After a World Golf Championship week (which means, little competition elsewhere), things were back to busy as February 29th arrived. Five tours were in action last weekend, from New Zealand, to Oman, to Mexico, to the USA. There was a lot of water in the mix, and it dashed many a triumphal effort. Such is the touring game, where forced carries are part and parcel of the demands of victory. Without delay, let’s rundown our quintet of quarrels, and find out who finished on top, and who else missed by just a little.

Sungjae Im stands alone after The Honda Classic

The eyes of the European Tour were on southeast Florida, watching Tommy Fleetwood. Hoping that the Tour’s hair god would find a way home, to his first U.S. PGA Tour triumph. It was not to be. Needing birdie at the last, Fleetwood dipped more than a toe in the pond and settled for third place, two behind the winning total. In second spot, Canadian Mackenzie Hughes had just followed his Saturday 66 with a Sunday 66. That’s one stellar weekend around the PGA National course. And ahead of him was Im.

The Korean golfer made a name for himself in 2018, when he won twice on the now-Korn Ferry tour, earning promotion to the major league. He kept his card last season and signed a contract on Sunday for another two years. That’s a prerequisite of victory. Im made birdie at four of his first five holes on day four, entering the conversation on who might lift the championship chalice. A pair of back-nine bogeys seemingly took him out of contention, but he returned with bravado, making unearthly birdies at 15 and 17. When the ripples in lake despair, hard by the 18th green, had quieted, Im indeed stood alone with victory number one in one hand, and the championship chalice, secure in the other.

El Bosque Mexico ends on playoff’s first hole

Chile’s Mito Pereira posted three birdies on his day. Beyond that, he did nothing that was expected of a player who had won, just three weeks past. He made bogeys, four of them, and added an unfortunate double to the card. Unbelievably, that disastrous 75 dropped him just one shot from the three-man playoff that decided this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event. Pereira, Dylan Wu, and Matt Atkins finished in a tie for fourth at 11 under. Settling at 12 under were David Kocher and Chad Ramey of the USA, and France’s Paul Barjon.

Ramey’s move had been the most Icarus-like: he reached eight under on the day, two clear of the chasers, then bogeyed 15 and 16 to fall back to earth. Kocher and Barjo each made birdie at 16 and joined the overtime triumvirate. At the first hole, the par-5 first, Kocher made birdie four to claim the title. Barjon had par, which wasn’t enough. Let the record show that Raney had, well, a line. No number. Must have picked up or something. His run had ended, but his second-place tie was economically and spiritually valuable. As for Kocher, victory is worth even more. A move to third spot on the money list, from 27th, is monumental. Confidence and a chance at the PGA Tour in 20-21, is inspirational.

After its Meso-American swing, the KF Tour returns to the continental USA in two weeks, at Lake Charles, Louisiana. 20 tournaments lead into the Tour Championship, where the last of the 20-21 PGA Tour cards will be passed out. Let the tee shots fly and the putts roll true!

Oman Open to Finland’s Valimaki in extra time

Adrien Saddier of France is feeling chuffed. He posted a 69 on Sunday to reach 12 under, and had hope that a penultimate-hole bogey might not cost him a chance at the title. Then came Brandon Stone, who made a 20-foot birdie putt, straight uphill, to reach 13 under. Well, second-place money would suit Saddier well, in any case. Along came Sami Valimaki, who melted a 20-feet birdie of his own, to also reach 13 under and relegate Saddier to the third spot. Off went the South African and the young Norsemen, into a playoff for the Oman Open.

On paper, Stone might have been the safer bet in the playoff. Three times a winner on the European Tour, his final round was a balanced one, with three birdies just enough to offset two bogeys. In contrast, the younger, more mercurial Valimaki was a comet flare: he overcame a double bogey and three bogeys on day four, with seven marvelous birdies. His six-hole stretch, from seven to 12, was emblematic of the unpredictable excitement that he brought on Sunday: birdie-birdie-double-birdie-bogey-birdie. And after two playoff holes, the pair was still tied. On the third go-round at 18, Stone’s reliable draw got throaty and overcooked beyond the final green. He failed to get up and down for par, then watched as Valimaki sneaked in a 30-inch putt for par. With the victory, the first-year member of the European Tour ignited what might be a memorable career.

New Zealand Open is Kennedy’s second

Golf’s great tales tend to take one of two trajectories: the great and final stand against all comers, or the heroic comeback from a distance. Brad Kennedy’s march to victory falls among the later, even though some might debate if a 2-shot recovery counts as a distance. Beginning the final day a pair of putts in arrears, Kennedy’s site was fixed on Joohyung Kim and Lucas Herbert, the leaders. Neither went away. After making 2 bogies over the first 54 holes, Kim struggle on day 4, adding 4 of the pests to his scorecard. He mustered a one-under 70, but it kept him 5 shots out of the top spot, in solo 4th. Sneaking past him, into 3rd, was Aussie Nick Flanagan, who survived a 30-putt round with excellent ball striking. His 66 brought him to -17.

Lucas Herbert, a recent, first-time winner, was closer to the task. He also had a wretched round with the flat stick, tallying 31 rolls just a day after notching 27. Those 4 putts made all the difference. His 67 was, for all the world, a winning round on appearance. In reality, it brought him to the runner-up spot. The deterrent to title number two for him, was Kennedy’s final-round magic. The 2011 New Zealand Open champion began the week with a 24-putt round, then lost his way on the greens for a spell. It all came back on Sunday: 26 putts paired with 15 greens in regulation, to total 63 strokes on the card. Kennedy sailed past the field, to the top of the platform. His 21-under par was 2 shots clear of Herbert, whose runner-up finish must have felt equal parts exhilarating and deflating.

The Open Championship was contested over two courses in Queenstown. Golfers split their first rounds between The Hills and the composite course at Millbrook Resort. The final two rounds are played across the Millbrook course. Hills comes in at par 72, and is regarded as the easier of the two venues. Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg became the first woman to compete in the event. She missed the cut but reached her goal of beating at least one other competitor.

Langer wins Cologuard Classic in  62nd year

The wise ones tell us, a day will come when Bernhard Langer no longer wins. Age, they tell us, eventually weakens the body, if not the spirit. Generational athletes defy this notion, if for just a time. The NFL has its Tom Brady, and the Champions Tour has Langer.

On Sunday, in Tucson, Arizona, the grand German champion stood on the tee, in command of a three-shot advantage. He was not in the final grouping, but they were aware of what he had accomplished on this day. With a tip of his cap to Father Time, Langer made bogey at the final hole. He shot 65 on the day, not 64. He won by a pair of shots over Woody Austin, a competitor seven years his junior, in a league where seven years measure much more than a number. There’s no telling how Langer’s fellow touring pros view him, but they all had to stop for a moment and applaud his effort. The victory was his 41st PGA Tour Champions win. Does he have Hale Irwin’s 45 senior victory total in sight? Of course.

On Sunday, Langer came out firing, with birdies on the first 3 holes. He added a pair toward the end of the half and turned in 31. On the home nine, he notched four birdies against a par of 37. Telling was his mastery of the par-five holes on the day: he birdied all five of them. If there’s a loss in distance anywhere, it’s not in his bag. Overnight leader Brett Quigley had a second tour win in site for 2020. He was two strokes to the good on the day, when he turned for the clubhouse. Bogey at 10 and a double at 12 turned day into nightmare, and Quigley was relegated to a tie for third with Rod Pampling. Austin, as so many others have done, played brilliantly in coming up short to the Teutonic titan. He had an ace at the fourth hole, but his bogey at the 14th, despite his 66, was one that he could not afford in a title chase.