With the Ides of March a few days off, it’s a proper time to remember that no lead is ever safe. Close finishes and playoffs aren’t always the case, but they seem to happen with great frequency. Such is the nature of this game of queens and kings. The PGA Tour celebrated events in Puerto Rico and Florida, while the Korn Ferry Tour competed in Chile. The LPGA held court in China, and the DP World Tour took divots in South Africa. Finally, the PGA Tour Champions concluded play in Arizona, long after the other events had wrapped their results.

PGA Tour @ Arnold Palmer Invitational: Scheffler exerts dominance

For a long, long time, the 2024 playing of the API was inconclusive. Shane Lowry took the lead, then Will Zalatoris entered the fray, and Wyndham Clark and Russell Henley both made appearances near the leaderboard’s summit. A wrangler from Texas, by the name of Scheffler, burst from the herd on Sunday. By the time his dust had settled, the 2022 Masters champion had carved space on his shelf for a 7th PGA Tour title.

Scheffler’s final-round of 66 strokes matched the low round of the week, posted by Shane Lowry on Thursday. Lowry gave up six shots to Scheffler on day four, posting 72, and finished in third place. Wyndham Clark signed for 66 on Friday, tying him with a train-car of golfers for the top spot. Round of 71-70 over the final 48 hours were enough to move him past Lowry, but not remotely close to challenging Scheffler.

Sunday saw the Texan turn in two-under 34. He distanced himself from pursuers with birdies at 10 and 11, and drove the final nails home with two more, at 15 and 16. Scheffler’s five-shot victory was the largest margin thus far in 2024. The tour moves north for its flagship event, the Players Championship, this week.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Chile Classic: Overtime selects Dickson

Trey Winstead had a lead through 54 holes in Chile, but he and playing partner Alvaro Ortiz did little to motivate each other on Sunday. Each struggled over the afternoon, amalgamating seven total bogies on the day. Each posted one-over par 73, clearing a path for the field to jump up and stake a claim on the title.

Garret Reband and Matt McCarthy were able to reach 16-under par for the week, but their efforts brought them into a third-place tie, one shot off the low number. Winstead dropped to 17-under par for the week, and was joined there by Taylor Dickson. After making bogey at the par-four 12th, Dickson closed with birdie at three of his last four holes, and joined Winstead for extra holes. The overnight leader struggled on the par-five closer, and a short putt for par handed Dickson the tournament title.

LPGA @ Blue Bay: Tardy arrives early with win

One of the subplots of the 2024 LPGA season is when Lydia Ko will win her next event. With the title will come automatic induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame, the most demanding shrine in sport. This week, Ko had another opportunity to punctuate that saga, but fell short. Despite holding a share of the lead on Saturday evening, the Kiwi was unable to produce a notable final round, and dropped to a tie for fourth position.

Matched on Sunday with the great New Zealand champion was untested Bailey Tardy. Tardy competed for the University of Georgia and made an appearance on the 2016 USA side in the Curtis Cup. She won professionally in 2021, on the Epson Tour, but saved her best work for Sunday at Blue Bay. A Saturday 66 brought her to the final pairing with Ko, but seven consecutive pars had her wonder if this was her week.

Tardy found the green in two at the par-five eighth, and rolled the putt home for eagle. Birdie at the 9th brought the engine to life, but a bogey at ten took her back to neutral. Over the next seven holes, Tardy reeled off five birdies, and separated herself from Ko. Sarah Schmelzel finished strong with 69, reaching 15-under par and solo second. Tardy’s safe par at the last concluded a 19-under week, and her first LPGA title.

DP World Tour @ Jonsson Workwear: Manassero completes comeback

2009-2010 was a lifetime ago for Matteo Manassero. As an amateur, he won the Amateur championship in 2009, and earned the low amateur medal at the Open championship. In 2010, he became the youngest amateur to survive the 36-hole cut at the Masters. With brilliance forecast, Manassero turned professional in 2010, and proceeded to earn a DP World Tour title each of the next four years. At some point in 2014, the faucet turned off and the titles stopped coming.

Ten years later, Manassero found himself in the cauldron in South Africa. Two homebreds named Lawrence and Norris were in the mix. They posted 63 and 68, respectively, on Sunday, and tied Jordan Smith for second at 23-under par. More than a decade since his last tour title, Manassero drank from the fountain of youth and won for a fifth time. At the young age of 30, there is still much potential ahead of him.

PGA Tour @ Puerto Rico Open: Garnett rises to new heights in extra holes

Ben Kohles has been close to PGA Tour glory before. On Sunday, he held the 54-hole lead at Rio Grande, but the 10th of March was not his day. Kohles fell ten shots overnight, from 63 to 73. Bogey at 1 and 18 sandwiched a 15th-hole birdie for Kohles, and he finished two shots out of a playoff for the title, in a tie for sixth spot. One shot better, at -18, was another trio. Victor Perez, Hayden Springer, and Jimmy Stanger were a close shave away from a birth in extra holes.

The playoff drama was left to Bryce Garnett and Erik Barnes, who matched cards at 19-deep. The duo would revisit the par-five closer three times. The first trip down the hole would result in pars. Journey number two was birdies, and the third visit found pars once more. Visit number four offered resolution: Barnes reached the back fringer in three, and was inside of Garnett on the green. Garnett drained his long putt, and Barnes was unable to match.

PGA Tour Champions @ Cologuard: A cup of Joe hits the spot in Tucson

A pro golfer looking at 60 is eerily reminiscent of a pirate looking at 40. Unlike the younger PGA Tour, members of the Champions Tour know that one decade on the elder tour equals three on the children’s one. If you don’t get your work done by 60, chances are you won’t. Joe Durant is closing in on 60, which made this week’s performance so memorable and valuable.

The Cologuard Classic appeared to be Stewart Cink’s opportunity to win a first senior event. At the 13th hole on Sunday, Cink lost his way and his lead. A triple-bogey seven, courtesy of a wayward wedge approach, dropped him out of the lead. He finished in a tie for seventh, after signing for a plus-two 73. Steven Alker, Jerry Kelly and Kevin Sutherland moved to 11-under par, and finished in a tie for second spot.

Surging past all of them was the yellow-ball-striking Joe Durant. The finest golfer to come out of Huntingdon College (Alabama) bounced back from a bogey at 10, with eagle at 11. He closed with seven pars to surge to 13-below and claim a fifth title on the seasoned circuit.