Just as the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale is a once-a-year phenomenon, so too, is the World Super 6 Perth, a hybrid medal/match/pool play event on the European and Australasian tours. Unlike the stadium hole, we ought to see more Super 6 events across the globe. Here’s hoping that someone will import the format to the USA, Canada and continental Europe. Oh, the places we’d go! Lots of action to run down, from Australia to Los Angeles, and points in between. Buckle up, gear down, and enjoy the ride!

Kentucky Kollision at Genesis Open brings honors to Holmes

Sometimes golf fans anticipate that the tour can be all buttercups and cupcakes for the chosen greats. Justin Thomas would like the court to hear his testimony: it ain’t. After going over par on just four of his first 54 holes, Thomas made five bogeys and one double over the final 18 holes on Sunday. Paired with a long day (completion of round three in the morning) and feisty winds through Riviera’s canyon, the younger scion of the Bluegrass state finished runner-up to his elder, now five-time PGA tour champion JB Holmes.

The winner did nothing spectacular on day four, but he did make up five strokes on the 54-hole leader with a 1-under final round. Spectacular was Si Woo Kim’s 5 under, the low final 18. That brought him to solo third. For Holmes, the Genesis trophy was his first in four years, a much-needed affirmation of his ability. For Thomas, a reminder that a winning career on tour will bring as much heartache as happiness.

Sometimes all it takes is a combination of luck and skill, as Holmes showed earlier in the week.

Every shot matters.@JBHolmesGolf won the @GenesisOpen by 1 stroke.#MustSeeMoments pic.twitter.com/wtXsULHfJ9

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 18, 2019

Perth Super 6 is Fox’s first European Tour triumph

It’s hard to imagine which is more enchanting, the format or the golf. After three rounds of stroke play, 8 golfers are seeded into the 2nd round. 16 others move into the first round, for the right to battle those elite 8. From there, it goes 16>8>4>2>Champion. Why does every other, match-play event avoid something this thrilling? Fans get to see all the golfers for three days, then witness some mighty, head-to-head tilts the rest of the way. What seals the deal is the brevity of it all: each match is slated for 6 holes (hence, the name of the event) unless tied. In other words, you need to get after it early and hard, or you might go home, 4 holes in.

Ryan Fox is a long hitter from New Zealand. That almost counts as a home-island hero, but not quite. Fox danced with victory on numerous occasions prior to this week in Perth, but never came away with a hand on the trophy. His closest dalliance with the 2018 Irish Open, where he lost in a playoff to Russell Knox. After qualifying 8th this week on 8-under, the Kiwi dispatched Jazz Janewattananond, Kristoffer Reitan, Paul Dunne and (in the final) Adrian Otaegui. For those of you counting, that’s Thailand, Norway, Ireland and Spain. For Otaegui, Perth was a chance to make history, as his first 3 Euro Tour victories would all have been at match play. The Basque will have to wait until later this season for that opportunity, when the tour returns to Belgium for the Knockout event he won in 2018.

In the championship tilt, it was over before it began. The first 3 hole saw 2 bogeys from Otaegui and 2 birdies from Fox. This new math added to a 3-up lead with 3 to play. Par at the 4th closed the door on Otaegui and delivered the victory to Fox.

Ryan Fox is on fire ????

3 up, 3 to play. pic.twitter.com/7s8zWVkWZ1

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 17, 2019

Korda adds Australian Open to family album

Caution: if all that you watch from the Australian Open are the Nelly Korda highlights below, you’ll come away with these notions-long putts made are frequent; approach shots are easy to hit; and only the rough can grab your club head.

The 20-year old American golfer did all of these things on Sunday in Grange, and they merged to afford her a 2-shot win over Jin Young Ko. Jin did her best to chase Korda down, firing 8-under 64 on day four 4. For Korda, it may have been in the kards. Her sister, brother, and father had all won major golfing and tennis tournaments down under, so it was only a matter of time before little sis joined them.

Ironically, it almost wasn’t! Korda’s first three holes of the week were all bogeys, and she was staring a missed cut and a long flight home, squarely in the eyes. She made six birdies against two bogeys the rest of the way to finish under par on the day. The birdies returned each day (8, 7 and 7) but the bogeys reduced to two each day. If you followed Korda beyond the highlights, you saw very few pars. After gaining her first tour win last October, Korda wasted little time in getting the second on the shelf. Predictions on the third, anyone?

.@NellyKorda fired a final round 5-under 67 to win @WomensAusOpen by 2.

Watch her final round highlights ==> pic.twitter.com/paaJf7OgOJ

— LPGA (@LPGA) February 17, 2019

LECOM Suncoast to Hubbard by a pair of shots

One of the exciting elements of the early part of the Web.Com Tour season, is the instant rise in The 25 that a victory brings. The 25 is the season-long chase for a PGA Tour card. Getting there is challenging; remaining amid the elite quarter-century is excruciating. Mark Hubbard jumped from 78th to 4th this week, thanks to a two-shot win over Maverick McNealy in west Florida. The LECOM Suncoast was a true western shoot-out. If you posted 4 under, you went home. 139 made the cut, and the leaders fired mid- and low-60s, all week long. Average 67 on the week? You got fifth place by yourself (five for you, J.T. Griffin!) It took 262, an unthinkable 65.5 each day, to claim victory.

Hubbard made 28 birdies and one eagle on the week. That 30-under sequence offset the handful of bogeys he was forced to etch into scorecards. His bogey at the penultimate hole made things interesting. McNealy, a heralded golfer in his amateur days, opened the week with 29 over his first 9 holes. He had 128 after two rounds for the lead, but the weekend wrote a different story. On that 71st hole, where Hubbard bogeyed, McNealy had a chance to tie with a birdie. Alas, he also made bogey at the par three. One shot clear of the third-place tie, McNealy bounded up the list to seventh in pursuit of his big-tour card. For the guy with the best Twitter handle (@homelesshubbs) on tour, victory was as sweet as a big hug from mom.

Focus and determination. ????

Mark Hubbard (@HomelessHubbs) leads the LECOM Suncoast Classic by four shots.

14 holes to play. #WebTour pic.twitter.com/3KonSfDB80

— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) February 17, 2019

Chubb Classic in hands of the most interesting man, errr, the Spafro, errr, Jimenez

You tell us the bigger story: that the tour bon vivant jumped up 14 places on Sunday to victory, or that Bernhard Langer failed to win the tournament! Miguel Angel Jimenez and the Langer had met before, down the stretch and in playoffs, and the result was sadly predictable. On this day, the pair were joined by Olin Browne at 13-under par, but the playoff was brief. Didn’t even take fireworks! Jimenez made a routine par on the 18th, while both Browne and Langer scored bogey. Just like that, the Spaniard had his seventh tour victory.

It might be the start of something bigger. Last July, the Iberian held Langer off at the Senior British Open by one shot. Has he discovered the secret to keeping Langer from matching Hale Irwin’s total of 45 senior titles? Perhaps, but Langer won’t rest until he hits 50. For today, Miguel Angel, the wine and cigar are yours. For Browne, the taste was sour. He made double-bogey at the last, including a chili-dip chunk of a pitch, to give away certain victory.

JIMENEZ WINS! @majimenez1964 pars the playoff to defeat Browne and Langer. @ChubbClassic pic.twitter.com/SxQ8kjCT6T

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) February 17, 2019