Sherwood Country Club lies one hour north and west of where Patrick Cantlay was raised. That proximity disposes his participation in the ZOZO Championship as home cooking. The California Kid lurks as a late returner, for the many established reasons (we’ll mention a pair below) and when on his game, is a bet for contention.

Ross McGowan is not those things. Prior to Sunday, he had won twice in his professional orbit. One came in Europe, on the big tour, while the other celebrated in South Africa, on the Sunshine circuit. As you can guess, he receives mention for a reason.

Finally, Ally McDonald was a head-scratcher of a USA Captain’s Pick in the 2019 Solheim Cup. Unfortunately for her, she played true to form, and didn’t help much as the USA went down in defeat. Fast forward to 2020, and McDonald faced off against the defacto number one, Danielle Kang, and…it’s time for Tour Rundown on my birthday!

Cantlay wins relocated ZOZO championship

Doesn’t seem to matter where they play the ZOZO; a Californian comes out on top. Tiger Woods won the inaugural playing in 2019, some 5500 miles distant from this year’s venue. Pandemics compel that sort of rearrangement. For all the world, it looked like a Justin Thomas vs. Jon Rahm duel, a golfers who don’t win as often as they should sort of showdown. As if to prove a point, neither one won.

Instead, it was Patrick Cantlay, the Patrick-return-lately who suffered a back injury early in his pro career, then lost his caddie/best friend in a tragic, hit-and-run when he returned. Since 2017, when the Long Beach native was finally able to put the puzzle together, he has won thrice on the PGA Tour. This week, he never looked uncomfortable until an inexplicably-pulled wedge at the 70th hole led to a comedic bogey, reducing his margin of advantage to one stroke over Rahm.

The Basque had no more stroke-savers in his pocket, and ended on -22. At the 18th, his playing partner Thomas made a birdie of his own, to tie Rahm at -22. As for Cantlay, he found pars at the bottom of the cup on 17 and 18, and signed for 23-under par on the week, thanks to a 9-birdie round of 65 on day four.

McDonald makes Drive On her first title

Ally McDonald was not anyone’s favorite when the week began at Reynolds Plantation, in Georgia. The Mississippi native (and Mississippi State alum) certainly felt at home in the southeast, but prior to Sunday, had zero professional wins to her name. That’s not to say she hadn’t experienced success. The Tupelo Kid was a major-event lurker, with six, top-25 finishes in the past two years. What made things better for her, perhaps karmic, was the coinciding of her birthday with Sunday’s final round. Making it an anniversary to remember for all time, McDonald implausibly won.

Danielle Kang was on march toward another tour victory. The black belt in karate had gone deep into the golfing dans in 2020 with two wins and a number-one ranking. All that had eluded her thus far was major championship success. Coming down the stretch, she and McDonald were locked in a battle with wunderkind Bianca Pagdanganan, the current distance leader on tour. Here’s how it shook out:

• Pagdanganan birdied the final two holes … and lost. She had Faldoed her way to 16 consecutive pars on the day, and the pair of birds brought her to -14, two back of the winner;
• Kang birdied the final hole … and lost. She made six birdies on the day, but a pair of bogeys did her in.

McDonald’s birdie at 16 gave her a three-shot cushion. She gave one back at 17 with bogey, then dropped a par putt at 18 to keep Kang at bay. Nothing like celebrating your 28th birthday with champagne!

McGowan lays claim to victory in Italia

As happens with many professional athletes, injuries slowed Ross McGowan as he entered the prime of his 20s. His burgeoning career stalled, and he returned to Europe’s Challenge Tour, in an effort to stoke the embers of a promising future. His inaugural victory, at the 2009 Madrid Masters, lay in the distant past. With fortitude on his side, McGowan returned to the winner’s podium in 2020, halfway between Milan and Venice.

McGowan was the talk of Brescia over three days, reaching 19 strokes below par by Saturday evening. As might have been predicted, Sunday would be different, and the Englishman endured three bogies and a double in his fourth round. It’s important to have a short memory if you wish to compete successfully, and the man from Surrey followed that double with an eagle. He wasn’t out of the choppy waters just yet, but he did uncover three more birdies along the road to the final green. McGowan made birdie at the final hole for the fourth consecutive day, slipping past another resurgent golfer by one squeaky stroke.

Nicolas Colsaerts, the lean and long-hitting Belgian, was fast-tracked for success early in his career. The anticipated never arrived, and the title journeyman was affixed to his plot line. On Sunday, Colsaerts opened with bogey, but then produced five birdies over the next 17 holes. His 68 wasn’t low round of the day, but it was low round among those who mattered. Colsaerts might have caught McGowan if golf still adhered to the St. Andrean standard of 22 holes, but that’s a matter for another epoch.