For golf fans across the world, July signals the arrival of ground golf on telecasts. Four wondrous tournaments play out across streams and sets around the globe. Doesn’t matter if it’s heathland or linksland, or some delicious hybrid of the two. The ball bounces and ricochets and caroms, befuddling fans and perplexing players. Just think about it: we have three more weeks to watch this marvel.

The most famous shot of the week came in a semi-pro event, featuring those guys we hate because they excel at more than one sport. Steph Curry showed us all how to celebrate a walk-off eagle at the Celebrity Tour event. Amateurs everywhere, take note, and then take a lap with our Tour Rundown.

Never realized how bad golfers are at celebrating until I saw Steph Curry's walk-off eagle. THAT'S how you win! pic.twitter.com/jRkzIfoQD8

— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) July 17, 2023

DP World Tour @ Scottish Open: Two big macs have birdie fest at Renaissance

Rory McIlroy and Robert MacIntyre gave golf fans a wild close to the Scottish Open. MacIntyre is the Scottish talent that the home of golf has yearned for, since Sandy Lyle ceased playing like Sandy Lyle. Young Bobby made a startling eagle at the 10th hole, and closed with an outrageous birdie at the last. He marked 14-under par as the clubhouse lead, then waited for the final four groups to make their trek homeward.

On the day, Tom Kim, Tommy Fleetwood, and Scottie Scheffler had made runs at the title , which seemed in reach, for all the world. Rory McIlroy, the 3rd-round leader, was in the midst of another Rory Final Round. You know the type: four bogeys by the turn, two shots returned to old man par. No one knows the final-round affliction better than the Northern Irishman, and no cure was in site for his tarantella. And then, middle-aged Rory suddenly became young Rory for the closing nine holes. Birdies at 11 and 14 gave him hope, and a stout iron to the 53rd green brought him to a tie with Bobby.

Then, McIlroy did an audacious thing. He drove the fairway, hit to the green, and drained a ten-feet putt for his first-ever, Scottish Open title. What could Bobby and all the rest do, but nod and clap? On the eve of the year’s final major championship, McIlroy had become great again. It’s been nine years since his last major victory, and perhaps Hoylake will bring him glory once more, as it did in 2014.

A note on Rory. He came into the game when the bar had been raised by Tiger Woods. When Tiger came into the game, there was some fitness and little technology. His main competition was in its twilight year, and a certain left-handed golfer was the only, major threat to his reign. Rory contends with fitter, more intelligent, more committed golfers, on a daily basis. It’s time to stop making comparisons between previous generations and this one. Wins are more preciously achieved than they were at the turn of the millennium.

There were only three birdies at the 18th ALL day…

The winner and the runner up produced two of them when it mattered the most ?#GenesisScottishOpen | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/ZKUiswhYQF

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 16, 2023

LPGA @ Dana Open: Grant gathers first LPGA victory in Ohio

Linn Grant amassed four bogeys over her 72 holes of play this week in Sylvania, near Toledo. That was a fine start. She followed the first course with buckets of birdies and the occasional eagle. She even holed from the fairway for a deuce on Saturday’s 11th hole. Grant wasn’t the only golfer to post four rounds in the 60s this week, but she found a way to make her scores slightly better than those of her pursuers.

An opening 64 gave Grant the co-lead with Jaravee Boonchant. Her 133 total through 36 stood her in a three-way tie for the top spot. It was Saturday’s spectacular 62 that cleared her path to solo first. Her advantage was six shots over her nearest pursuer, so the only obstacle between her and the podium’s top spot, was malaise. The Sweden native took care of business early on Sunday, marching to a three-under total through 13holes. A wee bogey bump at the 14th shined a bit of light for the chasers, but Grant added one more birdie, at the home hole, to conclude the day’s events.

Linn Grant had a WEEK in Ohio ? pic.twitter.com/bsYaWzUB9G

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 17, 2023

PGA Tour @ Barbasol Championship: Normann defeats Kimsey in one-hole playoff

The Barbasol Championship represents many things to many golfers that you may never have heard of. Money toward keeping a tour card, exemptions that come with a victory, and a spot in the following week’s Open Championship for those not yet qualified. This week brought all those perqs to rookie Vincent Normann, a Swede by way of Florida State. Normann played well on Sunday, but was given a chance at glory when 54-hole leader Trevor Cone made double bogey at the penultimate hole. Cone and Adrien Saddier finished one shot out of a playoff, at 21-under par.

Tied with Normann after regulation was England’s Nathan Kimsey. The pair returned to the watery 18th, and both showed the nerves of the unproven. Each golfer missed the fairway, and then the green. Just when it looked like bogey would send the pair back to the tee for hole number two of overtime, Normann hit a marvelous recovery shot to two feet, to save par. When Kimsey could not match, it was a Normann conquest.

Vincent Norrman gets the bogey save to tie the clubhouse lead @BarbasolChamp. pic.twitter.com/aA3PQOdB9z

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 16, 2023

Korn Ferry Tour @ The Ascendant: Lindheim claims 3rd KFT title with clean Sunday card

Nicholas Lindheim has been around a while. The American won on PGA Tour Latinioamérica in 2014 and 2015. He won on the then-Web.Com tour in 2016 and 2017. Unlike his contemporaries, Lindheim was never able to make the final ascent to the PGA Tour. With his win this week at The Ascendant, he may finally climb the ladder’s final rung.

Alejandro Tosti held the 54-hole lead in Colorado, but the Argentine slipped to a Sunday 71, and tie for 4th position. Parker Coody closed with 67 to take third place, while Max Greyserman returned a 66 on day four, to stake a claim for solo second. Lindheim knew it was his day, when he nearly drove the 3rd green, then holed his pitch for eagle. 15 holes and 4 birdies later, Lindheim reached 20-under par and a two-shot advantage over Greyserman.

Eagle to tie the lead for Nicholas Lindheim ?

He sinks this on hole 3 @AscendantGolf. pic.twitter.com/UJyTejEpzi

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) July 16, 2023

PGA Tour Champions @ Kaulig: Stricker claims another Senior Major

I don’t want to say that Steve Stricker is toying with his competition, but what else do you call it when a guy wraps a 73 with two slices of 65 bread? That’s what Stricker did over the first three days, and those efforts were enough to give him the lead with one round unsettled. On Sunday, a series of challengers stepped forward. First there was Harrison Frazar. Next came Scott Parel, Finally, here was David Toms. None of the huntsmen could quite track the Wisconsin native down, and Stricker closed with 69 to reach 11-under par on the week. His 269 at Firestone was enough to hold off David Toms by three, and win a seventh senior major title.

Stricker opened with three birdies in his first ten holes, forcing the hands of the competition. No one was on track to go low, so the poster child for second careers steered the boat into port with two more birdies and a bogey on the inward half. It was textbook Stricker play that finished the task: find the fairway, find the green, make or nearly make the putt. No one will ever match Bernhard Langer nor Hale Irwin, but Stricker’s body of work on Tour Times Two is certainly top ten in history, perhaps top five.

The major hat trick ???

Highlights from @stevestricker's win @KauligChamp, his third major championship of the 2023 season. pic.twitter.com/AKLmtz6GnJ

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) July 16, 2023

PGA Tour Canada @ Quebec Open: Lamb outlasts wolves in Canada

There was rain at Golf Chateau-Bromont, but not the kind that plagued states like Vermont and New York. The precipitation that fell on this golf course, had a softening effect on the greens. Players shot at flags, and the final total of 22-under par to the winner was part and parcel for the week.

Lamb did not post above 66 all week, and even that score was three shots higher than his other scores. Lamb closed with 63, his low round of the week. It could not come at a better time. Nearby, David Kim was quietly building a mighty effort. Kim was three-under on the front nine, then four under par on the inward half. His 62 was the week’s low round but, thanks to Lamb’s gritty performance, Kim could make up but one shot on the leader. The victory was Lamb’s second in two events, and locked up a Korn Ferry Tour card for the 2023-2024 PGA Tour

Back-to-back birdies on 3 & 4 have given Davis Lamb a two shot lead at the @OmniumduQuebec at 16-under pic.twitter.com/KGQPUPC07C

— PGA TOUR Canada – Fortinet Cup (@PGATOURCanada) July 16, 2023