Golf fans everywhere had another week of Tiger Woods to spike the enthusiasm meter, and the resurgent cat did not disappoint. We’ll look into him in greater depth below. Four events were contested across the professional golfing globe, and each result earned our attention. As the major season draws ever closer, let’s run down the triumvirate of tournaments that ran past Pi Day and the Ides of March in 2018.

???? THREE ???? STRAIGHT ????@McIlroyRory can't miss!#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/9GaGvQb3ay

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 18, 2018

McIlroy returns to winner’s circle at Arnold Palmer Invitational

With Henrik Stenson, Woods and McIlroy all in the mix on Sunday afternoon, a return to the podium by one of the game’s current greats was nearly assured. McIlroy took charge in the middle of the back nine, with birdies on holes 13-16. That magnificent stretch vaulted the 4-time major champion to 17-under par, 3 shots clear of pursuers Stenson, Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau. At his heels, however, DeChambeau called out “not so fast!” as he closed within a stroke with an eagle at the 16th. McIlroy answered “I can’t hear you,” with another birdie of his own at the 18th, to reach 18-under. When Bryson failed to birdie 17 or 18, the title was McIlroy’s. The young Californian stood alone in 2nd place, 2 behind the champion and 1 clear of Stenson (70 for a 14-under total) and Rose (67.)

Related: Rory McIlroy’s Winning WITB

It seems like every contender was subjected to the chiding of a certain announcer, all weekend long. In McIlroy’s case, the solo debate centered on his fitness and musculature. No doubt that mid-20s Rors bears little resemblance to the curly-haired, younger version of himself. This assessment is off the mark; what ultimately matters is the putter, and it knows no muscle. McIlroy made putt after putt down the stretch, in addition to his chip-in on the 15th, and that was the difference. 8 birdies, 0 bogeys…that combination is hard to eclipse on a Sunday, in Florida, at the King’s palace.

Perfect speed. ????????@B_DeChambeau is just one-shot back! #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/zi3EFhrMiI

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 18, 2018

Tiger Woods inches closer

By the numbers, the 14-time major champion needed to go 11 deep on Sunday to make a run at the title. An opening nine of 34, marred by a bogey at the 9th, made that outcome unlikely. As he stood on the 16th tee, Woods was 5-under on the day, and in the mix. Knowing that he needed eagle, his quest for a long drive ended out of bounds, leading to a bogey 6 on the hole. With his chances gone, Woods bogeyed 17 to finish minus-10 on the week, tied for 5th place with Ryan Moore. Tiger had solid rounds on 3 of 4 days, but his even-par 72 on Friday was too much to overcome. The field did its best to welcome him to the title chase with banal play in round 3, but Woods is still not yet Woods of yore. His Sunday was strong, but it needed to be perfect. His two mistakes (bogeys at 9 and 16) represented miscues that the legendary Tiger would not have allowed. The first bogey, at the 9th hole, was his second of the week there. Woods was 3-under for the day, and could not afford to give back a stroke. On 16, a hole that played like a short par four most of the day, Woods essentially double-bogeyed with his 6. When Woods does win again, both of those mistakes will have been eliminated.

Par on the last. ????@TigerWoods is currently T5 @APInv.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/meMgSkfpj3

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 18, 2018

LPGA Founders Cup to Inbee Park

She had the low round of the week on day two, she ran 4 consecutive birdies on Sunday’s back nine to stake her claim, and Inbee Park served notice that she is every bit the 19-event winner. After a slow start (1 birdie and 11 pars) to the final round, Park caught fire and won by 5 strokes over Marina Alex, Laura Davies and Ariya Jutanugarn. Both Alex and Davies had a chance to grab solo second, but each bogeyed the final hole. Park made history in 2016, when she won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Brasil. The Founders Cup was her first tour victory since last spring’s HSBC Women’s Championship. Of the runners-up, Alex stands out by virtue of having never won a professional title. The Vanderbilt alum has been in the mix in 2 of 3 events this season. Two weeks ago, she finished with 77 to drop out of contention. This week’s effort certainly advanced her confidence to close the deal one day soon. As for the only holder of knighthood in the field, the ageless Dame Laura Davies continues to demonstrate that natural gifts will always have their place in professional sport. Until this week, her last top-five finish came in 2014. Does she have one last victory in her? Here’s hoping!

Zoned in. @InbeePark two shot lead @LPGAfounders pic.twitter.com/wxOqGn1ZXJ

— LPGA (@LPGA) March 18, 2018

Unheralded Polland claims first PGA Tour Latinoamerica title

Ben Polland completed his schooling in 2013 at North Carolina’s Campbell University, then set out to make a name on the professional tours of the world. He ranked 189th on the 2017 Web money list, compelling him to return to Q-School at season’s end, then beginning 2018 on the PGA Tour’s Latin America circuit. Polland’s only professional victory of note was the 2015 Bermuda Open, and his dossier lists his current affiliation as an assistant professional at Long Island’s Deepdale Club. Given all that, why shouldn’t he shoot consecutive rounds of 65, on his way to victory in the Guatemala Open?

Polland began the final round with a 3-stroke advantage over Bryan Martin, but the challenger sank fast with 73, ending in a tie for 7th. Tyler McCumber was 4 behind at dawn’s first light, but he also had his struggles on the day, dropping a slot to a 4th-place tie. Matt Gilchrest improved 11 strokes from day 1 (74) to day 2 (63) and might have won the event had Thursday been kinder. He closed with weekend rounds of 67-68 to finish tied for 2nd, 4 behind Polland. Tied with Gilchrest was Skyler Finnell, who play solid, upper-60s golf all week long. Had the putter warmed up enough to drop him to the mid or lower 60s on any given day, Finnell would have also given Polland some discomfort.

Ben Polland hizo ???? al 18 para ganar el #StellaArtoisOpenGT primera etapa del #BupaChallenge con -20.@benpolland carded one final ???? ón 18 to win our season opening event at @lareuniongt pic.twitter.com/AjKNQYqEP1

— PGATOURLA (@PGATOURLA) March 18, 2018

Jeffrey Kang follows Q-School win with tournament title on PGA Tour China Series

Jeffrey Kang, a Californian of Korean descent, didn’t like his chances after opening with 75 at the Chengdu Championship. After subsequent rounds of 63-66-64, Kang sat atop the field, champion of the season-opening event of the 2018 schedule. Kang’s final round, the low of the day, separated him from the field by 5 strokes. third-round leader Shunyat Hak stumbled out of the gate on day 4, making bogey on the par-5 first hole. The remained of the day was birdie-bogey trade-off, resulting in a 73 for -14, and a tie for 5th. The biggest threat to Kang was William Harold, who signed for a 5-under 31 on the outward half. Harold hit a wall, however, stringing 9 consecutive pars to end his day. Against Kang’s inward 9 of -4 32, 36 was simply not good enough.

Congrats to Jeffrey Kang on winning the Chengdu Championship! ???? pic.twitter.com/TDo0fdl7cb

— PGA TOUR-China (@PGATOURChina) March 18, 2018