A true fan of professional golf tournaments commented this week on how valuable the perceived-as-lesser events truly are. They may not measure greatness in the way that major events do, but they measure survival and achievement in the way that quarterly bonuses and interviews can. These events change the lives of tour players. That made cut leads to another chance next week. That late-Sunday birdie leads to exempt status next year. The measuring stick is different but, just as meters are to yards, it still measures something that matters … a lot. With that in mind, let’s run down what we saw this week on Tour Rundown. And, Happy Independence Day to those of you in the USA.

PGA Tour: John Deere Classic is Poston’s second win on tour

J.T. Poston came out like a man possessed on Sunday in Silvis, Illinois. He reeled off birdies at the first three holes, to reach 22-under par. No other golfer would approach that number, although Emiliano Grillo tried. The Argentine arrive at 19-deep with a birdie at the 10th hole. He would make bogey at 12 and 14, but recover with one final birdie at 18, and tie for second with Christian Bezuidenhout of South Africa.

A bit before Grillo’s arrival at Station 19, Poston had slipped to 20-under with consecutive bogeys at five and six. The needle would not move for the 2019 Wyndham winner for another 11 holes. Inconceivably, Poston made 10 pars in a row, and remained atop the field. No one took a run at him until late, and by then, it was nearly over. Playing companion Denny McCarthy had his struggles on the day, but managed a top-ten placement. Down the stretch, Poston made birdie at the penultimate hole for a bit of breathing room. He finished with a 21-under par total and a three-shot margin of victory.

Big up-and-down for birdie from @JT_ThePostman

He opens up a 3-shot lead heading to 18. pic.twitter.com/zqfhzUcyxm

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 3, 2022

DP World Tour: Irish Open champion hails from a new land

Adrian Meronk sang a singular note this week on the DP World Tour. His run of birdie-birdie-eagle at the 15th through 17th holes in round four ensure that, forever and always, he would be the first son of Poland to win on the DP World Tour. In all the years under its former name, not one citizen of Polonia broke through to raise a chalice. Now the flag of white and red has a favorite son to cheer in all events, from here on out.

Betting money might have seen Jorge Campillo, already twice a winner on tour, break through for a third career title. The Spaniard could never get on the run that he needed on Sunday. Each pair of birdies was always followed with a bogey, and the Iberian settled for a top-ten placement. Betting money would not have seen Ryan Fox bookend his opening 64 with another on Sunday. The New Zealand native was two island all week: rounds one and four were brilliant, while the middle two were bumpy and uncertain. Fox stood nine-under par on the day as he headed to 18. Needing a final birdie to finish at 61 and 19-deep, the Kiwi settled for bogey and 17-under.

Fox the runner-up and Meronk the champion will do battle over the coming weeks at the Scottish, and then the Open, championships. Meronk’s work on the final day featured just one bogey, and just five over the entirety of the 72 holes of competiion. As he nears 30 years of age, now might be the time to make a statement in a major event.

? Birdie
? Birdie
? Eagle @AdrianMeronk takes a three shot lead to the 18th.#HorizonIrishOpen pic.twitter.com/gAyYfqdiIP

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 3, 2022

Korn Ferry Tour: The Ascendant bids Dou safe passage to PGA Tour

Ryan McCormick had controlled The Ascendant since Thursday, but Sunday was not his day. The 54-hole leader tumbled twelve positions into a tie for 13th, unsealing an envelope of opportunity for his pursuers. Carl Yuan reached 17-under par and a tie for the lead, but made bogey at the last to finish at 16 below. Jeremy Paul stood at 16-deep on the 16th tee, but played the closing stretch in one-over figures to check out at 15 strokes saved. Cut the deepest was Augusto Núñez. The Argentin reached 17-under with two to play, but posted a pair of bogeys coming home, and tied for third with Paul and Brandon Matthews.

Who survived? Zecheng “Marty” Dou, that’s who. He had the sort of round going that McCormick and the rest of the field craved. Dou made six birdies against zero bogeys through 17 holes on Sunday, and had a firm grasp on the winner’s plate with one hole left. When his tee shot found a fairway bunker, Dou went into preservation mode. He played safely out, pitched onto the green, and took two putts for bogey and a one-shot victory. With the victory, Dou jumped from 19th to 2nd on The 25 list for season-long status, just behind Yuan. Both will tee it up on the PGA Tour in the fall.

Gem from Marty Dou ?

He's one off the lead @AscendantGolf. pic.twitter.com/N7JEfYcxIJ

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) July 3, 2022

PGA Tour Canada: Prince Edward Island Open chooses Carlson as champion

While other tours have passed the halfway point in their 2022 schedules, PGA Tour Canada is barely beyond the quarter pole. The PEI Open was the fourth of eleven scheduled events on the 2022 schedule, which culminates at the Tour Championship in September, in Kitchener, Ontario. Brian Carlson of the USA held off Chris Wilson of Canada on Sunday, to win his first event of 2022 and move into the top spot on the season-long Fortinet Cup chase. On the heels of a cancelled event at Elk Ridge in Saskatchewan, PGA Tour Canada looked to rebound, and it did so quite well.

Carlson’s back nine on Sunday was enviable. He had five birdies and four pars on the cleanest card of the contenders. Ironically, he failed to make birdie at the easiest hole on the inward half, the par-five 18th. No matter, as the chasers all had at least one bogey coming home. It wasn’t until the penultimate hole that Carlson and Wilson traded places. Wilson made bogey to drop to 17 under, while Carlson’s final birdie elevated him to 19 below. Wilson made one last run at a playoff, but his birdie at the last served only to separate him from the USA’s Austin Hitt, who finished in third.

The tour reconvenes at TPC Toronto in three weeks, and contestants will certainly be champing at the bit to establish position as the home stretch emerges in the distance.

Brian Carlson fires a 7-under round of 65 on Sunday to capture his first @PGATOURCanada victory at the @PEI_Open. ? pic.twitter.com/S80qt8WKg0

— PGA TOUR Canada – Fortinet Cup (@PGATOURCanada) July 3, 2022

PGA Tour Latinoamérica: Montenegro wins tour finale; Meissner advance to KFT

The Bupa Tour Championship of PGA Tour Latinoamérica evolved into the tournament that everyone wanted to win, but nearly no one could win. 36-hole leader Cristobal del Solar crashed with 84 on Saturday, tumbling down the leader board. Manav Shah, Andrés Gallegos, and José de Jesús Rodríguez each came to the par-five 16th with a chance at the title, and each walked away with bogey six and a missed opportunity.

Even eventural winner Jesús Montenegro had his struggles over the closing stretch. Standing eight-under par with four holes left, the Platense took a rip at the massive, 245-yard par three fifteenth, and came away with double bogey. Able to steady his nerves with a massive par putt at the next, the Argentine closed with three pars for a two-shot victory over Gallegos and Shah. Also coming out in fine form was the USA’s Mitchell Meissner. Despite not winning an event during the 2022 campaign, Meissner finished on top of the TotalPlay Cup standings, and earned the first of ten promotions to the Korn Ferry Tour for 2023.

Después de un doble-bogey al 15, @JesusMontenegr_ ?? salva un par enorme en el 16.

Siguió con par al 17 y con -6 llega al tee del 18 ganando por dos.

Ronda Final #BupaTourChampionship pic.twitter.com/4saiQq9rvZ

— PGATOURLA (@PGATOURLA) June 26, 2022