Between 9:47 and 10:29 a.m. Sunday, eight winners of golf鈥檚鈥 鈥渕ajor鈥濃 championships stepped to the No. 10 tee at 蜜柚直播 National.
The host Conquistador introducing those men 鈥 Ernie Els, David Duval, Corey Pavin, John Daly, Retief Goosen, Ian Woosnam, Vijay Singh and Mark Calcavecchia 鈥 preceded each name by declaring 鈥淢asters champion鈥欌 or 鈥淯.S. Open champion鈥欌 or whatever was appropriate.
A man standing near me said to no one in particular 鈥淛eez, did everyone in the field win the Masters?鈥欌
Their presence at the $1.7 million Cologuard Classic overpowered the so-called 鈥樷檚tar power鈥欌 of the PGA Tour鈥檚 ongoing $8 million Honda Classic. Sunday鈥檚 final field in the Florida event included one major champion: Louie Oosthuizen.
The Honda leaderboard was a list of who鈥檚 that? Sepp Straka, Dylan Frittelli, Kurt Kitayama, Adam Svensson, Sam Ryder, Keith Mitchell and John Huh.
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That鈥檚 what I thought when I ran my eyes down the Honda Classic leaderboard: huh?
The Cologuard Classic had 18 total major champions: the aforementioned eight plus Jim Furyk, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Lee Janzen, Jose Maria Olazabal, Tom Lehman, Mike Weir, Sandy Lyle, Darren Clarke and Jeff Sluman.
No wonder the grandstands, party tents and green-side pavilions at 蜜柚直播 National 鈥 and even a beer garden on the roof of a Wynn Bet Sports Book facility adjacent to the 15th hole 鈥 were full to overflowing on Sunday.
Over the last 20 years pro golf has changed so much that it鈥檚 not rare for the Champions Tour to have a more attractive field than the PGA Tour. Golf fans in 蜜柚直播 are the beneficiary.
There was a lot of anguish when the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship left 蜜柚直播 eight years ago, replaced by the Champions Tour. We were spoiled, weren鈥檛 we? We had enjoyed a 60-year diet of Arnie Palmers, Lee Trevinos, Phil Mickelsons and Tiger Woods.
But as it turns out, there is so much money on the PGA Tour that the few remaining Big Names 鈥 Rory McIlroy, John Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and a few more from the younger generation 鈥 don鈥檛 often play in the Honda Classics or even the historic AT&T Pebble Beach Classic.

Bernhard Langer hits the ball back onto the green towards the third hole during the final round. He was one of several big names in 蜜柚直播 over the weekend.
Do you realize the last six winners on the PGA Tour were, in order: Hudson Swafford, Luke List, Tom Hoge, Scottie Scheffler, Joaquin Niemann and, on Sunday, the aforementioned Sepp Straka?
When Furyk鈥檚 long-time, easily identifiable caddy, Fluff Cowan, stepped on the 16th tee Sunday, people began to chant his name. Do you think they did that for Tom Hoge when he won the AT&T Pebble Beach championship last month?
That鈥檚 why the Champions Tour works so well in 蜜柚直播. The gallery demographic is decidedly 50-and-over and some guy paying $7 for a beer at a party tent knows far more about, say, Rocco Mediate, than any of the mostly unidentifiable players in the Honda Classic.
The golf community in 蜜柚直播 paid its dues from 1999-2006 when the 蜜柚直播 Open 鈥 then known as the Touchstone Energy 蜜柚直播 Open 鈥 was pushed to the side on the same weekend as the gigantic WGC Match Play event in La Costa, California.
蜜柚直播鈥檚 champions in that period included Gabriel Hjertstedt, Garrett Willis, Frank Lickliter and Ian Leggatt. But rather than play the hardship card, the sponsoring Conquistadores soldiered on and today operate a first class event rather than, say, the Pabst Blue Ribbon Open.
Sunday鈥檚 champion, Miguel Angel Jimenez, is an unforgettable character who fits nicely with his fellow Cologuard Classic champs Steve Stricker, Mark O鈥橫eara and Bernhard Langer.
As they say in 鈥淐heers鈥欌, everybody knows his name. Or at least his look.
Jimenez wore his old-style Aviator sunglasses while posing with the golden Conquistadores helmet on the 18th green. Jimenez is known for Cuban cigars, his old-fashioned Lacoste golf shirts, his two-tone designer golf spikes and, of course, his ponytail.
The 58-year-old Spaniard has proudly told reporters 鈥淚 come from a different generation.鈥欌 He comes off as a flamboyant Spanish matador. On the golf course, he has become one of the foremost 鈥渙ld鈥欌 golfers in history, joining those such as Langer, Sam Snead, Hale Irwin and Tom Watson as those who thrived on the Champions Tour.
Two weeks and 120 miles away, tens of thousands of people packed the TPC Scottsdale course for the annual Waste Management Phoenix Open. It was more of a four-day fraternity party 鈥 Animal House, anyone? 鈥 than a golf tournament.
A handful of the Tour鈥檚 most prominent young golfers 鈥 Brooks Koepka, Justin Spieth, Justin Thomas 鈥 were in the field, but mostly the Waste Management Phoenix Open has become a story of rambunctious behavior, not golf.
At the Cologuard Classic, there was no police presence, no holding tank for over-served college kids, just golf and sunshine and a field that included Fluff and Furyk and a swashbuckling, 58-year old champion who added 蜜柚直播 to his list of victories that includes the Algarve Open de Portugal and the Alston Open de France.
Now we can boast that Miguel Angel Jimenez is champion of the Cologuard Open de 蜜柚直播.
Sounds good, doesn鈥檛 it?
Photos: Miguel Angel Jimenez wins the 2022 Cologuard Classic at Omni 蜜柚直播 National
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament 2022

Miguel Angel Jimenez dons the Conquistador helmet after winning the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort on Feb. 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Gene Sauers hits the ball out of the sand along the 2nd green during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Bernhard Langer hits the ball back onto the green towards the 3rd hole during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Miguel Angel Jimenez smokes his cigar at the 4th tee box during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Jerry Kelly reacts to his shot at the 4th tee box during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Jerry Kelly, right, looks over at his caddy as he lines up his shot at the 5th hole during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Miguel Angel Jimenez performs his signature move where he places his club into an imaginary sheath next to his left hip, like a sword after sinking a putt on the 6th green during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Spectators get an overview of the course along hole 7 during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Spectators watch as golfers sink their putts at the 8th green during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Miguel Angel Jimenez practices his swing before taking his shot along the 9th green during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Woody Austin wills his ball to drop in at the 15th hole during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Spectators watch and take their own photos as golfers play through at the 15th hole during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

A fan gets a better view by climbing into a tree along the 17th green during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Jeff Sluman watches his ball after teeing off at the 6th tee box during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Jeff Sluman hits the ball towards the 18th hole during the final round of the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.
Final round of Cologuard Classic golf tournament

Miguel Angel Jimenez acknowledges the crowd after winning the Cologuard Classic golf tournament at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. on February 27, 2022.