THIS DAY IN GOLF HISTORY / OCTOBER 22
Four victories, two playoffs and one emphatic comeback
October 22 has become a recurring stage for fall golf drama: a final win at Disney, two breakthroughs in South Korea and a six-shot statement in Japan.
2006
Joe Durant ends a five-year wait at Disney
Durant started the final round of the FUNAI Classic one stroke behind and never made a bogey. His seven-birdie 65 produced a 25-under total of 263 and a four-shot victory over Frank Lickliter II and Troy Matteson at Walt Disney World’s Magnolia Course. [OWGR]
It was Durant’s first PGA Tour victory since 2001—and the fourth and final Tour win of his career.
2017
Justin Thomas wins the first CJ Cup
Thomas and Marc Leishman finished the inaugural CJ Cup at Nine Bridges tied at 9-under 279. On their second trip down the par-5 18th in sudden death, Thomas made birdie while Leishman found water, giving Thomas the first PGA Tour playoff win of his career. [PGA Tour]
The victory was Thomas’s fifth of the 2017 calendar year. It also made him the champion of the first regular-season PGA Tour event staged in South Korea.
2017
Eun-Hee Ji ends an eight-year LPGA drought
Elsewhere that Sunday, Ji closed with a bogey-free 65 to win the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship by six strokes. It was her first LPGA Tour title since the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open. [LPGA]
2023
Collin Morikawa turns a drought into a rout
Morikawa began the final round of the ZOZO Championship two strokes back, then shot a tournament-low 63 at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. His 14-under total of 266 beat Eric Cole and Beau Hossler by six, ending a 27-month wait for his sixth PGA Tour victory. [PGA Tour]
2023
Minjee Lee wins a Lee-versus-Lee playoff
Minjee Lee and Alison Lee—no relation—finished the BMW Ladies Championship tied at 16-under 272 after Alison birdied the final two holes in regulation. Minjee answered with a birdie on the first extra hole to secure her 10th LPGA Tour title and her second playoff victory of the season. [LPGA]
FROM THE ARCHIVE TO YOUR NEXT ROUND / FOX BANDIT VIEW
A playoff birdie is the finish, not the whole plan
The two playoff wins and the two six-shot victories on this date finish very differently. Thomas and Minjee Lee needed one more decisive moment. Ji and Morikawa had already created room. Watching only the last shot hides how much work made that finish possible.
For an amateur, protecting a score starts well before the final green. On a par 5, compare the trouble around an ambitious second shot with the approach a sensible lay-up leaves. Going for it is useful when the likely outcomes justify it. The word “par 5” alone is not a reason to take on a forced carry.
Build a short practice test around that choice: alternate five shots to a broad lay-up target with five wedge shots to a safe part of a green. Record where each finishes. On the course, note the approach left after laying up and the score after going for it. Over several rounds, compare similar distances and lies; a handful of holes is a starting point, not a verdict.
Find a wedge or course-management drill ↗