Rory McIlroy's mixed fortunes, a well-timed win for Jason Day, and the man who missed out on a 58 in Australia. The five talking points from the world of golf over the last week.
McIlroy's mixed bag
Not for the first time this year, Rory McIlroy will have mixed emotions when he reflects on another week of frustrating inconsistency on the PGA Tour.
The positives were that he continued his encouraging form with the putter on the slick greens at Bay Hill, he showed his battling qualities as he made the cut with plenty to spare after a 67 on day two, and his closing 65 was the joint low round of the final day.
But if McIlroy is to complete a career grand slam of major titles at the Masters next month, he must eliminate the errors which led to rounds of 75 in the first and third rounds that took him out of contention.
The 26-year-old was always playing catch-up after a poor first day, in which he pulled his opening tee-shot out of bounds and donated three balls to the water at Arnie's Place, and his scorecards over the week were littered with no fewer than six double-bogeys.
Bizarrely, he dropped only two further shots over 72 holes, leaving McIlroy to count the cost of the card-wrecking holes that left him 11 shots adrift of champion Jason Day.
McIlroy was arguably the best player in the world from tee to green throughout last year, but questions were frequently raised over the quality of his putting. But with his new cross-handed grip looking assured on the greens, he now needs to put together four solid ball-striking rounds to contend at Augusta National.
Day times it right
If McIlroy needs any inspiration as to how quickly fortunes can change, he need look no further than Jason Day as the Australian reclaimed the world No 2 berth with his impressive one-shot victory at Bay Hill.
Prior to last week, Day's results had been a real mixed bag with only one top-10 finish - in the limited-field 2016 curtain-raiser in Hawaii, a missed cut while defending champion at Torrey Pines, and a disappointing mid-table finish over a Doral layout that should have ideally suited his game.
But Day recovered from an erratic front-nine on Thursday to come home in 31 and claim the outright lead on six under, and his flawless 65 early on Friday swept him five clear of the field as the afternoon starters went out.
Day could not match those heights over the weekend, but a pair of 70s were enough to get the job done, and his up-and-down from sand at the last silenced anyone who questioned his mental fortitude.
It was the right performance at the right time for Day, who could well start the Masters as favourite with the bookies.
The King still reigns
It was refreshing to see tournament host Arnold Palmer in attendance over the four days at his Bay Hill Club and Lodge following reports that he had not been in the best of health in recent weeks.
"The King" cancelled his traditional pre-tournament press conference while also announcing he would be unable to hit one of the ceremonial tee shots at the Masters alongside fellow legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
Palmer, 86, looked frail but in good spirits as he followed his grandson, Sam Saunders, closely over the first two days, although he remained seated in his golf cart as he presided over the victory ceremony with Day.
But what was abundantly evident was the support and gratitude displayed by every player in the field last week. Palmer is widely credited with bringing the game to the masses as the peak of his career, and he was also among the first clients for pioneering agent Mark McCormack.
His role in the vast increase in golf's popularity in the 1950s and 1960s is immeasurable, and when the leading professionals of today look at their mansions, their fleet of supercars and arrange their next flight on a private jet, the man to thank for their lifestyle is Arnold Palmer.
Atonement for Chawrasia
Over on the European Tour, SSP Chawrasia provided a heart-warming storyline when he ended a long run of near-misses with his two-shot victory at the Hero Indian Open.
Chawrasia had been runner-up in his home event four times, including a damaging defeat in New Delhi last year. He was well clear of the field having dropped only one shot in 54 holes, but he struggled to a 76 on the final day and then lost out to Anirban Lahiri in a play-off.
But he atoned at the first opportunity 12 months later, and a birdie at the 72nd hole capped a memorable win as he held off valiant late challenges from Lahiri and Jeunghun Wang.
It was Chawrasia's third European Tour title, his first in 91 starts since winning the 2011 Avantha Masters, and his performance was doubly impressive when you consider he had not made a cut on the European Tour in 2016.
Hart-break in Australia
There is only one real contender for the "hard luck story" of the week award - step forward Tim Hart.
The 26-year-old Aussie stood on the final tee at the Coca-Cola Queensland PGA Championship needing a par not only to win his maiden PGA Tour of Australasia title, but to win it with a stunning round of 58 at Toowoomba's City Golf Club.
Athough Hart was aware he had a great chance to break 60, he had not been surveying the leaderboards during the final round and had no idea he was comfortably clear of the chasing pack.
Opting to stick with the aggressive tactics that had seen him cover the first eight holes of the inward half in nine under par, Hart pulled out his driver at the par-four 18th and pulled his tee shot into the trees - and out of bounds.
Hart made five with his second ball, and the resulting triple-bogey seven completed arguably the most disappointing round of 61 in the history of professional golf, leaving him tied at the top with Germany's David Klein. And to rub salt into Hart's wounds, Klein snatched the title with a birdie at the first play-off hole.
"It was a rollercoaster, After hitting the driver so well, I put the worst swing of the week on it right there," Hart said afterwards. "I just wanted to stay aggressive because I hadn't seen a leaderboard and wanted to keep pushing. If I'd known I was three or four shots in front maybe the two-iron comes out.
"t's easy to be disappointed but if someone had said I'd be in a play-off for the title when starting the day 20th I would have grabbed it," added Hart, with an admirable sense of perspective.