Last week’s installment of Tour Rundown, very quietly, was the 300th piece I published for this tasty website. Some of those 3 centuries of articles were inspired, original material; while others have followed a pre-determined format for ease of consumption and digestion. Over that period of nearly 6.5 years, two essential credos compel me forward: no one films the photographer, and the writer never outweighs the word. Deposit number 301 might be the last you read from me, or it could represent the beginning of another perfect game. Now, back to the business at hand: Tour Rundown!

Horschel and Piercy claim PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic

If the Zurich Classic were simply a better-ball event, red ink would be in short supply and one-dimensional couples would do battle for the title. The inclusion of alternate shot on 2 of the 4 days is a bit of brilliance, on the part of the organizers. Why? Ask Jordan Spieth and Ryan Palmer. They finished double-double (not the Tim Horton’s kind) on Friday to fall from in-the-mix status to missed-the-cut doldrums. On Sunday, we saw more of the same.

How Horschel and Piercy stuck a fork in it

Their best score of the week was a Saturday 61, 11-under in better ball. Their best performance, however, was their Sunday 67. Only one other team was able to shoot 67 in alternate shot all week, and they had to slap each other’s faces to do so. While third-round leaders Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown and Michael Kim/Andrew Putnam were each giving four shots back to Old Man Par, the 2013 Zurich Classic individual champion and his partner were flawless on Sunday. Five birdies and nary a bogey eased them to 22-under, one ahead of the 40s, Pat Perez and Jason Dufner.

See the clubs Horschel and Piercy used

How Duff and Perez nearly made their comeback

The old guys were flawless on Sunday, too. If Horschel and Pierce were FL on the diamond clarity scale, Dufner and Perez were just behind at IF. Four birdies and zero bogeys totaled the day’s second best, and brought them from fifth to second alone. As mentioned above, the overnight leaders (Kisner and Brown at 20-under) and the overnight chasers (Kim and Putnam) could not repeat their earlier successes. The chasers had three consecutive bogeys to open their back nine, punctuated by a double-bogey at the 16th. The leaders also had a miserable inward half, with a similar score of 41.

Ball below his feet. Awkward stance.@BillyHo_Golf sets up the tap-in birdie to tie the lead! #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/addz7SRUau

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 29, 2018

Alexander Björk returns on investment at European Tour’s China Open

In 2012, Björk listed himself on an investment site, offering 10 percent of winning to those who bankrolled him. Six years later, the Swede cinched his first Euro Tour title, overtaking the third-round leaders with an impeccable 65. Bjork’s win came by one shot over Adrián Otaegui. The Basque bogeyed 17 to fall to 16-under, and a final-hole birdie offered only the solace of solo second spot.

How Björk bjecame a tour winner

Björk’s week was solid from start to finish, with only a topsy-turvy 72 in round 2 standing out. He was mid-60s in the other rounds, revealing an affection for Beijing’s Topwin course. After three bogeys on day two led to an even-par round, Björk made just one more blue square the rest of the week. 13 birdies over the closing 36 holes allowed him to ease past a coalition of challengers. The Swede concluded an unmatched fortnight with his win, coming on the heels of a third-place finish last Sunday in Morocco.

How things came apart for Wallace and company

As happens so often these days on the tours, nothing less than final-round perfection will do. England’s Matt Wallace had won twice when holding the 54-hole lead. On Sunday, he notched seven birdies of his own, but fumbled twice for triple and single bogey. He tumbled to a third-place tie with countryman Jordan Smith and Spain’s Jorge Campillo. Otaegui was oh-so-close on Sunday. Six birdies brought him to the brink of triumph, but the one stumble, at the penultimate hole, was his undoing. Olazabal’s twin had secured top-2o finishes in his previous four tour events, so runs at a second career title should continue to come.

Another Björk birdie.

The Swede heads to 18 with a two-shot lead (for now). pic.twitter.com/djgjfm137l

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) April 29, 2018

Welcome back, Lydia Ko! Playoff win at LPGA’s Mediheal

It had been a challenging few years for New Zealand’s national golfing treasure. Lydia Ko had not won since July of 2016, and she had no desire to celebrate a two-year anniversary. Ko entered the final round of the Mediheal with a slim lead over Jessica Korda, who had experienced a 2018 comeback of her own. While Korda faltered, Ko weathered a difficult front nine and was able to gather herself enough to reach a playoff with Minjee Lee.

How Ko conquered her doubts

When you begin a final round with three bogeys in six holes, your path is usually clear, unless you have greatness in you. Ko found a way to make five birdies against one more bogey over the final 12 holes. When she birdied the 18th, she found herself in a playoff with Lee, who has flirted with greatness of her own during her years on tour. Unfortunately for her, Ko is most at home in a playoff, when she can go head to head with her competition. Suffice it to say that she won this overtime affair, her fifth in six extra-hole battles. How she did it? Well…

How Lee nearly conquered all

Minjee Lee has three LPGA tour wins of her own but, like Ko, none since 2016. The Aussie had seven birdies in her final round, including 3 of the final 4 holes. She even had one more in the playoff, on the par-5 closing hole. Unfortunately for Lee, Ko went one better, with an eagle 3. The runner-up finish, couple with Lee’s Australian-tour victory at the Victorian Open in February, bodes well for the soon-to-be 22 year old.

One with the golf course@MEDIHEALChamp @GolfChannel pic.twitter.com/jkTAWTDwOi

— LPGA (@LPGA) April 29, 2018

WATCH Lydia Ko describe why her 58-degree wedge is so different

Expected win for Mexico’s Rodríguez at Web.Com’s ULC Championship

They say that Victoria National was built to host a U.S. Open championship. I’m here to tell you two things: with all the water, it’s completely not a USGA course. It may, however, be the most demanding course on any tour. If tournament organizers set the course up at its penal worst, golfers might not break 75. Maverick McNealy can attest to this: after opening with 64, he didn’t smell par the rest of the week. Still in the lead after 54 holes, the young Cardinal struggle again on Sunday to tumble from the race. As for the winner? Read on.

How José de Jesús Rodríguez locked up win No. 1

Rodríguez shouldn’t be a surprise to many, despite the thinking that some young American (McNealy, Ethan Tracy, Wyndham Clark) would break through for an inaugural Web win. The Mexican champion has risen steadily this season, with a 3rd-place tie in the Bahamas as his previous-best finish. On Sunday, Rodríguez stood 4-under par through 14 holes, the equivalent of chasing 59 at Victoria National. Although he closed with 2 bogeys over his final quartet of holes, he did so smartly and strategically. Rodríguez went from bunker to bunker at the last, but avoided those heavy numbers that derailed many challenges this week.

What Wyndham and the others have to learn

In Clark’s case, not much. He scorched the back nine in 30 strokes, to jump from 10th to nearly-first, one back of Rodríguez at 5-under for the week. Only three outward bogeys kept the former Oregon Duck from reaching a playoff or better. McNealy had a three-day case of the nerves, after opening with 64. Needing to play his final three holes in 1-under, he instead went 2-over to finish tied for third with Kyoung-Hoon Lee, two back of Clark and three off the lead. Unlike that other National, the annual site of the Masters, this one demands absolute precision off the tee, and JJR was the king of accuracy this week.

"He swung right out of his sunglasses." ????

Jose de Jesus Rodriguez leads by two @ULCGolf with two holes to play. pic.twitter.com/n5I1NkYnvE

— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) April 29, 2018