The final major of the year was held at L'Empereur and was to be hosted by Nic, but due to illness, Nic was forced to withdraw. 

Jeff applied some early pressure, but Icaro never really got anything going. While their handicaps kept them within reach on the front 9, Jon kept putting up pars and bogeys to start pulling away by the turn.

It was the back 9 where Jon really pulled away. 3 pars and 3 bogeys along with 2 birdies in the last 4 holes - including a curling 30 footer on the 18th - gave Jon the title and set the record for the lowest round ever shot in a Major.

Jeff and Icaro both played about the same and ended the round tied for 2nd.

The victory gives Jon his 9th career major and is the first time he has won multiple majors in the same calendar year. It also clinches his 2nd McGasparson Cup - the first since 2010 - as Nic will be unable to get enough rounds to qualify.

The sensational round dropped Jon's handicap to 13.8, the lowest ever on Tour. Icaro and Jeff each rose 0.1 to 19.3 and 21.2, respectively.

In his first appearance on Tour since the birth of his son, Jeff showed the time away from the course didn't make him rusty even if his stamina was lacking late.

Bookended by a pair of triples, a solid 4 pars and 3 bogeys on the front side had Jeff in good position in both of his matches. 

Against Icaro, he took a 4 UP lead into the back 9. Icaro picked up some momentum early on the back side to get within 1, but Jeff was able to hold on and take the victory, 3 & 2.

Down 1 against Jon after 9, Jeff used his stroke advantage on 10 to even things up. From there, it was back and forth the rest of the way, with Jon taking back a slight advantage before Jeff evened it up again. Jeff's well-timed par on the 18th evened up the match for another point.

Jon's strong front 9 gave him a 3 hole advantage, but Icaro opened the back 9 strong to move the match in his direction. Jon was able to even it up, but fell short as Icaro finished strong to take the match 2 UP.

After getting properly beat down by Icaro at L'Emp, Jon got his revenge with his own beat down, 6 & 5 at Louvain La Neuve - the first round played there since 2010.

After a closely contested front 9, Jon lead at the turn 2 UP. He then went on a par parade, carding 4 in the next 5 holes to salt away the match, 6 & 5.

It was the best of rounds, it was the worst of rounds.

Jon and Icaro squared off in a head-to-head round at Empereur. Icaro was there early to warm-up and get ready, while Jon showed up just before tee time because he had shit to do.

Good times were had on the front nine for both competitors, although Icaro would enjoy it much more. A solid opening half saw a birdie from Icaro and quite a few pars from both golfers. Icaro's solid play allowed him to take advantage of his stroke holes, using the extra strokes to win 2 holes and push a third, giving him a 4 UP lead heading into the back 9.

And what a back 9 it was. Chaos, despair, lost shots, and that was just from Jon on the 10th. 

After winning the 10th hole, Icaro stood at 5UP. The wheels fell off the bus at that point, but Jon couldn't recover. Icaro took advantage of his two strokes on the back side to win and push, taking the victory 5&4.

Standings

No positions changed. Jon's average dipped to 2.600 while Icaro's rose to 1.800.

Handicaps

Icaro held firm at 18.6 while Jon rose slightly to 15.0

After weeks of rain and generally awful weather, the skies cleared and the sun shone on the 2016 edition of the Olympic major. L'Emperuer was the venue for the 3rd major of the season, hosted by Icaro. Some changes were made to the course since the last time the tour stopped by. The fescue was longer in places - putting a premium on accurracy, and the greens were soft but fast and smooth - making for some interesting putting.  

In the match play format, blind draws meant everyone was watching the others for cues on how they might be doing.   

Jon started strong with 4 pars and a birdie on the front 9, making the turn on 41 despite a triple on the 2nd.   

Nic showed flashes of brilliance with 2 pars and a birdie in the first 5 holes, but it was dulled a bit by the double and the quad mixed in. The birdie settled him a bit en route to a solid 46.   

After a rough couple of holes to start, Icaro settled down with a couple pars and a few bogeys, shaking off a triple amidst that run for a first half 48.   

Jeff began brilliantly with a pair of pars before a rough stretch in the middle cost him dearly. He still made the turn on 48 and looked poised to strike on the back 9.  

Unfortunately, the back 9 struck first and hard with 4 solid red numbers in the first 6 holes derailed Jeff's round. A strong par-bogey-par finish - including an incredible drive on the 18th that found the green (and a few steak points) - may have eased the sting a little as he finished with a 48-57-105 (+33).  

Nic similarly felt the wrath of the back 9 as the first few holes were all but kind. Amazingly, Nic finished with 3 birdies in the final 4 holes - the first of which was a pitch over a bunker to a raised green (fortunately, Icaro was in a position to see the ball roll into the cup). The birdies pulled back some of the strokes lost early in the half and he turned in a 46-48-94 (+22) for the day.  

Jon was not immune to the dangers of the back 9, either. After struggling through 11-12-13, he collected himself and rallied for a solid finish. After such a strong front 9, it was a bit of a let down on the back half. 41-47-88 (+16)  

Icaro was the only one that seemed to put up a fight against the back 9. He took a max on the 14th, but a bogey-par extravaganza gave him a solid closing half for a 47-46-93.  

The Matches  

The blind draw saw teammates pitted against each in the first round. In the opening match, it was Sales vs Marketing. Icaro gave up one stroke to Nic - who took advantage of it - but it was early in the round so Icaro had a chance to recover. Nic took the early lead with a par on the opening hole and held onto it through out the front 9, pushing it to 3 holes at one point before Icaro pulled a couple back to make the turn 1 down.   

Icaro rode the momentum into the back 9 and turned the deficit into an advantage by winning the first 4 holes to go to 3UP. Nic wasn't going to go down without a fight and his 3 birdies in the last 4 holes helped him pull the match to level after 18.

In the tiebreaker, Icaro's strong opening holes gave him a big enough lead to hold off Nic and advance to the finals.  

The second matchup was I vs T, brother vs brother, yin vs yang, mano vs mano. With Jeff getting 7 strokes from Jon, this shaped up to be a challenging matchup, and through the front side, it was tight. Jeff took advantage of his strokes to push a three holes and keep the match close, trailing by 1 going into the inward 9.   

The back 9 was not as kind. Jeff's rough start to the back side saw Jon extend his lead to 4UP. Only able to win and push his final 2 stroke holes left him 3DOWN and the match finished on the 15th when Jon took advantage of Jeff's errant tee shot to book his place in the final with a 4&3 victory.  

Jeff got a stroke from Nic in the 3rd place match, but it wasn't a factor as Jeff easily won the hole. The front 9 was a tightly contested affair, with neither gaining more than a 1 hole advantage and at the turn the match as ALL SQUARE.

Nic took advantage of Jeff's quad barrage to open the back side and after giving one back to Jeff, Nic closed it out with a birdie for a 4&3 win and the 1 point that comes with 3rd place.  

In the finals, Jon gave up 5 strokes to Icaro, but surprisingly, they didn't really come into play on the front 9. Icaro outright won one hole, forced a push with the 2nd and Jon bested the 3rd. Jon's strong start to the round saw him forge a 3UP lead on the way out, but it wouldn't stay that way for long. Icaro erased the deficit within the first 4 holes on the way in and the match was on. Jon would never trail, but as soon as he took the lead back, Icaro levelled it right back. A well-timed par on the 17th gave Jon the lead heading into the 18th where each would 3 putt their way to bogey. It is Jon's 8th career major and it gives him a spot in the year-end Tour Championship.  

Standings  

Nic remains atop the table, but his unqualified average dropped to 3.667. With the Summer holidays coming up, he may struggle to get enough rounds to qualify for the McGasparsson. With the victory, Jon boosted his average to 2.889. Icaro's 2nd place finish improved his average to 1.667. Jeff's average dropped to 0.889 after receiving no points.  

King of 3s  

Jon added 3 points to his total, giving him 10 to top the table. Icaro grabbed the remaining points and sits in 2nd on 4 points.  

Scoring Title  

Jon stayed atop the scoring table, increasing his average to 33.143. Icaro rose to 31.714, Nic rose to 31.500 and Jeff remained the same at 30.000  

Spag Bowl  

Nic and Jon paired up for a hotly contested 2&1 victory. With the win, Jon moved to 4 points while Nic garnered his 1st point of the season.  

Bitter Bowl  

After a tight front 9 that saw IT take an early lead, S&M brought it back to level at the turn before going on a run to easily take home their first victory of the season, 5&3.  

Notes  

Nic's 4 birdies tied the most in a round originally set by Jon on 2 Aug 2014 at L'Emperuer... After years of trying, Jeff drove the green on the 18th with a left-to-right drive... 3 players (Jeff, Nic, Jon) have earned spots in the field of the Tour Championship.

In just his 2nd event of the year, Nic rode a solid points scoring round to a victory in the 2016 Birthday Major.  

Icaro started out with the hot hand, scoring 8 points in the frist 3 holes, but Nic kept pace logging 6 in the same stretch as both made the turn on 16 points. After a slow start, Jon picked up a good chunk of points before the turn to trail by 1 heading in the back half. Jeff struggled on the front 9 - with the lone exception being a par on the 3rd - to sit in last on 12 points.  

Nic kept rolling on the back 9. After opening with a great birdie on the 10th, he poured in the points with a string of bogeys. An up and down (max-par-max-par) finish over the last 4 holes was enough to to clinch the victory. Jon got close with a solid back 9 - 2 pars and 7 bogeys - but ultimately fell just short. Jeff turned things around with a 10th hole par and a closing run of 3 pars to bag 18 points and move into 3rd position. Icaro struggled to find points on the back 9, scoring just 12, to finish in last place, punctuated with several balls into the water on the 18th.  

It was a good victory for Nic, allowing him to open a huge margin at the top of the table with 10 points from 2 matches. Jon's 2nd place finish increased his average while Icaro's average dropped while remaining in 3rd position. Jeff remained on 1.000 while his dream of winning the Tour Title via the Grand Slam was dashed.

81

Let that number sink in. +9. That's a single digit over par.   

It was a round that could have been even lower but for some costly putting mistakes.  

Despite the incredible score, the matches were tight.   

Icaro put pressure on Jon the entire day, leading a few holes on the front 9 and keeping it close when he wasn't. He even lead as late as the 14th. Jon finished strong with 3 pars and a bogey on the final 4 holes to take the match 2&1.  

Against Jeff, Jon lead the whole way, but after his slow start, Jeff kept in the match. A strong run from 11 to 16 helped close the gap, but he ran out of holes and Jon took the match 4&2.  

Icaro v Jeff was a close match as well. Icaro started strong and forced Jeff to go on the attack. It was a pretty good duel most of the rest of the way, until they both finished hella weak and Icaro backed into a 2&1 victory.  

Forget that, though. Go look at Jon's round again and marvel in it's glory. Don't dream that one day you too could do it, because it will just make you sad when you realize you can't. Just be happy in knowing that you can tell your grandkids about it.  

Standings  

Jon jumped up to 2nd with the pair of victories, pushing Icaro down to the 3rd. Jeff's strategy of winning the title via the Grand Slam might be the only way to go. It's still early days in the 2016, so anything can happen.  

Handicaps  

Jon : 17.3 -> 14.6
Jeff : 19.6 -> 19.8
Icaro : 19.4 -> 18.6

Dropping a pair of stellar rounds (90-91) on the PST, Jeff ran away with the 2016 edition of The Signature in dominating fashion. In the first round against Jon, he was 8UP after the first day's play and the only question going into day 2 was would he be able to close it out before the turn. (Spoiler: He would with an 11&10 victory.)   

In the other semi-final, Nic won the first 5 holes on day one and Icaro was playing catch up from there. He was able to get a couple back, finishing the day 3DN to Nic, but Nic took them right back to start day 2 and he cruised from there to a 5&3 victory setting up a showdown with Jeff in the Finals.  

In the third place match, Icaro lead the way for all of day 1. After falling behind 4 holes on the front 9, Jon was able to get back into it and only trailed 1 heading into day 2. On the 2nd day, Jon took advantage of a slow start by Icaro and took a small lead. It was a tight affair the rest of the way, with Jon claiming a 2&1 victory on the strength of a birdie on 16 and a triple by Icaro on 17.  

Thanks to Nic's opening birdie on day 1, Jeff was behind early in the first round of the finals. It didn't last long as Jeff maintained a run of pars and bogeys to gain a comfortable lead, taking a 6UP advantage into the final day. A strong start on day 2 extended his lead over Nic and he was able to close out the victory 9&7 for his 7th career major victory.  

Standings  

Despite his 2nd place finish, Nic moved to the top of the table. Jeff and Icaro are joint 2nd, and Jon sits in the spoon position.  

Handicaps  

Jeff : 20.4 -> 20.0 -> 19.6
Icaro : 18.4 -> 19.1 -> 19.4
Nic : 18.7 -> 19.0 -> 19.5
Jon : 16.1 -> 17.2 -> 17.3

An unusually late start to the season saw Icaro start his defense with a pair of wins at Kampenhout.

Against Jeff, it was a tense front 9 as the lead changed hands a couple times before making the turn All Square. The back 9 was all Icaro after Jeff tweaked his back on the 10th and started throwing up others as if it was his job. Icaro easily took the match 5 & 4.

In the match against Jon, it was all about the stroke holes. Icaro took advantage of all 3, securing a 2 Up win against the Tour's greatest player.

Except for an early birdie by Jeff, it was all Jon in the last match of the day. Jeff took advantage of all of his stroke holes, but Jon took it to him everywhere else for a 6 & 4 win.

Highlights

Jeff carded the season's first birdie on the 2nd hole ... Jon followed up with a birdie on the 4th ... Icaro took the first Spag of the year in a close contest ... Jon's 91 was the lowest opening round since his 90 in 2012 and the 3rd lowest overall (87 - 2010) ... Jeff has already equalled his birdie total from 2015.

Handicaps 

Icaro : 18.4 (+0.3)
Jeff : 20.4 (+0.9)
Jon : 16.1 (Unchanged)