20-year-old Kim Joo-hyung became the second-youngest player since 1932 to win a PGA Tour event – trailing only Jordan Spieth – as he produced a final-round 61 to run away with a five-stroke buffer and claim the Wyndham Championship at 20 under.

In doing so, he became the event's youngest ever winner, and after entering the last tournament of the season ranked in the 400s in the FedEx Cup standings, he booked his place in the playoffs later this month.

His final round included an incredible front-nine score of 27, with six birdies and an eagle, and making his win even more remarkable is the fact that he started his week with a quadruple bogey from his opening hole on Thursday.

Speaking to CBS after stepping off the final green, Kim said his ability to keep a sense of humour about his rough start was the key to bouncing back.

"I stayed very patient this week," he said. "I felt like after that quad, once I started to laugh it off I could feel like I was in a much better mental state. 

"Instead of being angry and depressed I just stayed in the moment – I can't believe I won with a quadruple bogey on the first hole – hopefully that doesn't happen again.

"It's definitely a week I will remember forever."

He added: "it was a hard day – I didn't know golf was this stressful before."

Finishing in a tie for second was Kim's South Korean compatriot Im Sung-jae and American John Huh at 15 under, with Ben Griffin alone in fourth at 14 under.

American trio Max McGreevy, Russell Henley and Taylor Moore tied for fifth at 13 under, and there was another two-stroke gap to the group rounding out the top-10 at 11 under consisting of England's Tyrrell Hatton, Australia's Cameron Percy, India's Anirban Lahiri, and Americans Brandon Wu and Chesson Hadley.

Germany's Stephan Jaeger posted Sunday's second-best round with a 62 to finish tied for 13th at 10 under, and Canada's Corey Conners produced a pair of 66s on the weekend to sit on the fringe of the top-20 after scraping through right on the cut-line, tied with Will Zalatoris at nine under.

Ashleigh Buhai won the Women's Open in dramatic fashion to earn her first major title after beating Chun In-gee in a play-off at Muirfield.

The South African held a five-shot lead going into the final round on Sunday, but needed four extra holes to seal the biggest victory of her career after a closing four-over 75.

Buhai held a healthy lead despite being one-over for her round at the turn, but a nightmare triple bogey seven at the 15th dropped to 10 under and into a share of the lead with Chun - who shot a one-under 70.

Both players avoided bogeys in their remaining holes to set up a play-off, and Buhai looked as if she was going to be victorious after a brilliant second shot got her onto the green, while Chun's second stroke landed in the bunker.

But a sublime chip from Chun put her on the green and she successfully putted for par, while Buhai's putt for birdie and the championship went awry.

The two matched each other again on the second play-off hole with bogeys, while another long championship putt for the South African on the third extra hole went agonisingly left.

A poor tee shot from Chun on a fourth attempt at the 18th hole meant it was advantage Buhai, and the 33-year-old held her nerve despite a poor second stroke to better Chun's bogey with a par and secure her first major title in stunning circumstances.

Hinako Shibuno, who led heading into day two, carded a level-par final round to finish third on nine under, while Madelene Sagstrom bogeyed the 18th to drop to joint-fourth alongside Leona Maguire and world number two Minjee Lee.

Another poor round from Olympic gold medallist and world number three Nelly Korda meant she finished tied for 41st at four over, while former world number one Lydia Ko finished joint-seventh at five under.

Callum Shinkwin stormed to a four-shot victory for his second DP World Tour title at the Wales Open on Sunday.

The Englishman carded a one-under 70 in his final round at the Celtic Manor Resort to finish on 12-under for the tournament, comfortably clear of runner-up Connor Syme.

Shinkwin had looked poised to go head-to-head with playing partner Julien Guerrier, having held a one-stroke lead heading into the final day.

But after making six birdies and five bogeys, the 29-year-old found himself comfortably clear of the Frenchman, who endured an awful five-over final round to tie for third with David Dixon, Lucas Bjerregaard, Renato Paratore and Andy Sullivan at five under.

Back-to-back bogeys on the seventh and eighth in Newport halted Shinkwin's momentum, but he held his nerve to seal another title.

Shinkwin's only previous victory had come at the Cyprus Open in 2020.

Brandon Wu holed out an eagle to grab a share of the lead with Im Sung-jae moments before play was halted and ultimately suspended on Saturday at the Wyndham Championships due to inclement weather.

Only 12 of 86 players completed their third rounds on Saturday, with Im and Wu both managing just 11 holes before play was called off amid rain and lightning in Greensboro, North Carolina.

There are 10 players within two strokes of the lead including five chasing their first wins on the PGA Tour.

The lead duo are tied at 12-under, with the South Korean moving into joint top spot on the leaderboard after four birdies across his 11 holes.

American 25-year-old Wu landed a birdie on the 10th hole and followed that up with an eagle on the 11th to draw level with Im just before the horn blew to suspend play. After a lengthy delay, play was called off for the day with light fading.

Wu had shared the lead at the halfway point with Kim Joo-hyung and Ryan Moore but the latter slipped two shots back after two bogeys from his completed 10 holes on Saturday.

John Huh, who held the lead after a first-round nine-under-par 61, steadied to be equal second at 11-under-par through 11 holes alongside Kim who completed 10 holes.

Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat was the only player sitting near the top who finished their third round on Saturday, to be 10-under-par, with none of the rest of the top 10 getting through more than 11 holes.

Irishman Shane Lowry only got through 13 holes having been forced to charter a private jet to make his tee time after leaving the course on Friday presuming he had missed the cut. Lowry is 11 shots off the pace.

The third round will resume at 7.30am local time on Sunday.

Ashleigh Buhai was in superb form as the South African took the lead heading into the final round at the Women's Open.

Even though she trailed Chun In-gee heading into the weekend, Buhai was arguably the star on Friday with a brilliant 65, and the 33-year-old dazzled again at Muirfield.

Buhai carded a low score of 64 to take a six-shot lead at 14 under, with a bogey on the last the only blot on her scorecard, which included eight birdies.

Hinako Shibuno, who led heading into round two, propelled herself up to second place alongside Chun with a bogey free 66.

Chun holed costly bogeys on the ninth and 15th, yet regained her composure to finish with a birdie and a par, keeping her at nine under.

Madelene Sagstrom and Park Inbee are tied for fourth on seven under after respective rounds of 71 and 70, but will require a slip up from Buhai to truly be in contention on Sunday.

World number two Minjee Lee endured something of a mixed bag, with three bogeys and four birdies, and the Australian is T6, nine off the lead alongside Stephanie Kyriacou and Miyu Yamashita.

Nelly Korda had another difficult day, with the Olympic gold medallist and world number three sitting on three over for the tournament after carding 72.

A poor second round from John Huh opened the door at the Wyndham Championship, with Brandon Wu, Kim Joo-hyung and Ryan Moore capitalising to claim a share of the lead at nine under heading into the weekend.

Huh was two strokes clear after his opening round nine-under 61, but he was 10 shots worse on his second trip around Sedgefield Country Club, shooting a one-over 71 to sit one off the lead.

Of the three leaders, Kim had the best round with his 64, posting seven birdies and one bogey, with Moore shooting a 66, and Wu getting around in 67. All three posted top-five putting days according to Data Golf's strokes gained stats, with Kim leading the field (4.61 strokes gained), Moore third (3.31) and Wu fifth (3.06).

One stroke off the lead along with Huh is American Russell Henley and South Korea's Im Sung-jae, with India's Anirban Lahiri part of the next group at seven under.

Japan's Satoshi Kodaira and Australia's Brett Drewitt are in the group tied for 10th at six under, England's Tyrrell Hatton is at five under, and Sweden's Henrik Norlander rode the second-best putting performance of the day to reach the weekend at four under.

Will Zalatoris responded to a poor opening round with a 66 to sneak one stroke inside the cut-line, Adam Scott and Michael Gligic are right on the cut-line at two under, and pre-tournament favourites Shane Lowry and Corey Conners missed out by one stroke.

Chun In-gee heads into the weekend with the lead at the Women's Open after a super round of 66 propelled her to the top of the leaderboard ahead of Ashleigh Buhai and Madelene Sagstrom who finished day two seven under.

Hinako Shibuno had led overnight but struggled on day two, plummeting down the standings after carding a two-over 73, now one of three players to sit four under par in a tie for seventh.

Chun was out in front at eight under following her 66, even if Buhai was perhaps the star of the day.

Her 65 included an eagle at the fifth, and she could even have been better placed, sitting a stroke back after failing to putt from 10 feet at the 17th and then finishing with a bogey at the last.

Buhai was alongside Sagstrom, who also shot a six-under round after eight birdies.

Jessica Korda, second overnight, saw her charge stumble with four consecutive bogeys on the back nine that saw her finish three over for the day, now two under for the week.

The cut was set at three over, and Anna Nordqvist became the third consecutive defending Women's Open champion to miss the cut after finishing at four over.

World number one Ko Jin-young also departed at the halfway stage, failing to recover from her opening 76 with an even-par round on day two.

John Huh leads by two strokes after the first round of the Wyndham Championship, shooting a career-low nine-under 61 in his first trip around Sedgefield Country Club on Thursday.

With seven birdies, one eagle and no bogeys in his round, Huh had his game working from all areas. According to Data Golf's strokes gained stats, the American was the second-best in the tee-to-green category (5.29 strokes gained), third in approach shots (3.25) and sixth in putting (3.21).

Speaking to the media after his round, Huh said he did not feel like he was playing his best, but he is glad to be in such a strong position after entering the week on the fringe of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

"It’s kind of strange," he said, "because I wasn’t really feeling great with my game and I shoot my career low – it’s kind of weird. 

"Sort of mixed feelings, but I’ll take this any day. I was able to take advantage of a good break and good shots, that’s all I can say."

Jessica Korda might have been wearing the wrong trousers, but the American strode purposefully into contention on day one of the Women's Open as former winner Hinako Shibuno led the way at Muirfield.

Korda's suitcase failed to make it to Scotland, meaning she has been borrowing clothes all week, but the 29-year-old from Florida shot a five-under 66 to ease her stress.

She could call on her sponsor to kit her out with emergency supplies on Thursday, but it has been a frustrating few days.

"On Monday I wore Megan Khang's pants. Tuesday, I wore my sister's pants and Wednesday I wore Alison Lee's pants," Korda said, quoted on the tournament website.

Playing for a top prize of $1,095,000 (£900,000) this week, Korda sat one shot behind 23-year-old Japanese star Shibuno, who marked her maiden major three years ago at Woburn by landing the Women's Open title.

It has not been all plain sailing since for Shibuno, who missed the cut at Troon when defending the title in 2020 and finished only 34th last year at Carnoustie, but a round of 65 containing eight birdies and two dropped shots was a terrific start to this week's quest.

Scotland's Louise Duncan, who finished 10th as an amateur at Carnoustie, joined the paid ranks last month and a sparkling 67 put her in a tie of third with Mexican Gaby Lopez.

Korda's sister, world number three Nelly Korda, sat in a tie for 13th on one under through 18 holes, while last year's winner Anna Nordqvist had a round to forget, a three-over 74 leaving the Swede with a battle to make the cut.

World number one Ko Jin-young had an even worse day, with a five-over 76 following her recent miserable tie for 71st at the Scottish Open.

This is the first time Muirfield has staged a women's major, with members having only voted to allow women to join the club five years ago.

The opening round of the 2022 Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships unfolded in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday with all of the expected competitiveness and somewhat unexpected weather conditions, leaving both the team and Individual leaderboards intriguingly poised.

Players from nine CGA member countries battled both high winds and - during the closing sessions - heavy downpours in an eventful first day.

Puerto Rico and Cayman are tied for the lead in the men's Hoerman Cup Team standings, with the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago rounding out the top five.

In the Ladies' Team competition for the George Teale trophy, Jamaica sat atop the leaderboard, by a two-stroke margin over Puerto Rico, followed by the Dominican Republic, Barbados and the Bahamas respectively.

Vying for individual honours, Gustavo Rangel from Puerto Rico is the individual leader with 2 under par for 70.

The Cayman Islands' Justin Hastings and the Dominican Republic's Rhadames Peña carded an identical 71 (1 under) to lead the chasing pack comprising Payten Wight of the Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico's Kelvin Hernandez.

Caymanian Holly McLean, with 75, was a stroke ahead of Puerto Rico's Darianys Guzman in a similarly close contest for the women's individual honors. Also in the mix are the Dominican Republic's Yae Yun Kim, with 77, and the "two Emilys" - Mayne of Jamaica and Odwin of Barbados, who carded identical 78s.

The Arthur Ziadie trophy for the best overall team also remains virtually anyone's game, with Puerto Rico in the lead at 14 points and Jamaica 2 points behind followed by Dominican Republic with 10 points

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan delivered a stern and scathing response to an antitrust lawsuit filed Wednesday by 11 suspended players currently competing in the Saudi-funded LIV Golf league.

The lawsuit, which includes Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau among the most prominent plaintiffs, was filed just over a week before the FedEx Cup’s first playoff event, the St Jude Championship.

Six LIV players part of the lawsuit – Taylor Gooch, Jason Kokrak, Matt Jones, Hudson Swafford, Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz – would be eligible for the playoffs if not banned by the PGA for joining the rival league. Gooch, Jones and Swafford have additionally filed a temporary restraining order to allow them to compete in the St Jude tournament.

The next LIV event is not scheduled to begin until September 2 at The International outside of Boston. 

"We have been preparing to protect our membership and contest this latest attempt to disrupt our Tour, and you should be confident in the legal merits of our position," said Monahan in a memo to PGA players.

"Fundamentally, these suspended players – who are now Saudi Golf League employees – have walked away from the Tour and now want back in. With the Saudi Golf League now on hiatus, they're trying to use lawyers to force their way into competition alongside our members in good standing.

"It's an attempt to use the Tour platform to promote themselves and freeride on your benefits and efforts. To allow re-entry into our events compromises the Tour and the competition, to the detriment of our organisation, our players, our partners and our fans. 

"Let me be clear: we will continue to defend the members who abide by the regulations written by and for the players."

The suit, filed in San Francisco’s U.S. District Court, also contends that the PGA suspended Mickelson in March for recruiting Tour members to join the Saudi league. The six-time major winner was later denied reinstatement after participating in the inaugural LIV event near London in June.

The PGA has prohibited players competing in LIV events held the same week as a Tour-sponsored tournament without a release, and will not grant releases for LIV competitions held in North America.

LIV members, a list which also includes such top golfers as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed, remain eligible for The Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship, as the four majors are not run by the PGA.

Around this time a year ago, the pervasive narrative surrounding Tony Finau was that of a PGA Tour star who just couldn't find a way to close. Time and again, the Utah native would charge up weekend leaderboards only to come up short at the end. 

"They say a winner is just a loser that just kept on trying, and that's me to a T," he said. "How many times do I lose?"

The answer? Well, let's put it this way: he hasn't been losing much these days.

After winning just once in his first 188 career starts, Finau now finds himself on the heels of back-to-back wins at the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic. Add in his breakthrough victory in last season's FedEx Cup opener, and the Salt Lake City resident has found the winner's circle three times in his last 25 starts.

Suffice to say, the narrative has changed.

"I put myself in situations to win before, haven't been able to do it, but I'm very optimistic," Finau said. "I've always been that way. I've always had hope and faith that things will turn out if I just keep working hard and putting myself there. 

"I challenge myself every week to just push past what I feel like I'm capable of; by that I mean just my emotions, those hurdles that you face during a tournament. I proved to myself these last couple weeks that I've done that and won some golf tournaments. I'm proud of the way that I fought through adversity through my career and now I'm a back-to-back champion. That's what happens."

At the 3M Open, he erased a five-shot deficit with 11 holes to play after overnight leader Scott Piercy tripled the 14th hole. It was much smoother a week later, as the 32-year-old cruised to a five-shot triumph and a tournament record 26-under 262 total. 

Finau hit a career-best 66 greens in regulation in that second victory, which also marked the third-most by a winner on the PGA Tour since 1980. Aaron Wise and Hale Irwin matched that feat at the 2018 Byron Nelson and 1981 Sony Open, respectively, while Peter Jacobsen holds the record with 69 greens in regulation at the 1995 Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Willie Wood hit 67 greens en route to the 1996 Sanderson Farms Championship.

His precision netted Finau a plus-4.65 stroke differential from the field average, his highest difference during an event on the PGA Tour. It barely edged out the career-best he set just a week prior at the 3M Open (plus-4.37) and safely beat his next-best marks of plus-3.70 (2021 St. Jude Championship) and plus-2.73, set at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open, site of his first Tour victory.

Xander does it, too 

But Finau wasn't the only player making significant moves in July. Though his triumphs didn't come in consecutive weeks, Xander Schauffele also managed to find the winner's circle in back-to-back appearances.

After winning the Travelers Championship in late June, the former gold medallist travelled across the pond and did it all over again in his next start at the Scottish Open. He became the third player to pick up at least three wins this season (Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns are the others) and is one of three players to win this year in consecutive starts (Scheffler and Finau).

But how Schauffele did it may be the most impressive aspect. The San Diego native trailed by a whopping 11 strokes after the opening round, marking the largest 18-hole deficit overcome by a PGA Tour winner in a four-round event in the last 39 years. Seven other players rallied from 10-shot deficits – most recently Webb Simpson at the 2020 Phoenix Open – but no one overcame the odds that Schauffele did.

"Overall, I'm playing some of the best golf of my life and capitalising on playing really well," Schauffele said. "There's a lot of times [when] professionals play very well but don't get everything out of it, and I feel like I've been successful in getting the most out of my game."

Together, Schauffele and Finau became the fifth and six players to win back-to-back tournaments on Tour since the start of the 2016-17 season, joining Patrick Cantlay, Brendon Todd, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas.

Cam double-dips

Being able to call yourself The Players champion is one of the most prestigious honuors in golf. The biggest names in the sport have all done it, from Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to Rory McIlroy.

But add in a victory at The Open Championship and you're in unprecedented territory.

That's exactly what Australian Cameron Smith did in July at golf's oldest championship, edging out McIlroy at St Andrews to win the Claret Jug. He became just the second player in history to win The Players and Open Championship in the same year, joining none other than Nicklaus. He, too, also won his major at the historic St Andrews after winning The Players earlier in 1978.

It wasn't Smith's only achievement that week. No winner had ever closed with a 64 at St Andrews before he did it, while his finishing score of 20-under 268 set a new Old Course record. It tied the lowest score to par in major championship history – Henrik Stenson shot 20 under at Royal Troon in 2016 – and his back-nine 30 was the lowest ever by an Open Championship winner.

"I got beaten by the better player this week," McIlroy said. "To go out and shoot 64 to win The Open Championship at St Andrews is a hell of a showing. Hats off to Cam."

Smith is the first Australian to win the Claret Jug since 1993 and the first to do it at St Andrews since Kel Nagle staved off Arnold Palmer in 1960.

"Those guys are great players. They weren't going to give it to me. I had to take it," Smith said. "It was a good thing that I was behind. My mindset would have been a touch different coming in, especially on that back nine, if I was ahead."

Bryson DeChambeau says he is "not worried" about the PGA Tour's decision to indefinitely ban players who have defected to the controversial LIV Golf Invitational Series.

The sport is embroiled in a battle between the PGA Tour and the new Saudi-backed LIV Golf, with 2020 US Open champion DeChambeau one of those who has chosen to break away.

Henrik Stenson also chose to defect and was subsequently stripped of Europe's Ryder Cup captaincy before he won the third LIV event in New Jersey last week, while other players such as Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia have joined too.

It has since been reported that Tiger Woods was offered up to $800million to join LIV Golf, though he chose to reject the money in order to stay with the PGA Tour.

The Wall Street Journal have reported that Mickelson and DeChambeau, as well as a number of other defectors, are planning to sue the PGA Tour over their suspensions.

But DeChambeau was not concerned about this development and was instead enthused by what LIV Golf could do for players financially, telling Fox News: "It doesn't make sense [the ban].

"I'm not worried about that. I think it will get figured out. I personally know that it will get figured out, whether it's legally or whether they come to the table and work out terms. I definitely think it will all wash itself out in the future, pretty shortly.

"Any time anyone invests over a billion dollars into the game of golf, how is that not going to grow the game and how is that not going to provide more opportunities?

"This is our livelihoods and it was a great economic opportunity for golfers to make a lot of money. That's why we grew up playing golf - also for the history, to go and win majors, PGA Tour events and now I want to win LIV events.

"You can see the passion and competitive aspect of this environment out here and we all want to win every single week."

Davis Love III told LIV Golf defectors "you can be Tiger Woods or you can be banned from the game" and can foresee a situation where "fed up" players boycott the big PGA Tour events to protect their interests.

Golf is engulfed in a war between those remaining loyal to the sport's flagship tour and those who have opted for the riches of the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Series.

Last week saw the third LIV event held in New Jersey, which was won by Henrik Stenson after he had been stripped of Europe's Ryder Cup captaincy over his decision to sign up.

Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Sergio Garcia are among the notable names to have also jumped ship, while Tiger Woods is said to have turned down $800million to remain loyal to the PGA Tour.

Love III, this year's US Presidents Cup captain and a two-time Ryder Cup skipper, said earlier this week players could look to boycott the majors if LIV players are continued to allow to play.

He sought to clarify those comments at a news conference and warned LIV players there should be consequences for their decisions.

He said: "I told the players that I've talked to that have gone or thinking about going, 'it's your decision, you know, and you do what's right for you, but understand consequences'. 

"I tried to sound like my dad and I probably wasn't very good at it. I didn't argue. I said, 'look, you can do this or you can do this. You can be Tiger Woods or you can be banned from the game, take your pick. But understanding the consequences, you signed up for these rules'.

"And I keep using it kind of as a joke, but I'm wearing shorts today, but I can't wear shorts on Thursday, that's a rule. I had to commit by last Friday or I don't get to play this week. I have to play 15 tournaments or I don't get to vote and I don't get my retirement money. You have rules that you have to adhere to. 

"Jay [Monahan] has been saying it for a year and they either understood it, some of them understood that, some of them said it's not going to happen, and some of them just flat out lied, I'm not doing this, I'm not doing that. 

"And you hear it, the talking points or the interviews, they're spinning their decision because they know they've turned their backs on their friends and they know they're taking the money and they know it's not the right thing to do. 

"But it is their decision and they can do that, they just can't come back and play The Players Championship. That's just not fair. If I grind it out, make the 125 and get in The Players Championship, I don't want those guys, that being the only PGA Tour event they play that year, that's not right."

Love III, the 1997 US PGA Championship victor, concedes he is surprised by the number of players turning their backs on the Tour.

He also suggested how PGA regulars may respond if LIV players attempt to take their ambition to play on both tours to the courts.

"Nobody saw the extent of LIV coming. It's hard to not be reactionary to something that when you're blindsided, you are being reactionary," he added.

"I told Jay a year ago, and you can ask him, I said, 'don't worry about it, it's not going to happen'. I was completely dead wrong. Six months ago I told my own tournament, 'oh, don't worry about it, not going to happen. Mickelson's going down, but nobody else will jump ship'. 

"So, I was wrong. I don't know what's going to happen from here on out, but I know it's going to be a fight and the players are getting more and more unified against it. 

"Now, some guys said that they don't like the new schedule and some guys don't like the old schedule. I might not like the fall schedule right now, but it's going to work out because I'm on board with whatever the Tour wants to do. 

"It will work out because I know the staff doesn't work for Jay exclusively, they work for the players and so does Jay.

"The whole situation is unfortunate. I didn't try to single out the U.S. Open as the players striking or threatening not to play. I was saying that if the LIV guys sue and are allowed to play on the PGA Tour, that the players are enough fed up with it, we understand that we make the rules on the PGA Tour and the commissioner's enforcing our rules and we don't want those guys playing, come and cherry-picking our tournaments, that we hold all the cards, not Jay or not Seth Waugh or Mike Whan. 

"They don't hold all the cards, we hold all the cards. If we say to the FTC and to Washington, no, we support the rules, we don't want those guys playing, we don't care what the courts say, our only option really, the nuclear option is to say, well, fine, if they have to play in our events, we just won't play. I think the Tour players, the Max Homas and Rory McIlroys have done a good job. 

"I think the undercurrent of guys are getting more and more fed up with it, that these guys are threatening our way of life, they're trying to take money out of our pockets and cherry-pick our best tournaments. The majors have to make their own decisions. I loved what Martin Slumbers said, I think they're all going in the right direction, but the PGA Tour players, we support the PGA Tour and we support the rules and we need to stand up for them."

Should you want proof that golf is a game for life, played in different venues and for all ages, digest what was going on in various corners of the world 15 summers ago.

In the Dallas area, an 11-year-old named Scott Scheffler was crushing the competition on the North Texas PGA Junior Tour. There were victories at Shady Valley, The Links at Water Chase, Lantana GC, and by eight strokes over Vince Whaley at Twin Creeks GC.

Down in Bayou country, another 11-year-old named Sam Burns was shooting 84 in the annual Shreveport (Louisiana) City Amateur. He finished top five.

In Scotland, an 18-year-old mop-haired kid from Northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy, was low amateur in the Open Championship at Carnoustie. Rounds of 68-76-73-72 served notice that this kid might be pretty good.

With rounds of 72-70, a 14-year-old from Kentucky named Justin Thomas finished second in his age group, third overall, at the Evian Masters Junior Cup in France. One perk for winning was that he got to play alongside Juli Inkster in a pro-am before the Evian Masters.

And on the other side of the world, in Hawaii, a 15-year-old Japanese player named Hideki Matsuyama dominated his match against Henry Park, 6 and 5, to help the visitors post a 24.5 to 19.5 win in the Hawaii/Japan Junior Cup.

Those were the stages, of course, played in the shadows. On the stage that mattered, a guy much older, the 31-year-old Tiger Woods, was collecting a fourth US PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Ho-hum as that might have been, given it was his 14th major, what surely resonated was Woods' achievement at the end of that summer. With an overwhelming performance in the inaugural FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour, Woods earned a cool $10million.

What stands out about that 2007 Tour Championship that nailed down the first FedEx Cup were the suffocating numbers. Woods won the season finale by eight strokes, it was his 61st career win and seventh of the season, and he finished the Tour Championship at 23-under 257.

"It has been a phenomenal week," Woods said, then very much at his understated best. He had, after all, also pocketed a cheque for $1.26million for winning the Tour Championship.

"I enjoyed being on a scoring streak, hitting good shot after good shot, and I felt very comfortable with my game. It felt good."

That was then and this is now, and what feels remarkable is how quickly time has passed and how surreal it is to know this: just 15 years after they were playing golf on mostly unheralded stages as kids, the 26-year-old Scheffler (he's Scottie now, unlike in 2007), Burns, 26; McIlroy, 33; Thomas, 29; and Matsuyama, 30, were numbers 1-2-3-4-5 in the FedEx Cup standings when the calendar flipped to July.

The flip side of Woods now being 46 is the fact the game is getting younger and, oh, how the current FedEx Cup standings reflect that. After Scheffler, Burns, McIlroy, Thomas, and Matsuyama, we have Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Smith, Xander Schauffele, Will Zalatoris, and Max Homa.

Average age of those 10 players: 28.5.

That is more than four years younger than the average age in 2007, the first FedEx Cup when seven of the top 10 were 31 or older. This time around, eight of the current top 10 are 30 or younger.

But if this youth parade has many marchers, the warmest spotlight must be shining on the leader, the same kid who 15 years ago was dominating the competition on the North Texas Junior PGA.

All Scheffler has done in this, his third full season on the PGA Tour, is win four times and roar into the penthouse of the Official World Golf Rankings.

Not bad, this number one designation. But some might argue that Burns is number 1A, because all he has done is win three times before, and if you go back to the middle of the 2020-21 season, Burns secured victories in four of his last 29 tournaments.

The screeching noise you heard is the arrival of the Scheffler-Burns express; they are two young men who are great friends and as if to punctuate their new-found grip on the PGA Tour, they had an exclamation point of a Sunday back in May.

Locked in a play-off at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Burns poured in a long-range birdie on the first extra hole to beat his Texas friend.

Even Scheffler flashed a wide smile that day, nodding his approval to Burns, knowing there will be many more opportunities to return the favour. Perhaps even as soon as the upcoming FedEx Cup play-offs. These are the dates that matter: August 11-14 at the FedEx St Jude Classic in Memphis; August 18-21 at the BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware; and August 25-28 at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, Georgia.

They are tournaments that showcase the best of the elite, and whereas you might have understandably expected them to put Scheffler in awe as a 24-year-old rookie in August of 2020, it didn't work out that way. In his second round in the play-offs, Scheffler shot 59 at TPC Boston.

He didn't win that week, but a tie for fourth set in motion a nice play-off run – tied 20th at the BMW, fifth at the Tour Championship. The three who finished immediately ahead of him in the FedEx Cup standings in 2020 – Schauffele, Thomas and Jon Rahm – are key contenders for the 2021-22 FedEx Cup as a dynamic era of young and talented performers continues into the 16th edition of this season-long race.

It is amazing, the furious speed with which these kids have progressed from junior golf to the spotlight of a FedEx Cup. Then again, perhaps there are those who saw this coming. Joel Edwards, for instance.

A veteran PGA Tour performer, Edwards was in the twilight of his career when he used to practise at Royal Oaks at Dallas where Scheffler was the brightest of a stable of talented junior players.

Precocious and supremely talented, Scheffler would challenge Edwards and another PGA Tour veteran, Harrison Frazar, to random contests. Frazar confirms he lost sleeves of golf balls to a fourth-grader; Edwards concedes that "he cost me a fortune; I used to carry a bunch of quarters because I knew I'd get my butt beat [in a bid to hit practice-range poles with wedge shots]."

And if there was one thing that stood out about Scheffler back then, even beyond his uncanny golf skills, it was his appearance.

"He always wore pants. He looked like a Tour player at 10," said Edwards.

And at 11, while mowing down the local competition, perhaps Scheffler knew this brand-new FedEx Cup was someday going to be in his future.