It cannot be easy to be an athlete this month. With great global conflict rising from the improbable to the possible, the ability to focus on the Ukraine border and on your competition must not be easy to harness. Lord knows it is nearly impossible for those of us with non-athletic jobs to do. Our thoughts and prayers are always with those who sacrifice to protect the lives of civilians across the globe.

With this being the weekend of that big game in that other sports league, the number of golf competitions was reduced to three on the major tours. The always-popular PGA Tour‘s Phoenix Open took place at TPC Scottsdale, while the Korn Ferry Tour touched down in Colombia, and the DP World Tour competed for a second-consecutive week at Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.

Despite the reduced number of events, each proved itself worth of our attention for a different reason. Have a great Tour Rundown!

PGA Tour: Phoenix Open pushes into extra holes and goes to the new kid

Turns out that the hole location on the 18th hole at TPC Scottsdale didn’t just break the internet; it broke the laws of physics. First came Schauffele and Cantlay; each one under-read the break of putts for birdie. Xander finished in a tie for third with Brooks Koepka and Sahith Theegala. Cantlay had a chance to reach 17-under in regulation, but he missed low as well. Along came Scottie Scheffler, whose approach settled five feet from glory. His putt stayed high and never broke, and away did he go with Cantlay. In extra holes, they would settle matters.

After matching pars on the first two extra turns around 18, Cantlay and Scheffler returned for a third go at the watery closer. Despite having zero tour victories to his credit, Scheffler sized up a 15-foot putt and drained it. Just like that, the Ryder Cupper was a tour winner.

Scottie takes it in Scottsdale! ? pic.twitter.com/fhkEjrb13N

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 14, 2022

DP World Tour: Khaimah Classic sees Fox spring to large win

Ryan Fox won the coolest professional event back in 2019. It was his first then-European Tour title, and it came at the Super Six in Perth, Australia. For those who don’t recall, the super six was a match-play event that anointed match winners after a mere six holes. It was lightning-fast competition, and ensured a high number of matches and a high number of winners. Fox hadn’t yet broken through in traditional medal play, but that changed this week at Al Hamra.

Ryan Fox burst from the practice field on Thursday with 63, assuming a two-shot advantage over Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia. Gouveia posted 13 strokes higher on Friday and missed the cut. Fox faired a bit better, with 69, and preserved his lead. Zander Lombard matched the 63 on day two, and jumped up into second. Day three saw the Kiwi, Fox, blister the course again, this time with 65. At that juncture, he held a six-shot advantage over a quartet of golfers. On Saturday evening, only one thing was certain: Ryan Fox would determine the winner of this event.

To demonstrate how challenging the event was, and how dominant a performance Fox turned in, none of the four chasers maintained position on Sunday. Pablo Larrazábal dropped to third, Adrian Meronk tumbled to sixth, and Adri Arnaus and Scott Jamieson stumbled to ninth. Fox turned to the back nine in par figures on the day, then closed with three-under on the inward half. He posted 266 on the week, good for a five-shot win over fast-closing Ross Fisher. Perhaps the most interesting stat of the week was this: Fox made eight bogeys over 72 holes. He followed seven of those with birdie. A quick recovery, as any medical person will tell you, gets you home fast.

44ft of perfection ?#RakGolfClassic pic.twitter.com/QJmys7X6nt

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 13, 2022

Korn Ferry Tour: Astara Championship goes to Matthews’ remarkable finish

Imagine telling Ryan McCormick and Ben Griffin at tournament’s start that each would birdie the 72nd hole while in contention and settle for second. Each golfer reached the par-5 closer for birdie, and each tied at 18-under par. Along came Brandon Harkins, who decided that he could extract an eagle from those 570 Colombian yards and reach minus-19. Harkins had preceeded his glorious close with three birdies and a bogey, so the rare bird at the last should have come as no surprise.

Griffin was the solo leader after 54 holes, courtesy of a 10-birdie 61 on day two. His other three rounds were 68, and he needed one of them to be a 67. His run at eagle at the last lipped out, and he accepted a co-runner-up finish. McCormick had a 61 of his own, a day earlier than Griffin. McCormick also posted four rounds in the 60s, and like Griffin, needed one of them to be a stroke lower. How did Matthews do it? He kept it in the mid-60s, never higher than 67, nor lower than 65.

The KFT bids farewell to the south and returns to the continental USA next week at the LECOM along Florida’s west coast.

Brandon's come back game is strong. ??

His last 4 holes: birdie, bogey, birdie with a clutch birdie on 17 to join the leaders. @B_Matthews12 pic.twitter.com/OoEENbslkV

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) February 13, 2022