I’m packing for a nifty, three-day trip as I type. Fear not, you’ll read about it here in the next few weeks. This week features a five-pack of tour events, including the first LPGA match-play battle in, where else, the gambling capital of the USA. The Champions Tour features its second major title, and the PGA, KF, and European tours were also battling for supremacy. Knowing that different events finish up at different Sunday hours is every golf fan’s gift. Time to run down this week’s quintet, in our #GolfWRXTourRundown for Memorial Day weekend.

PGA Tour: Charles Schwab at Colonial

How to explain the inability of a former wunderkind to close out a tournament? Jordan Spieth did win in Texas in April on the PGA Tour. So we wondered: With a third-round lead at Colonial, with rounds of 63-66-66 behind him, what could possibly stop him? He could, turns out. Spieth stumbled out of the gate with bogey at 2, 3, and 4. He would play even-par golf the rest of the way, and that trio of slips would haunt him at round’s end.

Jason Kokrak, a first-time winner on tour last fall at Las Vegas, was the beneficiary of Spieth’s spill. Kokrak did nothing spectacular on Sunday, but he didn’t have to. The Ontario native struggled early as well but found a way to make a few more birdies than his counterpart. In the end, his lead was such that he could afford bogey at the 15th and 16th holes, and still win by two. Third place went to the compass of Hoffman, Kizzire, Poulter, and Muñoz, tied at 10 under, two back of Spieth.

1 hole to play.@JayKokrak leads by 1 heading to the 72nd hole. pic.twitter.com/a2dwFVXvDX

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 30, 2021

LPGA Tour: Bank of Hope Match Play at Shadow Creek

What do you call the woman who defeats the giant killer? In the run-up to the final match at Shadow Creek, Sophia Popov had defeated Inbee Park, Patty Tavatanakit, and Shanshan Feng. Two long-standing champions and the winner of this year’s first major. That’s not a shabby trifecta for the 2020 British Open champion. Popov was not unheralded by any means, but she was not recognized as the favorite in any of those three matches.

On the other side of the draw, Ally Ewing compiled an even more incalculable sequence of triumphs. In her round of 16 match, she took down equally under-the-radar Jenny Coleman, but that’s where the spotlight turned on. In the quarters, on-fire Danielle Kang succumbed to Ewing’s game. In the semifinals, Ewing dispatched Ariya Jutanugarn, nearly everyone’s choice to triumph. That win set up a final between a medium shot and a way-long shot.

As often happens in match play events, the week’s lesser golf is played in the final match. Blame sheer exhaustion, both mental and physical, as both combatants have played more holes and dealt emotionally and mentally with more scenarios, than any others. In the Sunday afternoon tilt, Ewing was able to scribble four birdies on her card for the 17 holes of the match, against two for Popov. Three holes were won by Ewing, while Popov was able to claim but one. The German-born Popov posted six 5s on her card, including the final three holes, while Ewing had seven of her own. The match ended on the testy, watery 17th, a par three that extracted double bogey from both contestants. Had Popov but made a four, the match would have gone to the dramatic 18th hole.

As it was, the two shook hands on the penultimate green, and Ally Ewing made a bit of history with a victory at this first match-play event since 2012 on the LPGA Tour.

.@allymc10 never trailed in the championship match of the @LPGAMatchPlay to win 2&1. Check out the highlight video here ???? pic.twitter.com/DrnBbVhckn

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 31, 2021

PGA Tour Champions: Senior PGA at Southern Hills

It’s hard to imagine how a fellow who toiled for years on the PGA Tour with a solitary title to his name, could win two Champions Tour titles in the space of a month. Alex Cejka conquered a restored Southern Hills golf club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and won the Senior PGA by four shots over recent tour winner Tim Petrovic. Cejka began the final round in a tie with Steve Stricker, the man he dispatched in a playoff at the Regions Tradition three weeks ago.

This time around, Stricker imploded, tumbling to 11th place after a final-round 77. Stricker played marvelously last week at Kiawah Island, and repeated the performance through 54 holes in Tulsa. Round four was when the engine ran out of gas, and the 2022 USA Ryder Cup captain had nothing left to generate energy.

Beyond Cejka, the story of the week was PGA professional Bob Sowards. The Ohio native works as a club professional and has qualified for the PGA Championship 10 times, most recently in 2020. This week, he stunned the touring brethren by opening with 67 for the lead. He also closed with that figure. In between, Sowards etched 75-70 on his scorecard, and the resulting 1 under total tied him with John Riegger for fifth position.

This is a first.

The Senior PGA Champion is younger than the PGA Champion. pic.twitter.com/kfKbEZ0Lml

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 30, 2021

European Tour: Made in Himmerland at Himmerland

It was back around 2019 that Bernd Wiesberger established himself as a threat each week he pegged his tee. Three victories on the European Tour that year made him rue the missed Ryder Cup opportunity. Then, 2020 happened and the Austrian went a year without a title (and nearly a year without competition). 2021 sees him rounding into form, and he will give European captain Padraig Harrington much to consider after his performance this week in Denmark.

Wiesberger was the it guy all week long at the Himmerland golf club. The Tyrolean seized the round-one lead with 66, improved on Friday with 65, and held the top rung for the next 36 holes. Although Italy’s Guido Migliozzi closed fast with 63 on day four, Wiesberger gave him little room for improvement with a 64 of his own. With his eight-under effort, the Venetian edged the trio of Jordan Smith, Richard Bland, and Jason Scrivener by one for second position.

5. Putting sideways ?
4. Hole-out from the rough ?
3. 250 yard long iron ?
2. Hacked out hole-out ????
1. Hole-in-one on 16 ??

Shots of the week from Denmark.#MIH21 pic.twitter.com/kpPGbCncsx

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 31, 2021

Korn Ferry Tour: Evans Scholars Invitational at The Glen Club

I’ve known Cameron Young since he was a high school golfer at Fordham Prep. My Buffalo-area guys would meet his downstate mates at the state championships each spring. When he went off to Wake Forest, my alma mater, it gave me even more reason to maintain interest. It’s ironic, then, that I had no idea that he won his first Korn Ferry Tour event last week, so fixated I was with the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.

Young caught our attention again this week with a second consecutive triumph, this time in Illinois. The son of Sleepy Hollow professional David Young started round four lit with birdie at each of the first three holes. Whether it was malaise, or uncertainty, or something else, the former Demon Deacon settled into a mundane stretch of holes, and saw his lead reduced to two strokes. As champions do, Young reached deep and found overdrive. He made birdie at 17 and 18 to re-establish a five-shot margin of victory over runner-up Adam Svennson of Canada. The second triumph all but secured a 2021-2022 PGA Tour card for Young, where he will join former college teammate Will Zalatoris, in the big leagues.

Among the first to congratulate Cameron Young on back-to-back #KornFerryTour titles @AHChampGolf1 @ESInvite …

His former @WakeMGolf teammate @WillZalatoris. ? pic.twitter.com/53zA7hTTlo

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2021