The 149th Open Championship concluded in thrilling fashion on Sunday as Collin Morikawa claimed the Claret Jug.
It was a fitting finale to a memorable tournament, which marked the return of fans en masse to watch golf's oldest major.
Royal St George's was bathed in sunshine for all four days and it was a joyous event for everyone in attendance.
Stats Perform's man on the ground said a fond farewell to the Kent links, but not before one last wander around the course.
SHELTER FROM THE WARM
The soaring temperatures made walking the course a test of endurance, and not everyone was keen to partake.
What few spots of shade there were soon became occupied by weary bodies, sheltering from the warmth of the sun.
The queues at the water refill points were longer than for the grandstands.
CELEB SPOTTING (TAKE TWO)
It may have been premature to share the story of a chance encounter with British comedian Michael McIntyre on Saturday, as Sunday heralded the arrival of an even bigger celebrity.
Milling around outside the entrance to the media centre, and somehow not surrounded by a large crowd of autograph hunters, was One Direction's Niall Horan.
He's a keen golf fan and can often be seen at the majors rubbing shoulders with the biggest names in the sport.
FLAGGING...
At the end of a long tournament, some members of the media pack wanted a morale-boosting moment, so waited patiently for Champion Golfer of the Year Morikawa to exit from the interview room in hope of an autograph or photo.
Two had souvenir flags with Open Championship branding, in the expectation Morikawa might take the time to sign them.
He bolted through the doors carrying the Claret Jug, saw his waiting fans, but had no time to stop, telling them: "Sorry guys. Maybe I'll see you later."
Oh, the disappointment.
Woods and Trout team up to build exclusive golf club in New Jersey
Tiger Woods has teamed up with Mike Trout to build a private golf club in New Jersey.
Trout, a 10-time MLB All-Star, still lives in New Jersey, when not on the west coast for his day job with the Los Angeles Angels.
Woods and his design company – TGR Design – will plan the 18-hole course in Vineland.
Trout National-The Reserve will also feature a practice range, short-game area, clubhouse, lodging and a wedding chapel, and is scheduled to open in 2025.
"I've always enjoyed watching Mike on the diamond so when the opportunity arose to work with him on Trout National-The Reserve, I couldn't pass it up," Woods said.
"It's a great site for golf and our team's looking forward to creating a special course."
Trout added: "I could put down roots anywhere in the country, but Jessica and I make south Jersey our offseason home and always cherish the time we get to spend there.
"I love south Jersey and I love golf, so creating Trout National-The Reserve is a dream come true. And then to add to that we'll have a golf course designed by Tiger?
"It's just incredible to think that this project has grown to where we're going to be working with someone many consider the greatest and most influential golfer of all time."
McIlroy taking 'tons of positives' into Masters despite Match Play collapse
Rory McIlroy is taking "tons of positives" from his performance at the WGC Match Play and feels his game is in good shape heading into next month's Masters.
The world number two finished third at Austin Country Club on Sunday after winning six out of his seven matches.
McIlroy suffered disappointment in his semi-final with Cameron Young, however, as he lost from two up with three to play as the contest went to a play-off.
Despite that collapse, and a chance to face eventual winner Sam Burns in the final, the Northern Irishman is pleased with his form heading into the opening major of the year.
"There are tons of positives to take away," he said. "If you had told me I would make it to the Sunday of the Match Play last week I would have taken that.
"I am maybe going to go up [to Augusta National] for a day and mess around. I went last week but don't think there is any harm in going up again and then it's about practice.
"I don't think there is tons to do. I think my game is in really good shape so just keep it ticking over, work on the shots I need for Augusta and away we go."
McIlroy, who defeated Scottie Scheffler to finish third, will now turn focus to landing victory at Augusta and becoming the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam.
He has landed seven top-10 finishes, but last year's second place is the closest McIlroy has come to adding to his PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship titles.
"I'm excited about how things are now compared to this time a couple weeks ago," McIlroy added. "I drove the ball a lot better this week and I felt pretty good with the putter.
"For the first week out I thought both ends of the bag worked pretty well. I don't think anything is in bad shape. I'll keep it ticking over and work on the shots I need for Augusta."
Burns wins WGC Match Play after 21-hole semi-final battle against Scheffler
Sam Burns wiped the floor with Cameron Young to win the WGC Match Play final 6-5 on Sunday for his fifth PGA Tour victory.
Burns, who has all five of his wins since May 2021, first had to navigate his semi-final match-up against world number one and defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who was trying to become the first player to ever reach the final of this event in three straight seasons.
It looked like Burns' day from the jump as he flew out to a 3up lead through three holes, but Scheffler came roaring back by winning the fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth and 10th to carry a 2up lead of his own into the back-nine.
The seesawing contest saw Burns take the 13th and 15th to tie it up, and he pulled ahead with a birdie on 17, before Scheffler responded with a birdie on 18 to take it to extra holes.
Both players birdied the first extra hole and both banked pars on the second, before Burns punched his ticket to the final with a birdie on the third sudden-death hole.
The bracket was set up for Scheffler and Rory McIlroy to meet, and they did, but only for the third-place play-off after McIlroy also fell in a sudden-death loss to Young.
Young needed to win the 18th hole to tie things up, and he did so with a birdie, which he followed with a birdie on the extra hole to advance.
Burns made sure the final was far less competitive, dropping eight birdies over the course of 10 holes to race away to a dominant victory.
In the third-place playoff, McIlroy took the lead on the first hole and maintained the advantage throughout, and when Scheffler birdied the 12th to try and tie things up, McIlroy responded with an eagle to instead go 2up and take the 2-1 win.
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