There was a brief moment in the final round of the 2022 Hero World Challenge when Viktor Hovland was joined atop the leaderboard. When playing competitor Scottie Scheffler holed out for eagle on the par-5 6th, the event’s defending champion was forced to answer, and answer he did.

Converting an opportunity of his own from roughly 15 feet, Hovland carded his second birdie in his opening six holes to remain out in front by a single stroke. Tacking on another birdie on the following hole and rounding out his inner nine with a pair of pars, Hovland saw his lead balloon to as many as five.

While his closest pursuer would change throughout the second nine among Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Cameron Young, who were making runs ahead of the final pair, Hovland stood pat. A few nervy moments — namely on the 72nd hole — ultimately resulted in a back-nine 36, but was enough for the 25-year-old to finish the week at 16 under and successfully defend his Hero World Challenge crown from a year ago.

“It’s frickin nerve-wracking,” Hovland said on trying to close out a tournament. “I was leading by five after the turn and you’re just never that comfortable. I didn’t play all that great on the back nine but it was good enough.”

Joining only Tiger Woods in winning the Hero World Challenge in back-to-back years, it may now be time to remove Hovland from the best young player of this generation conversation and insert him into the best player in the world debate. Having previously reached as high as world No. 3, he is now seven times a winner worldwide — more than Scheffler, Will Zalatoris, Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns. While his triumphs lack the lore of some of his counterparts, the quantity is nevertheless impressive.

Twice a winner in The Bahamas, twice at Mayakoba, two more in Europe and once in Puerto Rico, it is a kid from Norway who has staked his claim as the king of the tropics. As strong a ball striker you’ll find, consistent improvements around the green combined with the implementation of aim point on the greens make the now world No. 9’s future prospects all the more intriguing.

“I guess we’ll find out,” Hovland said on what this win will do for his 2023 season. “The short career that I’ve had, I’ve tend to play very well later in the year and earlier in the year. The next goal is to try keep playing like this throughout the year. It’s fun to end the year with a win and kind of sit on the couch for a couple weeks with a smile on your face.”

While his demeanor on the golf course and ever-present wide smile may not match the ferociousness of his music selection, perhaps soon it will. An emphatic fist pump following his winning putt gave us a glimmer of this and showed the meaningfulness of finishing atop a 20-man field in The Bahamas. While not a PGA Tour event nor DP World Tour event, it was a tournament filled with the best players in the world and served as a strong reminder that Hovland is firmly among them. Grade: A+

Here are the grades for the rest of the leaderboard at the 2022 Hero World Challenge

2. Scottie Scheffler (-14): What a good ending to what was truly one of the great years in modern PGA Tour history. Though this doesn’t count toward his PGA Tour total of 13 top 10s in 2022, it’s still emblematic of the 12 months Scheffler has put together. Though he’s not technically the best player in the world at this moment, you could (and I probably would) argue that if you look at the last year of golf, nobody on the planet has been better. Grade: A

6. Collin Morikawa (-9): Morikawa didn’t really need a nice week, but a year after he kicked away a chance to take the No. 1 ranking in the world, it was good to see him thrive even if he came up a bit short of his first title of 2022. A confidence-boosting event after an up-and-down year will be useful to Morikawa, who goes into 2023 a bit on the undervalued side. Not much has changed with him, though. He hasn’t fallen off a cliff statistically, nor is he in a bad spot. If anything, public opinion went too far after he won two of his first eight majors and now it has swung too far the other way. This is a good opportunity to buy low on somebody I believe is one of the eight best players in the world. Grade: A-

T8. Jon Rahm (-5): It wasn’t the tournament I expected from Rahm given that he came into the week having been beaten by four players in his last four starts worldwide. Was it a bad week? I don’t know about that. Rahm still tied or beat 12 of the 20 best players in the world this week and goes into 2023 with probably the highest ceiling of anyone not named “McIlroy.” Grade: B-

15. Jordan Spieth (+1): Should we draw some broader conclusion as it relates to Spieth’s 15th place finish this week in the Bahamas? History says no, but also Spieth’s history says no. He finished last at this tournament this time a year ago and went on to have a solid 2022 that included a victory and six top 10s. A bad week for him at the Hero, but it doesn’t change my (always?) bullish outlook for him over the next few months. Grade: D

Tiger Woods (N/A): Big Cat unfortunately did not play in a week in which he was slated to, but it was still awesome to see him cruising around the course, jumping in the booth with Dan Hicks and Paul Azinger to offer commentary and staring down players trying as they tried to somehow hit good shots in front of the best to ever do it. If that’s all we get from Tiger going forward, I’m still going to be a big fan of that dynamic (and perhaps even more so than if he was playing). Grade: A

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After 70 starts and a trip back to the Korn Ferry Tour, Adam Svensson is officially a winner on the PGA Tour. Emerging from a crowded leaderboard at the 2022 RSM Classic, the Canadian staked his claim on the final event of the calendar year with a flawless final round of 6-under 64 to get the better of Sahith Theegala, Brian Harman and Callum Tarren by two strokes.

“It’s not even real right now. I’m just so happy. I’ve just put so much work in and to win on the PGA Tour means everything to me,” Svensson said while attempting to hold back tears. “It’s been an up-and-down journey. I’ve had lows, I’ve had highs, but I just kept believing in myself and here I am.”

Svensson was one of many players to hold a share of the lead Sunday at Sea Island as a total of 16 players entered the final day within three strokes of the lead. Making just one birdie in his opening seven holes, it wasn’t until the middle of his round when the 28-year-old began to heat up in the chilly Georgia weather.

Adding three birdies in a four-hole stretch from holes Nos. 8-11, Svensson reached 17 under and matched the clubhouse lead set by Tarren. Unable to take advantage of the gettable par-5 15th, Svensson quickly made amends with back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 to separate himself from Theegala and Harman who were surging in the group ahead.

“I just tried to make no bogeys today. I didn’t even look at the scoreboard until 16. I just said if I make no bogeys, I am putting well, so that’s kind of what I did,” said Svensson. “I was actually feeling pretty good over them [the birdie putts on Nos. 16 and 17]. The one on 17 I didn’t think was going to go in and somehow the golf gods let in.”

Finishing the tournament at 19 under, Svensson utilized a red hot weekend performance to claim his first title on the PGA Tour. Carding 13 birdies and an eagle against just one bogey over his final 36 holes, the 28-year-old will now reap the benefits that come with a trip to the winner’s circle.

Ascending to sixth in the FedEx Cup standings, Svensson will also receive invitations into the Tournament of Champions, Players Championship, Masters and PGA Championship. For a player yet to compete in a major championship, simply put, this triumph is career changing.

“Two years ago I made a decision to give it 100%,” Svensson said. “There was no going back, I was quitting because I was going the wrong way. I’d say it was a good choice.” Grade: A+

Here is a breakdown of the rest of the leaderboard at the 2022 RSM Classic

T2. Sahith Theegala (-17): It was all setting up for Theegala’s breakthrough as he was a member of the penultimate group and thus avoided the final round pressure of bringing up the rear. Getting off to a solid start, the 24-year-old will look back to a double bogey on the par-5 seventh as his eventual downfall. Fighting back with four birdies on his back nine, Theegala shared the lead at one point before ultimately falling two strokes short of Svensson. Grade: A

T5. Cole Hammer (-15): The former standout at Texas had a rough start to his professional career. Narrowly missing out on conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour, Hammer was playing with house money this week as he gained entry into the tournament through a sponsor’s exemption. He took full advantage of the opportunity and collected the first of what should be many top-10 finishes. For his efforts, Hammer will have a place to play to begin next year as he is now firmly in the field for the Sony Open. 

“Pretty darn content with what happened out there,” Hammer said. “Yesterday I had a tough start, but fought back. Missed a few putts coming down the stretch, but gave myself a chance. Was only four back going into today, the leaderboard was jam packed and knew a good round would go a long way in some tough conditions. I’m just so proud of the way that I fought and battled out there. It gives me a lot of confidence moving forward and leaves a great taste in my mouth going to the offseason.” Grade: A

T5. Joel Dahmen (-15): The 2022-23 season marks the final campaign Dahmen will be fully exempt on the PGA Tour for his victory at the 2021 Corales Championship. With added motivation and pressure to play well, Dahmen did just that throughout the entirety of the swing season. With his T5 result at the RSM Classic, he ended his fall with three straight top-10 finishes and inside the top 20 of the FedEx Cup standings.

“I was already in a pretty good position, I was way ahead of the game, I guess, but to gather more points today was huge,” Dahmen said. “You never want to take weeks off because you always feel like you’re falling behind, but with the good finish today it will be easier to take time off.” Grade: A

T5. Seamus Power (-15): It is not Rory McIlroy, but rather Power who will enter 2023 atop the FedEx Cup standings. Winning the Bermuda Championship and adding close calls at Mayakoba and now Sea Island, the Irishman put himself squarely on the radar of captain Luke Donald for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome while rising to the top of the PGA Tour season-long race. Impressive as it may be, moving forward it will be interesting to see if Power can begin to contend in elevated events where the competition is much steeper. Grade: A-

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One of the best things about playing golf with a group of buddies is the fun betting games you can play against each other. One of the most entertaining golf games is Wolf, which can be a refreshing break from standard stroke play.

If you’ve never played Wolf before, you’re in for a treat! Let’s go over the rules and basic strategies of this incredible game.

How to Play The Wolf Golf Game

Wolf is a type of match play where each hole is worth a set amount of points or dollars. Because of this type of scorekeeping, no person or team is ever really out of the match. There are many variations of Wolf, but let’s cover the basic rules first.

1. Decide The Wolf Rotation

Line up your crew on the first tee box and toss a tee into the air. Whichever golfer it points to gets to be the wolf on the first hole. Continue throwing the tee until the rotation is set. This will remain the same until the end of the round.

2. The Wolf Tees Off

After hitting his tee shot, the first player gets to decide if he wants to play as the lone wolf or with a wolf partner. If he chooses the partner route, he’ll then watch the second golfer tee off.

After that shot is completed, the wolf must decide whether to partner with that person or to pass and watch the third player hit. If the wolf doesn’t like the tee shot of the third player, he’s automatically paired with the fourth player.

3. If Partner Format is Chosen, Each Team Plays Their Best Ball

You know what Best Ball means if you’ve ever played in a golf scramble. If not, it simply means that you and your teammate will hit your shots and play whichever ball is the best.

4. The Team or Player With the Lowest Score Wins the Hole

So, if Team 1 scores a 3 on the hole and Team 2 scores a 4, Team 1 is declared the winner, and each player will receive 1 point. No points are awarded if there is a tie, whether in team format or lone wolf format.

5. Lone Wolf Holes Are Worth Triple

Now, before you get cocky and choose to go lone wolf each time you can, remember that each lone wolf hole is worth triple the points. This means that if the lone wolf wins, he’ll receive 3 points while his other non-wolf partners will get 0.

However, the inverse is also true. If the lone wolf doesn’t win the hole, the other three golfers get 3 points while the wolf gets 0. In other words, going the lone wolf route is a huge gamble.

How Many Players Do You Need to Play Wolf?

The Wolf golf game is typically played with four golfers, but some variations allow for three golfers to play. All that’s needed is a few modifications to the rules. With three golfers, there’s no predetermined order for who’s going to be the wolf.

After all golfers hit their tee shots, the one with the second longest drive automatically becomes the wolf. The other non-wolf partners become the wolf hunters. The rules are slightly different for par 3 holes, however, as the wolf is awarded to the player that is the second closest to the hole.

The scoring system for a threesome is also a bit different. After all three golfers have finished the hole, the wolf’s score is doubled and then compared to the combined score of the wolf hunters.

The team with the lowest net score wins. If the wolf wins, he gets two points, but if the non-wolf golfers win, they get one point each.

Players can also decide if they want the points to carry over in the case of a tie. For example, let’s say the wolf and the wolf hunters tie on the second hole. Those points will carry over to the third hole and make it worth double the amount.

3 Tips to Help You Win at Wolf

Now that you know how to play Wolf, the next step is to learn how to win! We’ve compiled this list of 3 tips to help you win more often at Wolf. If you take these tips to heart, you’ll win more bets on the golf course.

1. Play with Confidence

Playing wolf on the golf course is a lot like playing poker at the casino. The golfer who isn’t afraid to take big risks exudes lots of confidence. This can psych out the other golfers in the crew and make them even more nervous.

One way to show confidence is to announce yourself as the blind lone wolf before you even hit your tee shot. This is known by many in the golfing world as the wolf hammer, and it carries a 4x multiplier of points instead of just 3x! This will shake your buddies up and let them know that you aren’t messing around.

2. Team Up with a High Handicapper

This tip only applies if you are playing Wolf with full handicaps involved. When that rule is instilled, it makes a lot of sense to team up with a high handicapper because they’re given at least one stroke per hole.

That means if the high handicapper scores a 5 on a hole, their score is actually recorded as a 4. This can make it easier for you to rack up points, especially if you happen to hit a poor tee shot as the wolf.

3. Don’t Take The Game Too Seriously

This may be the most important tip of all. While there’s nothing wrong with being competitive, remember that Wolf is supposed to be much more fun than regular stroke play. You aren’t playing for millions of dollars like on the PGA Tour, so just lighten up and have a good time out there!

Mike Noblin

Mike has been involved with sports for over 30 years. He’s been an avid golfer for more than 10 years and is obsessed with watching the Golf Channel and taking notes on a daily basis. He also holds a degree in Sports Psychology.

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The 2022-23 PGA Tour season may be trending towards becoming the year of redemption after Russell Henley successfully captured his fourth career victory at the 2022 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. Following in the footsteps of Keegan Bradley and Mackenzie Hughes, Henley’s triumph at El Camaleon Golf Course broke a five-year drought from the winner’s circle and marked his first trophy raise since the 2017 Houston Open.

Finishing the week at 23 under, Henley not only shattered his winless streak but also plenty of scoring records along the way. Both the 36-hole and 54-hole records fell at Mayakoba earlier in the week, and ultimately gave way for Henley to possess the tournament scoring record as well — matching Viktor Hovland’s 23-under total in 2021.

For Henley, this week in Mexico, where his putting finally matched his exquisite iron play and accurate driving, was more than overdue. Ranking second, sixth and third in strokes gained approach the last three seasons on the PGA Tour, Henley has experienced his fair share of gut-wrenching and heartbreaking moments in the final stages of tournaments.

Earlier this year, Henley went into the weekend at the 2022 Sony Open in full control of his game. Playing the final 36 holes in 8 under, the Georgia alum was tracked down by Hideki Matsuyama through a herculean effort that featured consecutive rounds of 7-under 63. 

Falling in a playoff at Waialae Country Club just months earlier, Henley missed out on extra holes entirely at the 2021 Wyndham Championship. Commanding a three-stroke lead entering the final round, the 33-year-old carded four back-nine bogeys including one on his 72nd hole which resulted from a three putt from 25 feet away.

“I just tried to learn from my past and my screw ups,” said Henley. “That’s kind of what I took from the last two events that I played from the start of this season and just tried to learn what I am doing wrong and how can I get better with it. All those events that I didn’t close out, they hurt. You don’t know if you’ll ever get to win another one. It’s so hard out here. To come down 18 with a four-shot lead, it was just really cool. It’s still just … I don’t even know what to say.”

These moments of pain only make this moment of joy at Mayakoba that much deeper and that much more meaningful as Henley came into the event having failed to convert his last five 54-hole leads into victories.

The consistency in which Henley has been able to put himself in this position should be applauded, yet consistency is hardly rewarded in the game of golf without the accompaniment of hardware, especially on the PGA Tour. With such a strong tee-to-green, presence — similar to Bradley almost — it does make the mind wander and imagine what this win will do for Henley’s confidence and if this consistency of his can translate into even more titles.

From 2013-18, Henley was one of the best putters on the PGA Tour before completely falling off with the putter in hand. While Henley has experienced his troubles the last handful of seasons with the flat stick, his victory at the 2022 World Wide Technology Championship illustrates exactly what he is capable of when that club cooperates. 

A non-major champion — although a 54-hole leader at the 2021 U.S. Open — and a non-participant in Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups for the United States, conventional wisdom and the sheer depth of the PGA Tour suggests that will not change in 2023. But don’t be surprised if come major championship season or come the time for Zach Johnson to make his captain’s selections for Rome if there isn’t a moment when Henley’s name isn’t at least brought up in conversation. Grade: A+

Here are the grades for the rest of the leaderboard at the 2022 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. 

T3. Scottie Scheffler (-18): After a quiet fall, Scheffler lit up the course at Mayakoba on Sunday with a 9-under 62 and the round of the week at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. It was what we grew accustomed to from him early in the year, and though he didn’t win, his finale made it easy to envision him bridging 2022 to 2023. Grade: A-

“I feel good, game feels good,” he said. “I hit it nicely this week outside of the few, you know, bad breaks. And a few things go my way, a few more putts go in, I could have been right in the tournament, but obviously Russell’s playing great golf right now and hopefully he just continues to cruise.”

T15. Collin Morikawa (-15): Morikawa had his best finish of the fall this week at Mayakoba, and it coincided with his work with a new putting coach. More interestingly, he popped back at analyst Trevor Immelman after Immelman suggested that Morikawa has been struggling a bit because of how difficult it is to live up to the ridiculously high standard he set for himself early in his career by winning so often (including two of his first eight majors). Morikawa’s response was … kind of odd.

“Wow, that’s hard to hear from him,” Morikawa told Golf Channel. “I couldn’t care less what he says there because I don’t think that’s my bar. I think I’ve got so much more to improve. I’ve been near last on putting. I don’t think I’ve even finished close to being average on putting. If I can just get my putting to be average, I think there’s so much more to improve. I don’t know where that came from, but that kind of stings there. I don’t like to hear that.

“I don’t know if it that was a compliment, I’ll be honest. If he did, maybe it came off wrong from what I heard. For me, I’ve never seen a ceiling. I just want to keep improving. Obviously we took a couple steps back this year. It’s just trying to get better every day and trying to improve on little things. I expect myself to play well. I set really high goals for myself. It just sucks when they don’t come through.”

This has to be a misunderstanding here because Immelman in no way was trying to offend Morikawa. He was simply saying that high bars early in one’s career are difficult to return to, which is true. Morikawa’s response was not commensurate with what Immelman’s posture toward him. Grade: B+

T10. VIktor Hovland (-16): It wasn’t the three-peat Hovland envisioned, but Hovland has now shot scores of 67-69-63-65-67-65-62-67-65-69-66-68 over the last three years at Mayakoba and lost to nine of 393 competitors in that timespan. That is, of course, preposterous. Grade: B-

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Dustin Johnson’s 4 Aces quartet claimed victory as this year’s inaugural LIV Golf series concluded with a season-ending team event in Miami.

Four teams made it through to the final day on Sunday when the 4 Aces finished on seven under and won by one shot.

Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Pat Perez were the other members of the team.

Two-time major winner Johnson had already won the inaugural individual LIV Golf championship, receiving $18m (£16.2m) of prize money, going into the season finale.

The American clinched victory for his side with a short putt on the last hole as Team Punch, whose captain is Australia’s Cameron Smith, finished runners-up on six under.

The Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf series, which has offered a $25m purse at its previous tournaments, has caused deep division in the sport.

There are currently no world ranking points on offer for those that have chosen to join the series and LIV golfers have been banned from the PGA Tour.

Rumours around the event were that LIV is targeting four of the world’s top 15 golfers for the 2023 season.

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It has been a long three years for Rickie Fowler and on Sunday at the 2022 Zozo Championship he has an opportunity to squash all his past critics. Getting around Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club with a 4-under 66 on Saturday, Fowler stands at 14 under through three rounds and commands a slim lead over Keegan Bradley at 13 under, Andrew Putnam at 12 under and Viktor Hovland at 11 under.

Playing in the final pairing alongside Putnam in the third round, Fowler hardly looked as if he was a year removed from his last contention run. Two birdies on his outward half were accompanied by three on his inward half and only one bogey — his lone blemish over his last 36 holes.

While the collective golf public will be at the back of Fowler in the final round of the Zozo Championship, his return to prominence will not come without stress. Fowler has struggled as a 54-hole leader throughout his tenure on the PGA Tour, converting only two of eight prior chances into victories including his last triumph at the 2019 WM Phoenix Open.

Last in this position at the 2021 CJ Cup at The Summit Club, Fowler struggled early and often 51 weeks ago and ultimately gave way to Rory McIlroy. There is no McIlroy in this field, but that is not to say his pursuers can be glanced over. Bradley can ball-strike with the best of them, Putnam is in the midst of a stellar seven-tournament stretch and Hovland is well, Hovland and capable of just about anything.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in this situation. Last year at CJ [CUP] was in a similar situation, but other than that, there hasn’t been much the last few years,” Fowler said. “Obviously remember being in those situations before, but no, it will be tough tomorrow, but also fun. I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’m going to have to play well and continue to do what I’ve been doing the last three days. Keegan [Bradley], Putty [Andrew Putnam] on down the list, there’s plenty of guys within a few shots. I’m out front, in control, but that can change if I don’t execute like I have been.”

The leader

1. Rickie Fowler (-14)

Fowler began the week congratulating Tom Kim and his former caddie Joe Skovron on their victory at the Shriners Children’s Open and now he finds himself in position to grab a trophy of his own. Motivation has never been fleeting for Fowler as critics run wild and his recent swing changes only empowered those to come out of the woodworks. 

The iron play has looked extremely sharp through three rounds, but more importantly, he is starting to putt like vintage Fowler again. While many like to point to his full swing as the cause of his poor play, it has actually been the flat stick which has let the 33-year-old down. Losing strokes on the greens the last two seasons on the PGA Tour, he has quickly rectified this situation. While the full swing will surely come under pressure in the heat of contention — and the driver should be on the eyes of viewers — with Fowler it has and always will come down to the putter.

Other contenders

2. Keegan Bradley (-13)

3. Andrew Putnam (-12)

4. Viktor Hovland (-11)

T5. Maverick McNealy, Cameron Champ, Hayden Buckley (-10)

T8. Sahith Theegala, Taylor Moore, Tom Hoge, Ryo Hisatsune, Joel Dahmen, Matthew NeSmith (-9)

Earlier this week, a question was posed on the First Cut Podcast whether Collin Morikawa, Cameron Young or Hovland will capture the most victories in the 2022-23 season. My CBS Sports colleague Kyle Porter was the lone man to select Hovland and must be grinning at the moment.

Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club is an exquisite fit for the Norwegian as he is one of the best ball strikers in this field and has displayed this through 54 holes. Hitting all 18 greens in regulation in Round 3, if Hovland is able to keep things this stress free on Sunday, it may be him and not Fowler who notches a win for Oklahoma State.

“It’s just kind of simple golf. Like there’s not too much water, but there’s just some really good tee shots out here. Not the widest fairways and the rough is penal, so you’ve got to drive it well,” Hovland said. “If you put it in the fairway, you’re going to have a lot of good short irons with the greens being so soft and pure, so you can really attack the pins, and if you get the putter going, you can make some birdies.”

2022 Zozo Championship updated odds and picks

• Rickie Fowler: 11/5
• Keegan Bradley: 12/5
• Viktor Hovland: 6-1
• Andrew Putnam: 15/2
• Maverick McNealy: 20-1
• Cameron Champ: 25-1
• Hayden Buckley: 40-1
• Sahith Theegala: 40-1
• Tom Hoge 45-1
• Matthew NeSmith: 60-1
• Taylor Moore: 75-1
• Joel Dahmen: 80-1

The heart says Fowler gets off the schneid and wins the Zozo Championship. His price is relatively fair and I don’t mind indulging just for the fact it is Fowler. Unfortunately, golf has a way of ripping hearts out and Hovland may be the player to do just that. 

The world No. 11 will need to hit a few more fairways, but for a driver of his caliber, this should be achievable. He has quietly become one of the best putters in the world dating back to last summer and combined with his ball-striking prowess, he will put a ton of pressure on Fowler, and possibly enough to break him. 

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Jodi Ewart Shadoff secured a long-awaited maiden LPGA Tour title at the 246th attempt after hanging on for a one-shot victory at the Mediheal Championship.

The 34-year-old from Yorkshire began the final day with a four-shot lead after earlier rounds of 65, 69 and 69 at The Saticoy Club in California, but two nervy bogeys over the front nine on Sunday, offset by a solitary birdie, saw her lead completely eroded by the time she reached the turn.

However, Ewart Shadoff soon steadied the ship with birdies at 12 and 14, and solid pars over the four closing holes saw her card a one-under 71 and a one-shot victory.

Japan’s Yuka Saso birdied her final three holes for a 66 to take her into second place, while Georgia Hall’s final round 65 lifted her to tied-third alongside Paula Reto and Danielle Kang.

Ewart Shadoff, who struggled with injury last year, said: “It’s a little bit surreal. I didn’t know if this moment would ever come. I’m just really grateful for everybody who’s on my team. I’m standing here with the trophy because of them.”

She added: “I’ve been through a lot in the past couple of years with injuries, and I found it a pretty significant mental challenge to get through that. There were times when I didn’t think I would be playing this year, but I didn’t give up on myself. I’ve learned that I can fight through adversity and I can play under the nerves. The last putt was only a foot, but it felt like 20!”

Ewart Shadoff’s victory earned her $270,000 and a move up to 61^st in the world ranking from her previous position in 92^nd.

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Tom Kim may officially be him after outdueling Patrick Cantlay in the final round Sunday of the 2022 Shriners Children’s Open for his second victory on the PGA Tour. Triumphant for the second time in two months, the 20-year-old superstar who burst onto the scene at the 2022 Presidents Cup may only be getting started.

Beginning the day at 19 under and in a share of the lead, Kim quickly fell behind when Cantlay opened with a birdie of his own. In lockstep with veteran caddie Joe Skovron, Kim was unphased. The South Korean connected on his first birdie of the day on the par-4 fourth and added two more on Nos. 8-9 to turn in 3-under 32 and in possession of a two-stroke lead.

This comfortable margin would be short-lived as Cantlay found his stroke early on the inward nine. With consecutive birdies on 11 and 12, the pair went into the final third of TPC Summerlin all squared. 

Back-and-forth Kim and Cantlay continued to go before arriving at the 17th tied at 24 under. Trading pars on the difficult par 3, Cantlay’s tee shot on the 72nd hole ultimately sealed his fate. Finding the native area, the world No. 4 attempted to play from the brush and left his golf ball at his feet before taking an unplayable and hitting his fourth shot into the water. Leading to a triple bogey, all Kim needed was a routine par for his second win in his last four starts.

Known to be automatic in clutch situations, it was not Cantlay, but rather Kim who held the steady hand. Getting around TPC Summerlin in a bogey-free fashion on the week, he became the first player on the PGA Tour to do so since Joaquin Niemann at the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic and the first to do so in victory since J.T. Poston at the 2019 Wyndham Championship.

Consistently applying pressure on his playing competitor, this victory showcases the ways in which Kim may win in the future. Lapping the field on Sunday at the Wyndham Championship for his first win on the PGA Tour, this trip to the winner’s circle was considerably different given not only the competition, but the manner in which it was achieved.

Kim never flustered when Cantlay struck back and if he was, his poker face was strong enough to warrant a seat at a big-money table on the strip. Leaning on his short-game at opportune times, the combination of steadiness, touch and a dash of fieriness makes the 20-year-old not only fun to watch, but fun to root for.

With the victory Kim became the first player since Tiger Woods in 1996 to win twice on the PGA TOUR before turning 21.

While comparisons to Tiger Woods are far-fetched, it did almost feel Tiger-esque. Slowly draining the life out of the rest of the field, Kim never blinked in the face of adversity. When punched, he punched back. When faced with sticky situations, he played conservatively aggressive. And when given a chance to step on the neck, he took one giant step in more ways than one. Grade: A+

Here are the rest of our grades for the 2022 Shriners Children’s Open.

T2. Patrick Cantlay (-21): We may never see a 72nd hole from Cantlay like that ever again as the 2017 Shriners Children’s Open winner carded a triple bogey on the final hole to hand Kim the trophy. While some will suggest it was another quality outing for Cantlay — his third runner-up at TPC Summerlin in addition to his win — he needs to start putting these tournaments away. On the heels of a season where he lost in two playoffs and was a runner-up once more, the Californian has admitted to being tired of falling short. Yes, he has eight wins in his PGA Tour career, but given his talent, consistency and mental fortitude, it sure does feel light. Grade: A

7. Sungjae Im (-19): It was a nice defense for Im, who was nearly perfect except for a 70 in Round 2 that mostly took him out of the tournament. Across the last two Shriners Children’s Opens, Im has lost to just six total golfers. The question now is how close to No. 1 he can get. In the last five years, Im’s Data Golf ranking has looked like this: 230-80-30-25-15. Right now he’s No. 11. Can he get all the way into the top five or, gulp, even close to No. 1 over the next few years? Grade: A-

T8. Jason Day (-18): The former major winner closed with 63 to jump into the top 10, and it made me wonder what in the world Day has been up to over the last few years. So I dove into his statistics and his finishes. Day hasn’t won since the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship, but he has finished in the top 20 in over 20% of his events in each of the last four year. The biggest problems for Day have been with his iron play, where he went to a top 25 type player to barely tour average. He’s also gone from being the best putter in the world to being just a solid player. Hopefully the Shriners, which is his only individual top 10 since January, will be a nice kick start to him for 2023. Grade: A

T12. Davis Thompson (-16): Remember the name. Or should I say, remember the name? Thompson led after the first round of the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot when he was still an amateur at Georgia. After a nice year in 2022 on the Korn Ferry Tour—Thompson had four top 10s, including a win—he’s off to a good PGA Tour start this fall with three made cuts, including a T9 at the Fortinet Championship and this week’s T12. The even better news? He flushed it all week and was the worst putter of anybody inside the top 19 on this leaderboard. He’s somebody to keep an eye on over the next month. Grade: A-

T28. Patrick Welch (-13): You might be asking, “Wait, who in the world is Patrick Welch?” which is a totally reasonable question. The answer: He’s an amateur who plays collegiately for Oklahoma, is ranked No. 44 in the world, plays cross-handed and beat over 100 pros this week doing so. Here’s a look at his wild swing, which must be working considering he finished top 25 in the field in both strokes gained on approach and from tee to green. Grade: A+

The First Cut podcast crew is back to bring you their recap for the Shriners Children’s Open and the LIV Bangkok event. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.  

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Yorkshire’s players held their nerve and drained the pressure putts required to fend off a charge from Wiltshire and earn the title of English Senior Men’s County champions.

On a nervy final day at Rothley Park in Leicestershire, captain Andy King and his team got over the line courtesy of a 5-4 victory against Kent. Wiltshire had cranked up the heat on the white rose county by earlier running out convincing 6-3 winners against Warwickshire.

However, Yorkshire had control of their own destiny and duly notched the win that guaranteed them their third title at this level in five years.

At the start of play Yorkshire, Wiltshire and Kent were in with a shout of winning the crown.

At one stage in the afternoon with Kent and Yorkshire heading for a draw and Wiltshire homing in on a win, the smallest county in the finals were daring to dream of a fantastic triumph.

However, Yorkshire came strong in the final hour of play and topped the table with two wins and a draw from their three matches – beating Wiltshire on day one, drawing with Warwickshire and then claiming victory over Kent.

Wiltshire – making their first ever appearance at the finals – played superbly to bounce back from the opening day loss to the eventual champions by winning their final two matches in the round robin series.

The glory, though, belonged to Yorkshire after three days of excellent competition. With each match comprising three morning foursomes and six afternoon singles, Yorkshire’s unbeaten form over the three days meant they deserved the title which follows on from wins in 2017 and 2019.

For King, the victory was sweet after days fretting on behalf of his entire squad and hitting every shot from the sidelines. He said: “It feels absolutely fantastic. Whoever designed or invented this golf event – big congratulations to them! The players have loved playing in it and we love coming to this stage and competing and we’ll be trying to get here again next year. I am proud of the players – sometimes you need the tail to wag and the lads at the end of the order did the business for us.”

Those players at the tail King referred to were Andy Woodhead, Steve Cain and Dave Sanby.

Woodhead was in tears after clinching a 3&2 win against Kent’s Danny Holmes while the smiles on the faces of Sanby (5&4 win against Bob Florence) and Cain (6&4 against Phil Judge) were from ear to ear.

Yorkshire took a 2-1 lead in the afternoon singles from the morning foursomes with the pairings of Ian Clarke and Woodhead and Ian Backhouse and Stephen East having put points on the board. That left them needing three points from six singles – duly delivered by Woodhead, Cain and Sanby.

For Wiltshire and their captain Nigel Phillips, it was a memorable week despite falling just short. They arrived here with the ambition of winning one of their matches. They left after posting two wins while Marlborough’s Jeremy Tomlinson finished the finals as leading points scorer with five and a half out of six.

Kent finished third in the table with one win to show for their efforts, while Warwickshire finished fourth with a draw and two losses.

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New Zealander Ryan Fox dedicated his Alfred Dunhill Links Championship victory on the Old Course at St Andrews to his late friend Shane Warne, the cricket legend who died in March at the age of 52.

Fox clinched his third DP World Tour win by finishing one shot ahead of Callum Shinkwin and Alex Noren with an impressive final round of 68, for an overall 15-under-par total of 273.

Warne, the former Australia leg spinner, was Fox’s regular amateur partner in his five previous Alfred Dunhill Links appearances. As a result, the pair became close and, last year, came within a whisker of winning the team championship.

Fox said: “To be honest the only person I can really think of at the moment is Warney. It definitely felt as if he was with me all the way around. It means a lot to win this event, we were great mates, and it’s just a shame he’s not here. I really wanted to try to do something special for Warney and I’m pretty proud to have been able to accomplish that.”

Those still fresh memories were with Fox throughout the tournament and it certainly did seem as if the 35-year-old Kiwi’s victory was meant to be, as overnight leader Richard Mansell, who began the day four strokes clear of his nearest three rivals, a group that included Fox, found a gorse bush on the 2nd hole and fell back into the chasing pack with a double-bogey.

And not even Rory McIlroy, who shot his second 66 of the weekend at the Old Course to finish on 13-under-par, could get past Fox and saw his own challenge drop away after a visit to the notorious Road Hole bunker, a splash out sideways and a bogey five.

In the end, with England’s Mansell fading to a 76 and a share of seventh, only Noren had a chance of catching Fox. The Swedish Ryder Cup player hit a magnificent approach to the 17th, but missed a five-foot birdie putt, while Fox scrambled a bogey five there by two-putting from distance after a mis-hit third shot only just made it on to the front of the green.

That meant Fox required only a par four at the last to stay ahead of Shinkwin, whose 67 had seen him finish a shot ahead of McIlroy at 14-under-par. Noren’s drive looked like going out of bounds until a freakish bounce propelled it back into play and across to the back of the green. But Noren’s long eagle putt came up just short and that left Fox needing only to take two putts from around 15-feet to complete his victory, collect the US$816,000  first prize,

It was a second win of the season for Fox, adding to a victory at the Ras al Khaimah Classic, and he always looked in control during a round which featured seven birdies, four of them on the front nine. He is now predicted to leap up to 25th in the world rankings list, the highest position of his career.

The week as a whole has once again provided a host of memories for professionals and amateurs who paired up in the Team Championship, won this year by Callum Shinkwin and Alex Acquavella, who posted a brilliant final round 63 at the Old Course to post a -37 total and win by four shots.

Shinkwin praised the composure of his amateur partner. “It’s a tough situation to be in for an amateur playing with three pros. I said to Alex on the first tee just to enjoy himself, and he did. I didn’t notice he was nervous at all. At 14, he hit a driver and an 8-iron, two big hits!”

Acquavella added: “We’ve never played together before, but Callum was a real gentleman from the first day we met. He’s been so supportive this week. I was very nervous today. I started to feel it even more on the back nine, but I managed to have three good holes so I was happy, and now I can go home and celebrate with the family.”

Ryan Fox’s WITB
Driver: Srixon ZX5 (9.5°)
Fairway wood: TaylorMade SIM Titanium (14°)
Utility: Srixon Z U85 (20°)
Irons: Srixon ZX7 (4-PW)
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore (50°, 56°, 60°)
Putter: Fine Tuned Prototype
Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV

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