The West Australian opened the tournament with a five-under 66 to sit just one off the lead but began the final round seven shots back and outside the top 20.

A birdie at the opening hole was the ideal start but it was the five shots he picked up in the space of five holes prior to making the turn that suddenly thrust Luck into contention.

A birdie at the par-5 12th got him to seven-under on his round and within one of the lead but a dropped shot two holes later would ultimately see him finish tied for fifth, two shots shy of the playoff won by Carl Yuan (65).

Luck had not finished inside the top 15 in any event since his victory at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in August 2020 yet is now 56th on the Korn Ferry Tour moneylist, a leap of 78 spots in his fifth start of the season.

If Luck’s performance was a return to the form that saw him graduate to the PGA TOUR in 2019, Stephanie Kyriacou picked up exactly where she left off last year in her first Ladies European Tour start of the season.

After battling blustery winds on day one of the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, Kyriacou played her way into contention with a six-under 66 on day two, highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 13th.

Although she was unable to rein in a runaway Georgia Hall, Kyriacou closed with an even-par 72 to earn a share of sixth.

It was a weekend without any Aussies as Sam Burns won the PGA TOUR’s Valspar Championship at the second hole of a sudden-death playoff with Davis Riley while Maverick Antcliff and Jason Scrivener finished square in a tie for 64th at the Steyn City Championship on the DP World Tour.

Results

PGA TOUR
Valspar Championship
Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead Cse), Palm Harbor, Florida
Winner Sam Burns          64-67-67-69—267           $US1.404m
Won on the second hole of sudden death
MC        Jason Day           70-72—142
MC        Mark Hensby     70-74—144
MC        Cameron Percy  76-71—147

DP World Tour
Steyn City Championship
The Club at Steyn City, Johannesburg, South Africa
Winner Shaun Norris      64-62-67-70—263           €230,068
T64        Maverick Antcliff             71-68-71-72—282           €3,180
T64        Jason Scrivener 67-72-70-73—282           €3,180
MC        Scott Hend         71-69—140

Korn Ferry Tour
Chitimacha Louisiana Open
Le Triomphe Country Club, Broussard, Louisiana
Winner Carl Yuan            68-66-71-65—270           $US135,000
Won on the first hole of sudden death
T5          Curtis Luck         66-73-68-65—272          
T51        Brett Drewitt     70-70-66-74—280          
74          Rhein Gibson     71-68-79-73—291
MC        Aaron Baddeley 77-70—147
MC        Steven Bowditch             77-75—152
MC        Nick Voke           67-76—143

Ladies European Tour
Aramco Saudi Ladies International
Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, Saudi Arabia
Winner Georgia Hall       69-69-68-71—277           €135,547
T6          Stephanie Kyriacou         75-66-72-72—285           €25,302
T17        Whitney Hillier  74-71-72-73—290           €13,929

Epson Tour
Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic
Longbow Golf Club, Mesa, Arizona
Winner Fatima Fernandez Cano 70-70-61-70—271
T9          Hira Naveed       70-68-69-69—276
T12        Gabriela Ruffels 72-68-70-67—277
T40        Julienne Soo      69-69-73-72—283
T59        Amelia Garvey   72-71-73-71—287
MC        Robyn Choi        70-75—145