They spoiled me again, those tournament organizers. One tournament concluded on Wednesday, another on Saturday, a third early Sunday, and two more mid-day Sunday. That’s my kind of week for results. Sadly, the Korn Ferry Tour returns to a Thursday-Sunday routine this week in Panama, so my dalliance with disparity is over for a year. I’ll live with imperfection, though, as long as we can find the occasional dose of exquisite perfection. On to another, exciting week of Tour Rundown, and thanks to Maverick McNealy for this week’s dose of grandeur.

? Ace Alert! ?

Maverick McNealy with his second hole-in-one on TOUR. ? pic.twitter.com/vGlDLsGrBi

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 28, 2022

APGA Tour: Torrey Pines celebrates second champion in two days, and his name is …

The Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour defies description. It has ancestral roots in the United Golf Association, yet it is a product of a nation’s reckoning with its past. The APGA has existed since 2010, but in 2022, it takes a deserved and necessary step forward with the support and encouragement of professional tours and major business figures. Its season opened at Torrey Pines, with play Sunday on the North course, and Monday on the South. This space cannot do the tour justice, so please visit the link at the beginning of this paragraph, to learn as much as possible about its mission and its schedule.

18 golfers competed this weekend in the 2022 debut event. As on the PGA Tour, this event came down to the final shots at the 18th hole, albeit without the playoff. Patrick Newcomb, a Kentucky native and a Murray State alumnus, exchanged thrusts and parries with Tim O’Neal and Marcus Byrd throughout the final day. Murray had opened with a 68, the only sub-70 round in the event. Given the nature of the South course as major-championship venue, any score near 70 was bound to elevate the player’s position. Newcomb’s final five holes included two pars, two birdies, and one bogey. It was fitting that he holed a putt for four at the last, to finally relegate O’Neal to the runner-up position.

O’Neal, like Will Zalatoris the day before, would not surrender. He played a magnificent closing nine holes, whose recipe included eight pars and a birdie. On a normal day, that would win anyone the tournament. On this day, his bogey-bogey-bogey start was one stroke too much to overcome. Nevertheless, O’Neal showed his fortitude on putts like the one below, and will be a force in all remaining APGA events. The tour resumes play on February 14th, at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park.

@timoneal8 with a nice birdie ?? pic.twitter.com/5EiWIsvfhQ

— APGA TOUR (@APGA_Tour) January 30, 2022

PGA Tour: Farmers Open decided by playoff

A Saturday finish did nothing to dissipate the excellence of this year’s tournament at Torrey Pines. Two non-winners met in a playoff, ensuring that one of them would walk away with a cherished, first victory. Before Luke List and Will Zalatoris met one last time on the 18th tee at Torrey Pines, they had to dispatch Jon Rahm, who won the 2021 US Open on this very course; Jason Day, also a major champion; local hero Pat Perez, and a bloat of other, worthy contenders.

Will Zalatoris entered the final round in a tie for the lead with Day. Zalatoris played his final 18 holes in minus-one, while Day could only match par. The Aussie finished one shot out of the playoff, tied with Rahm and Cameron Tringale (also a non-winner) for third position. Zalatoris parred his final twelve holes after opening one-under through six. Birdie on any of that dozen holes would have earned him his first tour title.

Closing at a blinding pace was Luke List, known to this point as a long-hitting, almost-champion. List ran four consecutive birdies on the front nine to join the battle. He played the back nine in minus two, reaching 66 for the day. Only Lanto Griffin’s 65 was better than List, and Griffin was, well, playing for the B Flight title today. Birdie at the last gave list a chance in extra holes, and he took advantage. His stellar approach to inches brought him a second Sunday birdie at 18, and a coveted, first tour title.

Luke. List. ? pic.twitter.com/cMwENFUcGI

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 30, 2022

LPGA Tour: Gainbridge LPGA and Ko-Act Two

Lydia Ko was a player hardly to be believed, during act one of her professional career. 14 LPGA victories from August of 2012 until July of 2016, including two major titles. As she approached 20 years of age, her game went away for a stage, and the lean period set in. 2016 to 2021 saw one victory as the Kiwi embraced new challenges and an entry into a new era of her young life. Ko won in April of last year and entered this final round with a two-shot lead over a reinvigorated Danielle Kang.

What more could the LGPA want?

In a sense, Kang has also had a second coming. A star in junior, college, and amateur ranks, the professional game escaped her for a bit. Her win last week and her run at Ko the next, shows that there is a new confidence and efficiency to her game. Down the stretch, the two golfers traded birdies. Only Kang had a bogey on the inward half. To suggest that one hole made all the difference would be dismissive. In the end, two warriors battled to the final putt, and Lydia Ko emerged with the title

As cool as you like ?

Watch the sand save that secured Lydia Ko's 17th Tour victory! ? pic.twitter.com/tfow37h9pG

— LPGA (@LPGA) January 30, 2022

Korn Ferry Tour: Bahamas Great Abaco Classic is a hit for Harkins

If only Zecheng “Marty” Dou had villainous traits, this one would have had Hollywood Ending written at every step. Leader makes bogey at two of final three holes, falls into playoff, loses to career grinder with another bogey on second extra hole. The only roblem with that script revision is, Marty Dou is easy to like and easier to root for. His finish on Great Abaco was gut-wrenching, and is a reminder of the reflux these golfers must suffer on a daily basis. Dou’s week of 69-66-66-69 had zen and balance and palindrome written all over it, but it just wasn’t enough.

Who had enough? Brandon Harkins did. The Chico State alum and former athlete has been out on the tours for 15 years. He saw the light begin to shine last November, when he won the unofficial (but highly respected) Pebble Beach Invitational. Harkins took the lead this week after 36 holes, thanks to an eight-birdie 65 that featured a bogey at the tenth hole. On Sunday, Harkins finally solved the par three with a par, and found his way home in 68. When Dou made six at the 72nd hole, it was off to overtime. There was no glamour in extra time. Three pars and a bogey featured the challenge that it is to seal a deal on the Korn Ferry Tour. The title was Harkins first-ever on a major professional tour. Some guys bloom late.

3 things to know | Round 4 | Bahamas Great Abaco Classic

3?? Seonghyeon Kim finishes solo third.

2?? ? for Marty Dou finishing runner-up in a playoff.

1?? Brandon Harkins secures his first @PGATOUR-sanctioned title in his 179th start. pic.twitter.com/dbGJdx5PZr

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) January 27, 2022

European Tour: Dubai Desert Classic also decided in playoff

A less-seasoned scribe might be tempted to lead with the unraveling of Rory McIlroy, but I am not that writer. The story of the DDC v. 2022 was the back nine journeys of Richard Bland and Viktor Hovland. Bland notched five birdies and five pars from the tenth hole on, and never looked out of balance. Hovland three-putted the 15th for bogey, then reeled off birdie-eagle-birdie to reach the house at twelve under par. Bland’s exquisite birdie putt at the last joined him with Hovland, and the pair returned to 18 for the playoff.

In overtime, both players found the fairway with their tee shots, and each carried the pond that fronts the oddly-shaped putting surface. Bland was left of the green, in a depression, but recovered to eight feet. He would miss that putt, and settle for par. Hovland’s high cut found the deep portion of the green, and the Norwegian’s magical touch reduced his birdie effort to 36 inches. His putt was true, and the tournament was his.

A less-seasoned scribe would have forgotten about Rory McIlroy’s forlorn finish. A drive left of known land on the 17th found a bush. From there, the leader recovered to the greenside rough, then pitched and putted for par. Knowing that he needed to give himself a chance at birdie to win and par to tie, the Northern Irishman did the two things that would deprive him of both: he hit three-metal off the tee, then tried to reach the green from nearly 270 yards, into a breeze. Into the pond he went, his par putt was off, and third place was his own.

What a drive, what a putt! ?

Viktor Hovland joins the lead after eagle on 17.#SlyncDDC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/E1o4sLBvPU

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 30, 2022