How ‘bout that, huh? Tiger Woods outlasted Hideki Matsuyama in the inaugural Zozo Championship this weekend, tying Sam Snead for most wins in PGA Tour history in the process. Some other stuff happened as well.

Anotha’ one

Let’s start with the basics. Tiger Woods shot rounds of 64-64-66-67 in the rain-interrupted Zozo Championship, winning the event by three shots. He stretched his lead to five on Sunday evening but had to battle down the stretch as Matsuyama closed the gap on Monday. Tiger stuck to his game, birdied two holes coming in, and emerged with a three-shot victory. Zozo Championship Leaderboard

As you may have heard, the Zozo Championship was Tiger’s 82nd PGA Tour victory. It’s also his 110th worldwide win, which strikes us as an even more impressive figure. For a long time, it seemed inevitable that Tiger would break Snead’s record. But health scares put that certainty into question, and many gave up on him during his five-year drought from 2013-2018. Fortunately, the one man that didn’t give up on Tiger was Tiger. He has now won three times in his past 14 starts and continues to show that when he’s healthy he can beat the best.

Hometown kid

The only man who really tested Tiger at the Zozo Championship was also the only one who could compete with him in popularity among the gallery: Hideki Matsuyama. The Japanese native birdied his final two holes on Sunday evening, shrinking Tiger’s lead to just three shots as they waited for play to resume on Monday morning. Matsuyama managed only one birdie after the restart, and finished in solo second. While he obviously would have loved to win in his home country, he has to be happy with his recent play. He has six top 10s since June and now has two straight top-three finishes on the Asian swing. Matusyama hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since August 2017, but he is trending toward another title.

Leaderboard notes

  • In what’s becoming his mid-career custom, Rory McIlroy back-doored a top five at the Zozo Championship. Rory went 72-65-63-67 this weekend, birdieing his 72nd hole to jump into a tie for third.
  • Presidents Cup hopefuls Sungjae Im (T-3) and Gary Woodland (5th) both performed well in Japan. We would be shocked not to see both players at Royal Melbourne in December.

BMW Ladies Championship

Ha Na Jang shot a final-round 65 and defeated Danielle Kang to win the BMW Ladies Championship this weekend. Jang plies her trade mainly in Korea, and had not played on the LPGA Tour since 2018. She does have four previous LPGA wins, however—most recently the 2017 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. So this week was no shock. BMW Ladies Championship Leaderboard

While she may have lost the playoff to Jang, Danielle Kang has had a remarkable start to the Asian swing on the LPGA Tour. Kang started the trip by defending her title at the Buick LPGA Shanghai last week and shot a final-round 64 to get into the playoff on Sunday. Already ranked 11th in the Rolex Rankings going into the BMW, you have to wonder if Kang is ready to break out as a consistent top-five player in the world.

Quick Hooks

Englishman Steven Brown won his first European Tour event at the Portugal Masters this weekend. Five days ago, Brown was anticipating a trip to Euro Tour Q-School. Now he’ll leave Portugal with a card for next season and a spot in the final three events in the Race to Dubai. Leaderboard

The East Lake Cup gets underway on Monday, but it will be the Cypress Point Classic that draws the most attention in college golf. Stanford, Georgia Tech, and Duke are among the eight teams that will play a match-play event at Alister MacKenzie’s seaside masterpiece on Monday and Tuesday. Oh, to be a collegiate golfer.

The Latest

Shotgun Start: The Chase for 83 begins, Zozo staying power, and CBS shakes things up

The weekend is over but Tiger is a winner again, completing a dominant four rounds at the Tour’s first ever event in Japan. Before getting to Tiger’s chase for records that may or may not matter, the Browns and Bears get their lashings and Andy confides he might have set a record himself this weekend: time spent at The Woods Jupiter. Then the Zozo is given the treatment: the badass trophy, what they liked most about Tiger’s showing, what it means for 2020, and the staying power of this newcomer event. The fan-less Saturday and the Live Under Par 150-yard par-4 are also discussed. In news, they hit on CBS ousting Peter Kostis and Gary McCord and revel in Kostis’ sign off statement that he was heading to UPS for his courier needs. News also hits on Brooksy’s (and Jena’s) Halloween costume and the PGA Tour confirming there will be on-site gambling next year. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify.

Pro Shop

Dustin Johnson went with the go-to Jackie Moon Halloween costume this weekend. Not the most creative, but he pulled it off well. Make our Fried Egg logo hats your go-to choice in a pinch. Get yours in white or navy!