PGA Tour - Northern Trust Open  -  John Merrick  (273)
European Tour - Africa Open  -  Darren Fichardt  (272)
Sunshine Tour - See European Tour (Above)
Australasian Tour - Queensland PGA Championship  -  Brad Kennedy  (254)  
LPGA Tour - ISPS Handa Australian Open  - Jiyai Shin  (274)
LET - See LPGA Tour (Above)
Champions - ACE Group Classic  -  Bernhard Langer  (204)
Euro Challenge Tour - Barclay's Kenya Open  - Jordi Garcia Pinto  (272)

One week after staggering home over the final nine to finish second at the Dubai Desert Classic, South African Richard Sterne returned to triumph at the Joburg Open, stringing together spectacular rounds of 63-65-68-64 for a runway seven-shot victory over countryman Charl Schwartzel.  For Sterne, the win completed a comeback from back injury-related oblivion; indeed, having reached the top 30 of the OWR in 2008, he had fallen outside the top 1000 at the close of 2011.  He began the final round tied with Trevor Fisher Jr., six shots clear of the field, then posted a bogey-free eight-under-par 64 to clinch the victory.  Three more hot players, Chile's Felipe Aguilar, homestanding George Coetzee and reigning Rookie Of The Year Ricardo Santos, tied for third..........After runner-up finishes in San Diego (to Tiger Woods) and Phoenix (to Phil Mickelson), Brandt Snedeker stepped up with a closing 65 to win the AT&T National Pebble Beach Pro-Am, beating Chris Kirk by two.  Snedeker, statristically the game’s hottest player since last autumn, began the final round tied with rookie James Hahn but carded three birdies and an eagle over the first seven holes to take control, ultimately pulling away behind birdies at the 10th and 11th.  The win was the fifth of Snedeker’s career and lifted him to a career-best 4th in the OWR.  Kirk, Jimmy Walker and even Retief Goosen (making his first PGA Tour start since the 2012 PGA Championship, following back surgery) all were heard from on the back nine but none could mount a sustained charge, leaving Snedeker to record his second win (and his seventh top 10) in his last nine official PGA Tour starts.

PGA Tour - AT&T National Pebble Beach Pro-Am  -  Brandt Snedeker  (267)
European Tour - Joburg Open  -  Richard Sterne  (260)
Sunshine Tour -  See European Tour (Above)
LET - ISPS Handa New Zealand Open  -  Lydia Ko (a)  (206)
Champions Tour - Allianz Championship  -  Rocco Mediate  (199)

One month in and where do we stand?  In America, Dustin Johnson beat a limited field in Kapalua, was annointed the next King Of The Golfing World by the press…..and has a WD and a T51 since.  Rookie Russell Henley came seemingly out of nowhere to dominate in Hawaii, Brian Gay came back from nowhere to win in Palm Springs, and two old men – Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson – reminded everyone that they’re still very much in the game with commanding wins in San Diego and Phoenix respectively.  Meanwhile in Europe, Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen won back-to-back home soil events in South Africa (the latter climbing to a career-high 4th in the OWR) and – as Renton Laidlaw so astutely observed – a Welshman (Jamie Donaldson), an Englishman (Chris Dodd) and a Scot (Stephen Gallacher) carried the day during the Tour’s three-week Desert Swing through the United Arab Emirates.

All that and it’s only the first week of February.  So far it's looking like a very good year.

Phil Mickelson opened with a record-tying 60 at the TPC Scottsdale, then followed that up with rounds of 65-64-67 to cruise home to a four-shot victory at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.  Mickelson’s opening round will long be remembered after he lipped out a 25-foot putt on the final green for 59 – though the shorter birdie putt that he left dead in the jaws at the 8th (his 17th) likely cost him more sleep.  The only drama thereafter lay in the possibility of Mickelson challenging Tommy Armour III’s all-time 72-hole scoring record of 254, but after leading by six going into the final round, a bogey at the second hole led to an outgoing 34, and the record was never significantly challenged.  Brandt Snedeker logged his second straight runner-up finish while long-hitting Scott Piercy closed ith a 61 to claim solo third……….After losing his three-shot 54-hole lead early in the final round, Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher hit a spectacular 185-yard recovery shot to two feet at the 9th, then later holed a 115-yard sand wedge for eagle at the par-4 16th en route to a three-shot victory at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.  Gallacher was caught in the early going by South African Richard Sterne, who actually stood one ahead through 64 holes before limping home with four late bogeys to fall to solo second.  The victory was the 38-year-old Gallacher’s second on the European Tour but his first since 2004, and came following knee surgery near the close of 2012.  Chile’s Felipe Aguilar and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen shared third while world number eight Lee Westwood mounted a late charge before bogeying the par-5 72nd (his approach finding the water) to tie for fifth.

PGA Tour - Waste Management Phoenix Open  -  Phil Mickelson  (256)
European Tour - Omega Dubai Desert Classic  -  Stephen Gallacher  (266)
LET - Volvik RACV Ladies Masters  -  Karrie Webb  (203)
Challenge -  Gujarat Kensville Challenge  -  Shiv Kapur  (203)

It took some doing but 25-year-old Englishman Chris Wood finally broke through for his long awaited first European Tour victory in grand style, holing a 12-foot putt for eagle on the 72nd green to claim the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.  Needing a birdie to tie Sergio Garcia and South African George Coetzee, the 6’5” Wood instead hit a massive drive at the par-5 closer, then a 6 iron to 12 feet, and promptly drained the putt to steal the title.  Wood, who initially came to fame upon finishing 5th in the 2008 Open Championship as an amateur, had twice before lost 54-hole leads on the E Tour and after beginning the final round with a three-shot lead, a double bogey at the par-3 3rd raised the specter of a repeat performance.  He righted the ship mid-round however, before delivering the decisive blow when it mattered most.  The win was Wood’s second as a pro (he also claimed the Asian Tour’s Thailand Golf Championship in 2012) and, in the eyes of many, a possible jumpstart to bigger and better things.  Notably, in an experiment aimed at drawing more spectators, the event was played Wednesday-Saturday to coincide with the Middle Eastern Friday-Saturday weekend – though the galleries still appeared to be expatriate-dominated regardless..........A week after missing the cut in Abu Dhabi, Tiger Woods got his 2013 domestic campaign off to a good start by claiming his eighth career win at Torrey Pines, a four-shot triumph at the Farmer’s Insurance Open.  Woods stood head and shoulders above the field through 66 holes, building an eight-stroke lead before stumbling home with two bogeys and a double bogey to card a closing 72 – more than enough to secure his 75th PGA Tour victory.  Woods’ dominance of Torrey Pines has now included seven Farmer’s Insurance titles as well as the 2008 U.S. Open; with one more Farmer’s win, he will match Sam Snead’s single-event record, Snead having won the Greater Greensboro Open eight times.  The inevitable chorus of “He’s Back!” once again arises and to be sure Woods spent much of the week far out in front of the field.  But Torrey Pines is also a place that largely forgives errant drives, the wheels once again came off down the stretch and Woods was only a week removed from hitting a ground ball (and missing the cut) in Abu Dhabi.  As ever, it should make for fascinating viewing going forward.

PGA Tour - Farmers Insurance Open  -  Tiger Woods (274)
European Tour - Commercial Bank Qatar Masters  -  Chris Wood  (270)  
Australasian Tour - Lexus of Blackburn Heritage Classic  -  David Bransdon  (274)
Sunshine Tour - Telkom PGA Pro-Am  -  Oliver Bekker  (196)

PGA Tour - Humana Challenge  -  Brian Gay  (263)
European Tour - Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship  -  Jamie Donaldson  (274)
Australasian Tour - Victorian PGA Championship  -  David McKenzie  (275)
Champions Tour - Mitsubishi Electric Championship  - John Cook  (199)

Overcoming a disappointing third-round 74, homestanding Louis Oosthuizen closed with a sparkling six-under-par 66 to edge Scotland’s Scott Jamieson by one at the Volvo Golf Champions.  Oosthuizen began the final round five back of Jamieson, who was aiming for his second straight E Tour victory, having claimed the Nelson Championship in December.  But while Jamieson worked his way around the famed Durban Country Club layout in 72, Oosthuizen went out in 32, then took the lead, never to be relinquished, with his sixth birdie of the day at number 11.  Jamieson had a chance to force a playoff at the driveable par-4 18th but narrowly missed a chip for eagle.  First-round leader Thongchai Jaidee finished third, two shots back, while Padraig Harrington claimed solo fourth……………Rookie Russell Henley became the rare player to win his first start as a PGA Tour member, riding a red-hot putter to birdies on the final five holes at the Waialae Country Club to pull away to a three-shot victory in the Sony Open in Hawaii.  Henley, a two-time winner on the 2012 Web.com Tour, recorded three 63s (plus a Saturday 67) en route to a 256 aggregate, the second lowest in Tour history after Tommy Armour III’s epic 254 at the 2003 Texas Open.  Having previously appeared in two U.S. Opens (tying for 16th as an amateur in 2010), the ex-University of Georgia Bulldog began the final round tied with fellow rookie Scott Langley before making birdie at the first hole, then eventually opening up a close battle with his red-hot finish.  South African Tim Clark matched Henley’s Sunday 63 to take solo second (three shots back), while perennial Waialae favorite Charles Howell III and Langley shared third.