What makes a great round of golf at the professional level?

First off, a player has to have the low round of the day to qualify. Not only that, but he really should beat the brakes off everybody over that 18 holes. Let’s say minimum two strokes better than the next-closest competitor.

The next thing to consider is importance. Yeah, it’s nice to shoot 64 in the first round and have a three-shot lead, but if you finish 11th, who really cares? A great round should relate to a victory, or at the very least a dramatic change in a player’s circumstances.

Given those two factors, here are the five best rounds on PGA TOUR Champions in 2022 in reverse order:

5. Rocco Mediate

Score: 64Next closest to him: 67When and where: Final round, Dominion Energy Charity Classic

What he said: “I played well, hit it good, made a couple of nice up-and-downs to keep it going. Started solid and just started making a bunch of putts. … It was important because of what it did for me in the Schwab Cup standings. It’s nice to finish in the top 36. It’s so cool to be there and be in the last event. That round in Virginia was crazy. Just solid, solid stuff.”

4. Padraig Harrington

Score: 62Next closest to him: 63When and where: Third round, Charles Schwab Cup Championship

What Steven Alker said: “Padraig kicked my ass today, that's basically what happened. He had a nice round, just kind of pulled away on the back nine.”

3. Steven Alker

Score: 63Next closest to him: 65When and where: Final round, KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship

What Ames said: “I’ve watched Steven play on the (DP World) Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour. All of a sudden out here, wow. It’s fantastic, great to see.”

2. Bernhard Langer

Score: 63Next closest to him: 65When and where: Second round, TimberTech Championship

What he said: “When I birdied the first three and almost … left the fourth birdie a quarter-inch short on line, and then holed a bunker shot on the next hole, I was thinking, ‘Well, this may be another day when you shoot your age.’ But it's still early days and there's a lot of golf left, but it kept going. And then I thought about it, on, yeah, 17, heck, you're 8 under, let's see if you can get one or two more.”

1. Fred Couples

Score: 60Next closest to him: 64When and where: Final round, SAS Championship

What he said: “It's easy to say because we're standing here, but I think it's the best round I've ever played. I hit a few loose shots, you know, got away from them, but I made so many putts. You know, I don't know what other rounds I've ever shot on the Champions Tour that are close to 60, so this would probably be my best round and lowest score by far.”