In this week’s “The Starter,” PGA professional Brendon Elliott looks at three Sunday stories that each landed a little differently. On the PGA TOUR, Matt Fitzpatrick won the RBC Heritage in a playoff over Scottie Scheffler after the two finished at 18-under. At the Senior PGA Championship, Stewart Cink closed with a 9-under 63 at The Concession to win by six. And on the LPGA Tour, Hannah Green emerged from a three-player playoff to win the JM Eagle LA Championship after all three finished at 17-under.

The PGA TOUR: Harbour Town Asked For Nerve, and Fitzpatrick Had It

Harbour Town is one of those places that does not care how powerful modern golf has become. It still asks players to shape shots, control trajectories, and stay emotionally stable when the target starts to feel smaller coming home. That is why Matt Fitzpatrick felt like such a natural winner there again on Sunday. He closed in 70, got dragged into a playoff by Scheffler’s late push, and then answered with the shot of the day, a birdie on the first extra hole at the 18th to claim his second RBC Heritage title.

What I liked most about Fitzpatrick’s win was not just the result. It was the way he carried himself through the kind of finish that can get noisy in a hurry. This was not a runaway. This was not one of those Sundays where a guy sleeps on the lead and eases his way to a handshake line. Scheffler made birdies late, the pressure ramped up, and Fitzpatrick still found a way to hit the kind of shot that makes a playoff feel over before the putt even drops. That is grown-man golf.

Scheffler Made the Win Mean More

Scheffler forced the extra hole with a 4-under 67 and finished runner-up at 18-under, while Si Woo Kim took third at 16-under. Ludvig Åberg, Harris English, and Collin Morikawa tied for fourth at 13-under.

That matters because the quality of the chase changes the feel of the win. When the world No. 1 starts leaning on a leaderboard, nobody gets to exhale. Scheffler did exactly what elite players do. He posted a number, applied pressure, and made the leader keep earning it. In my mind, that is part of why Fitzpatrick’s Sunday will age so well. He did not just win at Harbour Town. He had to finish the job with the best player in the world breathing down his neck.

The Senior PGA Championship: Cink Looked Like a Man Who Knew the Ending

A 63 at The Concession Is No Small Thing

Stewart Cink won the Senior PGA Championship at 19-under after a final-round 63, good for a six-shot victory over Ben Crane. It was Cink’s first senior major title, and PGA of America coverage also noted it as his third PGA TOUR Champions win of the year.

There are final rounds that feel hot, and then there are final rounds that feel authoritative. This was the second kind. A 63 on a setup like The Concession is not just a good number. It is a statement. It says the player saw the golf course clearly, trusted the plan, and never let the moment become bigger than the shot in front of him. Cink has always had that steady, almost understated quality about him. Sunday was that trait turned all the way up.

For a lot of golf fans, Cink still gets tied first to that 2009 Open Championship win. Fair enough. That was a career-defining moment. But this stage suits him, too. He has enough firepower, enough patience, and more than enough scar tissue from a long career to know how to manage a major Sunday when everybody else starts gripping a little tighter.

Justin Hicks Gave This Week Some Real Heart

One of the best stories of the week belonged to Justin Hicks. In his Senior PGA Championship debut, Hicks finished tied for 17th at 5-under and earned low PGA of America Golf Professional honors. He opened with rounds of 69-69 and stayed relevant deep into the week before closing with 73 on Sunday.

That is the kind of story I do not think this game can ever have too much of. We all know the headliners. We should. But championships like this still have room for working golf professionals to remind people just how good they are. Hicks was not simply hanging around. He belonged there. And for those of us who have lived in the PGA professional world, those performances always hit home a little harder because we know what those guys balance just to get to the first tee.

The LPGA Tour: Hannah Green Stayed Ready for the Moment That Came Back to Her

The Finish in Los Angeles Was Crowded in the Best Way

At the JM Eagle LA Championship, Hannah Green, Jin Hee Im, and Sei Young Kim all finished regulation at 17-under 271. Green then won the playoff on the 18th hole with a birdie, while Im and Kim made par. Ina Yoon finished fourth at 16-under, and Haeran Ryu and Patty Tavatanakit shared fifth at 14-under.

That is a terrific LPGA finish. No wasted drama. No fake tension. Just a crowded top of the board and players who kept answering each other until somebody finally produced one cleaner swing. Green did not win this because everyone else backed up. She won because she stayed in it long enough to take the last opening that existed. There is a difference, and it matters.

This Tour Keeps Producing Sundays Worth Watching

The LPGA has a way of giving us leaderboards that feel honest. Talented, yes. Star-heavy, absolutely. But honest, too. A three-player playoff at 17-under tells you the quality was real, and it also tells you how deep the competition runs week to week. Hannah Green gets the trophy, as she should, but the bigger takeaway is that this tour keeps delivering finishes in which several players look capable of taking over at once.

That is healthy golf. It is compelling golf. And it is one more reminder that if you only check the LPGA results after the fact, you are missing some of the best competitive theater in the sport.

What stood out to me this week is that all three tours gave us different versions of the same truth. Fitzpatrick showed what composure looks like when the walls start closing in. Cink showed what happens when experience and form align. Hannah Green showed the value of staying present until the very last chance becomes your chance. Different tours, different stages, same lesson. The best golf still belongs to the players who can keep their pulse where it needs to be when Sunday starts asking harder questions.