In two of three events this week, the gods of golf were not kind to the overnight leader. No matter how hard you try to delude yourself into being the chaser, and not the leader, you are still the leader. Davis Riley and Peter Uihlein learned a few lessons on Sunday, while Shaun Norris stood apart as the exception to this notion. Our last three-event week for a while featured events in South Africa, Florida, and Louisiana, so take a break with us as we run down a trio of tour trips this week.

PGA Tour: Valspar Championship defended by Burns

Sam Burns takes nothing for granted. He stood on the 17th tee with a two-shot advantage over playing partner Justin Thomas. They were the penultimate pair, and after JT yanked his tee ball left, SB yanked his lefter and shorter. He did well to make bogey from the far bunker, and lost half his lead to Thomas’ par. As they made their way up the 18th fairway, both Davis Riley (overnight leader) and Matthew NeSmith (overnight follower) made birdie at the daunting 17th, to enter the fray.

Burns narrowly missed his birdie try at 18 for the outright win, then held his breath as Riley missed an even shorter try. They returned to the final tee for the first extra hole, and each made par. On the 16th hole, their second overtime trace, Burns drained a thirty-feet putt from the left fringe to defend his 2021 victory at Innisbrook. To Riley’s credit, a day after posting 62, he held his game together enough to tie for the top spot. Victory for the former UAlabama golfer should come soon enough.

He BURIES it??

Unbelievable putt from @SamBurns66. pic.twitter.com/CbWOptcjLW

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 20, 2022

Korn Ferry Tour: Louisiana Open is Carl’s Choice in extra holes

Yechun Yuan, aka Carl, is a 24-year old professional golfer from Dallan, China, and the University of Washington. His experience is far-ranging, from PGA Tour China to the 2020 Olympics to the Korn Ferry Tour. Prior to today, Yuan had a trio of runner-up finishes on the feeder tour. Now, he is a KF Champion and one step closer to a stint on the PGA Tour.

Yuan trailed overnight leader Peter Uihlein by five shots when he began round four. After a bogey at the third erased his birdie at the first, Yuan fired off four birdies in five holes to jump up the leaderboard. Uihlein’s round was one of frustrating pars: he made 15 of them on the day. Yuan added two more birdies on the inward half to reach 14-under par. Uihlein was force to earn a birdie of his own, at the 17th, to tie. Both golfers finished one shot ahead of José de Jesús Rodríguez and Trevor Werbylo, who tied for oh-so-close third position.

The playoff lasted all of one hole. Yuan snuck his approach in close for birdie to dispatch Uihlein. In his post-round interview, he revealed that the win came on his birthday, and that he could not envision a greater gift to his own self. Happy Birthday, Yuan. Welcome to the winner’s circle. Oh, and thanks for the warm-up drill that we can all practice below.

"Basically, a simpler version of how you shank it."

Carl Yuan explains the 'hosel drill,' part of his standard warm-up routine.

NOTE: Not recommended for amateurs. ? pic.twitter.com/kJu1GYBaeB

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) September 26, 2019

DP World Tour: Steyn City Championship sees a first-time Tour winner in Norris

It would take a sleuth of legendary skill to uncover an event with more of a topsy-turvy conclusion than this one. Shaun Norris took a handful-of-strokes advantage into the final round in his home town. Any seasoned competitor will tell you that such a scenario is not usually advantageous. Norris did his best to prove that hypothesis correct on the outward half. Bogey at holes two and four dropped him out of the lead, as fellow South African pro Dean Burmester gained five strokes with a three-under effort heading to the turn. Burmester added birdies at 10 and 11, and assumed control of the tournament.

As if someone flipped an electrical breaker, Norris suddenly found his game while Burmester went into hibernation. Norris uncovered four birdies on holes 11 through 18, while Burmester played the same stretch in two-over par. It was a crushing double bogey at the penultimate green that undid all of Burmester’s fine work on the afternoon. He would finish in solo second position, three behind Norris.

For the champion, the win at Steyn City was his first on the DP World Tour, after numerous triumphs on the South African and Asian tours. Norris had his brother on his bag this week, making the victory more special than ever.

That ??????? moment ??

?????@shaun_pj #SteynCityChampionship #SunshineTour#GreatnessBeginsHere pic.twitter.com/x8obEvLuPt

— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) March 20, 2022