As the winds and the cold reached the northeast USA, the tours kept rolling across the globe. PGA Tour Champions held court in California, while the PGA Tour debuted in Bermuda. The LPGA touched down in Taipei, and the World Golf Championships held the final championship of the year in Shanghai. Brendon Todd became the comeback kid, as Rory McIlroy re-asserted his claim on world number one. Nelly Korda defended her inaugural tour victory, while Colin Montgomerie won the penultimate event of the PGA Tour Champions season and playoffs.

True, the Bills are 6-2 (behind only the Patriots in the entire AFC), but there is still golf to consider. Let’s run it down together, shall we?

WGC-HSBC Champions victory moves McIlroy waaaaay up

Rory McIlroy said nothing as the PGA Tour members controversially voted him as their player of the year. Smart guy. He let his golf clubs speak for him this week. The Northern Irishman opened with consecutive 67s over the first three rounds, to establish a 1-shot lead over Louis Oosthuizen. King Louis would fall away on day 4, placing 3rd alone, 2 shots out of first. A 4th consecutive 67 would have brought McIlroy to -20 and first place alone. Instead, he tallied 68, and was caught by Xander Schauffele, whose 66 was marred by a solitary bogey.

The pair returned to the dramatic 18th hole, where McIlroy laced a picture-perfect drive. Schauffele tugged his left, and found a ring of rough ’round the solitary fairway bunker. He was forced to lay up, but did pitch his 3rd close for a birdie attempt. McIlroy thundered an approach onto the green, and two-putted for birdie. When Schauffele missed, the victory belonged to Rory. It was his third unique WGC championship, elevating him to a select company of those who hold all three trophies. McIlroy also jumped to 5th on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai standings, and to 2nd in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup series.

Bermuda welcomes Brendon Todd back to the PGA Tour winner’s podium

Brendon Todd almost set an untouchable standard on his way to victory. Todd birdied holes 2 through 8, to reach 7 deep by the 9th tee. He added birdies at 10 and 11 to touch -9, and talk of a sub-60 round became commonplace. Of greater importance to the resurgent Pittsburgher was his massive lead over a trio of golfers, now competing for 2nd-place money. Todd closed with a birdie at 15 and a bogey at 18. His 62 gave him a 4-shot margin of victory over Harry Higgs, this week’s candidate for Where Did He Come From status.

Todd had struggled recently with self-described “full-swing yips.” Work with a teaching pro, along with an unlikely, recovered stutterer, provided keys to overcoming his concerns. Higgs stood even with Hank Lebioda and Aaron Wise in the closing moments, but a dazzling eagle at the 17th gave the tour rookie his highest finish to date.

Swinging Skirts to Korda after Houdini-esque escape maneuver

Nelly Korda appears to move with ease, along every fairway and green. So calm is her gait, that it’s hard to tell that she just holed out for eagle (as happened on Saturday) or made three bogeys in four holes, as happened late Sunday. The young Floridian calmly stepped to the 18th tee, then birdied it for the 4th time in as many days. That saved stroke returned her to the top spot, albeit tied with Caroline Masson and Minjee Lee.

Masson had 68 on Sunday, making up 4 strokes on Korda. Lee had a 69 of her own, in search of her 2nd victory of the 2019 campaign. The triumvirate marched to the 18th tee, where the defending champion played the hole flawlessly. Driver and hybrid brought her to the par 5 in two, and she 2-putted for a 5th birdie on the week. Neither competitor could match her, and Korda was a 3-time champion on the world’s biggest tour.

Invesco QQQ is Monty’s 1st Champions triumph in two years

Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer were not the two golfers one expected to find in the 3rd playoff of the week in professional golf. Perhaps Retief Goosen, the Saturday leader, or a reborn Fred Couples? What about upstart Tommy Tolles? Tolles did his best, with a 66 that came up one stroke shy of the playoff.  Goosen had an early bogey on each nine, and like Tolles, needed one shot fewer on the week. He tied for 3rd at -13. Meanwhile, at the top of the leader board, England’s Montgomerie birdied 4 of the opening 5 holes, then added 2 more birdies and 1 eagle on the inward half, for 63 and -14.

Langer began the day in 2nd position, and made 5 birdies against zero bogeys on the day. If not for Monty’s heroics, the German would have wrapped up another title. As with the other two, overtime events, this one took but one bonus hole. Langer got himself into trouble and made double bogey at the dramatic 18th. Monty escaped with par and the title. Interestingly, the two last met in a playoff in the 2002 Andalusian Masters. Lightning abbreviated the overtime, and the two agreed to share the title. Not the case this week.