June arrived last week, but I was on hiatus. An overnight to Poughkeepsie with our state qualifiers left me exhausted and unable to summon the mental acuity needed to produce a scintillating installment of Tour Rundown last week. I hope that you were able to soldier on, in my absence, and I hope that this week’s return helps to ease your pain and to salve your wounds. It does for my own.

Every which way you turn, there’s golf. Think of the events that we aren’t covering this week: Palmer Cup and Dogwood Invitational on the amateur side. Professional events around the world. It’s the gravy train time of year, so rejoice. We see you in Toronto, and New Jersey, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Holland, and Virginia. Don’t worry, your paragraphs are nearly done. Let’s run down a solid six-pack of professional golf in this week’s Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour @ Canadian Open: Fox is on the run

It has been a year since Robert MacIntyre won his first PGA Tour event in North America. Two years have passed since Nick Taylor holed the putt of 1,000 inches to end the Canadian curse on his homeland’s open. One thing we can say about our friends north of the border is that their national championship does not lack for drama and excitement. This year, Sam Burns made up a boatload of strokes on the 54-hole lead, but was caught by Ryan Fox. The pair went off to four holes of playoff golf, until a majestic three-metal decided the week.

Matteo Manassero held the lead at the three-quarter pole, but could not bring his horse to the finish line. His fine work ended in a tie for sixth spot, three blows away from the playoff. Burns moved up 15 spots on the week thanks to a nine-birdie effort. Both he and Fox made birdie at the 72nd hole. Each would face the watery par 5 on four more occasions. Each of the first three ended in stalemate pars. On the fourth extra trek, Ryan Fox risked all with a mighty swing of the three-metal. The shot soared to the heavens, fluttered back to earth without care, and settled inside fifteen feet of the hole. Two putts were good for a birdie that Burns could not match. And just like that, Fox had a second PGA Tour win for 2025.

LPGA @ ShopRite: One Kupcho to go, please

A dozen years ago, Ilhee Lee won her only LPGA title at the age of 24. She triumphed in the Bahamas, but has yet to return to the winner’s place on the podium. Lee had the leed lead through two rounds of the LPGA’s annual stop along the Jersey shore. After eight holes on Sunday, she had to wonder what had transpired overnight. Three bogeys had dropped her from the top slot of the board for the first time all week. Taking advantage of her slip was Jennifer Kupcho, a three-time winner in 2022.

Lee rallied in brilliant fashion. Encouraged by a birdie at the ninth, she played her final 10 holes in 6 under par, including a 29 on the inward half. Lee reached 14 under par, but it wasn’t enough. The problem was Kupcho. Despite a pair of day-three bogeys, the Wake Forest alumna slapped seven birdies onto her card, including three in the final five holes. Her 66 eased her past Lee by one shot, earning her a fourth LPGA title.

DP World Tour @ KLM Open: It’s about Syme

Connor Syme of Scotland has had a few invitations to the ball this season, but until this week, the Kircaldy lad was winless on the DP World Tour. Everything changed in both a week and an instant, as Syme survived a maudlin Sunday (two birdies, one bogey) and held off Sweden’s Joakim Lagergran by two for the inaugural victory.

The two-shot margin of triumph was slimmer than appearance suggested. Syme’s lead was four shots on the final hole. He played the par-5 closer gently, accepting par without need for drama. Lagergren, steamed no doubt from bogey at the 15th and 17th, unleashed the hounds of hell on the final hole. He closed with eagle to cut the winning gap in half, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Korn Ferry Tour @ BMW Charity: Smotherman by three over trio

Austin Smotherman has won twice on the KFT. His first victory was an end-to-end endeavor. He led all four rounds in 2021 at the Simmonds Bank Open. This week in upstate South Carolina, he was nearly as impressive. After opening with 65, Smotherman erased his three-shot deficit with a day-two 62. Carl Yuan posted the week’s low round of 61 on Saturday, to take the lead away from the Californian, but Smotherman wasn’t finished. He closed with 67 on Sunday, after 66 on Saturday, to dispatch all the chasers.

Yuan, Sebastian Cappelen, and Piereceson Coody all finished on 263, for a 22-under par total. With birdies on three of his final four holes, Smotherman pulled away from the peleton to win by three shots. As if paying homage to Nick Taylor’s playoff bomb at the 2023 Canadian Open, Smotherman closed in style, with a cross-country make of his own, on the final green.

Talk about a dramatic finish ?@Austin_smosmo for the win from across the green @BMWCharityProAm. pic.twitter.com/5969MXoQHZ

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) June 8, 2025

PGA Tour Champions @ AFI Championship: Bjorn & Clarke claim team event

Thomas Bjorn and Darren Clarke were two golfers who survived the Tiger Woods era. Each had opportunities to claim major glory during the 20-year period when Tiger was at his best, but only Clarke was able to snatch a British Open title. The extended-life tour that is the PGATC, offers a remembrance of how well certain golfers played in their heyday.

Bjorn and Clarke opened the week with rounds of 59 and 58, to take a three-shot advantage into the final round. Can you imagine posting 58 and losing two shots to another team? That’s what Steve Stricker and Mario Tiziani had to do to remain close with 18 to go. Their day-two 56 included 13 birdies and a Stricker eagle. Bjorn and Clarke made eight birdies in Sunday’s four-ball format. They had a pair of bogeys, but stayed ahead on a slower day. Only the pairings of Cejka-Kjeldsen and Barron-Pride were able to gain ground. Their rounds of 59 and 60, respectively, pulled them into a four-way tie for second, four strokes behind the winners.

Teammates in sync ?

Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjørn lead by four (!) with one hole to play @AmFamChamp! pic.twitter.com/cZtxHVN6Jf

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) June 8, 2025

LIV @ Virginia: It’s Niemann once more

A number of golfers found their way onto page one of the LIV leaders’ board on Sunday. Names like Lahiri, McDowell, and Pieters made runs at the trophy for LIV’s eighth event of 2025. Chile’s Joaquin Niemann edged past all of them, with a minus-8 63 over the Robert Trent Jones course. Niemann’s work on the rebel circuit has been exemplary. It remains to be seen if he will be able to translate that achievement to the traditional major events.