from her compatriots.

The LPGA Tour’s hottest golfer, Shanshan Feng of China, placed inside the top-four yet again with a score of 8-under 280, tied for third with Min-Sun Kim of Korea. Since winning the bronze medal at the Rio Olympic games, Feng has been on a tear that resulted in plenty of money, but no wins.