A second, national amateur champion was crowned this weekend. The PGA Tour of the USA reduced its active roster to 30 golfers for next week’s Tour Championship. The LPGA took the week off, while the other major tours traveled to the Czech Republic, lower New York State, and Idaho. Golf fans kept one eye on mock fantasy football drafts and another on the comings and goings of tournaments. If you missed any of the results while selecting a kicker in the third round, well, we can help you with the golf, but that’s just bad fantasy drafting. Kind of like this lag putt from Philip Knowles.

Knowles had two putts to win.

It took three.

Headed to a three-way playoff with Will Gordon and @mjdaffue13. pic.twitter.com/Vqyq7BcX7E

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 21, 2022

Time for Tour Rundown, friends!

PGA Tour: Cantlay Coruscates at BMW Championship

Patrick Cantlay’s magical run seemed to wane as soon as the nickname Patty Ice was bestowed on him. He had some wins, but not as many, nor the majors, that many anticipated would come his way. This week, the Californian champion returned to the winner’s circle with a defense of his BMW Championship. In 2021, Cantlay won the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs in Maryland; he returned to the middle atlantic to claim a second trophy, this time at Wilmington Country Club in Delaware.

Cantlay grabbed the lead from Adam Scott on Saturday. He posted a six-under 65 to ease one stroke ahead of Olympic champion Xander Schauffele, and three-time tour winner Scott Stallings. Back in April, Schauffele and Cantlay partnered to win the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. On this day, there would be no camaraderie.

On Sunday, the gas tanks of the leaders appeared empty. None could dip deep into the 60s, to ensure a comfortable margin of victory. Only K. H. Lee, winner of the last two Byron Nelson Classics, could go as low as Cantlay’s Saturday score. Lee’s 65 moved him up 21 spots, into a tie for fifth.

Schauffele did not shine on Sunday. An even-par front nine was followed by an even-par back side, and the X Man dropped to a tie for third with Scottie Scheffler. Stallings posted 69 on the final day, and was able to secure a solo second finish. Cantlay found one final birdie, at the penultimate 17th, and that three gave him a one-shot advantage at the last. A gutsy swing from a sidehill, sandy lie was enough to secure win #2 of 2022, and win #9 of his career.

Two putts away from defending his title @BMWChamps. pic.twitter.com/PlNEWTECHx

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 21, 2022

DP World Tour: Czech Masters welcomes Kieffer to the winner’s parking lot

At one juncture in Sunday’s final round, ten of the top fourteen golfers had zero wins on the DP World Tour. The odds were in favor of someone breaking through for a career-changing weekend. Would it be Gavin Green, the third-round leader? How about Tapio Pukkanen, who led at Albatross on 2021’s final hole, only to find water with his approach and fall away? Or, would someone like Thomas Pieters break all their hearts and claim another, DP World Tour title?

The first to fall away was Pieters. The Belgian stood three-under on the day when he ripped driver so far down the 11th fairway that he found a centerline bunker. No problem; just a wedge left. Except, the wedge landed over the green, hard, and bounded out of bounds. Triple bogey. Welcome to eighth place.

Next came the unfortunate Pukkanen. With last year’s watery finish in his mind, the Finland phenom tried to guide a low stinger into the final fairway, instead of swinging freely. Water left, bogey, third place. If it was any consolation, Pukkanen would have needed birdie at the last to reach a playoff.

Green followed. The Malaysian masher found a pond that no one knew existed, on the 14th. Away went his two-shot advantage, thanks to the double bogey that he soon had to scribble on his scorecard. Birdie at any of the final four holes would have brought him into a tie with Max Kiefer, but it was not to be. We simply won’t show you Green’s 180-degree lip-out on the final hole, that would have crafted a playoff. It’s simply inhumane.

The German Kieffer earlier had played the shot of the week into the brawny 17th hole, and converted the wee birdie putt to lick the envelope on his first tour title.

What a shot ? Could this be the moment that sees @m4kieffer win his first DP World Tour title?

The German takes a one-shot lead to the 18th hole.#CzechMasters pic.twitter.com/WthnkbPso1

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 21, 2022

Korn Ferry Tour: Boise Open goes Gordon’s way

If Philip Knowles had been able to secure a par at the 72nd hole, he would have posted four rounds in the 60s. He also would have won the Boise Open outright. This sequence of sentences would not exist had he made that par. Knowles made bogey, and dropped into a three-way tie with MJ Daffue and Will Gordon, coming ever-so-close to leading from start to finish. The trio headed back to the 18th tee, but the hole was no kinder to Knowles for a second time in half an hour.

Knowles and Daffue stumbled up the closing hole with double bogey. Gobsmacked at his good fortune, Gordon simply played the hole as the architect drew the plans. Fairway to green to hole in two putts. With that simple formula, the Vanderbilt alumnus had his first professional victory.

The winning moment ?? pic.twitter.com/7j1tokUcH8

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 22, 2022

PGA Tour Champions:  Dick’s Sporting Goods Open welcome the Irish touch

Although he never won it (and may never have played it) Padraig Harrington is seasoned enough to recall the old B.C. Open, on the regular PGA Tour. The final playing of the old BCO took place in 2006, and the event converted the following year to a senior event. Golfers have made the pilgrimmage to Endicott, NY, for over 50 years. The small-town atmosphere of the tournament is unique in professional golf, and these sorts of events need to endure.

Enough maudlin reminiscance. Harrington found himself one shot back of Canadian Mike Weir at the 2/3 pole of this year’s DSG Open. Knowing that Weir has not won for the better part of two decades, Harrington had to fancy his chances. Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk lurked, but the greatest challenge would come from the Thailand titan, Thongchai Jaidee.

Harrington played error-free golf along the banks of the Susquehanna river on Sunday, and forced the field to chase him down. Five birdies brought him to 16-under par. Jaidee gave proper chase, including a magnificent chip-in for two at the drivable, par-four 16th. His 65 was enough to elevate him to second place, but not nearly enough to reel Harrington in. The victory was Harrington’s second of the year, after winning the Senior Open in June.

A stress-free finish ?@padraig_h closes out his win @dicksopengolf with a par at 18. pic.twitter.com/AkWDNW2gqF

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 21, 2022

USGA: US Amateur sees 36th seed outlast 34th seed on 36th hole 

Sam Bennett was in everyone’s sites at the beginning of the week. That’s how things are for the third-ranked amateur in the world. In contrast, Ben Carr was not on anyone’s short list at the beginning of US Amateur week in New Jersey. As often happens in match play, Goliath and David worked their ways through the field, and found each other on the first tee in the championship match.

Neither Bennett nor Carr was forced to endure the 11-for-7 playoff, but neither figured in the medalist race, either. As matches closed, it became apparent that this was not a week when the course would determine the winner. Ridgewood, a classic, A.W. Tillinghast layout, gave the field a wonderful playing ground, but did not insert itself into the outcome. It left that maneuvering to the players, which is a rarity these days. Too often we hear complaints of greens-too-quick or fairways-too-narrow. Not this week, not at Ridgewood.

The final match began with a series of jabs. The opponents traded wins on two occasions through the first seven holes. Bennett won the ninth, 14th, and 18th holes in the morning round, and took a three-up lead to lunch. Carr will certainly look back at the 11-hole stretch, from 8 through 18, as the turning point in the match.

In the afternoon, Bennett quickly stretch his lead to five holes, winning the 20th and 21st holes. At that point, Carr and caddy Will Wilcox decided that they would not go quietly away. Carr won the 23rd, 24th, and 28th holes to reduce the deficit to two holes. Bennett would win the short 30th hole with par, and would probably point to that stemming of the tide as the key to his win.

Carr wasn’t done. He won the 32nd and 35th holes to head to the last hole needing one final win to square the match. Both golfers made par at the closing beast, and Bennett had the Havermeyer trophy firmly in his grasp.

What a match! @sammy_golf24243 wins an instant classic at Ridgewood, holding off Ben Carr on the final hole.

His thrilling 1-up victory in the #USAmateur final is the @Lexus Top Performance of the Day. #LexusGolf pic.twitter.com/8Bo6n6ornn

— USGA (@USGA) August 21, 2022