5-Minute World Tour Newsletter

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Welcome to the 5-Minute World Tour, where we get you caught up on the weekend’s golf action in just 5 minutes!

PGA Tour: Van Rooyen wins Worldwide Technology Championship

It can often seem like it but professional golf is far from a life or death situation but at the Worldwide Technology Championship playing for a terminally-ill friend spurred Erik van Rooyen on to a final round nine-under 63 and a two-stroke victory.

The 54-hole leaders, Matt Kuchar and Camilo Villegas, gave the leaderboard more of a 2013 feel than a 2023 one but ultimately it would be the man who only turned pro in 2013 who’d emerge victorious courtesy of a back-nine blitz of 28.

Tied with Kuchar playing the 18th, the inspired Van Rooyen saw to it that the event would end in regulation as he drained an eagle-putt and with Kuchar only able to muster a par, Van Rooyen bagged a 2nd PGA Tour title of his career.

LPGA Tour: Inami wins Japan Classic

Mone Inami grabbed the first title of her LPGA Tour career after securing a one-shot victory over Seon Woo Bae and Shiho Kuwaki in the Japan Classic.

Weekend rounds of 65 and 69 were instrumental in Inami’s victory. As was a final-round stumble from 54-hole leader Nasa Hataoka who could only manage one birdie in a final round which also featured a a bogey at the 4th and a double-bogey at 15 which ultimately saw her card a 2-over 74.

The day belonged to Inami though who mixed four final round birdies with a lone drop shot en route to her maiden title.

Sunshine Tour: Schietekat scores Origins Final victory

Neil Schietekat closed with a final-round 67 at Pezula Championship Course to win the Vodacom Origins Of Golf Final by two strokes over Jacques De Villiers.

Schietekat made a fast start to the week as he opened with a seven-under 65. Rounds of of 71 and 70 followed to leave him one adrift of De Villiers heading into the last round.

Three front-nine birdies preceded two further red numbers as Schietekat produced a bogey-free final round that culminated in the 5th win of his Sunshine Tour career.

Challenge Tour: Penge powers to Challenge Tour Grand Final title

The Challenge Tour Grand Final belonged to Marco Penge and by weel’s end so did a DP World Tour card for 2024 following his six-stroke triumph over Tom Vaillant.

Just a single shot separated the two heading into the final round, Penge in the ascendancy and within one round of promotion to the DP World Tour. A bogey-6 at the 1st saw him relinquish the advantage but four birdies between the 7th and 15th helped the Englishman buuld up some serious momentum.

Vaillant meanwhile struggled: Five front-nine bogeys and just one birdie saw him turn in 4-over before he came home in 2-under 34.

At the conclusion of the week, the Top-21 on the Road To Mallorca received DP World Tour cards for 2024. Matteo Manassero, the youngest four-time winner in DP World Tour history will make a welcome return to the main tour after a tough few years while from a South African standpoint Casey Jarvis and Brandon Stone secured their playing privileges.

PGA Tour Champions: Harrington coasts to TimberTech Championship win

Padraig Harrington cruised to a seven-shot victory in the TimberTech Championship over Charlie Wi and Bernhard Langer.

The Irishman got better with each day, firing rounds of 67, 66 and 64 to secure his 6th PGA Tour Champions career victory and with it move to 3rd-place on the Charles Schwab Cup standings.

Fun Facts & Scary Stats

  1. Cardonal Diamante, site of the Worldwide Technologies Championship, was the first Tiger Woods-designed course to host a PGA Tour event.
  2. Mone Inami won the Silver Medal at the Tokyo Olympics
  3. Marco Penge is the 13th Englisman to be crowned Challenge Tour Number One.
  4. Adam Long hit 56 of 56 Fairways at the WorldWide Technology Championship, the first player to hit every fairway in a 72-hole PGA Tour event since 1992. (Credit: Justin Ray)